He stared at me, looking like he was at a complete loss for words. Unfortunately, he collected himself pretty damn quick. “So you wouldn’t try to cleave the packs and form a new one? Or put them into a bidding war to have you?”
What the actual fuck?
“Listen, I don’t know if you’ve been through some shit, but those are plot lines for movies, not real life.” I poked a finger at Parker’s chest. “You can think what you want about me because I know who I am. The truth is that every word out of your mouth today has been pretty fucked up. You should probably go to therapy about it, and I’m not being facetious or bitchy when I say that. If that’s where your brain goes because an omega is sleeping with your pack, it sounds like you have some stuff to work through.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Ithashappened in real life. Not to me, but you would be surprised what goes on in wealthy circles.”
“If rich assholes are so worried about someone coming after their precious dollars, they could always give away all their wealth to those who need it so they’re not attracting people who would do shit like that.”
That got him back into fish mode, and it took him a little longer to recover this time. “What—How would that help? Why would we?—”
“If all someone has to offer is money, that’s all people are going to ask of them. The very fact that your friends, assuming we’re calling them that, were willing to enter a bidding war for an omega tells meexactlywhat they think of us. That also tells me they’re not very good people, and I bet you the fact that she was willing to entertain a bidding war with packs of millionairesmeans that they weren’t offering anythingexceptmoney. Why shouldn’t she take the best offer if that’s all they’re going to give her? I bet if one of those packs had been interested in their omega’s humanity, she’d have picked them in a heartbeat.”
“But…”
He was struggling to respond, but I was on a roll and refused to let him continue spewing the bullshit that had clearly infected his rich-boy mind.
“Uh, hey.” Avery appeared, his hair rumpled from our earlier activities, but his curls were just as charming as before. He glanced between the two of us, quickly picking up on the hostile vibe. “Parker, what’s going on?”
“She’s working her way through our pack, and I don’t trust her motivations.”
“Dude, what the fuck?” Logan asked, coming around the corner looking freshly showered and scrumptious.
“She’s going through the pack because there’schemistrybetween us, numbnuts,” Avery said, like it was the most obvious thing ever. He stared Parker down, hands on his hips. “You know, after all your fancy education, I didn’t think I would have to explain the alpha and omega birds and bees to you.”
“Thewhat?” Parker asked, stunned again.
I watched them bicker, content to observe for the moment and wait for an opportunity to slip away. I hadn’t slept nearly enough for this nonsense so soon after waking up.
“Well”—Avery’s voice took on a playful and almost condescending tone—“when an alpha and omega get a whiff of each other and really,reallylike it, there’s a good chance that alpha’s pack mates arealsogoing to really like it because they’re a pack…you know?”
Parker glowered at him.
“I get that you mean well, but back off, man,” Logan said, stepping between Parker and me. “You’re ruining a damn good morning.”
“You guys need protecting from yourselves!” Parker shouted. “She could be trying to take everything. You can’t possibly trust her.”
I tried for a couple of steps toward the exit, but Avery’s hand rested on my lower back in a comforting gesture.
“Parker, you’re being an asshole,” Logan growled.
“I’m no?—”
“You can’t just accuse my angel of being a gold digger,” Avery said, cutting Parker off.
I turned to Parker. While the little pack reunion was nice and all, I wanted to get my ass home and away from all this sexy, overwhelming testosterone.
“We know exactly what this kind of omega does,” Parker continued, heedless of the murderous looks his pack mates were shooting him. “We’ve seen what happens.”
“Drop it,” Avery warned. “That was literallyonetime and the pack involved were a bunch of dicks.”
“I’m dropping nothing!” Parker shouted, gesturing wildly between us. “I amnotgoing to stand by and let you risk everything we’ve built so you can get laid! She slept with three-quarters of our pack, and it’s only a matter of time before she goes after?—”
My hand whipped out practically of its own volition, landing hard on Parker’s cheek. I shouldn’t have done it, but I didn’t have it in me to care at the moment. “Fuck you, Parker.”
“Nice job!” one of the guys—I couldn’t tell which—called behind me.
“I’m not going to apologize for protecting my pack when they’re clearly hypnotized by omega puss?—”
