My Omega’s eyes glittered. “If you don’t mind causing an international incident, sure.”
I sighed and pushed my chair back, gently setting Seymour down as I stood. “You have to stay here for now. I don’t want you to bite Rachel, okay?”
Seymour hopped off the desk, forcing me to catch him. “No,” I said gently. “She’s awful, but she’s important. Plus, I don’t want her to know about you.”
I set him down once more. “We’ll keep you as our secret weapon, okay?”
The flytrap thumped a few more times before he settled down. I gave him a gentle pat on the head and motioned Simone out the door.
“Does Evie know?” she whispered.
My steps hitched. We’d just gotten back on track.
Simone winced. “Oh Caelan.”
“I’ll call her right after this meeting. Or whatever the hell this is,” I grumbled.
Simone said nothing. Probably for the best. No matter what I did, I always seemed to screw things up. Logically, I knew it wasn’t all me. Evie had an opaque, sometimes indestructible wall up, and I wasn’t exactly great with boundaries.
Mostly because few people refused me.
And that was something I’d think about later.
Rachel’s arrival, though? Curveball out of left field.
There was no reason for her to be here, and to show up without announcing a formal visit was shady.
Right before we stepped into the foyer, Simone grabbed my arm and leaned in close. “You are still single to the world and a Shifter Lord. Rachel has always been power hungry. Take care with your words and actions and do not get us into another Gianna situation.”
She huffed a breath. “I do not want to get on Evie’s bad side. She’s terrifying.”
I snorted and leaned away. “I’m well aware of her temper. You do not need to worry.”
Simone gave me a long look before she nodded. She was around during the Rachel years, and trust me, I did not come out of that mess looking like a knight in shining armor. More like a mercenary who’d somehow managed to escape a nuclear bomb.
I squared my shoulders and opened the door.
Rachel sat on the blue fainting couch, one leg over her knee. Her hands were crossed on her lap, and she wore a faintlyamused expression. A server had given her refreshments, which she hadn’t touched.
Seeing her again was a punch to my solar plexus, and not in a good way. She was as beautiful as she was the day I’d finally broken away from her, and she oozed elegance and wealth. Her hair was a sheet of silk tumbling over her shoulders, and her green eyes were just as calculating as they used to be, maybe even more.
Her painted lips curved into a carefully crafted smile. “Hello, Caelan,” she purred.
Simone stepped in behind me. Rachel’s gaze flicked to my Omega’s and back to me, her smile less warm than it was just a moment ago.
My Omega stepped up and offered her hand. “Simone,” she said. “We’ve met before.”
Rachel shook her hand in that limp way of one with too much self-importance. “You were Caelan’s little friend.”
The emphasis on the last two words missed their mark because Simone was familiar with all of Rachel’s tactics.
“I am now his Omega.” Simone’s smile brightened. “If you’re having trouble controlling your emotions while you’re here, Caelan will call on me for assistance.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. Bullseye.
She’d always had a control problem, one overlooked and excused by her powerful parents.
“But feel free to call on me yourself, if you’re able to.” Simone stepped away and poured herself a cup of tea from the tray on the other table. She raised the kettle at me, but I shook my head.
