Elias’s expression shifts, a small, triumphant smile playing at his lips. “We’re all drawn to her. You know why.”
Idoknow why. Because she’s an omega in her prime, fertile and unclaimed, with a scent so potent it’s impossible to resist. Because our pack has been incomplete for too long, functioning without a heart. Because my brothers are desperate for the balance and harmony only an omega can bring.
But that wasn’t the fucking plan. Not yet. Not now. Not her.
“Meet me in the library,” I say, my voice deadly quiet. “Bring Drake and Rowan so we can discuss her termination.”
“Kieran, please,” Francine steps out from behind Elias, her face tear-streaked but determined. “I promise, please, this won’t happen again…”
“Stay here until we come to an agreement,” I snap at her, harsher than I intended. Her flinch makes me immediately regret my tone, but I can’t soften now. I’m barely hanging onto my control.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Elias says firmly, placing a protective arm around her shoulders. “And this isn’t her fault.”
“Library. Five minutes,” I repeat, already backing toward the door, desperate to escape the intoxicating cloud of her scent before I do something I’ll regret, like shoving Elias aside and taking what every cell in my body is screaming is mine.
I storm down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time, my breath coming in harsh pants as I try to clear my head of her scent. I try to clear the image of her pussy from my mind. I passDrake coming up the stairs, and the knowing smirk on his face tells me everything I need to know.
“Library. Now,” I bark at him before he can speak.
His eyebrows rise, but he turns to follow me without question. We find Rowan in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a mug of coffee in his hands. When he sees my expression, he sets the mug down immediately, his golden-brown eyes alert.
“What happened?” he asks, straightening.
“Pack meeting. Library. Now.” I’m beyond full sentences at this point, my control fraying with each passing second.
The library doors close behind us with a solid thunk. I pace the length of the room, trying to burn off some of the aggressive energy coursing through me. My brothers watch silently, waiting for the explosion they know is coming.
“What’s up with you?” says Drake, breaking the silence.
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” I finally demand, whirling to face them. “It’s her first day- her first fucking day—and you couldn’t keep your hands to yourselves for even twenty-four hours?”
Drake leans casually against one of the bookshelves, a smirk still playing on his lips. “Come on, Kieran. You’ve smelled her. You can’t tell me you’re not affected.”
“That’s not the point!” I slam my fist down on my desk, the impact sending a satisfying shock of pain up my arm. “She’s here to take care of Nora, not to be your fucking plaything!”
“She’s an omega,” Rowan says quietly from where he stands near the window. “The first one in our home in years. Did you really expect us to ignore that fact?”
“I expected you to show some goddamn restraint!” I shout, my voice echoing off the high ceiling. “She’s an employee, for fuck’s sake. A professional we hired to help with Nora.”
Elias enters the library, closing the doors carefully behind him. His mouth is set in a tight line, eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “She’s more than that, and you know it.”
“No,” I insist, resuming my pacing. “She’s not. She’s Nora’s nanny. That’s it.”
“Bullshit,” Drake pushes off from the bookshelf, his easy demeanor slipping to reveal the anger beneath. “You’re lying to yourself, Kieran. She’s the perfect omega for us. Maybe the most compatible omega I’ve ever scented. You feel it too. I can see it in your eyes right now.”
I turn away, unable to deny the truth in his words. Of course, I feel it. The moment I caught her scent in the study, my body recognized what she could be to us.
My mate. Our pack omega. The mother of our pups.
“What we need,” I say through gritted teeth, “is for Nora to have stability. For our pack to focus on business. For life to continue as it has been.”
“Do you expect us to live forever without an omega? What the fuck is your actual problem, Kieran?” says Rowan, getting angry at me now, too.
I spin to face him, my alpha instincts roaring at the challenge. “My problem is that you can’t control yourselves! You’re acting like animals in rut, thinking with your knots instead of your brains!”
“Maybe because we’re tired of denying our nature,” Rowan interjects, his normally quiet voice carrying easily in the tense room. “We’re alphas without an omega. Our pack is incomplete. Don’t you feel how empty our pack is?”
“She fills that void,” Elias adds, stepping closer. “She’s pack queen.”
