Chapter Three

The school secretary sneered when she came in. “Ms. Adders.”

“Miss Smith, I need to see Hailey. Please, have her brought here immediately.”

“We can’t do that for anyone, Ms. Adders. It is not appropriate to disrupt a child’s schedule.”

“Schedule disruption is why I am here. I have a nanny who will be coming to pick her up after school and dropping her off in the mornings. I need a copy of her schedule as well as authorization forms.”

“A nanny? Another one of your stripper friends?”

She felt her mouth tighten, but Illyana was almost to the door. Grigory was right behind her. They came in, and Grigory walked up to her immediately, wrapping his arm around her waist and claiming her as his. “Is she coming?”

Illyana smiled, and her beautiful face glowed with anticipation. “I look forward to meeting my new cousin.”

Miss Smith asked weakly, “Who are they?”

“This is my... alpha. Grigory. This is his niece and Hailey’s caretaker, Illyana.”

“I am but one of her alphas. An omega like this needs protection in the world, or folks will try to destroy her.”

“O..ooo...” The secretary stared at Grigory, and he merely stood politely and let her stare.

She nudged the woman. “Hailey, please? Have her bring her backpack. She is moving today, so I think she needs time to focus.”

“Right.” The schedule was checked, the call was made, and in three minutes, Hailey was brought into the office. The documents were signed, and Illyana’s photo was taken.

The blonde dynamo burst into the office with a panicked expression on her face. “Mom! Is something wrong?”

Grigory let her loose, and she hugged Hailey and lifted her up. She looked to the other two and said, “I need to explain. I will be in the playground.”

She signed Hailey out and carried her to the playground, where she explained as best she could.

Hailey’s eyes narrowed as she ticked things off on her fingers. “So, a new house. I get a nanny, so you don’t have to freak out every time you are late, and she’s an alpha who looks like an angel made of razor blades?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” Hailey blinked. “But are you going to be okay? I mean, with the alphas.”

“I will be fine. I have met them all, and they are content to let me go at my own pace... but I will be going into heat very soon, and I won’t see you during that time, so I needed to make sure you were good with Illyana.”

“Can I take her to school and show her off?”

“She isn’t a pet. Oh, but Grigory has a cat that just had kittens, so that might be cute.” She was honest. “I haven’t seen them yet, and from what I know, they could be a house cat, or they could be tigers. Not a clue.”

Hailey grinned. “When do we go?”

Illyana smiled. “Now. I am Illyana.”

The little girl faced her nanny and stuck her hand out. “Hailey Adders.”

“Excellent. I will be picking you up and dropping you off as well as acting as a bodyguard on the way if you go out with friends.”

“I don’t have friends, so that is easier.” Hailey nodded. “They don’t like my mom. Well, their moms don’t like my mom.”

Lexa sighed.

“It isn’t Mom’s fault. She does what she has to do, and if that involves spinning from a pole, she does it.”

Grigory’s eyes brightened. “You are a dancer?”

“Stripper.”

His expression got stern. “Dancer. Stripper’s peel paint.”

Hailey hooted. “That is what Mom says. Who are you?”

He crouched down and extended his hand to her. “I am Grigory. I will be taking care of you and your mom with two friends.”

Hailey took his hand and frowned. “Why are you so tall?”

“I grew that way.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you taking care of my mom? What do you get?”

“You think I need something?”

“Even the school gets money from the parents to teach the kids. There is always something for something. That’s the way the world works.”

“Did your mom teach you that?” Grigory kept his gaze on Hailey.

“No. Great Aunt Kelsey. She said Mom would do whatever it took to keep me safe. So then she explained how money worked in our little part of the universe. Mom was a courier who worked, and folks paid her, and she paid for what we needed. Isn’t she going to be a courier anymore?”

Grigory smiled. “No, Hailey. Your mother will act as hostess and take care of the household for a while until we get used to each other. Then, she can do things she likes instead of things she needs to.”

“Like singing and writing?”

He flicked a glance at Lexa. “Yes.”

“And dancing. She’s a super good dancer.”

“I look forward to seeing it. So, we are good?”

Hailey paused and then nodded. “We are good. Am I going to the new place now?”

“Yes. You and Illyana will pick out your bedroom, and then, you can order what you like for furnishings. It will be delivered this afternoon.”

Illyana came up and took her hand. “Come to the car. I will explain our schedule for the day, and do you like pizza or tacos?”

Hailey smiled and walked off with her. “Is that a trick question?”

Lexa sighed. “You handled that very well.”

