The next thing I knew, her hand was around my throat, and I was clawing at her, barking, growling as the heavy scent of peppercorn hit me. I thought she was supposed to smell sweet, but the sudden scent made me think of Olly and his words that night she’d evaded us.
He smelled cinnamon and peppercorn, while Gage and Diego didn’t. I’d passed it off because I wasn’t there, so I couldn’t really say what the damn omega smelled like, and Olly is…Well, he’s fucking Olly, nothing he says ever makes a lick of sense to me.
And then the very thought of Olly spurred that memory.
Just the thought of what I’d witnessed—fucking Olivander Montgomery, resident pain in my ass and nerd extraordinaire, waskissingAuryn.
Something in me broke at the sight, and I’m not all that sure I know what or how to repair the damage.
Fucking Olly….
I bristle in Gage’s hold, the memory resurfacing and angering me all over again. I push against Gage, and he falls back for a moment, surprise in his gaze.
“And Olly thinks he’s the only one who’s fucking objective around here,” I bite out. I lunge for Gage. “She’s got you all fucking poisoned, doesn’t she?” Anger swelters inside of me, boiling like an abandoned pot on the stove as I take a step toward him, balling my fist. I catch his sideways glance to the mirror before he looks back at me, but I can’t see anything else at the moment but red.
“What, did she fucking kiss you, too? Like she kissedOlly?”
Gage raises an eyebrow at me before glancing back at the two-way mirror and adjusting his cock, which is when I notice the sizable bulge there.
Something about that also feels…unsettling, but…
Unsettling in the way I feel around Auryn, which is…
My own cock twitches, and I have to ignore adjusting myself, because that’s not…
I’m just stressed, obviously. Auryn’s got me all sorts of fucking crazy.
Damn omegas.
Though I know deep down no omega has ever infuriated me the way she does, and that’s saying something.
I’ve been a part of this pack for years. Rescued plenty of marks, good and bad.
But no one gets under my skin quite like Auryn, that’s for sure.
“No,” Gage says as I make my way up to him. He stands tall, taller than me, in front of the two-way glass, and I have the strangest inkling to look, but a sense of self-preservation tells me not to.
Because deep down, I know I won’t like what I see. Call it a sixth sense, or a hunch, or instinct or whatever, but I canfeelit. Like ominous foreshadowing. If I look, I will never recover.
Because I know Olly isn’t the only one of us she likes.
And right now, he’s on duty, and—
Gage clears his throat, tearing his eyes away from the two way as he steps up to me, pinning me with nothing but his gaze. Fury bounds within me like a ricocheting pinball. All I want is to not feel like this.Caged.
I know punching Gage won’t solve anything. Yelling, screaming, none of it will do a lick of good. I need to let go of this anger, of this pain, but I don’t know how.
And everyone around me seems more than hellbent on just…
“Is that why you’re being such a fucking toddler, Emmett?” Gage nips.
“I’m not—”
Gage grabs me by the throat once more and shoves me against the two-way, flipping us so his body is pressed against my back, and I have no escape. I wriggle and move, turning my head, because I don’t want to look. I can’t.
“Because you’re jealous?”
“I’m not fucking jealous of Olly,” I snap. “Or you, or—”
