“With reason, dove, you didn’t disclose who you were for good reason,” Lincoln says softly.
“That’s true,” Noah admits too.
I look to Noah, because I need his acceptance of why I acted the way I did, because I did breach our strange friendship.
“I understand why you did what you did. It was a shock, but you always…”
“Hold up… you know Noah too? Why, he’s not a celebrity.” Gabriel leans forward on his seat, the whole thing tipping forward in his eagerness. It’s not hard to see how much information intrigues him.
“Gabe, the good doctor here, is wanted by everyone. He undervalues himself, but all I see is gold.” I lay it on thick, but Noah understands what I am saying. He is worth more than what he makes, and he is more than what he does. I just need him to believe the hype too and let some of the crap from yesterday stop holding him back. Noah has a strong saviour complex as part of his layered personality.
He gives a half smile, knowing exactly what I’m saying.
“And what about me? I think I’d do good in modelling or I could do some reality television.” He looks serious, dropping a couple of poses like he wants me to consider it. Barely a beat after his last pose, he gets what would happen if he was modelling. It’s like a light bulb goes off when he realises he’d be somewhere else other than here. “Nah, actually, I think I should be in charge of your communications, VP, that way I travel with you. Val could be security, and boom baby, we are a team.”
Gabe smiles but then puts his beer down and comes towards me, spinning my chair and squatting in front of me, so he becomes my only focus. “Len, I wish this was how we were. I really fucking do. Now after your confession, I have one too.”
In a few words he changes the mood, but he doesn’t let me run off with my imagination; his attention is full of care and he doesn’t withhold the information he shares. “At the Alliance I do communications and dark web hunting. Basically, I hack, looking through gossip, bullshit, and real life, trying to figure out fact from fiction to see what we need to pay attention to.”
Valak knocks the table, bringing everyone back into the conversation.
“As you have already gathered, the four of us work together with others, rescuing omegas. Helping them wherever, and however, we can. Gabriel is the secrets man. Lincoln keeps our message relevant and in the public eye; Noah helps with security but also does welfare and medical assistance, and I am in charge of security.”
“Okay.”
“You’re safe. I want you to remember, we promised each other that,” Noah adds, and his concern comes across on a personal level. Without question he’d be attuned to my emotions and picking up on my flight signals. I mean, my heart is pounding a million miles an hour.
Gabe squeezes my knee cautiously, dragging me from what Noah is saying while also allaying my growing need to bolt, temporarily at least, until I know what has got these guys so worked up.
“Len, there’s a lot of moving pieces going on. We’re dealing with the interrogations of the people that tried to take you, and I’m waiting for an update there. But following news of the raid, or it might be coinciding with that, there’s chatter that the government is joining the search for the missing omegas but more particularly the natural born ones.”
I manage to keep my composure, asking him why.
“We suspect under the guise of saying those more vulnerable in our community need greater protection, there’s a race going on behind the scenes. Since the restart of the Regalo, the government has also ramped up this ‘search’ of the elusive natural born omegas. There is gathering suspicion they’re looking to try to pass new laws giving the government the right to DNA test omegas wanting to pack. They’re also proposing additional measures for existing packs too including means testing packs, which is just another way of controlling omegas and who they are packed to. I’m sorry this is happening to you, but the deal is, I think you need to consider that your past and your future includes us.”
“What?” I snap, instantly freaking out. An intense feeling of being caged drops on my shoulders, making me angry.
“Dove, we’re not letting you face this by yourself. You’re going to have to seriously consider the course of action we’ve come up with.”
I wave Lincoln on, a little lost for words but keen to hear what their plan is.
“We say we’re a pack and have been for a while.”
15
LENNON
“Fake pack or real pack?” I ask, a gathering of butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
“Real. Everything between us is real. So, we are a real pack.” Gabe growls. Possessively. His lip twitches over the top of his white teeth while his eyes narrow making him look wolfish.
Of course, my reaction is made worse because I can feel and scent their protective desires kicking into gear. And boy those alpha pheromones not only smell divine, but they’re like lava on my skin, burning me in both good and bad ways. They add to the fuddle in my brain, and that in itself brings a wave of anxiety with it, pushing against my defences.
“Us pack?” I fumble past the words; I don’t know but it kind of makes me feel like I’m breaking out in hives even thinking about the word pack.
“Yes, a pack,” Gabe repeats back.
“We don’t know each other at all. And I’m pretty sure… ” My mouth runs before I’ve even had a chance to properly digest what they’re saying. And I’m blaming them for it all. Their scents are so thick it is all I taste: gin botanicals, offset and enhanced by pepper, honey and bergamot make my mouth water, and it is all I can think of. A rush of goosebumps makes all the hairs on the back of my neck and my arms stand up, and a desire to ask for cuddles makes me bite my lips. Until the absurdity of my own thoughts has me looking to Valak, because he’s the stoic and dependable one in the group.