Grigory loomed up next to her. “Thank you. I have eight nieces and nephews. Illyana is one of the eldest.”

“Delun said he was from a large family as well.”

“Yes, the only one without is Arthur, but he said he is abstaining for a while.”

She sighed. “Yeah. That’s what he said.”

“You are not fond of that idea.”

They started to walk to the car.

“Despite everything and now knowing that he didn’t have a clue... I miss him. Is that stupid?”

“No, now let me tell you about your schedule. We will pick out supplies for your nest, go to a seamstress to have your sizes taken, and then, we will be seeing that physician friend of Arthur’s to get an assessment of the scarring. Then home for a family meal.” He chuckled. “I will let you play with the kittens, and then, we will settle on the couch when Hailey is in bed.”

“Um, why settle on the couch?”

“So you can get used to us, treasure. And we can memorize your scent. Movies are good for that. We can catch your scent when you are scared, angry, and thinking about loving.”

She looked up at him. “I am a pretty easy touch. Just ask Delun.”

He bent and kissed her hand. “It is different to think about it than to be woken to it. Different scents, treasure. And we will have them all.”

She swallowed. “Oh.”

He helped her into the car and got in after her, holding her hand and not settling her on his lap. Hailey and Illyana were sitting across from them, belted in. Grigory moved and settled the seatbelt around Lexa and then one for himself. She smiled.

The car pulled away from the school, and they were on their way home. They left the downtown, passed the main cluster of suburbs, and were on the edge of the city when the car turned down a familiar road. “No, way.”

Grigory chuckled. “You are familiar with the area?”

“I am. I have a friend here.”

“Ah, excellent. Arthur mentioned it, but I was not sure that you associated with an unclaimable omega.”

She laughed. “It isn’t Ford; it is Olivia. The omega’s omega. She’s a pride mate, but Ford has been her best friend and therapy, so he invited them all to live with him and renovated the house to help. She’s almost as crazy about motorcycles as I am.”

Illyana looked at her with a gleam in her eye. “Really? I know what the cousins are getting you for your birthday.”

Hailey smiled. “It’s good that she has something to look forward to next year. We went to the theme park with Olivia and her pride this year. It was so much fun. That is where all my stuffed animals came from.”

Grigory looked disappointed and delighted. “You went to the theme park for your birthday, Lexa?”

“No, Sir. We went for my birthday. Mom didn’t get a present. She invited some girls from my school, but they didn’t come, so we invited the pride instead, and they took us in a big car, and we had a lot of fun on the rides.”

Lexa chuckled. “Hailey and I share a birthdate.” She tried to clear up the confusion.

The car was quiet. They pulled into a drive, and it was nearly a kilometre before they arrived at the house. It was a wide sprawl of grey stone with carvings where you would least expect it. A lot of tiny and exhausted men and women were holding up the roof.

Illyana unbuckled Hailey and took her backpack. “We will get lunch and then contact the decorator with her choices.”

“No need to be formal. You will call your mother.” Grigory chuckled.

Hailey lunged over and hugged Lexa. “Pick something pretty.”

“Yes, Hailey. And it might be a cousin. I don’t know what Mom is doing today.”

Lexa watched Hailey scamper into the house, and when she was inside, the car moved again. She could feel Grigory staring at her, and she turned her head to look out the window.

He drew a finger down her arm. “Lexa?”

“Yes, Grigory?”

“When was the last time you had a present?”

“Um... Hailey had just turned two, and Arthur gave me a necklace. Then, we bonded, and you know the rest. I am guessing that the necklace was thrown out with the rest of my things. It wasn’t with me in hospital.”

“So, nearly six years then. Wait... that happened to you on your birthday?”

“Yeah. And a week after that, my family was dead. They were driving up to take care of me.” She breathed deeply until the strong pain faded.

He sighed. “So much pain for such a delicate heart.”

She swallowed. “Others have it worse.”

“No joy in all that time?”

She looked at him in surprise. “Plenty of joy. When Hailey laughs, makes a friend, does good in school, when we dance in the kitchen and have flour fights. Meeting Olivia and recognizing another’s pain. Making friends. Giving guys a hard time. Plenty of joy.”

“You like motorcycles?”

“No, I love them, with an unwholesome kind of love.” She grinned.

“You like this Olivia.”

“I do. She taught me how to keep my scent to myself so I am not leaking it everywhere. I taught her some moves from one of my jobs for a video, and we share a love of jalapeños on pizza.”

“The dancing? How did that come about?”

