To an outsider, Jericho’s tone may have sounded calm, but I had spent a lifetime trying to decipher his moods. Right now, he was as dangerous as I’d ever heard him. A shiver ran down my spine.
“Of course, Senator Porter. You have my word. I’ll do everything in my power to fix this situation,” said Director Whiteburn, his voice simpering. I was correct in my read of him in the meeting—he was desperate to appease my pack fathers.
“In your power or not, it better be done. We had a deal with Pack Madden…”
Jericho’s voice faded as their footsteps receded down the hall. My hand gripped the door handle until my knuckles turned white. I let go, running my shaky hand through my hair, tears pricking my eyes. I knew something more was going on with Pack Madden and this was confirmation, although I didn’t know what that meant for me. Were Jericho and the director going to try and separate me from my alphas?
I jolted internally—myalphas?They’re not your anything, I firmly told my inner omega, who was all but purring, imagining the alphas wrapped around us.They’re not safe. They’re not ours. You better get used to it.
I could almost feel her smugness when I took another surreptitious hit of their scents before exiting the bathroom.
ChapterTen
Cam
My chest ached as I watched her walk away with that damn alpha guard. I hated him on principle. My hands clenched into fists as if urging me to punch him for being in her vicinity, for leading her away from us.
Josie. The perfect omega. My mate.
The second she walked into the room surrounded by a cloud of sweet cupcake scent, I knew she was our fated mate. It was as if the universe aligned, reorienting with her at the center. I had almost lost control, so swept up in my need for her, I forgot where we were. Ben took over, his enthusiasm like a ping-pong ball of energy through the bond. Theo had placed a restraining hand on my arm, and I had forced myself to take a deep breath. Not that it had done much good. All I succeeded in was inhaling more of her potent scent, causing me to get rock-hard.
Alphas and omegas could bond with anyone, but a mate was a perfect match, one who called to our designation and biology. In the past years, the designation-obsessed traditionalists produced propaganda to convince us that fated mates were practically myths. The published studies showed that alpha packs had a one in two hundred thousand chance of finding their mate. Most of us knew those studies were utter shit. I knew a dozen packs who had found their mate. This was a government ploy to convince us to give up the idea of a fated omega and bond with whoever they deemed appropriate.
Even though I knew finding my mate was possible, I gave up on the idea years ago—had given up the idea of bonding with an omega altogether. I refused to coerce an omega, and my pack and I had never found someone compatible with our specific desires. None of that mattered anymore. Everything changed when that sweet little omega with bright green eyes and the most luscious curves I had ever seen walked into the room. I ached to claim her, protect her, do anything I could to make her happy. Even though I didn’t know her yet, I would sacrifice everything for her.
As she walked away from us, she looked back with a sweet, concerned expression. I hated how stressed she was. Nothing should ever make my mate feel that way. She should be fucking happy all the time. It was taking everything in me to let Josie walk away from us when all I wanted to do was wrap her around me and carry her home.
When she disappeared down the hallway, I finally tore my eyes away and looked at my brothers. Ben and Theo had equally desperate looks in their eyes. My emotions were too chaotic to even sense their feelings through the bond.
“Let’s get to the car,” I said quietly, knowing that we couldn’t talk openly here. The DC gave me the creeps, and I knew we were under surveillance.
Ben looked like he was going to say something, so I growled, “To the car.”
As we walked out of the building, my alpha urged me to turn back, to not leave my mate here with these bastards. When she first walked into the interview, I was so overwhelmed, so focused on maintaining my control, that I didn’t notice that she was clearly not okay. She was pale and shaky, her eyes red-rimmed. Had something happened to her before the interview? Or was she upset to be meeting us?
Theo bumped my shoulder as we crossed the lot, and I realized I was growling. I couldn’t get the image of Josie having a panic attack out of my head. What happened to make her anxiety that bad? I needed to know so I could stop it from ever happening again. All I wanted to do was pick her up and cradle her. A small warmth bloomed in my chest at the reminder that I had been able to calm her. I rubbed my fingers together, wishing I could feel her soft skin against mine again.
The car doors slammed as we piled into the car.
Ben exploded, “She’s our mate!”
“I fucking know,” I said, turning to look at Ben from where he was sitting in the back, his eyes wide.
“Wait, what was that weird moment when you first introduced yourself, Theo?” Ben asked. “I could feel your shock through the bond.”
“I… I already met her two days ago,” Theo mumbled, not making eye contact.
Ben and I stared at him in silence.
“You met our mate two days ago and didn’t tell us?” I growled. Anger and betrayal washed over me.
“I didn’t know she was our mate. She was the omega who collapsed at Trader Joe’s. She was covered in scent blocker. I didn’t know she would be here today.”
Being away from Josie was putting me on edge. The pull towards a fated mate was painful to ignore. My inner alpha roared at the fact that she wasn’t safely tucked away in my arms.
“So you didn’t feel anything towards her the other day?” Ben asked.
“I did feel pulled towards her. It was agony letting her leave in the ambulance. I just didn’t know why I felt that way, so I didn’t mention it. I didn’t mean to keep anything from you.” Theo’s hands tapped a rhythm on the steering wheel, the only sign he was on the verge of losing control.
