Chapter 2: At the pack

KURT

“But… What do you mean we're going to take a Midnight Pack omega with us?” Finn asked me and I just shrugged as we waited for our car.

“She was suffering here and I decided it was better for her to come with us.”

“Just like that?” Finn asked, crooking his mouth at me. He was my best friend. We have been friends since a young age and I knew he would be my Beta.

“Yes, simple as that.”

Depending on my tone, Finn knew when he could and couldn't continue challenging me. At that moment, he knew he shouldn't. We waited in silence and then I heard a throat clear.

"Alpha Kurt?" an incredibly sweet voice spoke. No, not the sweet kind that would make one smile, but the cloying kind. Carla Redley, daughter of Idris. She was pretty, with blonde hair, very light blue eyes and a reasonably curvy body, but she was obnoxious and fake.

“Yes?” I asked, keeping my composure. I couldn't be rude to the girl in exchange for a new, could I? She looked back and nodded to someone behind the front doors.

The omega, of course. She had an old coat thrown over her back, her hands hidden inside its pockets, her hair in front of her face and she limped. I took a deep breath, to keep calm.

“Oh, right. We were waiting for her. Thank you, Miss Redley,” I said and smiled the best smile I could muster at that moment.

"It's a pleasure to serve you, Alpha Kurt." Carla tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, as if she were self-conscious. Shy? Spare me. She was young, about nineteen or so, but there was nothing shy about her.

“Right. Thanks again.” I extended my arm to the omega, indicating that she should come closer. She seemed to falter, but she approached. The car arrived and was parked in front of us.” Have a good night, Miss Redley. And extend it to your father.”

It was an offense that Idris wasn't there, but he had informed me that he would be working things out with Gabriel. I wasn't stupid and I knew he wasn't going to punish the kid. In truth, Idris just wanted to keep his distance from me. Ridiculously cowardly.

I got in the car, in the passenger seat, while Finn accommodated the omega in the back seat and then sat in the driver's seat.

“If you're sleepy, you can sleep. The trip will take a little longer. When we get to the pack, you’ll go to the hospital, get a checkup, okay?” I said and she shook her head. She was looking down and I still had no idea what her face looked like.

I didn't comment, but I found it curious that I couldn't smell her. I could still smell blood, I could smell her cheap soap, but other than that, nothing. It was like she was hiding. But omegas couldn't do that. Only wolves with high ranking blood could use this ruse, and not everyone.

The journey was silent, at least for the omega. Finn and I talked through the mind-link.

When the car finally stopped, I noticed that she was asleep, her head resting against the window. I knocked lightly on the window to wake her up, and it worked. But she still didn't turn to me.

“Take her to the hospital, Finn.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

It was dawn and I was dead as dust. But so was Finn, and he had a female and a daughter waiting for him. So I turned away, changing my mind.

“You know what? Let me do it myself. Go home. Audrey must be waiting for you.”

Finn smiled at me, nodded his head, bid me good night and was gone in a second.

I opened the car door so the omega could get out.

“It's just the two of us now,” I said and didn't expect her to flinch as she did. “I'm not going to hurt you. You can rest assured. Now, let's go to the hospital. It's not far from the packhouse.”

She nodded and walked after me. Yeah, I know, I completely forgot she was limping. But then, she said nothing…

“What is your name?” I asked.

"Rosamund." Her soft, low voice was beautiful. Too bad it still carried fear.

“Rosamund. I'm Alpha Kurt.” She gave me a short, positive sign, still looking down. “Don't you look people in the face when you talk to them, girl?”

"I-I... can I?"

What the heck? She was asking me if she could look at me? Of course, she couldn’t keep staring as if she was an omega, but… At least glance and bow again. But no, she was acting as if I could really hurt her for insolence just by giving me a quick glance out of respect. That was… That was absurd and a sign of how humiliated she must have been in the other pack. I wanted to know what happened, however, I would have to wait. It would be very insensitive of me to interrogate a creature who was in her state. She still limped and that made me feel bad for making her walk. But then, I don’t think she would let me carry her.

“Yes, you can.”

If she still limped and I couldn't feel a wolf in her, it was possible she was underage. Only then did I realize it. Granted, omegas matured a little later, however, even without her wolf, Rosamund should have been able to regenerate more quickly. She must have been malnourished to the point of being incapable of recovering as a werewolf.

I couldn't get an idea of her real condition as she wouldn't look at me and her clothes were too loose. She was of average height for a wolf. In fact, she was a little bigger than omegas used to be. Assuming I was seven feet tall, she must have been under six feet but taller than five feet.

We walked into the hospital and I asked Rosamund – I liked her name but preferred to call her Rosa. But I didn't have that intimacy, did I? – was taken care of.

“I'll come back in the morning or after lunch to see how things are going here.”

"Yes, Alpha Kurt," the nurse said. Deborah, if I'm not mistaken. I nodded and went home.

‘She's different,’ my wolf said. Thorin.

‘How different?’

‘Different... there's something about her that draws me in.’

‘Don't even think about it, Thorin.’

‘I'm not thinking of anything…’, Yes, he was. I knew Thorin very well. He was a deviant. Not that I wouldn't love to feast on a beautiful female either, but I wouldn't do that to that poor omega. Even more so when her hair was reddish. I haven't slept with a redhead since… Anyway, I didn't want to think about her.

‘Fine’, I said and went straight to the shower. I liked to sleep clean, always.

In the morning, I went to my office, dealt with some documents and, just before lunch, I decided to stop by the hospital.

"Oh, Alpha Kurt!" Dr. Hanna greeted me. She was one of the best people I've ever met in my life. When I almost died, she saved me despite being a recent college graduate. Yes, she was human, but she lived with us. She found me in the forest, took care of me and decided to stay with the pack, because she found her mate here.

“Good morning, Dr. How is the patient?“ She knew who I meant.

“She's making a slow recovery. A few broken ribs, she had a dislocated femur, she has bruises all over her body and some scars. It is quite obvious that she has been suffering from abuse for some time.”

"She's recovering slowly because of her physical condition, isn't it?"

“Yes.” She shook her head. “Too bad. She is so pretty and sweet. Ah, I'll prepare her for your arrival, okay?”

"Okay," I replied, stopping to walk and stand by the door. Dr. Hanna walked in and I waited until she poked her head out and motioned for me to come in.

When she stepped out of the way, I saw the curtain of auburn hair again, but this time, it was less messy and dirty. Slowly, as if in slow motion, she started turning her head towards me and I was graced with that view.