“The money for Hailey was kept in trust, and the Omega Centre would only help me if I surrendered her to my aunt and uncle, who were keeping her until I recovered. I needed money fast. I had lost my job, my school, my housing. I had to start over, and there is nothing like horny men for fast money.”

Grigory nodded sagely. “True. I would have covered you in jewels.”

“I would have sold them and brought Hailey home.”

“Where is her father?”

She groaned. “I knew this would come up. Hailey was disavowed before she was born. Her father’s family swept in and carried their son off, swearing that he wasn’t the father and creating a binding lock on her paternity. He returned to university, and my sister returned home. Legally, she officially doesn’t have a father.”

“You know who he is?”

“Yeah, the world isn’t without irony. Arthur’s brother, Arnold. That is how I met Arthur, to begin with. I was doing research on Arnold to get a medical history of the family. Arthur thought I was cute, like a yapping dog. He thought my name was Rose. He asked me for coffee, and I still didn’t tell him. Maia told me to keep my mouth shut and just enjoy seeing a nice guy who seemed to care for me.”

“Does Arthur know about this?”

“No.” She frowned. “Things happened quickly after that, and then, Maia was dead, and it didn’t matter anymore.”

“He should know.”

“It isn’t an easy conversation to start.”

“Ah, little treasure, the important conversations never are. Now, what is your favourite position?”

She blinked at the change in conversational gambit. “I am out of practice, but it used to be doggy style and then rising into a kneeling position.”

“Hmm. I see myself using my tongue all over you until you have cum a few times, then reclining back with your back to my chest and moving you on me until you are helpless and dizzy. Then, I would cum in you, holding you carefully so that you could be eased to your belly. Eventually, we would move together in a dance.”

She nodded and licked her lips. “What about heat sex?”

He chuckled. “I would drive into any orifice that was not already occupied by one of the others. Why? When is your next heat?”

“According to Delun—who was really interested in what I tasted like—four days.”

He smiled happily. “I will alert my managers that I will be taking a few days for family time.”

He inhaled and paused. “You are on suppressors?”

“I was. I left them in Delun’s office. An act of faith, at his request.”

He lifted her hand to his lips. “An act of hope, treasure. You do not wish a child?”

“Not with men I just met. I have some standards. They are small, but they are there.”

“No bonding?” He stroked his tongue over her palm.

“See the previous statement. We will revisit the idea after I come out of the heat. You know how to keep me calm during? If we aren’t bonding, I am going to be a pathetic, needy mess.” She gritted her teeth.

“You really do not like being an omega.” He unbuckled her and pulled her into his lap. He was good at cuddling. He wrapped himself around her nearly completely.

“It hasn’t brought me much good.”

“And you are terrified of what happens if you give in to it.” He nuzzled her neck.

“More than you could imagine. Losing myself during the heats is bad enough, but giving in to it completely makes me wonder if I can come back. The terror of being stuck in such a helpless and needy state is real.”

“We will make sure that you come out of it when it is over. Frankly, we don’t have the time to devote to a perpetual heat.” He chuckled. “You and your friend should come to one of my clubs. I will, of course, ensure your security.”

She smiled and was about to speak when he kissed her, gripping her hair but giving her such a delicate kiss that she leaned up for more. She turned her shoulders toward him and returned the kiss. She stroked his lips with hers, moved to put more of herself in contact with him, and then, she was kneeling astride him, fighting her skirt. The heavy scent of roses filled the car. She licked at his mouth until he opened for her, and then, the kiss took on a ferocity that caught her by surprise. His outward calm had fooled her. He stroked his hands down her hips and caressed circles up the inside of her thighs. Her eyes widened, and she pushed back as his fingers found no impediment.

His eyes widened in surprise, and then, he laughed. “Delun.”

She thudded her forehead to his chest. “I forgot.”

His voice in her ear held a deep purr, “Were they sexy?”

She started laughing. “Absolutely not. If I am not being paid to wear something that crawls up my ass, I wear cotton. Smooth, soft cotton.”

He looked at her and grinned. “That is a real smile. Your other smiles have been forced or tight. Hm.” He put a finger down her blouse to peek. “Ah, the same comfort.”

“Why should I be uncomfortable for the entertainment of others? Actors and models get paid for it. If I am just getting groceries, cotton and sweatpants it is.”

The SUV stopped, and he eased her off his lap. “We will continue that later, treasure. For now, we are going to outfit your nest. It is sparse now but still comfortable. We will make it a place you enjoy being.”

She blinked. Omegas needed nests to help with their overflow of emotion, so what did that mean for her years without one?