“But you’re our scent match.” Atlas is a sweet man, but I do wonder whether you could hear his brain cell rattling if he knocks his head. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Pretty girl,” Clay steps in, a voice of reason as he sets his plate on the table, “Whatever ideas you have about packs, or Alphas from the asshole you call a father—you leave them all at the door out there, you hear me?” She nods at him, her scent souring at his tone, “Now listen here. We don’t want to imprison you. An Omega is a goddamn gift to a pack, and a scent match even more. The goddess must have been smiling down on us when you walked your pretty little behind into the bar last week and nearly had Fury begging on his knees to bring you home there and then.”
Submissive, she dips her chin, looking away even as a smile cracks out. My cat purrs in delight, wondering if we could get that same response, but I smother him, reminding him of the pain and worry. Maybe this time…No,I can’t put myself through it again, and it might truly kill me to lose a scent match.
“You want to lie about all day like a pampered pup in the nest? That’s fine,” He raises a hand to her sound of annoyance, “You want to travel the world and eat weird fish soup in Iceland, or go snorkeling in the Bahamas? I’m sure at least one of us will be up for a holiday, though leave me out of any fish soup trips. And if you want to get us all lovin’ you, then break our hearts at the end of the month? Sure. Though I’d really rather you didn’t do that, darlin’,” he winks, his thicker accent pulling through.
Bile rises in my throat, and I stand abruptly, nearly dropping my food, “I’m going to eat in the sunroom.”
“Luc, c’mon, dude,” Atlas tugs at my pants, and I scowl, batting his hand away, “She’s yours as much as the rest of us.”
“That’s the problem!” I finally explode. The outburst feels good, my melting pot of emotions bubbling over, and Atlas shrinks away from me. It hurts to see that my claws have nicked his hand, blood trickling as he holds it. “Caralho!She’s been here not even two hours, and you’re all falling already. Can’t you see how dangerous this is? She’s already run once. Who willpick up the pieces when she leaves? When she rejects the bonds? What happens if she runs into Brynn on one of her escapades? It’ll be us. We’ll all have to tape together the pieces of our shattered souls, and I… I can’t do it again.”
“Sit.” For the third time tonight, my Cardinal barks an order at me, and I sit down so fast that hot pasta tips across my belly, ruining my shirt and burning. Fury glares for a minute, and I know he’s punishing me with it before Clay tosses me his shirt, leaving him bare-chested and pulling a blanket up over himself instead.
Fury turns to her, a wicked glint in his blue gaze, “Do you want to know what it’s like to be with us?” Fear strikes through the woman, ducking into herself again. Softening, Fury reaches out with a large hand, “You can say stop at any point, and I promise we’ll listen. We don’t want you here just to lock you up and abuse you, Firecracker. We want our Omega to hold her own, to fire right back; we want to give her the world. Will you let me give you just a taste of it?”
Watching her pull herself together is like one of those satisfying time-lapse jigsaw building videos. I can see the exact moment that she thinks about his words, and when she decides to pull herself together, she lets the blanket drop ever so slightly and reveals a chest I could suffocate in.
“Okay… Show me.”
Skye
Fury’s hand is warm in mine, his long fingers calloused and rough from his job. I don’t trust them, I barely know them. Even with my Omega rattling in her cage and demanding that they’re our soulmates and that we are desperate for a pack, I can’t risk it.How did my mother deal with this for so many years?I wonder if her Omega cried out for the contact, the need to pull them towards us, and be touched. Instincts are wild things, and it’s ridiculous how willing mine are to pull me towards these strangers.
I expect them to pull me from the couch, to do…Something. But instead, Fury holds my hand and gestures with the other like he’s a king summoning part of his court. Atlas is on his feet in a flash, a startled yelp escaping at his suddenly towering form. Ducking his head, he looks away, showing a submissiveness that I never expected from such a massive Alpha.
“Crawl.” Fury’s command isn’t a bark this time, far from the demand that shot Lucas back down onto the sofa. Like a puppet with the strings cut, Atlas drops to the floor.Holy… Fuck…I want to say I’m unmoved, still concerned about how Alphas treat Omegas, but the way those colossal shoulders swing as he crawls to me. The way the muscles in his thighs and ass flex is like absolute art. Clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks that because Clay gives an appreciative whistle and Teddy nods inagreement as they stare at their pack mates’ rear. Though Lucas grumbles.
“I am trying to eat. I don’t need your asshole in my face,carzino.” The jaguar snaps, thudding his foot against Atlas’ thigh, but the Alpha keeps coming, eyes locked on the carpet. At my feet, he stops, lifting onto his knees, keeping his hands firmly pressed to his thighs. I look to Fury, who nods approvingly and clutches my hand.
“Touch him,” He says calmly, “Omegas need to touch, and I think you need to realize how badly you need this. So touch him, wherever you want. He won’t do a thing in return unless you ask. Pet him, poke him, scratch him, bite him, he’s at your command.”
