But this is different.Sheis different.
From the moment I first caught sight of her, something about Holly pulled at me in ways I couldn’t explain, before it even occurred to me that she could be an omega. I’ve spent years carefully constructing walls between myself and the world. One small woman shouldn’t be able to breach them so easily.
Yet here I am, every sense trained on her like a predator tracking prey, while my closest friends remain seemingly oblivious to my struggle.
“Another round?” Kai asks, already racking the balls.
Noah checks his watch. “One more. Then I should check on Holly again.”
The mention of her name coincides with another sound from beyond the wall—a soft, broken moan that sends a bolt of pure desire straight through me. My nails dig into my palms hard enough to draw blood.
“You sure you’re okay over there, man?” Noah asks, his clinical gaze assessing me from across the room. “Your pupils are dilated.”
I force myself to shrug. “Fine.”
“Right,” Noah says, clearly unconvinced. “Your turn to break.”
I push myself to my feet, intending to approach the pool table, when I hear it—a single word, breathed so softly that only someone with my hearing would catch it through the wall.
“Alpha.”
Everything in me goes still, then surges with a primitive response so powerful it nearly drives me to my knees. Before I can think, I’m moving toward the door, driven by an instinct older than civilization.
“Where are you going?” Noah asks, casually stepping into my path.
I stop, reality crashing back. WhatamI doing? We promised her safety. Autonomy. Respect.
“Beer,” I grunt, the word scraping past my tight throat. “Going to the garage fridge.”
Noah’s eyes narrow slightly. He knows me too well to be easily fooled, but after a moment, he steps aside. “Bring that Belgian ale if there’s any left.”
I nod once, sharply, and exit the game room. The hallway stretches before me, and I deliberately turn left, away from Holly’s room, toward the garage. Each step feels like moving through quicksand, my body fighting my mind’s commands.
I make it all the way to the garage door before I stop, my hand on the knob, listening. I hear Noah and Kai resume their game, their voices muffled by distance. No one is watching.
Before I can reconsider, I double back, moving silently down the hall toward Holly’s room. Just to check, I tell myself. Just to make sure she’s okay. If her door is locked—as it should be—I’ll walk away.
I reach her door and pause, listening. Her breathing is ragged now, punctuated by small sounds of frustration. She’s in distress. That’s why I’m here. To help. To protect.
The lies I tell myself are flimsy even to my own ears.
My hand closes around the doorknob. I’ll test it. If it’s locked, I’ll go. Simple.
But the knob turns easily under my grip.
Because she didn’t lock it.
A thousand possibilities flash through my mind. Maybe she forgot. Maybe the lock is broken.
But maybe—on some level that is so deep she doesn’t even know it’s there—she wants someone to come in.
Before I can decide what to do with this information, my body makes the choice for me. The door swings open, and I step into the room.
Her scent hits me first—still diluted by whatever chemical cocktail she drowned her true self with, but more than enough to make me stagger. Fresh linen hung in the mountain breeze.
My nostrils flare behind my bandana, drinking in her essence, cataloging every note of her unique chemical signature.
Mine.
