Page 124 of Mercy & Her Devils

Damn, he’s good.

I should have known that he’d work it out quickly. This is what he’s trained in, after all.

Yet Gabriel’s tension and the urgency with which he’s tried to shake us, has already given Lark his answer.

And me.

A big mission is going down.

This isn’t about patrolling.

Lark and I knew it, as soon as we spotted Gabriel heading for the back door.

Immediately, I suggested to Kai that Lark and I could do with some exercise.

Sweet Kai agreed, as I knew that he would.

Lark slinks off the log, prowling toward Gabriel.

Instantly, he looks as much a threat as any Alpha.

These two men together would make an incredible team.

In and out of bed.

I shiver, hugging my arms around myself.

Finally, I think that they’re realizing it.

“Am I now?” Lark stalks to Gabriel.

Lark barely has to tip his head up to meet Gabriel’s eye, challengingly.

Once, that would have had me tumbling to my knees and begging for mercy on his behalf.

Despite his bravery, Lark was well trained and conditioned as a submissive Omega. He knows how to behave as a Traditional Omega better than me.

But it makes my heart swell that he believes what he’s saying about Gabriel being good.

Both of us know that Gabriel is powerful and ex-military. He’s been trained to kill.

Yet he’s not a danger to us.

Lark doesn’t fear him. For the first time, he can spread his wings and really be himself.

Gabriel’s eyes spark with surprise and then admiration at Lark’s challenge.

To my surprise, he reaches out to thumb down Lark’s pale cheek. Then he catches himself, snapping his arm back smartly to his side.

“What I have to surmise,” Gabriel replies with an equal challenge in his tone, “unless you lured me here because you’re secret Omega assassins (which would actually make you Antonio’s wet dream), is that I’m an idiot.”

Wait, what?

Lark blinks. “Well, obviously.”

Gabriel’s smile is icy. “Because I should have realized that my Mer would have fallen for an Omega who was as smart as herself. I’ve been outplayed, haven’t I?”

Lark smirks. “That’s a state that you’ll find yourself in frequently now.”

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