It has been a week since the mating ceremony and, surprisingly, nothing too dramatic has happened. After my father had threatened me and was kicked off the compound, Erik and Ethan have been very overprotective, never wanting to leave my side. Even though they are my mates, I do not like their hovering. Somehow, I convinced them to return to their assigned job of building the fence. It is almost done, only a mile-long section is left, considerably shorter than the forty-mile perimeter they had started with.
Luna had assigned me the task of setting up our new home. It is a quaint, three bedrooms and two bath house. The olive paint on the outside helps to camouflage the house with its surroundings. My love for it is insurmountable. I finally have a place I can call home, and I am able to share it with my mates and my sisters.
"Liam?" I am snapped out of my thoughts by Luna. She is standing in the doorway of my sisters' bedroom, where I have been for the past few hours organizing their stuff.
"Hmm?" I hum in response, folding my sisters' clothes and placing them in their white dressers.
"I have the master bedroom all fixed up. I made sure all of your clothes were clean and hung them in the closet, and the solar panels and water are working correctly," she says, walking over and helping me sort through my sisters' stuff.
"Thank you, Luna. I really appreciate you helping me set up the house."
"You know I have no problem helping you," she says, giving me a side hug. "Why don't you go take a quick inventory of all your supplies. I will finish up in here."
I nod my head and make my way to the garage, where all of our extra stuff is stored. Pulling the string connected to the light bulb hanging in the center of the garage, I illuminate the room. The shelves of supplies we were given are lined up along the far wall, where we had decided was the best place for them to be.
Going through everything, I notice a shortage of baby supplies. There is only one package of diapers left, and there are no more clothes for my sisters, nothing for when they grow out of their current sizes. Worried, I make my way inside, looking for Luna. I find her in the kitchen; she must have finished with my sisters' room.
"Luna, there's a problem," I say, joining her by the stove. She is stirring something in a pot, humming to herself while doing so. Taking a quick sniff of the air, I deduct she is making spaghetti.
"What is it, Liam?" she asks, giving me a quick glance over her shoulder before returning her gaze to the stove.
"We are running short on baby supplies. There are barely any diapers left, and there are no new clothes for when my sisters grow out of their current ones. I think I will have to make a run into town to pick up some new supplies."
"No, Liam," she says, shaking her head. Leaning against the counter, I look over at her and notice the worried expression on her face. "It's too dangerous, you'll get hurt. Just tell the twins and they can make the run into town with the next scouting trip. They have already gone on one before and know how they work."
"I can't let them do that! They are my sisters and I have been taking care of them ever since they were born. I won't let my mates risk their lives in order to get supplies for my family," I say, hands on my hips.
"You know they won't see it that way. They both love Olive and Grace and see them as their own little sisters. Let them do this for you. You guys are a new family now, and they are better trained to leave the compound."
"No. I am going to do it. They can't stop me," I say.
She raises an eyebrow at me, probably questioning why I am throwing a tantrum like a three-year old. "Fine, you go and explain to your mates how you plan on leaving pack lands, by yourself, just to preserve your pride."
I turn on my heel and walk out of the house, slamming the door just for good measure. It is new for me to have someone trying to look out for me, and I cannot quite decide whether or not I like it.
"I can take care of myself. I don't need my over protective mates to coddle me all the time," I mumble, walking over to the pack boundaries where the newest part of the fence is being constructed. The twins are still part of the team who were given the task of building the fence, so they spend their afternoons there, after spending the whole morning training.
My thoughts are cut short by a snide laugh coming from my right. I look up and notice Jenny and Jace walking towards me. They both have sickly sweet expressions on their faces, as if happy to catch me alone.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself, Omega? No Alpha to protect you? It would be a shame if something were to happen to you," Jace drawls before harshly grabbing my arm. He pulls me after him, and the more I struggle the harder he pulls.
"Just leave me alone," I respond, once again trying to rip my arm from his tight grip.
"You think they will ever be faithful to you or love you? They were just with me the other night. It was amazing, probably some of the best sex I have ever had with them. They are so nice and big..."
I could feel my heart breaking. I want to believe she is lying, but the insecure part of my brain is saying that she is telling the truth. It is too good to be true to have them love me. As my father had said weeks ago, my mates would never love me.
"Stop," I whisper, fighting the tears that are threatening to spill over. I tried to rip my hand away from Jace's grasp, but his grip only grows stronger.
"Why would they love you? Nobody likes you. You're just an Omega. Even the Alpha wants you gone. I wouldn't be surprised if they sided with the Alpha when he throws you off his lands," Jace tells me, pushing me roughly against a tree once he stops walking.
"No, no, no. Stop it!" I scream. They start laughing, and I can feel Jace loosen his grip as he doubles over in laughter. I take his distraction as an opportunity to rip my hand away and run as fast as I can, not paying attention to where I am going. Tears are streaming down my face as everything they said plays on repeat in my mind.
"No, they want me as their as their mate..." I whisper to myself.
Why would they? Nobody will ever love you. You are a terrible mate. My father's voice sneers in my head.
"No...no...no," I say not paying attention to where I am going. My thoughts are cut short when I run into something warm and solid. Looking up, I realize that I ran into Ethan. I try to wipe off my tears, but it is hard to do when I am trying to keep my balance.
