Page 167 of Wanted Beta

We feel around in the dark for our clothes.

I find my underwear and my jeans, and I pull them on together to save time.

“Damn. Can’t find my pants,” he says. “Hold on …”

I find my socks and sneakers next and sit down to put them on.

My shirt seems to have slid farther away than I thought.

Suddenly the room lights up while I’m feeling around.

It’s so bright. Wincing, I cover my eyes.

“Found the light switch,” my new mate says, a little late.

“I can see that.” I take my hand off my face and blink as I look for my shirt.

It’s crumpled up in the corner a few feet away. This food store is pretty big.

I get up and move over there, picking up my shirt and turning back to the Omega.

He’s fully dressed now, and his gaze is moving from my face to my body.

It fixes on the spot where I tattooed my first love’s name over the left side of my chest.

Felt appropriate at the time.

My heart beats for Beth. It always has.

I had no idea it would also beat for someone else.

“Oh,” he says, blinking. “You must be Rourke.”

He looks shocked, but he doesn’t sound surprised.

“That’s me,” I admit, feeling vaguely guilty for not telling him before.

Not enough to wish I’d made a different choice, but enough to feel like an asshole for it.

His expression doesn’t take long to turn. He frowns at me, clearly wishing he’d taken another few minutes to decide to do this. Maybe long enough to exchange names before we exchanged bodily fluids. That’s all it would have taken for him to reject me.

I thought claiming him might change that, but by the look on his face now, I’m not so sure.

I wait for his outburst, but it doesn’t come.

He opens the pantry door and leaves the room.

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Gio

Arrow’s moving toward me from the direction of the pantry when I step into the kitchen, and I find myself blinking as I take in a breath. His scent is so strong that I can barely stop myself from gasping. Enzo and I both made the decision not to mention it when it was fading, because we didn’t want to make our Omega feel self-conscious, but now that I’m catching the full-potency version on the air again … I can’t keep my jaw from dropping.

Every breath I take in is like a full-body head-rush.

Arrow’s eyes are wide when I focus on him.

“Gio!” he exclaims as he reaches for my hand. “Thank God! I need you to come with me.”

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