Page 44 of Priceless

Now I just had to make sure I got out of this with my heart intact. Because if they kept calling me their wife in that tone, I would fall for them, and when our year was up, the rest of me would be shattered.

At the very least I had friends I knew would pick up the pieces. And, I repeated to myself, I would rather be shattered and free than whole and trapped for five more years.

I dodged out of the way of a mover carrying a box and shook myself out of the spiral. Almost out. So close. I just had to survive until tomorrow.

16

HAWTHORN

(BREAD AND CHEESE TREE, MAYFLOWER, THORN APPLE, TREE OF CHASTITY)

MEANING: CONTRADICTIONS; DUALITY; HOPE; MALE ENERGY; UNION OF OPPOSITES

EVERETT

________

Time wasn’t moving fast enough for me. Only a few minutes until the wedding started, and it was still too long.

All I could think about was Ocean and getting lost in those dark eyes as she looked up at me. I wanted to know every thought in her head. Then I wanted to spend several hours between her thighs. Not necessarily in that order.

More than anything, I wanted her to know how deep this was for us. That it wasn’t a game or a PR stunt or anything else. It was forever, because she was our Omega.

But I knew, in the same way I knew that she was mine, she wasn’t ready to hear it. Even if she would believe us before a heat, there were things lurking under the surface she needed to face. If there were monsters that needed defeating, we would do it with her.

Still, the thought of being so close to her and not being able to tell her everything made me itch with frustration. I fucking hated it. I was the steady one. The one of us who struck fear into opponents when needed. The one who could tune out emotions and do the task set in front of me, no matter what it was.

All that evaporated when it came to her.

A firm knock sounded on the door. Cameron peeked outside, and I saw his shoulders stiffen. When he opened it further, I saw why. Frank stood there in his suit, looking nervous.

His nerves were different from the anticipation dancing under my skin. I was on edge because my whole world was going to be walking toward me down the aisle and I didn’t want to do anything but make her feel loved and let her know how much we wanted her. He was nervous because he was going to lose his company and he was holding onto it so tightly he was about to shatter it.

That was the thing he needed to learn. When you held things that close, they broke. Without room to move and grow, whatever means you used to bind it to you would dig in—like barbed wire—until the damage was irreparable. But Frank wasn’t the kind of person to understand that.

“Frank,” Micah said by way of greeting. “Didn’t expect to see you back here.”

“Just wanted to come by and make sure everything was in order.”

The paperwork was with the lawyers. We’d sign everything when we got to the office on Monday. He knew that already, so the words rang false. I kept my voice light with amusement. “Nothing’s changed since the last time we spoke.”

“Right, right.” He cleared his throat. “I also just wanted to thank you for choosing Ocean.”

That… was not what I expected.

“Oh?” Cameron asked. “And why is that?”

Frank shrugged, and something in my gut told me I wasn’t going to like what came next. “Even if it’s only for a year, this is probably the only time she’ll have a relationship, so it’ll be good for her to have it. That’s all.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“She’s…” Frank seemed at a loss for words, and I wasn’t going to supply them. Let him flounder in the silence like a gasping fish for all I cared. He was going to say whatever it was. “She’s not your typical Omega. And I understand why you chose her. Because she was available. But you don’t have to pretend with me. Everyone knows you wouldn’t pick her if you had a choice.”

“Again,” Cameron said, his voice uncharacteristically flat. “Why is that?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We know her body is a barrier. Lord knows Laura and I have tried to help her, but she’s never been interested. And after you, I doubt there will be anyone else. So thank you. It’s a kindness.”

Red flashed across my vision, and it was only Cameron’s hand in the middle of my chest that stopped me from punching him in the fucking mouth. It was one thing to know they treated her differently because of her body, and another thing to hear it from his lips. The fucker.

---