“I don’t know.” Corin shakes his head, momentarily grayer and more tired. “Like you said, that he’d do something with it some?—”
“No,” I interject, “on second thought, hewasn’tthinking. It wasn’t ‘interesting’ enough for him. He never did care how much solving a problem would cost or bring in. He loved the challenge, the chance tomake a difference.” I rub my aching temples, the mix of scents getting under my skin and making my nervesjangle. “We didn’t need the money, and the firm didn’t, either, so he left it alone.”
“He did at least negotiate some pretty savvy fees for using his patents.” Nathan offers. He’s gone far deeper into the piled papers than I. Narrow glasses have appeared on his nose, flickering under the lights as he peers at a page of dense text.
“And he picked good advisers. These are top rates of return.” Dan holds an over-engineered calculator, tapping away as he makes notes.
The two of them start lobbing questions at Corin about all manner of things: legal terms, financial instruments, and licenses. Under normal circumstances, I’d care. It’s not like these are unknown to me, but in the moment, they’re details—and the details don’t matter so much aswhat are we going to do with all this money?
I don’t realize I’ve whispered the question aloud until Anamaria turns and grabs my hand. Her voice is low, easily lost under the clamor of the three males, the threealphas,at the other side of the table. Only I hear.
“I have an idea. Well, Bebe is the one who got me onto it, though I still can’t figure out how she knew before me”—she wrinkles her nose as she drops her sister’s name, but her eyes are full of hope and dreams—“and started us daydreaming, but with this kind of money, we could make it a reality!”
“Make what reality?” I ask.
“Building special needs-based communities and co-housing developments, mostly for older omegas, and maybe betas, but also some younger omegas, and people, regardless of designation, in emergency circumstances.”
I shrug, the wave of words washing over without sinking in.
She bites her lip. “It’d be easier to show you, so you can see how much of a difference it makes.”
The layering of voices, interrupting each other and making increasingly hostile points, is enough to tell me the alphas have all but forgotten we’re here. I glance over anyway, but as expected, all I see is posturing.
“Could we go now, just us?” Escaping the growing levels of alpha musk would probably ease my throbbing temples.
“That’d be best. Alphas are welcome, but only on their best behavior.” Anamaria rolls her eyes, because our three clearly aren’t. She pushes her chair back and slams her hands on the table. “Aunty Jo and I are going to check out a possible investment model. We’ll report back at our next meeting.” A pointed look at her father. “Until then, pleasetryto get along.”
In the blink of an eye, we’re out of the room, leaving most of my headache behind.
Chapter 21
No Farting, Fucking, or Fighting
DAN
I’m the odd one in the mix. Seems to be my lot in life. An hour or less in the company of other alphas, and I’ve already backslid into bad behavior. Standing, posturing, controlling territory. Scent marking to show I’m here and make sure the other alphas don’t forget it. Blood pounds in my veins, needs rising—to fight, to dominate, to rule.
Apparently, decades of quiet, sober living in mostly beta circles hasn’t changed me as much as I’d hoped. I fish a small vial of suppressor enhancers out of my inner coat pocket and dry-swallow one, consider taking a second, then rethink. More than two per day, or ten in a seven-day period, risks weakening the patch on my arm that mostly prevents dominance fights. Better to have the second ready, if needed, for later.
Max probably had a hand in getting the over-the-counter version of this into stores worldwide at an affordable price. Bless him. Curse him.
The medicine takes time to affect hormone production. Still, just knowing that it’s started working makes it easier to breathe,to sit down—although the other two alphas are still standing—to lower my gaze, watching them from the corners of my eyes.
My inner alpha grumbles. These aren’t enemies, I remind him and myself. We only have to work together for a little while, presuming Johanna doesn’t request my removal. That thought makes him grumble all the more. Seeing her, smelling her, has awoken old dreams.
My alpha still believes that sheshouldbe his to care for and protect, therefore sheis,and reality be damned.
If Johanna doesn’t remove me from the trust, I may have to do so myself. Medication can only counter proximity so much. She still smellssogood.
The others aren’t throwing questions and counter-questions at each other anymore. They’re looking past me, at the almost-closed door. Pushing back my chair, I angle so I can watch both alphas and the door—no need to worry about the far end, where Johanna and her niece no longer sit.
Soft voices float through the crack between door and frame, words mostly unintelligible. Then, footsteps, one set moving away and the other coming back. The niece reenters the room, closing the door behind her as much as it was closed before. Her hand lingers on the latch, ready to escape if necessary.
It shouldn’t be. Her father’s here, his love and care for her plain every time he glances at her. Something about the other alpha, Mazarini, suggests he’s a father too. Nothing about the girl—Anamaria, need to remember to use her proper name—reminds me of my children. She’s an omega, while my twins are betas, and she’s at least a couple of years younger than them at a guess. Still, she’s a cheery thing who shouldn’t have to put up too much with grumpy older alphas battling it out.
My daughter would elbow me in the side if she heard me say as much, calling me a patronizing old fool with a mix of fondness and exasperation.
Maybe Anamaria has something of my daughter’s fire, for she glares at each of us in turn, starting and ending with her father. “Your arguing and scenting things gave Aunty Jo a headache. She can’t smell the nuances of your fragrance, but I can. You all want her. Figure out a way to deal with that without making her life any more difficult than it already is. Got that?”
