Page 28 of Claiming Their Omega

I don’t let myself look at them. I hurry back down the walkway, trying not to rush or let anyone see I’m emotional. When I get back there, the other Omegas after me go while I head down to the antechamber with the rest.

My heart hammers loudly in my ears. They came. They came for me. I can’t believe it. Maybe it was just some crazy momentary hallucination.

The Omegas wrap up and the rest join us, then it’s time to mix and mingle. The Alphas who bid on each of us will get to meet us, under the watchful eye of the various officials. It’s to give the Omegas time to actually meet the potential Alphas and decide on who the Omega wants to accept. If there’s anyone to accept.

I try to keep calm as we’re herded out to meet everyone. Unfortunately, the moment I get away from the other Omegas, an official brings me none other than my scumbag ex.

“Here’s one of the lovely Alphas who put in a bid for you,” the official says. She sounds so excited, and I wince internally, remembering how charming and suave William can be. I completely fell for it myself, I can’t blame someone else for falling for it too. “He’s all the way from New York City, just like you are.”

She leaves us to it with a beaming smile, hurrying off to facilitate another meeting.

“William. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Grace, please don’t be like that.” William sounds like I started having hysterics or something. “I was excited when I heard that you were an Omega. This will work out great for us.”

“For us? In what way, exactly? You can keep me at home in the kitchen where you’ve always secretly wanted me?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” William replies in a warning tone. “You know that I’m the only Alpha in this room who can possibly give you what you want.”

“You clearly have no idea what I want, because what I want is a loyal partner. In case you don’t understand what that means, it means I want someone who doesn’t cheat.”

“You want someone who will let you keep your job and that precious career of yours,” William points out. “We already have a life together. Who else is going to give you that? You think any of the Alphas here will uproot everything to move to New York for you? That they’ll let you go off to all your little book launch parties and stay up late working on edits and forgetting to eat? We made a good team, Grace. Don’t throw that all away over something as silly as having a woman on the side. She doesn’t mean anything. You’re my partner.”

“Partner. Way to make a relationship sound like a business deal.”

“Isn’t that what this is? You get what you want, I get what I want, we get to go home and return to our lives. Openness and communication are important in all relationships, Grace.”

He sounds so patronizing I could knock his teeth out. “Absolutely not. There’s no way I could ever trust you.”

Deep in the pit of my stomach, where I don’t want to admit it, I know that he’s offering me a good deal. I know it wouldn’t be the lifelong relationship I had hoped for, but if he’s allowed to have women on the side he sure couldn’t complain if I met someone and wanted to date them on the side. It could, maybe, work.

But I have a better option now, if they’ll just follow through on it. I can’t trust that William won’t find a way to screw me over.

“You won’t get better than me,” William adds, his tone soft and probably what he thinks is confiding, but it just sets my teeth on edge with condescension.

“Actually, she already has.”

I turn to see Jesse standing behind me, glaring at William like he’s about to rip the man to pieces. The other three Alphas are right behind him, and they quickly fan around me like a protective squad of bodyguards.

“Funny, I didn’t think you were quite this dumb,” Hendrix notes. “Or are you just a glutton for punishment?”

William sniffs and draws himself up. “You think that you can give her what she needs? You don’t even know her. I do.”

“You don’t know basic decency,” Jesse points out. “Pretty sure that goes a long way with women, last I checked.”

“We thought you learned your lesson,” Easton says, his voice a darker growl than I thought was possible from him. “But if you want me to do the same thing to you that I did to your car, I’m happy to make a demonstration out of you.”

William goes a little pale. “Good to know that country Alphas are the caveman brutes everyone says they are.” He smirks at me. “Didn’t know you were into that.”

My face gets hot with anger, but before I can say anything, Jesse cuts in. “You’re not talking to her. Ever again. You’re talking to us.”

“Unless you’re too scared,” Hendrix muses. “Can’t face us so you’ll try to shame Grace. Fantastic look, by the way, real honorable and brave of you.”

His voice is absolutely dripping with sarcasm. William goes from a little pale to flushed with embarrassment. I have to admit, I’m enjoying it. It’s about time someone cut him down to size.

“I guess city Alphas are just all talk and no walk,” Jesse adds. “Can’t even keep one decent woman by your side. You’re the pathetic one, here.”

“Although you shouldn’t be here that much longer,” Hendrix adds. “In case it wasn’t clear, the entire state of Colorado is no place for you.”

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