It doesn’t feel like it’s cold, though. It just feels…paused. Like it’s waiting for something.
My fingers itch, and I squeeze them together as I follow Logan down the hall to the kitchen area.
My head swivels, taking in the bright, airy, full ofeverything-an-omega-could-wantkitchen. A huge wooden table with seats to spare sits in the middle, well-loved by the number of marks scuffing it.
God. The sheer perfection of this place is almost enough to finish me off.
Who the hell did I piss off in a previous life to deserve this?
Hey Sienna, we’re going to give you four absolutely gorgeous Soul Bonded who smell like the best type of snack. Then we’ll throw in your perfect home, tailor made and ready for you to put those omega skills to work that you’ve spent the last five years perfecting. Oops – forgot to say, none of it is real. Your Bonded will hate you and you won’t be able to stay. Actually, you might be forced to leave everything you’ve ever known and never talk to any of your family and friends again too. Sorry about that.
A throat clears and I tune back into the room, my cheeks flushing when I notice everyone staring at me. Alicia scowls, throwing herself down into a chair as the rest follow. When I hesitate, my eyes scanning the remaining seats, Grayson yanks out a seat for me with a slight huff.
“Sit,” he says abruptly, and I sink into the seat.
I glance around uneasily. Tristan gets up and brings some glasses to the table, sloshing dark liquid into them and passing them around. Alicia wrinkles her nose, and Tristan rolls his eyes before he leans back in his chair.
Tentatively, I sniff at the amber liquid and take a sip. It burns, my eyes watering as I choke out a cough. I take a second to get over the taste before I finish the rest in one, placing my glass slowly back on the table and swiveling to meet Tristan’s slightly widened eyes.
Pressing my lips together, I stare down at the empty glass.
Someone coughs. “Sienna?”
Sucking in a breath, I steel myself and look up. “Yes?”
Tristan’s eyes bore into me, that forest green flecked with gold close up. They don’t give away any secrets though.
“I’m sure you’re wondering what’s going on here,” he offers, and I nod, slowly.
“You could say that. Today wasn’t exactly… what I expected.”
“And what did you expect?” Grayson interjects, scowling when I look at him. “A pack of alphas, just waiting to fall at your feet?”
My mouth falls open as Alicia snorts. “Are you kidding me?”
Grayson leans back in his seat, his arms crossed. “In case it wasn’t blindingly obvious by today’s events, we don’t want you here.”
The barb hits home, my flinch obvious. Tristan holds up his hands. “Let’s just take a second—”
“I don’t understand,” I blurt out. “You entered the Trials. Nobody forced you into it. So why say you don’t want it? Why say Ipassed?”
“Because you did. Technically,” a low voice sounds. Logan leans forward, his golden hair falling around his fix as he fixes me with an expressionless stare. “But it won’t last forever. It’s not the Trials that’s the issue here. We just don’t wantyou.”
The atmosphere ratchets up a notch as I sink back in my seat, Logan’s words burrowing into my chest like arrows.So much for my Soul Bonded.
They obviously don’t feel the same pull as I do, the pain in my chest at the distance between us a background hum to our discussion.
Maybe we’re not really Soul Bonded. But Jax – he definitely didn’t act like this when we met at the club. I look towards him with a hint of desperation. “Jax?”
He doesn’t even look up, his focus entirely on the amber liquid circling around his glass. “Agreed.”
My small whimper is drowned out by Alicia’s cackle. “Oh, this is just too good.”
Rising from her seat, she slides onto Tristan’s lap. His arm lifts to wrap around her stomach as she smiles lazily at me.
“Give it up, little omega,” she purrs. “You’re not trapping them. This pack is mine.”
Agony sears my throat, the burning making it hard to force out the words. “Why didn’t you stop this at the Trial? This could have beendone. Why make me come here?”
