When they touch me (Shelagh Milano)

Chapter 33 Artemisia

I wake up with a jump scare the next morning as all my windows get opened brusquely.

I blink into the light streaming into the room as a blonde woman is blabbering nonchalantly while continuing to give me a heart attack.

Turning in my bed, I blink my sleep out of my eyes. I can’t see Fynn anywhere in the room, but I can still smell him.

Maybe I’m just hallucinating.

I shake my head at how desperate I am as the woman leans into my field of vision, making me jump. “Babes, are you alright?”

Do I look like I am?

“Sure,” I answer with a smile as she narrows her eyes.

She puts her fists on her hips as she gets back up. “Ah, you don’t have to act strong with me.”

My eyes widen as she looks around the room. “Did the little Omega already look after you?”

“Are you talking about Daisy?” I ask and she clicks her tongue.

“Aaah, yeah, could be that this was her name!” She seems distracted by something as she doesn’t notice that I don’t respond to her while she walks into my kitchen. “She is a bit strange, but a nice girl, you know.”

I giggle to myself as I would definitely agree with her.

“She is the pack's biggest fan. We were a bit concerned about how she would welcome you here.” She says, rummaging through my cupboards.

I claw onto my blanket while I try to make sense of this strange situation. “You were?”

“Yeah, Alpha Cayden was so preoccupied that she wouldn’t accept you and do something shady. But I told him that she is a good girl and that she deserves a chance.” She reappears in my bedroom with a steaming cup of coffee that I take reluctantly. “She seems to love you.”

“Yeah,” I say while clasping the cup. “She was very nice.”

She smiles brightly at me as she sits in the chair where Daisy sat just hours before and crosses her legs elegantly. I hold the cup like an anchor, feeling the warmth of it streaming through my hands and up my arms.

I wait for her to talk again but the people in this pack seem to recite a certain script in their heads before thinking about communication.

On top of that, I can barely think straight as my head is throbbing and Fynn’s scent is making my skin sizzle.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” I ask finally, causing her to laugh out loud.

“Oh, babes, I’m Lisa. I’m the former Beta’s daughter.” She nods happily as I still look at her confused. But luckily, this time she gets the clue. “Oh, I’m here to help you out a little bit as you are about to take over too many roles to bear.”

Giggling, she takes a sip from her own cup, making me mirror her. “You poor thing with those morons. But don’t worry, because now that I’m here we will rock the shit out of everyone!”

I laugh, shaking my head. “That sounds amazing, thank you so much.”

Feeling a sense of huge relief, I enjoy the coffee that tastes heavenly. “And thank you for the coffee. It tastes really good.”

“I have a special ingredient. Everybody is crazy about it.” She winks at me.

“Now I know why,” I say, taking another sip with a deep sigh.

Playing with the cup, I gather my courage to ask her about my mates. I don’t know if I can trust her yet, but I would have to find out. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything you want,” She answers, holding her cup to her mouth. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“It’s about-” I get interrupted abruptly as the door opens with a bang, and Daisy stands in the door with big doe eyes.

“I’m so sorry!” she says panicky.” The door slipped out of my hand.”

“It’s alright, Daisy.” I smile at her as she walks to me with her usual tray in her hands.

“Oh, I see that you already got your coffee.” She notices and Lisa grins up at her.

“Yes, I provided our princess with it. I have my special brew, you know that.”

She nods strangely as she proceeds to put down the tray and immediately tends to my dressing. “I don’t know if that’s good for her. She should watch her diet to feel better soon.”

Lisa makes funny grimaces behind Daisy’s back as she speaks, and I have to force down my laughter.

“It’s okay, Daisy. I liked it very much. And I don’t think that a coffee would hinder a bump from healing.” I try to calm the situation down but Daisly still doesn’t seem to be amused.

“I will talk to Alpha Blackwood about this. He will decide.” Her words are like a slap, and I feel a bit taken aback. I think that I might be exaggerating as it is normal for an omega to go after what your Alpha tells you, but as I see Lisa’s distorted face, I know that this isn’t in fact normal.

I keep it to myself as it isn’t my place to say something and just wait patiently for Daisy to finish. After having tended to me, she puts a cup of tea onto my nightstand and takes my coffee out of my hands. I’m just about to protest as she pushes a plate with a small cake on it into my hands. “Here you go. Enjoy.”

“Erm… thank you,” I say, looking between her and the cake. “You can go now. You don’t have to watch me eat.”

She waves at me dismissively, as she keeps standing next to my bed awkwardly. “It’s okay. I will wait and take the plates back with the coffee.”

I gulp, risking a look at Lisa who scoots her chair closer to me. “Let me help you out.”

“No!” Daisy screams, making us flinch. “I made the cake for her. She is going to eat it.”

A strange feeling creeps up my legs as I see her panicky yet enraged face. “It’s alright. She can have half of it, I don’t mind.”

“No! I made it just for you.” She says, looking like she is on the verge of crying.

Lisa throws her hands into the air and scoots back away, and I sigh. “Okay. Don’t worry.”

I hurry to eat the cake in a few bites before I hand the plate back to Daisy. “Delicious. Thank you so much, Daisy.”

Her expression morphs immediately as she takes the plate out of my hand like the happiest person on earth. “I’m so glad!”

After collecting everything, Daisy flashes me a last smile before scurrying back out.

“What the hell,” Lisa breathes out while I’m still staring at the closed door.

What the hell indeed.