That is… A lot of power to give me.
The first touches are tentative, fingertips brushing the soft sandy hair on top. Longer there, then fading as it goes down, it suits the giant in front of me and gives him a sort of edgy-punk look. His chest compresses deeply as he breaths all the tension from his body, trembling to stay still and not lean into my petting hands. Scratching down his neck, I can’t help but smile at the quiet, contented sigh escaping him and his eyes shutting. Maybe I could take this chance, get to know them a little.
“Take your time, Omega. Why don’t you want to eat?” Fury purrs, scooping a little of everything onto my plate and letting go of my hand to replace his with a fork, “Keep petting Atlas, too, or don’t.”
Wetness gathers in my eyes, and I gulp down the lump in my throat.Who is this emotional Omega who’s petting a whole, massive Alpha in front of her, and being handed all sorts of Italian food on a plate to pick at?Fisting the locks in my hand, I tug on them. Atlas looks up, pure worship in his stormy eyes, as though he’d lick the dirt from my feet if I only asked him, but he’s my rock as I talk to the other men around me, “I’m notyour average Omega, obviously.” There's a ripple of amusement around the room that makes me want to pout, “I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that I’m… Not skinny, or at least, I’m way fluffier than an Omega usually is.” Understatement of the century. Omegas are supposed to be curvy, to have‘good birthing hips’and all that shit, but I took it a little further. The blanket wasn’t just to hide my nudity, but the way my boobs sagged across my chest when I sat, how the rolls of my belly gathered. I’d been told enough as a teen how unattractive it was, and my father kept the snide comments through the years about how hard it would be to find Alphas who wanted me. It took a few times of sneaking out to parties before it sank in that he was at least partly right.
“More cushion for the pushin’,” Clay snorts, giving Theo an affectionate squeeze. The Beta isn’t in peak fitness like the other Alphas, and Clay is particularly soft around his middle as well. I wonder if they’re as conscious of it as I am. His expression dulling tells me that he is. He has such an expressive face, stubble lining his jaw, and it changes to appreciation as he leans up to kiss the Alpha on the cheek.
The comment makes me laugh at him; it’s not something I’ve heard before, “I was on some pretty strict meal plans at home and in the facility… So I’m not used to my meals really being anything but plain brown stuff. This looks luxury and I’m not entirely sure what I’ll like and if I’ll waste it.” Nevertheless, I try a bit of the lasagna, unable to hold back the long groans that escape as cheese and beef hit my taste buds. Throats clear around the room, and I glance around to see them adjusting themselves, tugging at zippers or pulling pillows over their crotches.
“Pfft, subtle,” I giggle, and at once feel so much lighter. Isthis really what pack life would be like?Nights on the sofa, eating dinner together, whilst we talk nonsense to each other, doesn’tseem so bad at all. My hand clenches in Atlas’ hair again, and I card my fingers through the locks, looking down at him, “You’re really pretty, you know that?”
Atlas’s face scrunches, looking thoughtfully confused for a moment before answering, “Can’t say I’ve been called pretty before, and I’ve been called a lot of things. Atty, handsome, there was that one Beta that called me God—“
“Atlas!” Echoing raucous laughter around the room takes me with it, curling over my aching belly and nearly snorting my next forkful of food, seeing the poor Alpha look around innocently at what he’s done to deserve the berating. Too precious for this world.
With a few more bites, I settle into the easy conversation that passes around the room. Lucas is tense, glowering at his plate between mouthfuls, dropping loaded looks at Atlas, though I can’t work out what’s going on in his mind. He seems angry, but not at anything or anyone in particular. This is nowhere near what my father had described packs as—animals all lusting after their Omega, with any excuse to mount them—and definitely nowhere near some of the monstrous stories I’d heard from other Omegas at the auctions. Some of them had returned with bandages around their throats and wrists, where Alphas had broken contract and torn into them. This, this is closer to a family like my grandmother taught me.
“How did you all meet?” I don’t direct it to anyone in particular, and Atty picks up the conversation.
“Clay and I run the activities center down the road,” Atlas says, resting his head on my leg after asking permission so sweetly, and my fingers migrate to scratch through his beard. His purr rumbles through my leg, pressed against his chest. We are still ignoring the persistent erection that is occasionally tapping against his stomach, demanding attention. This is really nice. Just feeling the warmth against me settles my Omegaand wolf, both resting easily and comfortably when I should be panicking about having my legs pinned, “I run the ground stuff with the younger kids, Clay does the rope work and zip lines, and we have staff too.”
Clay’s nodding along, “We bought the place after we joined the pack, would you believe I found this idiot wandering alone out in the wilderness by himself? He was in his wolf form, then shifted back to ask me for directions, which nearly scared me out of my mind. Went to a cafe for lunch after I put him in my spares, we met Luc on his work break, and knew we were pack, the rest is history.”
