“There she is. Saying what she really wants.” I push back my chair, letting it drag noisily across the stone floor. “It’s a good starting point.”
I take my time crossing the room, each step measured as I circle behind her. She tenses, shoulders curling inward, like she’s bracing for impact.
Such a silly little thing. I couldn't hurt a rut-damn curl on her pretty head. How does she still not know that after I threw myself into a hail of bullets to protect her?
I reach her chair, grip the back, and pull it gently but firmly to angle her toward me. Then I crouch in front of her, close enough to feel the heat rolling off her skin.
Phase one of my plan is complete.
Phase two begins: the reckoning.
She says she wants us. But wanting and earning are not the same. If she wants to rebuild this Pack, then she needs to see the ruins she left behind and the consequences of her betrayal so she’ll never do it again.
“I’m glad you want us that way. We want you in our Pack too. But if I let you back into our lives without making you understand what you broke, then I’d be failing all of us. You’re going to have toproveto us that you’re fully committed.”
I reach out, my fingers slipping into her hair. It’s soft and warm, like everything I’ve been missing. I let my palm slide down until it rests at the back of her neck, holding her steady, anchoring her to the moment.
She’s trembling.
Fuck, is it wrong that I love that she reacts this way? That despite everything, her body is still so responsive to me.
“Look at me, princess.” I tug gently on her hair, guiding her gaze up to mine. “You think you can do that?”
Her breath catches as she whispers, “Yes.”
“Good. Now tell me, do you know what happens to an Alpha when he loses his Omega?”
She shakes her head.
“We didn’t either, not really. But now we intimately know how fucking painful it is. It’s grief and sadness, and it’s also wild and aimless rage. It’s a desperation to find relief to the primal instincts screaming inside. You left more than a hole in this Pack. You shattered it. You say you want back in, but things aren’t how you left them. You have to understand that we’ve all got jagged edges and you might get cut. Are you still sure you want to be part of this Pack?”
Her eyes flicker with guilt, but she nods emphatically.
“I need words, Omega.”
She shivers when my mouth forms the O of her designation, her eyes tracing the shape of my lips.
“Yes.”
“Okay then. Let’s figure out what you can do to earn back a place in our Pack, starting with our Beta.”
I guide her gently, but firmly, to face Shade.
"It was Shade who kept us together… alive. He didn’t crumble once. He stepped up and it was our Beta who, day after day, pulled us out of our fucked up broken instincts.”
Her guilt grows until it’s written across every inch of her face, and she screws her eyes shut. But guilt’s not what I want. I have no use for it. It won’t progress my plan.
I tighten my grip on her hair until she opens her eyes. I want her to really look at our Beta. To see the deep lines of weary exhaustion etched into his face. She needs to see the burden she placed on him.
“You want his trust? Then match his consistency. Show up and be the support this Pack needs. Take the weight off his shoulders, and let the poor man rest. It’s time someone took care of our hard working Beta. Can you think of a way to help our Beta relax?”
I grin wickedly as she shudders and licks her lips.
Oh yes. She’s thinking of ways.
“He took care of your needs when you were a horny little Omega. Licked your pretty clit till you came even when it meant he’d suffer the consequences. Why don’t you return the favor? You can spend some time between his thighs sucking his cock like a good Pack Omega.”
Her breathing increases and her lips part.
