The Artist

Chapter 10

Jamie-

Everything about Henley interested me. The auburn-haired hellcat was the most intriguing creature on earth. It wasn’t just the fact that she was insanely beautiful; I admired her. I had a great deal of respect for Henley. Not that I would ever get the chance to tell her that. And even then, she wouldn’t believe me or care, which was a shame. I rarely got the opportunity to complement another warrior. And Henley was unmistakable one. She’d outsmarted, and avoided detection for most of her life. Publicly telling the government to fuck off. And that was only her opening act. The little Omega had courage that I had rarely seen off the battlefield. Surviving abandonment by her biological mother, and foster care, Henley had fought for everything she’d had. And if her secret was ever discovered, she had a back-up plan. Henley had built an insurance policy into her life. A fail-safe that would protect those she loved. Love, the word instantly kicked me in my chest. Letting the unwanted sensation move me, rocking me back in the chair. I rubbed the itchy stubble that irritated my chin. Henley loved another, an Alpha she was content, and prepared to die for. Truthfully, I thought the bond would trump that infatuation. I thought she would be powerless to its call. It is, after all, why Henley existed. She was destined to be claimed. Days had passed, and still, she fought it all. The bond, Cass, and everything that he offered. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. Cass had taken her with the intention of calling her his mate forever. He’d made a life-long commitment with his claim. If Henley did not accept and settle into it, she could kill them, both.

My profession had taken away the possibility of a normal life. War makes no expectations. After the dust had settled, Cass was the only one I had left, that’s why I always had his back.

He may be a ruthless asshole, but he was loyal. He took care of those that mattered to him. Cass may not have been who Henley wanted as a mate. He would keep her safe, cared for. Regardless of Henley’s feelings, Cass was hers, and she needed to accept that. So, I dug deeper into Henley’s past. Hoping I could learn anything that would be helpful, something that would make Henley content.

I spent hours researching twin transfusion syndrome, an anomaly where, for unknown reasons, one twin takes more than its share of nutrients to grow. Feeding off of, and starving their twin. If caught early in the pregnancy, it is a treatable condition. Henley’s mother had not known. Late pregnancy complications had been the only warning the family had. Truthfully, Henley should not have survived. Archived medical records showed that Henley had only be given a 20% chance at living. The realization hit me oddly, tensing my muscles with fear. Henley was only three pounds at birth and smaller than my shoe.

The pictures of her tiny, depleted body were shocking. She’d spent seven months fighting for her life inside her mother’s womb. A woman who would abandon her at just three years old, claiming that she could not financially care for them both. She had relinquished her rights to Henley, opting to keep the twin who was tested and identified as Omega. That shouldn’t have been a thought that ever crossed her mother’s mind. But it had, Henley’s mother had seen an opportunity to cash in. She had used her daughter as a human lottery ticket. Seeing no value in Henley, not after she’d been profiled as Beta. How fucking sick and wrong. Henley had been left in the state’s care. Anger and rage were emotions that I knew too well. When they erupted in my chest, I struggled to control them. I left my research to sweat out my anger. Working out was a far better option. When I reached muscle failure, I drug my tired body back to work.

Cass had been on to Henley from the word go. Not believing she was not born Omega. Identical means just that, medically, it was impossible for twins, who shared a placenta not to be identical. Delivery notes state that Henley and her twin had shared one. Yet the doctors in Henley’s case had sited that Henley was so nutrient-starved that she had not fully mature. She’d been left unable to develop as her twin had. I didn’t know shit about genetics. But even I know that to be labeled as an identical twin, both children are mirror images of one another. Not just in appearance, but genetically as well. I was unsure how long Henley had known she was Omega. No doubt, she would withhold the truth if asked. I didn’t need to give the red-haired beauty ammunition to wound me further. The Omega was as equally cruel as she was spirited. Even when she did not speak, she had the ability to scrutinize.

Hours of reading about her birth and well-documented early years of her life, nothing stood out, to me, or the many doctors who tested her. She’d undergone numerous blood tests. The conclusion was the same. Henley had a detailed medical file that barely fit on a flash disk. Relentless and rigorous testing that border on abuse. They had not failed in any way to learn Henley’s genetic profile. One doctor, in particular, was obsessed with her, having obtained permission to do a bone marrow test. He’d digital recorded the painful procedure. The footage of Henley’s tiny leg being bored into by a huge hollow needle was tough. She’d screamed, no doubt in confused, and intense pain. More investigating revealed that the same doctor repeated the test six months later. Truthfully, he did not need to. Nothing in any of the previous results would justify his actions. Follow-up notation stated that the second test site had become infected. Henley had become so sick. She had been hospitalized for a week. The more I dug, the less I liked what I was finding. The earlier call to arms to defend Henley became louder, personal, and worrisome.

A restless night had me edgy this morning. I tried to be optimistic as I led Ms. Reed to the studio.

“Henley?” The woman named Monica stood in the doorway of the art room. By the expression she wore, she was shocked by the sight of her dear friend. Henley moved disinterested eyes from the window towards the voice. “It’s me, Momo.” Henley turned towards her. Seconds blazed by as the realization hit Henley. Ms. Reed invoked a response from the zombie Omega. Just not one I’d been prepared for. Henley erupted from the floor, every bit the pint-size Valkyrie.

