The next morning, Aoife gathered us all together so we could sort things out. I was a little uneasy at being with the other omegas, but once Aoife had explained the situation, they were more than willing to take me in, which was a huge relief.
Once we'd sorted our issues out, we moved to the more pertinent task at hand; fixing the leaks in the shed roof. Since no one was willing to buy us the materials we needed, we decided to take matters into our own hands and go into the forest. Lots of branches had come down during last night's storm, and we figured that if we got enough wood, we could patch the roof up. Of course, we needed corrugated iron to really help seal it up, but where the hell were we going to get that?
It was Shannon - Aoife's brother - who suggested we go scavenging for iron in the town. "There's a scrapyard where you can get any old bits of iron for free," he said. "I know the owners, and they're really nice."
"Problem," Aisling said with a frown. "No one's going to let us go without an escort."
Shannon rolled his eyes. "I know that," he said. "We'll ask Ethan to come along."
Ethan didn't prove too amenable to the idea of sending a whole bunch of us into town when only one or two would do just as well - and since Shannon had suggested the idea, it therefore was the logical conclusion that he should go. The rest of us duly trooped into the forest under Samuel's watchful eye, and I couldn't help but shiver. Ever since hearing Aoife's and Aisling's stories about his brutality, I didn't want the man watching us, especially when he let his eyes wander over to the girls. Every so often one of them would flinch, and I frowned. It was clear he was abusing his power to dole out petty attacks when no slight had occured - but then again, Simon had left him and Ethan in charge, and they'd been told to use their discretion when it came to deciding if we'd done the wrong thing - even if we hadn't!
I decided to put the matter out of my mind, instead focusing on the task at hand. By the time Ethan and Samuel returned, we'd gathered more than enough wood to make some very substantial repairs. Even Ethan was impressed.
"You did good work," he remarked, as we began the trek back to the packhouse under the warm morning sun. "I'm actually impressed."
"They're not good," Samuel muttered. "They're bloody slackers. I had to wallop them a few times to get them to move."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe," he said.
Samuel rolled his eyes. "They put on a good act for you," he said. "When you're not around, they slack off. Someone has to keep them in line."
"Alright, I get the point," Ethan said, taking his turn to roll his eyes.
As we approached the packhouse, I took my courage in my hands. 'The girls were working hard,' I told Ethan, unable to believe I was actually confiding in a man I didn't like at all. 'Samuel decided to hit them on the backside a few times for no reason at all.'
Ethan gave no outward reaction to this news, but his mental response was swift. 'Show me,' he ordered.
I obediently sent the images of the forage to him, and though his face once more showed no expression, I felt annoyance boil over. 'He's an ass,' he said. 'I'm sorry that happened, omega. I'll make sure he knows about it.'
'Y-you won't tell him it was me?' I said, suddenly frightened.
Ethan turned to look at me, and I got the distinct impression he thought me a half-wit for asking such a question. 'You, Shannon, Barry, Robert, Siobhan and Esther are all under my protection,' he said. 'Yes, none of you have real reason to trust me, and I'm harsh with you if I have to. But I will never be harsh without cause. Nor will I betray your trust. Learn fast, omega. And be thankful Samuel is not the type of man to go prying in my mind. Now get going.'
I shivered, both relieved and a little frightened, and quickly hurried to catch up with the rest of my friends. I didn't dare say anything of my conversation with Ethan, but I felt better for having confided in him. That didn't mean I liked him, but at least I knew the type of man I was dealing with. And that made me feel a lot better.
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