Part 31 Guest of Honour

It was the first time the omega faced him ever since the last time they saw each other. Zach was staring at her, his nose was red, the lines around his eyes were prominent, and he was pale and overconfident in a way he'd never appeared. The Alpha watched her with those eyes, so striking that her heart somersaulted. And when he opened his mouth to speak as if Zach knew something he shouldn't, Ava realised it's dangerous.




Especially when she felt his warm hand on the cherub of her cheek, thumb stroking softly over her clammy skin, she was unable to focus her eyes, couldn’t seem to get her mind to stop reeling. That single touch was enough to cause a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach. In those few seconds, Ava was captivated by his gaze settling on her almost tenderly as his fingers remain tracing over her face for another handful of a moment until something snapped inside him.




The Alpha surprisingly let her go, wishing her a good stay. She tried to breathe steadily but felt dizzy. It’s as if her insides were trying to climb up her throat. As Ava walked away from him, the omega had to curse herself for having a proper emotional response caused by Zach Bruno, of all people.
***
The guest room assigned to her was something out of a magazine Rayly goes on and on about. Ava was immediately attacked by the solid and tantalising smells of the Alphas the moment she stepped in.





Ignoring the urge to drop on her knees, she inspected her room. In the far right corner of the room sat two large doors that were currently closed. She assumed it lead her to the washroom. On one of the walls sat a large painting of a moon in the middle of a misty, darkened forest, glowing while wolves below worshipped her. Their goddess. Ava tilted her head at the artwork, a smile crawling on her lips as something crossed her mind.



Of course, the Alphas were going to have a painting of their goddess; it was like a kid having a poster of their favourite celebrity hanging in their rooms.




Shaking her head, she went back to studying the surroundings. On the left side was a large bed where Ares was sitting, his legs crossed together. Beside him, all her luggage was resting on the mattress.





On the right side of the bed sat a lonely, blue velvet wingback chair in the corner of the room, and it was angled directly towards the door. When there was nothing else to see, she turned around slowly to the left side of the bed and noticed a large dresser against the wall, the only window in the room resting above it.




Across from the bed sat a gigantic fireplace made of stone. There were random carvings that she chose to ignore in favour of tuning to the fireplace. There was a small mountain of wood inside with only a hint of a dying fire, and she decided to pull herself closer to the heat. She first had to make her way around a long cherry wood coffee table before coming close to the fire.




Dante cleared his throat. “So…what do you think?”




Whipping her head around, she focused on him. His eyes were green. That's the first thing she focused on—much prettier than the green she had ever seen. They were also lovely, maybe almost obnoxiously so. Even in an old long tee and worn sweatpants, the Alpha appeared like some model. Tall, broad, and lean. There's a beanie pulled down over his hair, but a few dark curls matted over his forehead. The lines of his face were sharp and angled, lips plush and jaw defined.




Suddenly, Ava was very aware of her clothes, Raylys old clothes, hanging over her body and how her hair must be a mess and skin blotched and sickly looking from laying in that clinic for several days.




There's also exhaustion painted over Dante’s face and beneath his eyes, weighing down over his body. It must have taken him a lot of work these days…with Reeves passing away, handling the workload while also brining lunch to her every single day and looking after his pack members. The first part was still unbelievable to her.



When Ares gave her the news, Ava didn’t know how to react because Reeves almost killed her. Then came the momentary dull ache in her chest that somehow she caused that. If not for her insistence on keeping her omega status a secret and the Alpha getting riled up for that, he may still be alive. But Reeves didn’t want to accept his loss from an omega, went animalistic with it and made the wrong choice. If not him, then it would have been her. The choice was clear from the moment he stepped into her room with malicious intentions.





The Bruno pack didn’t waiver the rule, let alone for their pack member. Reeves attacked her and then suffered.




"Ava?" Dante called out cautiously.




Ava jerked, snapping out of her thoughts. Her cheeks coloured red when she realised Dante must have said something, but the omega was too busy staring to catch it.




"Sorry, what?" She blurted, before adding hastily, "Still a bit woozy from medicines.”




While her time in the clinic was spent being miserable and all alone, Ava considered herself lucky to get out. Her injury was completely healed, leaving a scar behind which would fade away in another two weeks or so. If the doctor was marvelled at her insanely quick recovery speed, he didn’t utter a word. No one said anything, simply accepting that she was completely healed before the estimated time.




"No worries," The Alpha grinned, “Just wanted to know if you like the room or you want to make any changes?”




Ava gaped at Dante, incredibly touched by those words. The room was more than she thought to be frank, still not able to imagine living in there. With two large windows and her fireplace at that. If someone from her tribe found out, they would be so jealous of her.




Ares let out a chuckle, shaking his head at his brother. “Just answer him, or he won’t leave this room all day.”




“It’s beautiful”, She whispered, eyes flickering towards Ares sitting on the bed.




Ares genuinely showed that he was sorry by dropping in her room every day after his training. He’s always sweaty and had those locks matted to his hair, grey eyes crinkling by sides. She appreciated every little detail he shared of the day, mainly straying away from personal topics but heavily relying on pack members. Dante was a contrast to him. Every day they had lunch, Dante told more of his childhood which involved his brothers. She got fascinated by their mischievous tales but never got enough of them. There was still that big question lurking in the back of her mind. The brother's mothers. They all had separate mothers, and she wanted to know more about it but didn’t know where to begin with.





“Thank you," She said awkwardly, squeezing the fabric of her sleeves in her hands tighter.




“You should rest” Ares suddenly stood up from the bed, tucking his hands in the pocket of his pants. “The doctor said it would only help you regain your energy.”




Dante nodded, and they proceed in silence, much more wary of even their steps. The omega decided to follow them towards the door, breathing caught in her chest. As the brothers walked together, their height difference wasn’t much to begin, Ava noticed, her throat going dry when she compared her own height.




They could easily pin her down and have their way.




Dante made a soft sound when they reached the door, his hand wrapping around the handle. "Bye, guest of honour!"




“Don’t hesitate to find us if you need something,” Ares called one last time as she shut the door.



When she’s all alone in her room, the omega felt the slightest bit lighter than before, all worries forgotten.
***
Ava woke up with a harsh reminder that the Alphas might not have packed her pills. The one Jade gave. They were supposed to last only for a week, and the very next day, she will go into heat. If not for the pills. Washing her face with cold water, she stepped out of her room.




Zach was humming something under her breath when she shuffled into the living, rubbing at her bleary eyes. Even though she did fall asleep for a while, there's brittle exhaustion creaking in her limbs, prickling behind her lids.




Zach stopped short when he realised she’s staring at him, head tilting towards her. “Going somewhere?”




“Umm…I wanted to pick some things from the packhouse. Dante and Ares missed most of them.” She gulped, hands clasped together, eyes focused on everywhere but him.




“I was just planning on heading out. Do you mind I join you?”
***
Hehe, Zach won’t leave her alone. So please tell me what you think so far!
***