“You fucking coward.” She yelled as she attacked Cass. I grabbed for Monica, shielding her from injury. She cursed him as she hurled any object her hands found. “You’re not an Alpha; you’re a chicken shit.” She continued firing objects as fast as could. Only momentarily stunned when Cass roared a warning. But it was all he needed to grab her. Cass was every bit the dominant male.

He shook her violently as he postured over her. Cass wrapped his large body around Henley, restraining her while she thrashed in his arms.

“What have you done to her?” Ms. Reed asked, appalled, and traumatized by this chaos.

“I have claimed her.” Cass arrogantly informed Monica. She trembled at my side. An expressive woman, Monica was devastated to be witnessing this. Tears sparkling in her eyes, she couldn’t understand that Henley had lied to her.

“You’re an Omega?” The frightened woman asked Henley.

“I’m dead. He’s just too stupid to realize that.” Henley panted, still struggling to break free.

“Ms. Reed has been invited here for you, Henley.” Cass compressed Henley’s body harder, squeezing her until she finally stopped moving.

“That wasn’t the deal devil. You were to leave them alone forever.” Henley’s struggle and her poor physical condition, weakened her voice, adding a haunting sound that made Monica shivered.

I took the traumatized women to the study. Giving her space, she stood by the window. Comforting herself with her arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

“Ms. Reed, Henley. She is miserable.” Monica could see this. But it was her personal turmoil that was adding to her emotions.

“Do you blame her?” She asked, rubbing her hands up her arms, consoling herself. I felt the inward trembling of hopelessness shake me.

“My feelings will not change the situation. Henley has been claimed and bonded.”

“That’s not a bond, that is slavery,” Monica said, bitter and hurt. I had to bear in mind her point of view. It would be biased at best. She knew Henley on a personal level. Seeing Henley in her present state, it would be hard to feel different.

“Facts are facts, Ms. Reed. Henley has been claimed.”

“Abducted, she has been stolen. Those are the facts.” Monica went to arms for Henley, defending her, as anyone who loved her would.

“She has not been abducted, Ms. Reed. Henley entered into this bond willingly.” That was the truth, even if it wasn’t comforting. Monica glared at me.

“I know Henley, your definition of willingly is bullshit.” Monica couldn’t force me to give her the details of the agreement. Henley’s haggard appearance and violent attack on Cass was all the evidence she needed.

“Choices that Henley made on her own,” I said assertively. Our nit-picking needed to stop. Monica had been brought here to help Henley, not sabotage. “Mr. Castillo has made every effort imaginable to help her transition. Ms. Allred has been unwilling to settle into the bond.” I was getting to the point. Monica turned from me, wiping at the tears. I waited for her to gain her composure.

“This is all wrong.” Monica cried, still very overwhelmed by all she had seen.

“I can’t change the facts.” Repeating myself, hoping to reason with Monica. “Help me; you know Henley better than anyone.” The stunned Beta had no idea how much we needed her insight. She could be the life-line Henley needed. Waiting for her to make her choice was hell. Usually, I would have pushed the woman. Lives would be forged or broken.

“Henley hates everything you have surrounded her with.”

“What do you mean?”

“This.” She looked around us. “She hates the city, hates this decor, hates the view or lack thereof. Hates what it insinuates and represent.” Monica Reed looked at me with sorrowful eyes. “You have taken a butterfly and trapped it in a jar with no air. That doesn’t even account for the pain of taking Kita from her.” Guilt blindsided me again. I’d seen Henley’s life fading from her eyes. I know how utterly miserable she was. Fixated on what she felt she’d lost. Henley fought to keep her love for an Alpha who’d never claimed her. Ignoring the fact that Cass had the assertiveness and desire to take her as his. Weakness never favored the worthy. Kita was not an Alpha of worth. Henley needed to see this.

“Butterflies can live in the city too, Ms. Reed.”

“But they do not thrive. Nothing thrives in captivity.” Monica’s words hit their mark. I kept that fact to myself. The years she had spent working with Henley was apparent.

“I invited you here to help Henley, Ms. Reed. I would think that as her friend, you’d have her best interest at heart.” Monica narrowed her eyes at me. She did care for my statement. But I would use whatever tactic I needed to settle Henley, and protect Cass.

“You want me to fix your fuck-up?” Monica was ballsy. She had a great teacher.

“I want Henley content. I need your help to do that.”

“You need to leave.” I interrupted whatever he was pretending to do.

“Why?” Cass asked, looking up from his screen.

“Henley needs out of the city. Out of this modern hellhole, she hates.” I said, walking to the liquor cabinet.

“20 minutes with her friend, and you presume to know my mate better than I do?” Cass was understandable moody.

“Unfortunately, I do.” I openly disrespected my superior. “Aside from knowing how she prefers to be mated, you don’t know shit about her.” I downed my drink in one go, staring back into his outraged eyes. “And if you don’t fix this, I will kick the shit out of you.” Meaning every word, I turned to leave.

“You’d be wise to curb your tongue.” Cass’s warning fell on deaf ears. There was far more at stake here than he realized.

“Fuck that and fuck you. You claimed an Omega who didn’t want you.” I pointed out. “You forced a bond that she fights tooth and nail. And you’re going to fix this.” I told him as I walked to the door. “Take her to the country and leave your credit card. Ms. Reed and I have work to do.”