The young Alpha looked from Rafe and me to Trevor and back in apparent confusion. He scented the air once. Twice.
"You're an Omega, too?"
Trevor nodded easily and sat down on the loveseat, leaving room between himself and Levi for Zade. He patted the cushions. "Sit down and talk with us?"
True to his Alpha status, Zade couldn't refuse an Omega's request so he settled down between them, dropping a proprietary palm on Levi's thigh that stayed there even as he faced Trevor and answered the questions he asked.
"I used to live here," Trevor began, "but I don't know you. When did you take over leadership of the pack?"
"Youbelonged to this pack?" Zade eyed him curiously.
Trevor nodded. "Cal sent me to the Omega auction a while back."
A sudden snarl reverberated through the room. I tensed, but Trevor just cocked his head.
"You were the pack Omega before the girl?"
"Christine?" Trevor asked. "Yes, I was."
Oddly, that information relaxed the young Alpha and he smiled warmly at my Omega. "The previous Alpha took the girl and the money from your sale and abandoned the pack. When I arrived here in search of a mate, the pack was falling apart."
Trevor's eyes widened, but he held his tongue and Zade continued.
"Instead of continuing to search for a mate, I settled here." The big man shrugged. "We've absorbed a couple of other small packs and some loners."
"The changes you've made are wonderful," Trevor complimented him sincerely. "I wasn't even sure I was in the right place when we arrived."
“All they needed was leadership.” Zade beamed at him. "Then you see that Levi will be happy here?"
Trevor smiled gently. "I'm certain that you would do your best to make him happy," he agreed. "Still, you know you can't force him to accept you, don't you?"
Zade's grin faltered and he looked past Trevor to Levi. "But you're mine."
Levi's panicked look had me starting forward until Trevor shook his head at me, warning me not to interfere. I stopped, reminded of the time he'd done the same thing with the dragon that landed in our field. Falk became an ally and a good friend, but the situation could have ended quite differently without Trevor's empathic skills.
"But Alpha," the elder that had greeted us outside spoke from where he had all but disappeared against the wall. "You already have an Omega!" He gestured to a bored-looking boy that didn't look quite old enough to be the Omega in question.
"Plot twist!" Rafe muttered behind me. The dirty look from the young Alpha assured me that Zade hadn't missed his smart-ass comment.
"Excuse me?" Levi's voice wavered slightly. "If you already have an Omega, why are you making me stay?"
"Making you stay?" Zade glossed over the first part and seemed genuinely hurt at Levi's words. He picked up one of Levi's hands and cradled it in his own. "You don't want to stay with me?"
Levi rolled his eyes and it was all I could do not to laugh. Gods save us from young, lovelorn Alphas.
"I think what he's trying to say, Zade," Trevor said softly, "is that he doesn't want to be forced into staying. Maybe if you took the time to get to know him, you two would hit it off. You know, court him?"
Zade looked back at Levi, his face hopeful. "Is that what you meant?"
"If you let me go home," Levi hesitated and then nodded slowly. "Unless you really do have an Omega."
"I don't," Zade assured him quickly. "The elders want me to claim Harley," he admitted, "but I wantyou." He buried his face in Levi's neck again, nuzzling him.
"Okay," Rafe cleared his voice and spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to where we stood. "Then we will return to Coruscation territory with the understanding that Zade is welcome to visit, is that it?"
Murmurs of general agreement filled the room and Rafe wasted no time in quickly ushering us out. After several more moments of pining and a long kiss that left Levi blushing a dark red, Zade lifted Levi onto the back of Whiner's bike,and we were southbound with the wind whistling past before Zade could change his mind.
ChapterFourteen
