The Rise of an Omega ✓

20.

It was late when Ethan's car took the last turn in the road. Amelia was tired, but feeling better than ever. Somewhere during the ride, Ethan had let go of her hand to drive, so now, with both hands free, she was massaging her neck with her eyes closed, longing to jump in her bed and sleep.

All traces of sleep left her body, though, when she felt her neck shiver. There were voices coming from their house, too many to be from the pack. Amelia sat straight, her body as tense as Ethan's beside her. Being an alpha, his senses were stronger, so if Amelia was hearing the voices, he sure could understand the words.

When they arrived at the house, the sight before them took their breath away.

They were two police cars parked in the front yard. One officer was talking with Lilly, writing things down on a notepad, the other was looking at something in the front door, and they could hear more inside the house.

Ethan got out of the car so fast that Amelia had to run to reach him. She glanced worried at his tense body, walking directly to Lilly who looked scared, but showed relief when she saw Ethan.

"Oh my God. You are here. We tried to call you but your phone..." Lilly started to say but Ethan interrupted her. His voice sounded so angry that Amelia stopped in her tracks and looked wide-eyed at him.

"What happened?" It was more a growl than a question.

"Someone invaded the house." She answered fast, not wanting to be at the end of Ethan's rage, Amelia supposed. I cannot blame her. Amelia thought, studying Ethan's frowning face.

Only then, the seriousness of what Lilly said fell like a brick on Amelia. There was someone in their house. Lilly was there but Taylor was nowhere to be seen.

Ethan seemed to read her thoughts when he asked where his beta was, to what her mate explained she was fine. And they both had arrived after the intruder had run away.

"Henry!" Amelia jumped on the discussion mad at herself for not thinking about this first. "He was here. Alone. Where is he?" Staring at the human girl with pleading eyes, begging her to say he was fine too. When Lilly's expression twisted in a grimace, Amelia froze.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but when we arrived we heard the sound of a shot and Henry... He is in the hospital right now. Taylor went with him and I stayed to help the police and to wait for you two."

Amelia didn't know what to do. Henry had been shot. There was someone with a gun in the house she considered her safe place, and they shot one of her best friends.

She wanted Ethan to take her in his arms and say that everything would be okay, but when she glanced at her mate, the painful and guilty look in his watery eyes said to her that it was his turn to be soothed. So she took a deep breath and tried to calm her breaking voice.

"Ethan," Her gentle tone catching his attention. "Hey, listen to me." She held his face in her hands, standing on tiptoe to look in his eyes. The pain she saw in there increasing her urge to cry, but she didn't allow any tears to fall. "He is in hospital, it is a good sign. If anything bad had happened Taylor would have told Lilly, okay?" Her eyes never leaving his.

"We just need to go there and see him with our own eyes. We will worry about the intruder after. Now it is the police's job to do so." He took a deep breath and touched their foreheads. Amelia took it as a good thing. "Do you want to talk with the cops a little before going?" He nodded his head and opened his eyes looking grateful at her. She knew it was the best 'thank you' he could give her now.

Ethan entered the house and before Amelia could hear what he would say Lilly touched her arm. A sad look in her face.

"I am sorry your date had to have this terrible end. But Henry is a wolf, he is strong. He's going to be fine." She squeezed the omega's hand, who returned with a small and sad smile.

"I don't care about the date now. But if we had arrived earlier we could have helped Henry. It was my fault we took longer than planned. I could not just say what I needed to say." Amelia exclaimed, but Lilly was having none of it.

"Now you listen to me, girl." Her face was angry, scaring the omega with the sudden change of mood. "No one could imagine something like that would happen. It is not your fault if you wanted more time with your mate, and it is not his fault for turning off his phone to not be interrupted." Amelia didn't even question when Lilly called Ethan her mate. She was not surprised that the human already knew.

"Yeah, I guess you are right." Amelia faked a smile, knowing that the girl would not fall for her lame excuse of a lie. But the human didn't have time to insist on the matter when the alpha came out of the house, walking fast in their direction.

"There is nothing there to see. Let's see Henry." The girls followed his lead to the car. The trip was silent but nowhere as comfortable and light as the trip back from the dinner. It was dense as if they were afraid of saying anything.

Amelia wanted to reach for his hand, she knew the touch would comfort him as much as it would with her. But the timing seemed wrong. She didn't feel as free as she was with him before. When she was not too shy to touch him.

Amelia sighed, it didn't seem that only ten minutes before they were happy and looking forward to the future. Now they were unsure and worried. This night Amelia did not need to sleep to be on a nightmare.