“Tomorrow, we need to talk about this new accountant Alpha that you met in the staff gardens.” He is suddenly serious, and it catches me off-guard. “Did you wish on a shooting star for a gorgeous male omega and Alpha? Or did you put a new pack on your list to Santa this year? I guess that I should know. I thoughtthat the Idol Beta, Immortal, was top of your list. He’s been on mine too for years.”
“What was top of yours? A stapler.”
“I like to think big. A filing cabinet.”
There is something off about the way that he eases back from me, however, avoiding my eye.
I reach out to touch Icarus’ cheek. “Are you okay? About them being my soulmate and scent match? It doesn’t mean that what we have means any less. You’d be the Chief Alpha in any pack.”
He crosses his arms. “Of course I would. Grace, you deserve only the best things in this world. You deserve everything that I wish I could give you but can’t. This other Omega and Alpha being soulmate and scent match are the best Christmas present for you that I can imagine. Your happiness is all that I’ve ever craved. Also, if they’re as cute and fuckable as you say, then they’re just as much a gift for me. I can’t wait to court them.”
He gives a sharp grin that makes me realize that mafia background or not, Lionzio had better watch out. He is not going to be the dominant Alpha when Icarus is in the room.
And I can vouch that he will love every second of it.
“We need to be careful, however,” Icarus adds. “They’re new to this hotel. We’ve grown up in Haven and understand how it works here, but they don’t. They won’t understand the risks or how careful we will need to be about hiding ourinvolvement. We can’t trust them with our secrets. Look, we’ve been best friends for years. We know what the stakes are. So, let’s court these new men together, but at the same time, protect the rest of the Sinner pack.”
I nod. “The heist comes first.”
It hurts to say that.
But the heist means escape. Safety.Freedom.
I can’t put my own search for love and pack bonds before justice for everyone in the hotel.
Yet can I find a way to have both?
Icarus twists to lean next to me on the hard concrete. “Funny, for all these years, you only needed me. Now, suddenly within a few days like you really did have a Christmas wish answered, you have two new men to unwrap as gifts. And it’s not even Christmas Day yet.”
I turn to study him. “You are jealous.”
He sighs, pushing his hat out of his eyes. “It’s not that. It’s just that deep down I always knew that I wouldn’t be good enough for you. What have I got to offer? I’m poor. The money that I earn goes on supporting my brother and Zoe. I’m trapped here. I have a pack of one hundred. And I don’t care about that Rej bracelet around your wrist, you’re really this educated, elite. A Frost.I’m not your scent match.”
Furious, I spin and pin him against the wall.
Icarus’ eyes widen in surprise.
“Listen,” my eyes blaze, “more than anyone, I understand what it feels like to be made to feel lesser and not worthy because you’re not someone’s scent match. To be rejected and abandoned because of it. Did you really think that I would do the same to you?”
I kiss him, punishingly.
When I pull back, we are both breathing hard.
“I hoped that you wouldn’t,” Icarus admits quietly. “But finding a scent match is a powerful thing, and the Alpha may not want me as part of their pack. I would never put you in the position of having to choose. How can I compete, since they have so much more to offer?”
“We may not be bonded,” the words burst from me as if from my soul, startling both of us, “but you’re my Alpha.”
Icarus looks vulnerable in a rare way.
I’ve never openly called Icarusmy Alphabefore.
“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.” He’s breathing hard. “It would break me.”
“My Alpha,” I repeat. “And I’m your Omega.”
“Finally.” Icarus breathes out like he’s been holding his breath for years. “My Omega.”
He lays his teeth on my neck over the scent gland where he would bite if he was bonding me. He lightly nips the skin, and I shiver.
