“I’m afraid so. I’m so sorry, love. We could make an excuse and stay home, but they’d no doubt find a reason to come and visit. At least this way we have some control over the environment.”
He shouts for Devlin and Gabe to come up as my mind twirls. A public event. With OC board members. I breathe in and out slowly.You survived seven years, I remind myself. One night is nothing in comparison.
And I’ll have the pack with me. “You’ll stay with me?” I ask Rogue. Uncertainty leaks into my tone. I can do this, as long as they’re with me.
He opens his arms, a silent question in his eyes. I clamber off Ace, who relinquishes his grip with a rumble of disappointment, but he doesn’t say anything as I move across to Rogue. I wrap myself around him, sliding my hand into the open v of his shirt. He purrs softly.
“I won’t leave you for a second,” he promises.
“None of us will,” Gabe declares firmly as he wanders in. “What’s all this about?”
Devlin follows in behind him and snarls as Rogue starts to explain.
“Absolutely not.” He crosses his arms as my brows raise. Catching my eye, he explains, “It’s a bad idea. These events are awful, princess. And I don’t mean the shit food.”
“Devlin is right, love,” Rogue rumbles into my ear. “These people are not the type to forgive and forget if anything goes wrong.”
They’re all stressing, tension pulling around me like a scratch I need to itch. The feeling presses down on me, and I can’t take it. I climb off Rogue’s lap and turn to face them all, crossing my arms. They all look taken aback.
“How long was I at the compound?” I demand.
They trade uneasy glances, clearly picking up on my irritation.
“Seven years,” Gabe offers hesitantly.
I point at him. “Right. Seven years. That means that I spent the best part ofseven yearson my knees for alphas.” Four furious growls echo and my instincts scream at me to fall back, but I push back and straighten my spine.
“You’ve all been so good to me,” I say quietly, searching for the words to help them understand. They all focus on me intently. It’s a little overwhelming, actually. I try hard not to squirm. If they scent me then it’ll throw my speech off.
“But,” I say quietly. “You need to remember that I’ve been an omega since I was fourteen years old. I have beenthissince I wasfourteen. That means that anything I need to do for one single evening is nothing that I haven’t had to do a thousand times before.”
Devlin leans forward, his brows creased in agitation and his russet hair falling into his face. He pushes it back carelessly.
“Princess, nobody is debating that. I saw you at the compound. I saw a little of what you had to deal with. I just don’t think you should have to put up with that shit, even if it is just for one night.”
“But it’s not just for one night,” Gabe interjects sadly, and my shoulders slump as he nods. Gabe gets it.
“No,” I say quietly. “It’s not.”
The others look confused. Looking exasperated, Gabe snaps.
“Are we keeping Harper locked up here forever, then? Because at some point, we’re going to need to leave the house. She’s right – the location doesn’t matter. This was always going to happen eventually.”
“But the board—,” Devlin interjects.
“The board will see a perfectly submissive omega. We will go to the gala, we’ll stay as long as we need and then we’ll come home. And you will stay with me. You will standnextto me. Because you won’t be able to stand in front of me. Not for this.”
My voice drops, but I remain firm. “I can do this, Devlin.”
I look Devlin square in his beautiful dark brown eyes. My body is pushing me to drop, to submit. His dominance is pulsing out of him strongly with his agitation and I bite back a whimper.
Devlin takes a step forward and grabs my face between his hands. Pulling me in, he takes my mouth in a rough kiss, drawing a sigh from my throat.
He pulls away from me, resting his head against mine.
“I was wrong,” he whispers. “You’re not a princess after all. You’re a fuckingqueen.”
His words stab at my heart, flooding me with feelings.
