Chapter 3

Novalie POV

We said our goodbyes and packed into the car to go to the airport where the Alpha family's private jet was waiting to take us to the Mountainous Northwest. The academy was located in the mountains of Idaho, so it was almost a 6-hour flight. I sat in the very back of the SUV, quietly staring out the window. When Juanita told me that she thought it was cool that I was going to be the Head Omega, I just gave her polite smile and a quiet thank you before turning my gaze back to the window. I didn't miss the questioning look she gave Eddie, though, or the look he gave her before turning around to look at me. He was sitting directly in front of me, so he turned towards the window to look behind him. When I caught his gaze, he just gave me a sad smile with a slight nod before turning back around.

The look on his face said that this was hurting him too, but I wouldn't let his feelings cloud my judgement, never again. When we made it to the strip we got out of the car and boarded the jet. As the jet reached altitude, Eddie took off his seatbelt and came over to sit next to me. I turned my head away from him, knowing that if I stared into those gorgeous eyes of his long enough they would suck me in, once again.

"Come on Nova, it just us up here. The pilot's flying the plane and Josè and Jaunita aren't going to say anything. Please just talk to me. Look, I'm sorry. They bombarded me last night too. I never meant to put you in that position, I thought we were careful enough. Really baby, I'm sorry. We'll be more careful from now on, I promise." He leaned in and pressed his forehead to the side of head as he whispered.

His hand reached up to my chin so he could make me look at him, and I felt myself growing weaker with each passing second. As he turned my head I closed my eyes so I couldn't look at him so he pressed his forehead against mine lovingly. Seeing his handsome face, the way his moss green eyes shined over his tan complexion, the way his smile softened his strong jaw line, I knew I'd give in to the deep want I had for him, but I also knew that I couldn't. I had to stay strong for Aunt Marianne, for my future. If his parents even suspected us for a moment I would spend the rest of my life with strange men touching me even more intimately than he was touching me now. That thought alone was enough to strengthen me.

"I'm not good enough for you. You have a Luna out there somewhere and the last thing you need is her thinking there's something between us which means you can't stroll up to the Academy smelling like me. I'm just an Omega, Eddie, and this opportunity, it's all I have to look forward to in my life. So please, if you really do actually care about me, then please stop. You might not care what the kids at the academy think, but I have too much to lose. My entire future relies on this. If I mess this up your parents made it very clear that I won't be going back to the kitchen, or even the packhouse for that matter. They'll send me to a brothel to ensure that you never want to touch me again. So if you actually care about me, please don't do that to me." I told him never opening my eyes, though the tears streamed through my eye lashes and down my face anyway.

I felt him suck in a deep breath when I mentioned his parents sending me to a brothel, one that he held for a moment as he contemplated my words. Softly and slowly he nodded his head as the breath he was holding released choppily on my skin.

"I do care about you Nova, I love you, I have since we were kids running around the packhouse. And I can't imagine being there without your scent lingering around it, so I'm going to get up and walk away. I never meant for this to happen, I'm so so sorry. I love you." He whispered softly before lifting his head and softly kissing my forehead.

Then suddenly his touch was gone from my skin, and my body felt the chill as he stood up and walked away. I didn't open my eyes though, I couldn't let them see my heart break as he walked away from me. I knew he felt the same way as I heard his ragged breaths and his feet shuffling towards the private room in the back of the jet. I turned back towards the window as I started wiping my tears away, refusing to look at the twin Betas that I knew had heard everything. I also knew that if anyone understood the pain we were both feeling right now, it was the two of them, as they had been by our sides on the yaht. He and I had only snuck off once back at the pack between the yaht trip and today, and had I known that that was the last time we would ever be that close I would have truly let him know how I felt about him. But it was too late now.

The rest of the flight was complete silence. Eddie never came out of the private bedroom and I stared out the window allowing myself to drift off into my favorite made up fantasy land. The twins never spoke, though I'm sure they held their conversations through mindlink. I was grateful to them though, for leaving me to my own devices. I had started making up fantasy worlds as a child when I used to be forced to sit in Sarah's suite quietly so I didn't disturb anyone. As I grew older, my fantasy worlds and the storylines I played out within them only expanded. It was how I had learned to pass the time throughout the years, whether I was sitting there just being quiet so I didn't disturb anyone, or doing my daily regular chores. As I baked for hours on end daily I was usually lost deep in thought, far away in one of the worlds I had created, playing out my new favorite storyline in my mind. It was my way of living a life that I knew I would never actually have the chance to live.

I was brought out of my thoughts as the jet touched down, reminding me that the world I had just spent hours in wasn't actually real. This one was, and as the jet rolled to a stop and Eddie came out from the bedroom, I was reminded that my heart was breaking from losing him. As I stepped off the jet I reminded myself that I had been lucky because I had actually gotten the chance to experience love unlike all of the other female Omegas that I had left back on the packlands. Still, I was angry with myself for allowing myself to fall for someone I could never have.

We got into the SUV that was waiting for us and though I didn't necessarily have to, I chose to climb all the way to the back where I could sit alone and wallow in my heart break. The driver said a few words to the ranked kids, welcoming them back, but other than that we rode in silence. I stayed present as we rode through the mountainous terrain, taking in the beauty of the wooded hillsides and lush greenery. We didn't have this type of beauty in Florida. Sure we had the sparkling waters of the ocean and the beauty of the sand and palm trees, but everything here was so green and beautiful. The trees were so full of leaves and the grass was so lush and green. I was in awe of the landscape as we drove, and for the hour we were in that car, driving through those mountains, my mind had forgotten that my heart was broken. It was truly peaceful, and for that, I was thankful.