Omega Hunter

“I don’t know what to do,” Autumn said as they were seated in a booth and directed toward the tables of food nearby.

“Just go and fix you a plate of food and let’s eat. We will talk it through and see what we can come up with.”

Malcolm watched as she stood and made her way to one of the buffet tables and began picking up food. She looked down toward the food, her shoulders rounded forward in defeat. Malcolm gave her a moment and joined her, picking up some nice cuts of beef, ham, and chicken and topping off his plate with sizable helpings of vegetables and rolls.

He was surprised when he arrived back at the table and found that she had selected almost the exact same items, though in lesser quantities. He laughed and motioned toward her plate.

“Looks like we are more alike than you think,” he said.

“I guess so,” she said glumly, taking a bite of her food just as the server came over and dropped off the drinks they had ordered in line when paying.

“How are y’all doing so far?” she asked.

“We’re good,” he said, noting that Autumn had her mouth full. She nodded her agreement and he smiled at her as the waitress disappeared. With her gone, they could discuss things between bites.

“I don’t know what to do now,” she told him once she was able.

“Well, let’s consider your options. How much money do you have?”

“I have two hundred dollars that my mom gave me. I have some more in the bank, but I didn’t have time to get it before I left. My dad is on the account with me and would know where I withdrew it if I get it now. It’s only a few more hundred, if he’s even left it there for me.”

“Probably not worth being traced to get it if they intend to come for you. Is there anyone you can call? Anyone who you can trust?”

“Just my mom, but it’s hard to catch her at home without Dad unless I call while he’s at work.”

“Wait. Do you have a cell phone with you?”

“Yes, but I have it turned off so Dad can’t track it. It’s in my bag.”

“Good. Leave it that way.”

“Okay. I was going to find a cheap sim card somewhere and change them out before I turned it back on. They won’t be able to trace that if I get one of the pay-as-you-go ones, will they?”

“Shouldn’t be able to. Alright, in the meantime, we’ll use a web program I’ve got on my phone to call her over the internet so it can’t be traced back to your location. We can do that after we eat.”

“What am I going to tell her?”

“As little as possible. Just tell her that you are okay, that you are safe, and ask if anyone is looking for you. Get whatever details you can. We can decide what to do once we know if anyone is on your tail.”

He could see that the conversation was making her anxious. She had hardly eaten any of the food she had loaded up, and she needed the fuel for later. He motioned toward her plate.

“I tell you what. Let’s just focus on our lunch for now. We’ll sort out the rest after you’re fed and watered.”

She smiled and took a bite of her chicken as he tried to steer the conversation away from her troubles and talk about anything else for a while. It seemed to work, her shoulders relaxing as they discussed more about him and how he had grown up than her. She seemed very interested in his life, in how different it was from her own. More importantly, her appetite improved enough for a second plate of food and dessert before they left.

Now, it was he who felt anxious. Here was this woman that needed him and everything in his being told him he should take care of her, but what did that do to his chances of becoming Alpha?CHAPTER TWELVEAutumn-4

Sitting on a park bench not far from where they had eaten, Malcolm opened the internet phone program and keyed in a few things to get it set up for her call. She dialed the number and held it to her ear, tensing up again as it rang on the other end. It seemed to take forever, and she thought maybe her mom wasn’t home, but then she heard the line click and her mother’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mom.”

“Oh, hey there, Arlene,” her mother said from the other end.

“Mom, it’s me. It’s Autumn.”

“Yes, we did. I just got it in the mail yesterday. You must be so excited to be getting a new daughter-in-law. It’s so good to hear from you. How are you doing out there?”

Autumn quickly picked up on the fact that her father was probably near.