Page 9 of Claiming Their Omega

This is slow, and relaxed. It’s such a nice contrast. It reminds me of the sticky summer days as a kid, running around doing whatever, not even thinking about tomorrow or anything other than the very moment I was in.

I help Dad and Gram make dinner while Mom, Aiden, and William chat. Well, I can hear Mom and Aiden chatting. William doesn’t seem to contribute much.

I can’t help but make a face. “I think Aiden’s intimidated him.”

Dad laughs as he puts the meat into the oven. “This is the first time you’ve ever brought someone home, and he’s your older brother. He’s got to get a little protectiveness out of his system.”

“Just you wait, if I dare to get the same way when he brings a woman home he’ll have my head.”

“I’m sure you won’t let that stop you.”

Dinner’s enjoyable, and I bask in the warmth of my family and just how much they care about me, how good it feels to be home. I hadn’t thought I’d miss home so much, until I came back, and now it feels like I’m catching up on five years of homesickness all at once.

Mom hugs me hard when we get up to leave. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispers.

I hug her back just as tightly, feeling my eyes get damp. There’s nothing wrong, no big crisis or anything, but it still feels like something big is happening, at least inside of my chest.

I almost say out loud, I should come home more often, but I keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to get into it right now. I am home, and that’s what matters.

We get into the car and drive back to the hotel. William’s phone buzzes in the cupholder.

“I know the financial sector never sleeps, but really?” I ask, my annoyance finally getting the better of me. “I don’t think the entire market is going to collapse if you’re unreachable for a few hours.”

“We were just hanging out and talking,” William points out. “It’s not like we were in a movie theater.”

“If it’s your boss…” I grab his phone. “And if you didn’t tell him that you were on vacation, again, because you want to impress him…”

“Grace, put the phone down.” William’s voice is unusually sharp.

That Alpha posturing has never gotten to me. My brother’s an Alpha and so are all four of his best friends, I’m used to it. “You always do this.”

I click on the latest text, not even really registering the name on the screen, and type out William’s password to open it up. “You let him walk all over you, and I know you say this is just how it is when you’re younger, that someday you’ll be the one calling the shots, but if you’re as good at your job as you say you are, and I know you are good at it, then he knows you’re good at it, and—”

My sentence cuts off as I stare at the phone and realize what I’m actually reading. It’s not Jared, William’s dickhead of a boss, the kind of guy who makes every other Alpha look bad.

It’s someone named… I squint at the screen. “Who’s actually named Misty nowadays, were her parents raised in a hippie commune?”

This Misty person has been texting William all day. And the latest text is her saying, I can’t wait to have your big, hard cock inside me again.

There’s a distant ringing in my ears, like a car alarm. Everything feels muffled. I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m underwater.

“Grace. Grace.” William’s tone of voice suggests he’s said my name a lot.

He yanks the phone out of my hand. I hold my breath and force myself to breathe evenly so that I don’t burst into tears.

“Who is she?” I whisper.

When he doesn’t respond, I repeat the question. “Who is she, William? How long has this been going on? What is this?”

He glances at me sharply as he turns a corner and pulls to a stop. “You’re sounding hysterical.”

My brows fly up and I struggle not to reach across the dash and strangle him. “You’re sexting another woman. A woman you’ve apparently slept with, at least once. I’m not hysterical, I’m pissed.”

I fumble my seatbelt off and stagger out of the car, my chest so tight that it’s hard to breathe. My stomach is churning. I wish I hadn’t had such a heavy meal and eaten so much, because I feel like I might throw up.

William gets out of the car slowly, calmly, with a look on his face like he’s impatient with me. I stare at him, my eyes stinging. “Aren’t you going to answer me?”

“I don’t see that it’s such a big deal.”

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