“What are you doing?” I ask, irritated. “Are you trying to test me?”
He chuckles, carefree and obviously not feeling as fucking ill as I am with this conversation. “Maybe. I’m just explaining what is happening, Major. I want you to know what you are giving away.”
None of these men knows me. Not St. James with his filthy offer or Dominic trying to test me as if what St. James is dangling in front of me is even remotely attractive. Having Veda by my side is what I want with all my heart, but not like this. Not when we are still underthe boot of the man who mistreated and is now trying to sell her. Not agreeing to give away daughters to a fucking Omega trafficking ring.
“The offer doesn’t sway me. It doesn’t tempt me. It makes me sick to my stomach that for a second I gave anyone the impression that I wouldn’t burn the world to save innocent children, Dominic.”
The words come out with as much rage as I feel. I won’t be bought. Veda can’t be sold to me because she doesn’t belong to anyone but herself. I know in my heart that if she scent-matches with a pack but tells me that’s not what she wants, I’d take her away from there in the blink of an eye. Scent-matching be damned.
No one is ever going to take anything from her. And that includes me.
“Okay, okay,” Dominic finally accepts. “I had to be sure we were on the same page.”
I grip the phone as if I’m about to crush it beneath my fingers. “Find Mirasol.”
I hang up.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, and all I want to do is go outside, find Chaos, and ride until I’m free from this bitter feeling that wants to take residency inside me. But I know better than to hide this from the rest of the pack. I promised them I would share things from now on and not shoulder the responsibility. So against all my instincts, I stepped away from the office as I hear them waking up.
Veda’s giggles are a knife straight to my chest. I stop in my tracks to listen to them, knowing I’m about to deliver more bad news and end all the smiles. Their happiness does something to my chest. Their laughter is so pure my eyes fall closed, and I’m rooted to the spot.
For two weeks, I hoped like a fool that she would scent-match us. Of course, I knew the chances were slim. Most Omegas match with their pack quickly after they meet, or when they are of age, if they’veknown each other from childhood. Yet I prayed that all the torture would be for a reason. That it would ignite her heat.
Some days, I spend all my time wishing that the guys would burst from the house, calling my name, to announce that her heat started, and I’m a fool for not believing it was possible.
I never wanted to be wrong so badly in my whole life.
We all changed for her in so little time.
Jesse doesn’t just sit on the porch, strumming songs, watching life go by anymore. He makes music like a pro, his smile genuine, and the lightness on him palpable.
Derrick is back on the horse, galloping with Champion around the ranch, his laugh so loud sometimes I can’t believe this is really my brother.
Later.I’ll share the news that her grandfather is trying to sell her to us later. Let them have this one last day. Today officially marks a month since she agreed to participate in the mating celebration. Everything is about to change anyway.
Mom has been sending updates about the packs. Some of them have moved back to the township as soon as the news hit, waiting eagerly for Veda’s arrival. I hate every single update, but I pass on every one in the name of the transparency I’ve promised. The mating celebration is scheduled for tomorrow, and it’s best to let them have their last day in peace. I’m tired of watching every word out of my mouth wash the smiles off their faces.
With that decision made, I go outside, deciding to work myself to the bone for the day. Exhaustion is the only thing helping to keep these feelings at bay, so I take most of the chores to myself. Every single thing that has to be done, I do it, and I wave Jesse and Derrick away, telling them to return to Veda.
They know as much as I do that this is the end of the road, so there’s no resistance on their part. I don’t come home for lunch. I avoid the house and keep my head down, but by sundown, I’m out of excuses.
My stomach growls with hunger, so I return to the house, sighing in relief when I don’t find them in the kitchen. I’m not ready to talk about St. James just yet. I hop into the shower, thankful for the hot spray relaxing my muscles. I lower my head, leaning against the tiles, and I let the water calm me down. I can’t imagine life here without her, and it hurts that I don’t have the words to explain what her absence will mean to my heart.
When there’s nothing to keep me away, I hop out of the shower, quickly get dressed, and move to her room, knowing I’ll find them all there. I vaguely hear their voices, giggles, and such, just like this morning, but if I’m waiting for a moment when they aren’t happy together, I’ll be waiting for a long time.
I freeze in my tracks when I scent what's in the air. Veda’s perfume is a delicious, sugary scent that gets me hard in a minute, but the scent of her arousal is even more powerful. It grips me from the root, squeezing my knot and making me stumble. I’ve learned the clear difference between them over the past few weeks, and that’s what kept me away from the pack. I don’t understand how they can breathe this scent and not turn her on her back and rut until they are all sated.
The urge is so tight within me that I make sure to turn my back any time I scent her arousal in the air. Not this time. Maybe it's the clock ticking above our heads and the responsibilities weighing on my shoulders, but I don’t leave them be this time. I want her so much, and she’s slipping through my fingers. It might be the last time I smell her arousal in the air.
The door is open just a crack, my steps are light, as if I’m prowling to my prey. She always awakens the part of me that’s more animal,more Alpha, than the careful man I let people see. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I look inside.
Fuck me.
Veda is on the edge of her nest, completely naked, with Jesse between her legs. He devours her cunt, groaning as he does, and I lick my lips, wishing it were me. Derrick kneels beside her, feeding her his cock, pushing all the way to the back of her throat.
They move as if it’s a rehearsed play, sensual and slow. She moans around Derrick’s cock, and he throws his head back as if this is the highlight of his life.
She’s the highlight of all our lives. She’s not even sucking me off, and I know I will never forget this moment. It’s burned under my eyelids.
