“Important thing is we’ve all met her now,” I said after a long pause. Talking things out was not my strong suit, but if we were going to bring an omega into our pack, we needed to step it up. I could tell Theo still felt bad, so I clasped him on the shoulder.
“She has to choose us,” Theo said, running his hand through his hair, desperation creeping into his voice.
“She’s our mate. Of course, she’s going to choose us,” Ben said, looking between Theo and me for confirmation.
I took a deep breath, trying to slow my pounding heart, catching a hit of Josie’s vanilla scent off my shirt. I worried the DC would coerce her into choosing another pack. I knew too well how the system manipulated omegas and forced them into packs they didn’t choose. Then another horrifying thought gripped me.
“Do you think she knows she’s our mate? Can omegas sense it the same way we can?” I asked.
“She should be able to,” Theo responded. Then he hesitated. “Unless… I remember reading some pre-Designation Government research that suggested omegas on suppressants can’t fully sense the mate connection.”
I growled at the thought that our mate didn’t know we were meant for each other.
“How soon until we find out if she’s chosen us?” Ben asked, his legs bouncing up and down.
“Amirah said she’d be quick to inform us either way. Josie will move in tomorrow if she chooses us. She also said Josie could opt to do additional interviews, although she doubts she’ll go that route since the other packs are all ones her parents want to set her up with.”
“Who are her parents?” I asked.
Now I was kicking myself for not paying attention to her file. I hadn’t wanted to get my hopes up, telling myself I was doing it as a favor for Amirah and the Alliance. But now I wished I had spent the time to learn every single thing I could about my mate. I needed to know everything so I could keep her happy and give her whatever she wanted.
“One of her pack fathers is Jericho Porter,” Theo said.
Ben and I both growled.
“That monster is her pack father?” Ben exclaimed. “No wonder she’s twenty-three and without a pack. I wouldn’t want a pack either if I had grown up with that fucking asshole.” Ben rarely swore. I could feel his emotions unraveling in the bond.
“Shit,” I said. Jericho Porter was a fucking snake. We suspected he had even more influence over the Designation Government agenda than Glen Jacoby. I couldn’t believe our omega had grown up with him.
“I assume she lives with them?” I asked, my jaw tight.
“No, she actually moved out on her own. She lives in an apartment owned by Sam Larsson, an alpha currently working in Sol province,” Theo said, reading off a document on his phone.
“Who is this alpha?” I shouted. “Why is she living in his apartment?” An unhealthy amount of possessiveness surged through me. Was Josie involved with this alpha? Images of hunting him down and tearing his head from his body danced through my brain.
“I’m not sure,” Theo muttered. I could sense his frustration through the bond. Theo prided himself on always being prepared and doing extensive research, but this situation caught us all off guard.
“We’ll wait here to hear from Amirah and then drive to her apartment to watch over her. We can’t leave her alone. We have to make sure she’s protected,” I grunted. An omega living alone was almost unheard of since the Designation Laws, and my inner alpha was growling at how unsafe it was.
Theo and Ben nodded their agreement. I might be the most stereotypically alpha of the three of us, but I knew they would do anything to ensure our mate was safe.
“Did you see how she moved away from us at the end?” Ben asked quietly.
Of course, I had. The image of her flinching, as if she needed to protect herself from us, kept playing back in my mind.
“We’ll need to be careful and take things slow if she’s scared of alphas,” Theo said, a deep sadness permeating his voice.
I would find out who had hurt her and end them. My alpha was feeling bloodthirsty and wanted revenge for our mate.
We lapsed into silence as the next hour stretched on. I stared out of the window into the Designation Center as if staring hard enough would allow me to develop x-ray vision and see Josie wherever she was. I just wanted her to be safe. I had a sense that Josie was stronger than she appeared. She had to be strong to survive as an omega, especially in the pack she grew up in. At the same time, I was concerned about how fragile she was.
Theo’s shrill ringtone cut through the silence, startling me from my thoughts. He shot us a quick look before answering the call.
“Hi Theo, this is Amirah. Are Cam and Ben there?”
“Yes, you’re on speaker,” he responded.
“We’re on an encrypted line so we can speak freely, but it has to be quick. I just came out of the meeting with Josie, Director Marshall, her mother, and two pack fathers. Josie has decided that she wants to join your pack.”
