“Why are you calling, then? Must be serious.”
I needed him to confirm what I already suspected. “After you bonded with Chels, did you ever notice her energy boosting your alpha dominance or strength?”
Soren fell silent, and I knew I’d taken him by surprise. “Honestly, no,” he finally said. “But we’re not a complete quintet, so there’s a possibility that could change.”
No doubt Soren would have told me if he noticed a boost after they bonded; he wasn’t known for keeping secrets. But with him, there was always a chance he just hadn’t bothered to pay attention.
Curiosity entered his tone. “Have you had a power increase with Emmeline?”
Annoyance filled me, but I couldn’t rip his head off just because he’d guessed theobviousreason for my question. “You know we’re not bonded. There’s been no change, except she’s living under our roof to keep her safe.”
“And you’re no closer to figuring out why she’s so against joining your pack? With scent matches, her wolf should be driving her forward. It’s fate and instinct.”
Normally he’d be right, but Emmeline was an omega. Her ability to fight her base instincts was stronger than ours would ever be.
“We know very little about her. She’s afraid of us for some reason, mostly in regard to forming a complete bond. None of us are pushing, of course, but Kellan’s working his usual magic by winning her over with charm.”
Soren hooted with laughter, and whatever tension had lingered after my question was broken. “He’s the only one of you assholes with a chance if that’s the play.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I’d also seen the fragments of Emme’s broken soul, and a part of me wondered if she might not need more than Kellan’s sunshine to sustain her. She’d craved the submission my wolf demanded. Falling right under my command, even as an omega.
Soren’s game picked up in the background, and he was distracted for the rest of the call. “We’ll be at the track tomorrow. Oh fuck. You asshole.” He cursed out his teammate again. “Then family bonfire night. I’d only miss that if I was dead.”
“You’dbedeadifyou missed it. It’s mandatory.”
Soren’s good-natured laughter reminded me of the good and bad years of our childhood. “Yes, Daddy Alpha,” he drawled down the line.
A growl ripped from me. “Don’t fucking start. It’s bad enough that I can’t get Kellan to stop calling me that.”
All I got in response was more laughter. “You can try this thing where you don’t boss everyone around. It does wonders to ease up on the dad vibe.”
Dad vibe.The fucking irony when the father figure in my life was one evil sonofabitch. I decided long ago, right after I changed my name, that I’d never carry on his legacy with children.Daddy Alphawas as close as I’d ever get to being a father.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I kept my tone light, even as my thoughts grew darker. “See you at the track, brother. Don’t stay up all night shooting noobs.”
“All I’ve got is noobs,” he mumbled. “I’ll rage quit soon if these assholes don’t pull their weight.” The line went dead.
I pulled into my street, and relief hit me when I saw Kellan’s Bugatti just up ahead. He wouldn’t be here unless Emme was finished and safely home from her shift, which allowed me to stop stressing about her being out of my sight.
The fact that I couldn’t just drop everything and follow her around, keeping her safe, bothered me more than it should.
After ensuring the security gates were closed behind me, I followed the other car along our dark street. None of our family members were night owls; the only lights still on were from our house.
Kellan pulled into his spot slowly, and I wasn’t worried until he opened Emme’s door and leaned down into the vehicle. I made it across the garage in ten steps. “What’s wrong?”
Kellan’s torso emerged with a sleeping omega in his arms, and unable to help himself he drew her close and breathed deeply. “She’s just exhausted, Hunt. I don’t think she’s sleeping that well, and new jobs are stressful. But she did amazing tonight. There were no incidents, everyone was nice to her.Actually, a few were a little too nice, but I set those dumbasses straight.”
My back teeth clanked as I ground them together, an annoyed growl rumbling from my chest. “Give me their names and I’ll deal with them.”
Kellan’s low burst of amusement was fucking annoying. “You can’t kill them. Trust me, if there’d been anything inappropriate, I’d have killed them and we’d be figuring out how to ditch a car with five bodies in the trunk.”
Five.My wolf howled as rage rose until my vision was red. “Give her to me.”
I didn’t force my dominance into the command, hoping he’d understand how much I needed to hold her tonight. It’d been one hell of a week.
With a reluctant sigh, he held her out to me, and she looked positively tiny in his arms. “Okay, but only because you look like you’re about to bust a nut if you don’t hold her.”
It was the bane of my existence to be constantly surrounded by smartasses. Not that he was wrong.
