Stefan frowns, clearly not following where Kade is going with this.
"I would have brought my men in to make sure the ranch ran smoothly while we were out of commission," Kade continues, his tone businesslike. "I had everything arranged so Solana could go through her heat without worrying about the outside world. But now I'll be asking you to help coordinate things instead."
"I can't be here while she's in heat," Stefan says immediately, his whole body going tense. "That's not... it wouldn't be appropriate."
I laugh, the sound coming out more bitter than I intend. "You already are here. Did you not catch how sweet she was this morning? How she insisted on making you and Ashton breakfast despite being in preheat? How she defended your right to stay when we tried to discuss logistics?"
Stefan's jaw clenches, his hands tightening around his whiskey glass. "Why the fuck are you guys okay with this? She's your Omega, going into heat, and you're just fine with me and Ashton being here? That's not normal. That's not how this is supposed to work."
Kade leans back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "Because it's her choice, not ours. And she explicitly told us that you were to stay. I can put aside my Alpha instincts to ensure that she's happy. Can you?"
The challenge hangs in the air. Stefan stares at Kade, something like understanding dawning in his eyes mixed with confusion and denial.
"So you don't want me here?" Stefan asks, his voice carefully neutral.
I lightly punch his arm, the gesture more affectionate than aggressive. "You're so fucking dense sometimes. Of course we want you here. You're my stepbrother. I've wanted you in my life, in my pack, for years. I'm just saying that things got a little more complicated because Solana isn't pushing you out."
Stefan opens his mouth but I keep talking, needing to get this out before he can deflect or change the subject.
"I tried kind of asking her about it this morning," I continue. "Mentioned how Omegas are usually territorial during preheat, how most wouldn't want other Alphas or Omegas around. She had no idea where I was going with it. Just said having you here feels right."
I pause, making sure Stefan is really hearing me. "However, I do know that if you just up and disappear after her heat, she'll think she did something wrong. That she somehow drove you away. We can have that conversation later with both Omegas present, but for right now, we have to focus on her heat. And you and Ashton."
"He'll heal," Stefan says, his tone dismissive.
Kade's expression sharpens. "Sure, but that's not what Dustin was talking about."
Stefan shifts uncomfortably in his chair, his injured leg clearly bothering him but his emotional discomfort probably worse. "He's not my Omega. I know you guys have your situation with Solana, but Ashton and I aren't like that. I work for his father. I'm supposed to protect him. That's all this is."
Kade lets out a low growl that makes the hair on my arms stand up. It's not threatening exactly, but it's definitely a warning. "Let's stop the bullshit. It's just the three of us in here, okay? There's no one to perform for, no one to convince. Just us."
He stands, moving around the desk to lean against it, closer to Stefan. "There's no doubt in my mind that Ashton is more than a job to you. Whether you take that step forward is your own choice, but don't motherfucking lie to me. That Omega is yours. Just like how I know, in some strange twisted way, Solana is too."
Heavy silence falls over the room as Stefan stares at Kade like he's just spoken a foreign language. I can see my brother processing, see the denial warring with something that might be hope or fear or both.
"She's..." Stefan starts, but seems unable to finish the sentence.
Kade crosses his arms over his chest, his posture radiating authority. "Solana smells like a whole fucking bouquet right now. She's unmated and days, maybe hours away from a heat. Any Alpha worth his salt would have had her plastered against the wall, ready to take her regardless of her choice."
Stefan's face flushes with anger. "I would never do that. She's your Omega. Yours and Dustin's. I would never—"
"Exactly," Kade interrupts, his voice sharp. "You would never. And that restraint, that control you're showing? That's not just good manners or respect for boundaries. That's biology."
A realization hits me suddenly, pieces clicking together in my mind. "You've mentioned a few times when Ashton was close to his heat, before he went away for them, that you were constantly picking off Alphas for trying to get with him. Said it was like they were drunk on his scent."
Stefan nods slowly, confusion flickering across his face at the apparent change in subject.
"Those Alphas lost control around Ashton because he wasn't theirs," I continue, the theory forming even as I speak it. "Because there was no bond, no claim, nothing telling their instincts to back off. But you never lost control. You protected him from others but never tried to claim him yourself."
"Because that would be wrong," Stefan says immediately. "He's my employer's son. He trusts me to keep him safe, not take advantage of him."
Kade's expression shifts into something that might be satisfaction. "If you were any other Alpha, I don't care how good your control is, you'd do the same to Solana that those other Alphas tried with Ashton. You'd be fighting me right now for access to her. You'd be challenging my claim, trying to assert your own."
Stefan opens his mouth to argue but Kade continues, his voice taking on that Alpha command that makes even me want to straighten up and listen.
"But you haven't," Kade states. "You haven't shown any possessiveness over Solana despite her being unmated and in preheat. You haven't challenged me or Dustin. You haven't tried to assert dominance or claim territory. Which means you're conceding to me as your Alpha. A biological impulse that you're not even aware of."
The words hit like a physical blow. I can see Stefan absorbing them, see his mind working through the implications. Pack dynamics aren't something you can fake or force. They happen on an instinctual level, driven by biology and compatibility and things we don't fully understand.
