Page 48 of Claiming Their Omega

I gape at him. “I—are you—?”

Anger takes over my embarrassment, and I snatch up my clothes, tugging them on.

My face feels so hot that I think if I stuck it in a pot of water, the water would start boiling.

“I didn’t want her doing something rash.” Jesse shrugs, his jaw tight as he wrenches his gaze away from me. “So I made a judgment call. I was just trying to protect her.”

“I see.” Hendrix nods. “I suppose I would’ve done the same.”

His voice is rough and I can see the tent in his pants. Oh, god, he’s hard. I would’ve done the same. The idea of sitting on his face too… of having his fingers inside me… his cock…

My body pulses with need. Everything I did with Jesse didn’t fix things, not at all. Instead, it’s like my body was given a small taste, and now it wants more. I’m starving now, where I was just sort of peckish before.

I want all four of them. I want them to touch me until I can’t even walk or think straight anymore.

“But I also agree that it’s a bad idea,” Hendrix continues. Easton and Cade nod.

Oh, come on. I can smell how turned on they all are, their Alpha scents filling the room and making me feel a bit drunk. And I can see their thick, delicious cocks tenting their pants.

And yet, they all seem to agree that they shouldn’t touch me. Whether it’s because of some misguided feeling of chivalry or because some part of them will never see me as anything but Aiden’s little sister, I don’t know. But it’s driving me fucking crazy.

“Why not?” I demand, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking as emotions roil my chest.

“This isn’t a real courtship,” Easton points out, his voice low. “We don’t want things to get messy, or for you to get hurt. It’s best if we maintain clear boundaries.”

“We just want what’s best for you,” Cade rumbles, his face a mask of distress.

My stomach curls into a knot. You’d think I was planning to jump off a cliff. I could smack them all, honestly. This is infuriating. They might claim they’re trying to protect me, but I don’t feel all that protected. I just feel abandoned and hurt.

“Fine,” I snap, smoothing my clothes out. “Then get out of my way. I’m going on a walk.”

All four Alphas look at one another, their bodies tensing up like they’re ready for a fight. I roll my eyes, huffing out a breath.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m not going to ask anyone else to ‘help’ me. I just need some space before I knock you all upside the head. And I can’t actually find another Alpha to fuck me anyway,” I snap. “That would ruin the ruse, since we’re supposed to be courting.”

That’s clearly all they care about, anyway—keeping the lie intact. If they really wanted me, they’d have me. Oh, sure, they can dress it up with pretty words about protecting me, but I get it. They want the line in the sand to remain just that.

They might be turned on, but that’s just biology. My scent must be all over the place, and they’re Alphas, they can’t help how their bodies react. Doesn’t mean they want me for real. Clearly they don’t, if they’re able to resist me so easily. They must feel sorry for me, for how desperate I am.

That thought makes tears sting my eyes, and I blink them back, trying to hide them as I make a beeline for the front door.

“Don’t wait up for me,” I snap over my shoulder.

I need to get out of this damn house, and off this damn ranch, before I do something really stupid.

There aren’t a ton of places to go in this small town of ours, especially if you don’t want to be bothered. There’s the one bar we went to where I realized I’m an Omega, but I’m not exactly looking to go back to the place where I publicly humiliated myself.

Instead, I head in the opposite direction. If I remember correctly, there’s a dive bar or something like that in between our town and another one farther south, on the border of the state park.

It takes me quite a while to walk there, but sure enough, it’s right where I remembered. It’s the kind of place that doesn’t even have a sign out front. Perfect.

Hopefully I’ve picked a place far enough away from the town that nobody I know will be there, and I can be left in peace. I don’t need anyone wondering why, instead of being cooped up on the ranch in courting bliss, I’m drinking alone with a sour look on my face.

The bar’s pretty empty, not surprising given that it’s a weekday and not very late yet. I take a seat at the bar. I don’t think this place has cocktails, so I get a bourbon from the bartender.

The man’s brows rise a little at seeing me, but he doesn’t make a comment about what a little lady like me—or, worse, a little Omega—is doing here by herself, so that’s a win. I don’t want to get thrown out for getting into a fight with the man serving drinks.

“Thanks,” I murmur as my bourbon is set down in front of me. I like it better than whiskey since it’s a little sweeter. I down it, then set it down. Contemplate the glass. “Can I get another?”

---