“Are you dumb? Now is absolutely not the time to tell her you’ve been with another Omega. You keep that shit to yourself until it comes up. In fact, take it to your grave unless she explicitly asks.”
I scratch my chin and look at my brother. Him not being with an Omega is what I assumed, but the information about Jonah comes as a serious shock. The stress of the situation I’ve put everyone in starts weighing on me. This isn’t just helping an Omega in heat, these are stakes I didn’t realize.
Jonah is going to be obsessed the moment he’s inside of her. Hell, he already sounds like he is. Then there’s Mack, I’ve never seen him this interested in someone. What if this is just for her heat? What if in my efforts to be a good man I tear apart my pack with an Omega who doesn’t truly want to be ours?
I swallow thickly and Mack smacks my arm.
“Your temples look like they’re about to explode. You did what you thought was right, no, whatisright. What we’re doing for her is good, and the right thing to do, Cole. We just have to see how things pan out. Everything happened fast. Just let yourself enjoy this, okay?”
“Her ex-pack sent her text messages saying they want her back,” I say to him regretfully.
His eyes search mine for a minute, and he shakes his head. “Omegas don’t travel across the country alone to get out of a good situation. We’ll just have to be better than them.”
“Jonah wanted to delete the texts.”
Mack looks like he’s considering the idea, and I smack his arm.
“What the fuck is wrong with you two?”
“I was just considering it. Damn. I’m all in on operation perfect heat. You don’t have to worry about me,” he says, though I can tell there are still some reservations to his statement.
It’s not that he doesn’t recognize that he’s interested in Shiloh or the giant step he just took with her physically. It’s the fact that Mack has no clue what he’s doing. This is new for him, and honestly for me, too.
This heat is going to be the blind leading the fucking blind.
“Just try not to think about it. Maybe if she doesn’t answer them during her heat, they’ll assume she isn’t interested in taking them back.”
“Alright.”
“You did the right thing, Cole,” he says, gripping my shoulder before walking back out to the nest.
I stare at myself in the mirror. I’m more disheveled than I realized, inside and out. It feels like today has been multiple days instead of one. I run the tap, splashing my face with cold water, hoping it helps reset my system.
It all hits me at that moment. I don’t have a job, and I’ve either solidified or destroyed my pack with this choice. It’s not as if we weren’t held together by tape and glue before, all living separate lives while being a semblance of a pack. I wasn’t interested in Jonah in any other way than a best friend and pack mate, and neither was Mack. Jonah tried to date, but wasn’t interested unless it was an Omega we all agreed on. I had one night stands, and Mack was a hermit.
Part of me felt like a selfish asshole, tying my best friend and younger brother to me. But I’d left Mack to fend for himself before, and I couldn’t do that again, I needed to protect him now, like I couldn’t when he was younger. I don’t know why I thought creating a pack would do that, maybe I was just being destructive.
“Fuck,” I complain to myself, splashing more water on my face.
The thing is, even knowing the consequences, I don’t think I would have made a different decision. Shiloh needed help, and I wanted to help her. I have no control over the situation besides how I react and how I treat her.
Something tells me Shiloh is overdue for being treated the way she deserves and between the three of us, we can make that happen.
It’s time to be the Alpha my father never was. It’s time to stop fearing that I’ll be anything like him.
I can make this Omega feel cared for. I’ll hold this pack together. The fact that we’re even here, safely at a facility, just proves I’m nothing like him. I’m a better man than him, a better Alpha.
Come hell or high water, I’m going to make sure this heat goes perfectly.
I take a deep breath and stare at my reflection that looks so much like the man I hate, and I find resolve. I’m stronger than I think I am.
Chapter 10
Jonah
Mack and Colego in the bathroom, likely Cole is giving him a rundown of what he found downstairs.
I know I told Cole I would be good and not do anything insane, but that would be a lie. I knew what this meant for me the moment Cole called, saying he found a pretty Omega that needed our help.