"Liam? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Ethan says, grabbing my wrist to steady me. I wince when he touches where Jace had grabbed me. My wrist is still sore, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a bruise there in a few hours.
My eyes refuse to meet his; I am too upset. Nothing seems true right now, and I can not face the fact that my mates do not want me.
"Liam?" he whispers, gently raising my wrist up so he can inspect it. I can tell as soon as he sees the bruise because his green eyes darken as he looks at my wrist. He gently rubs his thumb along the forming bruise before lifting it up to his mouth to press a soft kiss to the injured skin.
"Who did this to you?" he whispers harshly, clasping my bruised hands between his own.
I flinch and pull away from him, pulling my hand against my chest and leaning back against the nearest tree. He notices my distress and his eyes widen.
"Erik," he calls out. "You need to come over here."
I hear someone, I'm assuming Erik, walking over. The underbrush crunches with every step he takes over to us, making it easy to pinpoint where he is coming from.
"What's wrong?" he says. He must have looked over at me, because the next thing I know, I am being swept up into his arms, and then he sees my face.
"Liam? What happened? Why are you crying?"
I stay silent and Ethan answers for me, stepping next to Erik so that he can keep his eyes on my face.
"Someone hurt him. He has a bruise on his wrist in the shape of a hand."
"What?" Erik growls. Looking over at me, he says, "Liam, who hurt you?"
I just ignore him and try to wiggle out of his grasp, but his grip just tightens.
"Liam, calm down, tell us what's wrong?" Ethan says, exasperation clear in his voice. I finally stop struggling and collapse in Erik's arms. Sobs wrack my body as I finally give up on trying to contain them, and tears fall down my face, harder than before.
"You don't want me," I sob. "I'm a horrible mate. You're going to leave me for someone else. You already slept with Jenny a couple days ago."
The words fall out of my mouth, unable to stay in any longer. Noticing the silence, I open my eyes and see horrified expressions on their faces. They must have thought I would not find out about them sleeping with Jenny.
"What...? Love, what are you talking ab-" Erik is interrupted by loud shouts. Opening my eyes, I see a horde of ten or more infected running towards us. I freeze, knowing I do not stand a chance against them. There are only eight of us out here, and I do not know how we are going to kill all of the infected heading towards us.
"Erik, get him out of here," Ethan says to Erik.
"No...no..." I say. "Come with us." I may be upset with at them at the moment, but I do not want my mate to be in harm's way.
"I can't, love," he says. " I have to help them."
Erik gives him a nod and starts to run toward the pack house with me in his arms. I struggle against him, trying to make him set me down. "No! No! Put me down, Erik!" I keep struggling until we reach the pack house. Ethan finally puts me down and goes to wipe the tears from my face. I slap his hand away and look him straight in the eye. "You make sure he comes back. Even if you guys cheat on me, I want you to be alive," I say.
"Love, why do you keep saying that? We would nev-" I cut him off before he can continue.
"Go, Erik," I give him a shove out the door. "Both of you better come back."
He gives me a hard stare before finally leaving the house. I sink to the ground and pull my knees up to my chest. My body stays like that for thirty minutes, waiting for Erik and Ethan to come back.
Finally, I stand up and notice everyone else in the room. They are all looking out the window and I join them. Everyone from the fence is returning, even my mates. Relief courses through me, once I know for sure that they are safe, but then Jenny's voice floats through my head. Everything she said earlier is making my sadness come back in full force, masking the relief I had felt only seconds ago.
Deciding I need some space from my mates, I run out the back door of the pack house and over to my new home. Quickly running in, I notice Luna sitting in the living room with Olive and Grace on her lap. I walk over to them, and grab my sisters' hands, pulling them off of her lap.
"Liam, are you all right?" Luna asks me. She follows behind me, the worry she is feeling is rolling off of her in waves, making me feel guilty for not responding to her, but I do not want to accidentally snap at her.
Staying quiet, I walk into the master bedroom and quickly pack myself a bag with a couple changes of clothes in them. As soon as I am done with my bag, I walk into my sisters' room and pack one for them as well, making sure not to forget anything they may need.
"Liam?" Luna says to me, her voice wavering.
"I can't be around them right now. I need some space," I say walking out of the girls' room with their bags over my shoulders and their hands in mine.
"Are you upset because they won't let you off the compound? They love you, Liam. They just don't want to see you hurt."
"Well, obviously not," I say, walking towards the door.
"What do you mean? Of course they love you."
"If they loved me, they wouldn't have cheated on me!" I scream. She looks at me, shocked. I have never yelled at her before. Hell, I cannot even remember the last time I have yelled at anyone, it just is not part of my nature. "I can understand, actually. I know I am not an optimal mate. Definitely not their first choice if they had any input. I just hoped..." My voice breaks, and I start crying again.
"Liam, why do you think they cheated on you?"
I rub my wrist and her eyes follow the movement. "What happened, sweetie? Who hurt you?" she whispers.
"Everyone," I say, walking out the door and pulling my sisters after me. I make my way to the pack house with my eyes down cast, barely catching the sight of my mates standing to the side of the door with shocked expressions on their faces.
*****
The picture at the top is of Alpha