Hunter’s appearance had me all but forgetting that I was literally in a fight for my life. The hurricane had blown every thought out of my head but his imposing presence, which was a giant kick-in-the-ass reminder of why I could never have a pack.
I managed not to stumble as I hurried back to the head of the table, and it took every ounce of the control I’d built over the past two and a half decades not to glance at Hunter. Especially when I felt his darkly penetrating gaze on me. My wolf whined for our mate, and I shoved her down.We have to get through our trial first.Please. I just needed her on my side this once.
With a huff, she settled, but her awareness remained solidly across that boardroom table with the most dominant shifter in the room.
Warrick picked up where he’d left off: “As I said, Emmeline Anders, eighteen years old, has been on her own since she was very young. Her mother was killed by shifters, which caused her to believe she was unsafe in the shifter cities. We have discerned no signs of instability, but as an omega wolf, that’s to be expected.”
“Omega!”
Despite my best efforts, my head snapped toward Hunter at his growl. He was half out of his chair like he couldn’t help himself, and I swallowed roughly, searching for moisture in my mouth. With a strength of will I had no idea I possessed, I pulled my gaze from him and spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the grain of the wooden tabletop.
“Correct, Alpha Hunter,” Warrick said, his tone as respectful as one entitled alpha would ever get with another.
“Which means she needs to join a pack,” a male council member at the farthest end of the table stated.
Sorenson stood abruptly, and it was a testament to everything that had happened since I met him not ten minutes ago that I’d almost forgotten he was here. “Thenguard Pack is more than happy to speak for her and her safety, once she’s cleared from the trial.” A smile broke out across his face, his red hair disheveled in a cute, rumpled way. “You know we’re a strong pack, and we already have one blessed omega in our ranks.”
There are other omegas here?
I straightened. “How many omegas are in this city?”
Sissily scowled at me, and I wondered if she was aware of how she looked with that expression. Should I advise them not to get her wet or feed her after midnight? She snarled. “Prisoners don’t get to ask questions, bitch. Shut the hell up.”
Hunter slammed his closed fist on the table and half the room jumped. A low, creeping growl rumbled from his chest, catching us all in his vortex. “Emmeline Anders belongs to the Reeves pack. She’ll be taken into our custody, and we’ll ensure that whatever bad habits she picked up as a rogue are corrected. Shewillbecome a productive member of our society.”
Excuse the fuck out of me? Was this asshole actually for real?
“Yeah, I’m going to pass on that generous offer, but thanks.”
My flippant reply had the room falling so silent I could hear the dripping of a tap in a bathroom at least four rooms away.
Hunter slowly rose to his feet, and I wasn’t the only one holding my breath. “I’m the true alpha of the strongest quintet in America,” he said softly, but no one could miss the deadly intent. “We’re a blessed-by-the-goddess pack of scent matches, and you are the fifth of our quintet.”
My breaths came out faster as the truth of what I’d stumbled into here became very apparent. It was so much worse than I’d thought. It wasn’t only Hunter I had to deal with in this scent match—there werethree morewaiting in the wings. Scent matches were the strongest match a shifter could find.
True freaking mates.Praise the goddess.
Except four alpha males with one omega was the exact situation my mother found herself in, and it got her killed before she even turned forty.
“We’re missing the final of our quintet, too,” Sorenson called, still upbeat. “I mean, we’re not all alphas, because you fuckers have to be overachievers, but we have two betas and an omega.”
Quintets were the top tier of the common five-bonded-pack within shifter cities. Andscent-bonded quintetswere considered the Holy Grail. The fact that Sorenson’s pack had an omega they hadn’t killed yet was a great review, while Hunter was my absolute worst option here. Not only was he my scent match, already driving my wolf crazy, but he was scent matched to other alphas.
Outside of my mom’s former quintet, I’d never heard of another with that many alphas. Reeves Pack was my death waiting to happen.
An alpha snarled at Sorenson from down the table. “Most of the alphas at this table are powerful and part of an incomplete quintet or pack. That’s why we’re all on the council.”
Hunter pointed his finger at Sorenson. “Sit the fuck down, Soren.”
Despite the room being filled with the strongest alphas in Golden Claw, most of them exhibited fear and deference toward Hunter. Sorenson, on the other hand, acted as if they were old friends. He flipped him off as he grumbled, “Cranky bastard.”
But he also did as he was told and sat.
“Is anyone against keeping Emmeline alive and part of Golden Claw shifters at this stage?” Warrick called to get everyone back on track.
Sissily raised her hand along with four other council members, but the majority appeared fine to let me keep my heart beating in my chest.
An older, blond alpha beside Sorenson said, “We have so few true omegas, it would be the greatest crime to execute her. I’m excited to see what dynamic this adds to the pack structure.”
