Page 421 of Omega for the Pack

“This is no trouble at all. We’re the ones inconveniencing you, my dear,” he said. My stomach flipped every time he called me that. He had an older gentleman-like demeanor, and somehow, I trusted him instinctively.

The gentle quiet of our cooking was interrupted when Adrian came down the stairs yawning loudly and only wearing a pair of black briefs. His tanned chest had impeccable definition from his muscles.

“Hey, Lacy,” said Adrian, leaning against the fridge. I tried not to stare because whenever we looked at each other, my heart would beat out of control. His wild abandon made me want to drop everything and run off into the sunset with him. He was the fun one, and I knew hanging out with him would be trouble.

“Where’s your clothes?” I said briskly, grabbing the bacon slices from the freezer. “Did you lose it on your way here?”

“I did,” said Adrian, grabbing a jug of milk from the refrigerator like it was his house. My eyes widened when I watched him chug down a whole glass in front of me. “Yes, I’m an alpha with a big appetite.”

“I can see that,” I said, watching as he washed the glass in the sink, his elbow brushing mine. The contact sent flurries ofdesire to flow through me. For an omega, it was natural for me to gravitate to more than one alpha until the pack marked me as theirs with their bites.

The men were all sitting around the table, myself included, with scrambled eggs and bacon.

“Sorry, the meal isn’t fancier,” I said. “This is all I had today.”

“This is perfect,” said Lucas, his mouth full as he dug into his plate with gusto. I was sitting between him and Cooper. Ryder was sitting across from me, oddly silent as he ate each bite as if pondering over something in his mind.

Nervousness and apprehension settled within me as I ate. I started to wonder if last night was a figment of my imagination. He wasn’t looking at me in the eyes, and all he wanted to talk about was business.

The nervousness in me was slowly forming into hurt. I never thought he’d be like other alphas, stringing me along with my emotions only to break my heart afterward.

“Did you check the cameras, Ryder?” asked Adrian.

“Fuck,” said Ryder, dropping his fork onto the plate with a clatter. He slapped his forehead and shook his head. “I was completely distracted.”

“We think we know why,” said Adrian, chuckling as he ate. My face burned as Adrian looked between Ryder and me.

“Shut your mouth,” barked Ryder, and I jumped.

For some reason, I sat there hurt.Was it really that bad that I had given him probably the best blowjob of his life? Or maybe it was terrible.

The men didn’t say a word as they watched Ryder get up from the table to check out his laptop on the coffee table. We could all tell he was grumpy this morning.

I watched, too, wondering if he could give us a definite description of my stalker. But as I watched, I felt like a prostituteor some cheap omega. Him not looking me in the eyes or acknowledging me this morning was embarrassing.

I followed the pack to the living room to see what Ryder pulled up on the laptop. I didn’t want to, but I had to show that he didn’t affect me. He growled in frustration as he watched plain static on the screen.

“The fucker disconnected the camera somehow,” said Ethan, inspecting the wires and high up on the ladder to check the camera. “Yeah, he disconnected a wire.”

“Replace the wire, and we’ll install more cameras around the house,” said Ryder. Then he turned to me. “What time are we leaving for the studio?”

“We’re not going to the studio. Later at five, I have to perform at a wedding,” I said stonily, not looking at him. He didn’t get the right to talk to me whenever he wanted to. I could feel his gaze on my face as I spoke. “Everyone is free to do whatever until then.”

“Cool,” said Ryder, his gaze returning to the laptop.

“I’ll buy groceries for us,” said Cooper amidst the awkwardness.

His pack leader clearly couldn’t stand my presence after last night. Maybe he couldn’t stand my scent. After a while my scent could get sickening, I thought, with my stomach dropping at the thought.

I walked to the table and started to clear it up with Adrian’s help. Adrian seemed to notice the tension between Ryder and I since he was trying to crack light jokes. I just wasn’t in the mood.

“Thanks, Adrian, I got the dishes now. I prefer to wash it alone,” I said.

“Got ya,” he said. “I guess I should shower and put some clothes on.”

“Okay,” I said, unable to crack a smile. He lingered in the kitchen after my short response, and then he finally left mealone, bounding up the stairs to get ready. As I washed the dishes, lost in my thoughts, I saw someone standing next to me drying off the dishes for me. I looked to my right to see Ryder calmly wiping a plate with a dry rag.

I never asked for his help.

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