She was surprised as Tucker’s voice broke through the darkness.
“Your profile, when I saw it at the agency, it said you are an orphan.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“I never had any. I was left on the steps of a couple in a shifter village.”
“How did they know you were a shifter, an Omega.”
“There was a note.”
“I’m sorry. Then you were raised by the people who you were left with?”
“No. They didn’t want me. They took me to another couple and that couple took me to an orphanage in a different village.”
“What? Why?”
“I was an Omega, a burden to their family. Not only that, but I was an Omega of unknown origins. I could be part human or anything else as far as they knew. I could turn out not to even be a shifter. They had only the note to go on.”
“That must have been horrible for you not to know where you come from.”
“It was, but I know the answer now, so I’ve made peace with it.”
“Yeah? How did you find out?”
“It was the one thing my ex did for me. He considered himself doing me a favor by marrying me, but my sole purpose in his life was to be a hand maiden, someone to have children and tend the house. He could control me more than some of the other Omegas, because they had families, people who cared about them,” she said, trying not to sound bitter.
“I’m sorry, Leslie. I shouldn’t have brought painful memories up for you.”
“No. It’s okay. Like I said, it’s the one thing he did for me. He couldn’t risk his family lineage to the possibility of marrying an animal hybrid of a different species, so he had me tested and paid a private eye to research my background. He wouldn’t tell me the results, but he seemed satisfied that I’m just an Omega from a poor couple who couldn’t afford me.”
“No brothers or sisters?”
“No idea. Like I said, he only told me what he wanted me to know.”
“Well, if you ever do want to know more, we can always do some more digging.”
“It’s okay. It’s ancient history now. I don’t need to know.”
There was more to the story of how she had ended up in Blane’s pack, of the couple who had eventually given her a home, but even those details were sketchy to her. She really only knew that they had their own problems with the pack and it was questioned how they had returned from an extended absence with a child in their care that had drawn the truth from them and made it public knowledge among the pack.CHAPTER TWENTY-THREEThe following morning, Leslie felt like she was on top of the world. Despite yesterday’s events, she felt like she and Tucker had reached a whole new level of closeness. Nothing could possibly go wrong with him by her side. It was only when they were leaving to go to the clubhouse that a hint of anxiety began to form. The prospect of facing the pack after what she had done to one of them yesterday was a bit daunting, and there was the kiss. How many of them knew about the kiss she had shared with Marshall?
By the time they arrived, she felt positively jittery, following Tucker as he made his way toward the pavilion, where a great number of people seemed to be gathered. They walked about and greeted some of them, Leslie trying to hold her head high, despite her fears and shame. After a while, the pavilion finished filling with most of the pack, if not all. They all chattered back and forth until Tucker took the stage to face them.
“If everyone could give me their full attention, I have quite a few things to say to you, but I don’t intend to be longwinded about it. I know you all have things to get back to without listening to me prattle on unnecessarily.”
There were a few snickers and then they settled in to listen, waiting patiently to see why they had all been called together on short notice. Even Leslie had no idea what he was planning to say to them, so she was as interested as anyone else there.
“As you all know, I have recently been selected by many of you and the council to be your new Alpha. I know that, among you, there are some that would have preferred my brother, but that is not how things panned out. I have kept quiet about my logic in returning here to challenge him, I’ve kept to myself about it for reasons of my own, but I think you should now know the truth about who I am.”
There were whispers among the crowd. Leslie wasn’t sure where this was going either. It didn’t sound like what she had expected him to say.