“I hope so,” I say honestly. “I’d love to hear all about your adventure.”
She accepts this answer with a nod, returning to her homework with renewed focus now that she’s shared her exciting news. I watch her bent head, her small fingersgripping the pencil too tightly, her tongue poking out slightly in concentration.
I feel needed here. Not just desired by the alphas, but truly needed by this little girl who’s lost so much. And strangely, despite the chaos of the day, despite the humiliation and confusion and fear of losing this job, I feel like I belong here in a way I’ve never belonged anywhere else.
Fifteen
KIERAN
Silence fillsthe room after my outburst.
I feel bad as my brothers look at me accusingly, like I’m taking away their happiness.
“You’re being unreasonable,” Elias says finally, his voice calm but undercut with steel. “And you know it.”
I run a hand through my hair, pacing the length of the library like a caged animal. The scent of her is still all over them.
“She’s been here for one day,” I growl, trying to maintain some semblance of rationality. “One. Fucking. Day. And all three of you have already—” I can’t even finish the sentence, the thought of what they’ve done with her sending another surge of possessive rage through my body.
“I feel like we’ve waited long enough. The pack isn’t balanced,” says Drake.
“It is.”
“And if you try to send her away,” he continues, his green eyes flashing with determination. “I’m gone too.”
The declaration hits me like a punch to the gut. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Drake’s voice drops lower, deadly serious now. “I’ll leave the pack. Start my own.”
“You’d break pack over this?” I ask, disbelief coloring my voice.
“In a heartbeat,” he responds without hesitation.
I look to Rowan and Elias, searching for any sign that Drake is bluffing, that he’s speaking out of turn. But their expressions confirm his sentiment—resolute, unflinching loyalty to the idea of having Francine as our omega.
Fuck. This is worse than I thought.
I move to my desk, bracing my hands on the cool mahogany surface as I try to think clearly through the haze of alpha pheromones filling the room. We’re all on edge, my brothers radiating challenge while I struggle to maintain dominance without causing irreparable damage to our pack bonds.
“She already has a hold on all of you,” I observe, my voice carefully neutral.
“Yes,” Elias agrees simply. “She does.”
But I can’t just give in. I have Nora to think about. The pack’s stability. Our business. Our future.
“Even if…and this is a big fuckingif—I were to consider this,” I say slowly. “What makes you think she’d want to be our omega? She came here for a job, not to be claimed by us.”
Drake’s mouth curves into a knowing smirk. “Trust me, she’s interested.”
The implication in his tone makes my jaw clench, but I force myself to breathe through the anger. Fighting amongst ourselves won’t solve anything.
“I need time,” I say finally. “I need to think this through.”
“There’s nothing to think about,” Drake argues hotly, but Elias places a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Time is reasonable,” Elias concedes.
I nod stiffly. “I’ll...try to get to know her. See if she’s…” I say. “If she’s right for our pack.”
