No, I definitely wasn’t doing anything but staring down an alpha-hole.
“She seems perfectly fine, despite scaring the pants off the rest of us,” Olivia said, squeezing my hand then rising gracefully.
“Agreed. You can let her up.” Brielle’s response was lined with curious amusement, and I resisted the urge to glance her way. I was winning this staring contest.
Valens startled me by shoving to his feet with lethal grace. But still, he didn’t put me down.
I was really starting to get pissed off.
Or turned on.
Let’s go with pissed off.
“Put. Me. Down.”
Galyna stepped into the space my healer friends had just abandoned. “I believe she made her wishes clear. She might not be able to draw her sword, but I have no such qualms.”
Valens broke our staring contest, and I had to bite back a crow of triumph. As soon as he focused on Galyna, he growled. The sound started as a low rumble in his chest, but quickly grew to a threatening crescendo.
“What the fuck?” Lucien muttered, inserting himself between Galyna and his new pack second. “Hey, I appreciate you looking out for our pack mate, but she’s right. You’ve got to put her down. The maidens kick ass, and they won’t hesitate to kick yours for crossing the line.”
Valens looked back down at me, and I could swear I caught a fleeting glimpse of regret before he schooled his expression and carefully lowered my feet to the floor.
He kept a steadying grip on my waist as I found my balance, then stepped away a little too hastily to be nonchalant.
The relief mixed with a pang of bitter loss that filled me was too confusing to contemplate as I stepped away from his embrace.
Galyna held out my sheathed butterfly sword, still glaring at Valens as if he were dog shit on the bottom of her shoe. Something in me calmed as my weapon settled into its usual spot between my shoulder blades. It recentered me, reminding me of my place in the world.
Standing with the maidens, between these pack females and those who would do them harm.
Not with Valens, the confusing male who thought I was his mate. I couldn’t be. Maidens didn’t take mates, not even fated ones. We were dedicated only to our mission.
“So, what did I miss?” I tried desperately to be calm, cool, and collected, but I was pretty sure everyone could see right through me.
Luckily, Galyna’s usual no-nonsense attitude came to my rescue. “Well, we’ve got an omega stone.” My partner pointed across the office to where a stunningly gorgeous chunk of softly glowing celestine rested inside a carved wood box.
It was an effective distraction. As soon as I was back on my feet, everyone crowded around, eager for a closer look.
I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t curious; this thing had caused us no end of grief, and while it was beautiful, part of me was unsure if it would have as much effect as Kane and Brielle were hoping.
Granted, it had zapped me on my ass pretty damn effectively, so clearly it didsomething.I rubbed idly at my chest where the bolt had struck, then caught Valens’s imposing turquoise stare pinned on the motion and dropped my hand. He watched me with unnerving focus, as if I were a book he could read at will.
I pointedly turned my attention away, letting myself inspect the blue-gray gem more closely. It looked almost like a rough-hewn egg; no perfectly smooth sides, but the shape was similar, despite the flatter sides, like gem facets hewn by a giant. It was larger than a softball, and the light inside it seemed to flicker, as if lit by a magical candle.
“So, how do we use it?” I asked.
There was a beat of silence.
Leigh snorted. “We have no frickin’ idea.”
“I haven’t touched it yet, since it zapped you. No one has,” Brielle admitted. She blushed, seeming a little sheepish.
“It didn’t just zap her. Another bolt flew out the window. I’m hoping it landed somewhere harmless, but…” Shay grimaced. “Nobody outside screamed, so, fingers crossed.”
“You’re the omega, though,” I said, wrinkling my forehead as I thought it through. “And all our documentation at the enclave says it wouldn’t hurtyou. So, if anyone can touch it, it’s you.”
Brielle blew out a breath, nodding my way.
