“Well, I’m not sure,” I remark, choosing my words carefully. “We wanted a functional omega. The water torture may have been a tad overkill.”
Jason opens his mouth to respond, a sour look on his face, but I cut him off.
“Nevertheless, she’s obedient and well-behaved. We’re quite pleased.”
Jason nods, his eyes still on Harper. There’s a glint in his eye that I don’t like. What’s this fucker’s angle?
“You won’t mind if I just check, will you? Professional pride and all that.”
The fuck? Before I can respond, he snaps a word and our whole plan falls completely to shit.
“Present,” he snaps, and Harper’s fear rips into our pack like a bomb.
I’m too shocked to stop Devlin as he flies out of his seat, his fist landing in Jason’s face. Screams and shouts ring out from across the ballroom as they both fly back, crashing into another table and sending glass and tableware flying. Devlin rips Jason off and drags him to the floor, locking his hands around Jason’s neck as he wheezes.
“Ours,” Devlin snarls. Ace throws himself across to rip Devlin away, my hands tied with Harper at my side. I entangle my hands quickly, passing the leash to Gabe and diving into the melee.
Fuck, this is bad. Everybody is watching us make a show over our omega. This is attention we absolutely didn’t need.
Grabbing Devlin by the hair, I twist to pull him away. He turns on me, snarling, but I push a wave of dominance down the bond and meet his eyes steadily at the same time.
“Submit,” I order, my voice a whip. Dev fights it for a moment before he sags, showing me his throat. I can feel him shaking, realization setting in. I’m not entirely sure it’s his fault though. We’ve all been feeling on edge thanks to the mating bond.
Jason wheezes out a laugh as he crawls away.
“Interesting response to your omega. Been getting a little closer than you should have been?” His words are taunting, and I grab Devlin’s chin, keeping his eyes on me as tension ripples through him. I force down the urge to rip that fucker’s head off.
I have to stay calm.
Turning, I fix my gaze on Jason, raising my voice so the tables around us can hear. Damage control.
“You taunt a dominant alpha, you deserve everything you get.”
Jason splutters, but there are a few agreeing nods from around us. More than one table is watching us with pursed lips and suspicion though.
Turning to check on Harper, I see Gabe standing in a defensive position, with the leash dangling loosely from his hand. I follow his eyes down, and my heart breaks. I want to turn around and let Devlin loose, join with him in ripping Jason to pieces so no part of him can touch our girl again.
Harper’s face is pressed into the ground, her elegant hair tumbling loosely from its position, flowers scattered on the ground. Her arms are stretched out in front of her, white knuckles clutching at the carpet, and her ass is up as she presents herself exactly how Jason demanded. The fear running through her makes her tremble, the echo running through her whole body. Her scent hits me like a hammer, and I curse, my steps faltering as I try to reach her. It’s so strong that alphas are circling, sniffing hungrily at the air.
A dangerous tension crackles, the threat of alphas who want torut.
Her scent is spiking, sharp waves of cinnamon and orange sweeping over us. My heart climbs up my throat as she whines, the sound low, pained and needing.
It’s a fucking heat spike, just like Ezra warned us.
We have to leave.Now.
I keep a tight hold on Devlin, dragging him over to them, Ace following behind. Growls ripple as they both catch the full impact of Harper’s spike, and Devlin darts ahead of me, trying to get past Gabe as he nudges Harper behind him. Devlin isn’t acting rationally right now.
“Enough,” I hiss as I reach them. Gabe looks lust-drunk but steady enough, and I motion for him to stay close to Harper. Grabbing Devlin by the shoulders, I redirect him to face the silent room, full of alphas inching closer to us with lust in their eyes.
“Clear a path,” I say urgently. The haze seems to clear as he shakes himself free, jaw clenching as he takes in the danger we’re in with a nod.
With Devlin making space, I try to get Gabe and Harper moving, keeping my hands free in case we need to fight. Gabe gently tugs on the leash, but Harper doesn’t move. Her fear has her frozen to the ground, and the rippling need of her scent is growing by the second.
“Omega,” I bark, hating that I have to use it. Her spine straightens with a snap and I scent arousal trickling from her as she whines.
“Follow Gabe.”
