Uncaged (An Omegaverse Novella) (Open Novella Contest) (ONC Entry)

Chapter 4

 "You're late." Ana stood on the top stair to their home glaring at Daven, small hands fisted against her hips.

"I know Ana, I'm sorry. I was helping save someone's life, baby." Daven's voice was soft, begging for absolution from the tiny fiery haired girl. "Can you forgive daddy?"

"Maybe." She grinned suddenly before launching her petite frame off the stairs and into his waiting arms. "Did you save them, daddy?"

"Of course I did," He couldn't help but take a deep breath in of his little girl's scent. The soft smell of honeysuckle and lavender wrapped around Daven, easing some of the tension in his chest. Ana was his best stress release whether a fire went well or not, just being able to hold her helped bring peace and balance to his life.

"Good! Then I forgive you. Can we go now? I wanna go see the new twins!" Ana clung to her father for a few moments before letting go to look up at Daven with bright green eyes.

"The truck is already unlocked." Those words were all the six-year-old needed. One moment she was clinging to him and the next she was in the truck buckling up. Daven chuckled softly, shaking his head as he watched his little spitfire.

He followed her to the truck, no longer concerned that he must still smell like burning wood and plastic.

Soon enough they were on the road, Ana squirming in her seat with excitement. Daven's brother and his wife had recently given birth to a set of twin omega's, a rare occurrence. This was the first day the hospital was allowing visitors.

"So how was school today, monkey?" Daven asked, settling a hand on Ana's knee to try and get her to hold still.

"It was okay, Daddy," Ana smiled at her father. "We learned about how to read time and wolves and we read a book about a mouse, that lived in a schoolhouse!"

"A mouse living in a schoolhouse? You're pulling my leg I think, monkey." Daven teased , giving Avan's knee a long squeeze before letting go. He would fiddle absently with the radio trying to find something that wasn't a news report. Once he was off the clock he hated hearing about the fires he'd been at.

"No, I"m not! We really did read about it!" Ana squealed indignantly, "She liked to read just like me and she met another mouse that lived in the school who was all white!"

"Did she now?" Daven smiled, letting Ana ramble on as they drove, trying not to focus too much on how she was like her Omi had been.

Ana's Omi, omega parent, and Daven had known each other from school. Omega's were always treated poorly, seen to be less intelligent and less capable. Michael had been anything but, he'd been a brilliant omega that had taken Daven's breath away even before they were old enough to mate.

It didn't hurt of course that Daven had been raised to cherish and respect all life no matter the gender, alpha, omega or beta, everyone is important in this world. So when Michael's first heat finally happened he'd asked permission to mate Michael even though Michael came from an extremely poor family. There was no contest to it, as Michael's alpha father knew they wouldn't get much of an offer for Michael.

That was the only heat they had ever spent together, Michael having ended up pregnant with Ana from it. When Michael was eight months along there was a fire that had destroyed their apartment building and he'd been severely burned. Doctors had managed to save Ana, but Michael died from complication with the surgery

Daven shook himself out of the memories of the red-haired omega as they pulled into the hospital's parking lot. Before he could even really put the truck in park Ana was out the door and racing to the front of the building where his parents were standing. This gave him a few seconds to collect himself as he watched his father swing the little girl around for a hug.

Daven chuckled softly before waving them to go in as he felt his phone buzz. A quick glance at the number on the screen brought a groan of frustration to his lips.

"Hello, Nita," The layer of politeness in his voice barely disguised his disgust. Any call from his lawyer couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"Daven, sorry to call you, but Michael's sister has refused to give up her attempt to gain custody of Ana." Nita's voice was soft as the beta well aware that Daven would most likely not take this news well. They had been working almost since the day Ana was born to keep her away from Michael's alpha sister.

"Is she taking me back to court?" Daven growled the words, still standing by his truck so his frustration wouldn't frighten someone else. An alpha's emotions had a tendency to have a strong effect on others.

"As of right now it doesn't look that way, but what she is planning to do is hard to say." He could practically hear the shrug in his lawyer's voice. "I'll call you if anything changes, Daven. And give your brother and his wife my congratulations on their twins when you see them."

"I will. You have a great day, Nita." Daven shook his head as he hung up, trying to put the thoughts of Lori out of his mind. Michael's sister had never been a big fan of her brother's mate and she didn't think it was right for a little girl to be raised by a widower.

Pushing away thoughts that would only make him more agitated, Daven made his way into the hospital. A quick stop by the front desk got him directions to his brother and sister-in-law's room.

He was on his way past some of the private rooms when he smelled it, that intoxicatingly sweet mixture of lemon and vanilla. Turning quickly toward the scent met him with a sudden blinding pain as his head collided with a door that had just been opened moments before.

Glancing around my eyes locked with a pair of the most wonderfully familiar lavender eyes I had ever seen.