Page 245 of Omega for the Pack

He always advocated for me to follow my even though it wasn’t something my mom agreed with. Mom was the more practical one. When I was a teen, I’d go to him for everything that bothered me about school and the bullies I’d face back then. He held no judgment and quietly listened, comforting me whenI cried. If anyone could convince me to go to the Omega Ball, it was him.

Crossing my arms, I leaned against the balcony door.

“That’s right,” said Rob, settling on the couch and groaning because of his back. He was big-boned and looked as large as Santa, especially with his full brown beard, speckled with white strands. His belly took a toll on his back, and I always had to massage his back during my childhood since my brother Jack would mysteriously disappear every time Rob requested it. “If any pack messes with you, Jadey, they’re done for. We will keep a close eye on you. While Jon stuffs his face at the dance.”

“What? I think you got that wrong,” sputtered Jon, spilling tea on the front of his checkered shirt. Rob bellowed, holding his belly, and I laughed with them despite being annoyed by them barging in like this. My mom didn’t even crack a smile. Instead, her eyes were hyper-focused on me – willing me to succeed and be the daughter of her dreams.

“Fine, Mom,” I said. “I’ll go to the Omega Ball tomorrow.”

“Oh good,” she said, the lines on her face visibly relaxing. “What’s new with you, my dear?”

My heart stopped momentarily. I couldn’t let her know that I had quit my job.

“Nothing much, just work,” I said, gesturing to the green scrubs I was wearing. I looked away, not making eye contact as I spoke, hoping she wouldn’t ask too many questions.

Two

JADE

“Your mom really wants you to mate up, huh?” said Vanessa.

My mom constantly glanced my way every few seconds while we stood off the dance floor in the ballroom. Her hawkish gaze was watching to see if any alpha would approach me.

“She does,” I said.

For some reason, the alphas weren’t approaching, and I wasn’t wearing something ugly either. My dark purple floral dress hugged my breasts, showing off some cleavage, and it was honestly the best thing I had to wear today. Vanessa looked stunning in her silver dress that clung to her curves, her red lipstick accentuating her red hair. She was my brother’s mate and had a pack of seven men.

Yep,seven.

While I had none. It sure was depressing as hell if I thought about it too much.

“I feel nervous about tonight,” said Vanessa.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I’m a bundle of nerves for you. I have a good feeling you’ll find your mate.”

“That’s not happening,” I said. “How're the children?”

“Lyra organized a little daycare here at the palace, so I dropped them off there,” said Vanessa.

Lyra was the princess of Howl’s Edge and also a close friend of ours now. I met Lyra through Vanessa. And I had met Tiana through Keera. We were a tight-knit group of ladies, and I would volunteer several times to help babysit for them. So it was nice that Lyra had someone from her palace handle it for tonight.

“I want to see Gabe and Lacy later,” I said.

“Of course! They won’t stop talking about you,” said Vanessa with a smile. “They miss you.”

At that moment, Alex came up to us, his eyes on his lady. A pang went through me as I longed to have that type of connection an omega had with her alphas.

“May I have this dance?” he asked, bowing his head and sweeping his hand with a flourish to Vanessa. I smiled when I saw Vanessa blushing, even after two years of being mated to her pack.

“Sure,” she said, placing her hand in his, and he kissed the top of it dramatically. Then he looked over at me and shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry, I didn’t say hi. Hey Jade, how are you?” he asked after ignoring my existence for an entire five minutes.

“I’m great, and yourself?”

“Doing great. Gabey and Lacey miss you,” he said, sweeping an arm around Vanessa’s waist.

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