“I don’t do puke.” Chloe tried to tug herself free but Emma’s grip was far too strong.
“Nah, no puking.” Emma frowned. “Not yet, anyway. Hope needs someone who’s been abused to talk to.”
“Oh?” Chloe stumbled as Emma pushed her toward the sofa, where a shocked looking Hope sat. Sarah, the Pride Omega, was simply shaking her head at Emma’s antics. “How can I kelp?”
Hope tilted her head, confusion written all over her. “Kelp?”
Chloe had gotten so used to the people around her automatically interpreting her occasional verbal mistakes that Hope’s surprise was startling, and slightly embarrassing.
It was Sarah who answered, her voice calm and her expression serene. “Chloe has a traumatic brain injury from a beating she took. It affects her speech.”
Hope stared at Chloe, her gaze still filled with surprise. “What happened to you?”
Chloe sat on the sofa. “I was walking Rome when some guys jumped me. They beat me so badly I almost died.” Some days she wasn’t certain she hadn’t. “I’m not sure why they did it, but Alex, my cousin, thinks it has something to do with the pact that my dad is a Bear and my mom a Fox.”
Hope’s eyes went wide, her hands fisting together tightly. “S-Salazar spoke of something to do with shifters from mixed bloodlines. He said some people in the Senate were interested in them, but he thought it was a load of crap. Something about unlocking recessive genes, ghosts and mystical stuff that made no sense to me whatsoever.”
Chloe and Sarah exchanged a quick glance. “That’s…interesting.”
“Mm-hm.” Sarah sat back, her gaze returning to Hope. “But we can talk about that later. Hope, there was something you wanted to ask Chloe, wasn’t there?”
Hope jumped, then chuckled nervously. “I will never get used to that.”
“Used to what?” Chloe had no idea what Hope was talking about.
Hope pointed toward Sarah. “Her ability to read my feelings.”
“Oh. All Omegas can do that. And if she’s reading yours, it means you’re considered a part of her Pride.” Chloe smiled widely. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, I think.” Hope shrugged. “I felt…something when Max and Emma accepted me, but I still don’t understand it.”
“Maybe you should talk to my mate, Jim. He was turned against his will boo, and he’s still learning things about being a shifter.”
“If he’s all right with that.” But the look on Hope’s face wasn’t reassuring. She looked frightened of speaking to Jim, and Chloe couldn’t blame her.
“I’ll be there while you talk to him.” Chloe patted Hope’s hand. “He’s mated to me, so the last thing he’ll ever do is touch you in any way.”
Hope relaxed slightly. “Can I…?”
“Hmm?”
Hope blew out a breath. “How do you do it?”
Chloe tilted her head. “Do what?”
“Walk outside. Go places. Let Jim touch you.” Hope’s face filled with loneliness and fear. “I can barely stand to be in the same house as Max, and I’ve seen how he is with Emma. I can’t even imagine going to a Pride gathering, or…” Hope stared out the window, searching for something.
Chloe sat back and thought about how she should answer. “It was hard at first, and I still get scared when I’m on my own. But my family helps a blot. I know they’ve got my back whenever I need it.” She nodded toward Sarah. “She helped too. That’s what Omegas do. They heal hurts of the heart.”
Sarah smiled, but kept silent.
“It makes the trauma of what happened to me less immediate. I still have nightmares, and I probably always bill, but if I let them dictate how I live my life then that beans that the bad guys have won. I won’t allow that. I can’t.” Chloe sighed. She had to calm down, because her speech was becoming worse. She did her best to slow down, but she always had trouble talking about that night. “It doesn’t mean that it isn’t hella hard to get over, because I never will. I’ll always have problems with my hands, and I can’t go to school and be a veterinarian, but I can live my life in such a way that the things that have been taken from me don’t overwhelm the things that weren’t.”
“I had everything taken from me.” Hope was staring at her, biting her lip. “I had nothing.”
“You had more than you thought.” Sarah placed her hand on top of Chloe’s, joining the three women together. “Glory never gave up on you. She knew you were out there, she just couldn’t find you.”
Hope shrugged. “I guess so.”
“I know so.” Sarah squeezed their joined hands.
“Temp and Faith came to Halle as soon as she was old enough to legally set away from her father. They came here for you.” Chloe hugged Hope, ignoring the way Hope flinched, because Hope quickly sagged against her. Even without Omega powers, Chloe could tell that Hope was starved for simple affection. The knowledge that she was safe might be lodged in her mind, but her heart was still terrified Salazar, though dead, would somehow come back for her. “You never really lost the important part of your family, because they never truly let you go.”
“Exactly.” Sarah smiled at Chloe. “You’ll never completely get over what was done to you, but you have people who are willing to help you heal.”
“Including Jamie Howard?” Hope shivered. “I know he’s out there, watching. Waiting for me.”
“He’s your mate.” Sarah’s gaze became distant as she turned toward the front window. “He’s already lost his other mate, so he guards you closely.”
“Keeping me safe?” Hope’s gaze followed Sarah’s toward the window. “I can’t decide if that freaks me out or makes me feel better.”
“Go with option number two.” Chloe stood. “Trust me, Jamie Howard would destroy anything that causes you a moment of pain.”
“He killed Salazar.” Hope’s smile was grim. “For that alone, it makes me feel better. I’m just not sure I can be mated after…” The smile disappeared.
“Someday.” Chloe held out her hand. “My mate didn’t want me because he thought I was too young, and I gave up all cope of having him. After my attack, he disappeared and I thought that was the end, that I’d never be what he needed. But I realized that I had to become what I needed first. I had to heal, to come to terms with everything I had lost and what I’d gained. You concentrate on getting well. Jamie will still be there, waiting and watching over you.”