Eric seemed as shocked as I was that the giant man had spoken any words at all, let alone the amount of words that had come out of his mouth.
I put my fork down on my empty plate and gave my best fake omega smile, “Well. I guess, in that case, we should probably get going.”
“Leon, you are going to put a divot in the floor if you don’t stop pacing.” Owen’s voice came from the couch where he was sitting with his legs tucked underneath himself as he typed on his laptop. Looking at him you would think it was a typical Wednesday afternoon, he seemed so calm and I was anything but calm.
“If there’s a divot in the floor, I’ll replace it.” I shoot back at my beta as I whirl around and pace across the living room floor. I was still furious at Eric for agreeing to this without discussing it with me first. I was also ignoring the fact that the SFOFA had boxed my right hand man into this, I knew I should be more angry at them for this but it was easier to direct my anger at him instead rather than a bunch of faceless administrators.
My anger was towards Eric and the omega who was currently on her way to our house, our sanctuary. There was no way she wasn’t in on the academy’s plans. All omegas, in my experience, were calculating and selfish. Over the past ten years we had tried to court several omegas but I had found most of them to be manipulative and divisive for my pack. Choosing to play favorites rather than become a part of our unit. They also reminded me of a past that I’d rather forget. They had never lasted very long anyways and I gave up on ever having an omega join our pack. We didn’t need one.
“You can’t just replace the floor every time you lose your temper Leon.” Dominic Dubois said as he joined us in the living room wearing a cashmere white sweater and a pair of chinos that made his brown skin seem to almost glow. The other alpha threw himself down onto the couch and elbowed Owen to scoot over, which the beta obliged, and Dominic flopped down in a reclined position. He seemed excited by the events that were occurring. If the alpha hated anything it was to be bored.
“Besides, I'm sure you will scare her away in 48-hours flat. So I don’t understand why you are giving this much attention to it.” Dominic said in his French-accented english.
“He, you cheeky Frenchman, does not like to be out of control of a situation. Any situation. He is very much not in control of this situation.” Owen teased without looking up from his computer.
I growled at both of them and opened my mouth to respond but was cut off by the beeping that told me that the front gate was opening to let a car in.
Dominic sat up at the beeping, looking way too happy for the situation at hand before crowing: “Lights, camera, action!”
6
Age 6
The constant tone of the heart monitor was the only thing that told me that my father had passed away. If I didn’t know any better I would think that he was just asleep. He was the last of my fathers to die in the past year since my mother had drowned herself in the pool. Papa Luis had died only a month after my mother, Papa Sam followed only five months later. Now, as I stared at my father, I was all alone.
Well. That was a lie, I wasn’t completely alone. The hand of my grandfather was heavy on my shoulder as I stared at my dead father. I couldn’t even shed a tear for the man who may as well have died the night my mother did. None of my fathers were ever the same after I found her floating in the pool. They couldn’t understand how she could have left them in that way and I couldn’t fathom why she had left me at all. Most of their last days were spent drunk out of their minds while I fended for myself in a house that had become a living nightmare.
“Come,piccolo.” My grandfather said in his gruff, gravelly voice. He gathered my hand into his own scarred one and led me from the hospital room. Santini Russo was a scary man to most, but to me he was just my grandfather. Silent and grave were the two best words to describe the older alpha whose square jaw, dark eyes and graying curly brown hair were Russo traits that my father and I also wore.
I would learn later what the terms my grandfather was called by those around him meant: mafioso, criminal, boss, don, capo. I would also learn how to follow in his footsteps. But for now, as he led me from that San Francisco hospital room and onto a plane bound for Italy, he was my savior.
Present Day
Ric’s voice floated down the hallway from the garage as he spoke to the omega, telling her about the property as they headed down the hallway to the living room where the rest of us were sitting on the couch. I felt like I was going to jump out of my own skin and stood up to resume my pacing when they finally rounded the corner. Ric came first, followed by Gage. I was still surprised that Gage had tagged along to pick up the omega. He never showed much interest in anything outside of Russo Enterprise’s security measures. But my thoughts of Gage quickly flew from my mind as he stepped aside and let the omega step into the room, bringing the smell of chocolate and champagne in with her.
She was one of the smallest adult women that I had ever seen and Gage practically dwarfed her. She was slender, on the skinnier side and was dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings. Her hair was a light brown color and was plaited on either side of her head and little tendrils had sprung free on either side to frame her forehead. A heart shaped face contained a freckled nose and round chocolate brown eyes that seemed both nervous and indifferent at the same time. She was beautiful in a way that was different from most omegas that I had come into contact with—most were polished and buffed by their academies and equipped to charm packs of alphas at the drop of a hat.
I didn’t trust her one bit.
Dominic was already getting up from the couch in a single fluid movement, his eyes already trained on the omega.
“Enchanté,” He said, lifting her hand and pressing a quick kiss to the top of it, “I’m Dominic Dubois and if it’s any consolation I apologize for what will surely be an uncomfortable few minutes.”
“C’mon Dom, give her some personal space. Not everyone wants to be touched right away.” Owen was up next, a friendly smile on his face as he left me sitting alone on the couch.
“Hi I’m Owen Samuels, resident beta and IT guru. If you need help getting set up with the wifi or anything techie I’m your guy.” He gave a little wave to the omega and she offered him the smallest of smiles, seeming to appreciate the friendliness.
The omega opened her mouth, more than likely to introduce herself, but I cut her off by standing up. Striding up to her and staring down at her as I fixed her with a glare that had made criminals shake in their patent leather shoes during my time as my grandfather’s consigliere. There was no way I was going to let her wriggle her way into our lives like this.
“Don’t get too comfortable here, omega. This is not your home nor will it ever be.” I strode past her and out into the garage, leaving my pack and the omega behind in the living room.
“Well that went well.” Owen, the beta, heaved a giant sigh as he looked at the rest of his packmates who wore expressions of varying shades of disappointment or just generally pissed off.
“He could have at least let you introduce yourself, I’m sorry Eloise—Ellie.” Eric corrected himself as he ran a hand through his well coiffed hair, causing it to stand on end.
“It’s no big deal.” I wanted to comfort the man who had been nothing but nice to me. But I held myself back from my instincts to soothe the ruffled feathers of the pack, left by their angry packmate. I didn’t know why Leon looked at me as if I was a viper in his midst. I had never met the man before and he had no reason to hate me. But alas, here we were.
He, like the rest of his pack mates, was ridiculously handsome. Seriously, what was in the water in this house that made Pack Russo some of the most attractive men I’d ever seen?
