“So tonight we take her with us,” said Tony, his eyes downcast. “I don’t like this one bit.”
I swallowed hard, my heart beating painfully slow. I didn’t like it either. My inner alpha was growling in rage at the thought of handing her off to another pack. Especially to the Lustfur Pack. Any other pack was better.
“When she’s mated with them and happily bonded, we’ll forget about her. I assure you, Tony,” I said, but I was comforting myself more with the thought.
“What if she’s unhappy with them and wants to mate with us instead?”
“That’s not happening unless you want to lose everything we’re about to get,” I reminded him. There was no way I would return to the poverty lifestyle I grew up with. I grew up as an orphan, thrown out into the streets as a pup.
The Lustfur Pack offered property and land in exchange for the stolen omega. When her parents left the island, it was rumored that they had a baby girl who had the mark of an omega. It was the first time in the history of Howl’s Edge that parents had left the island. And the most powerful pack, the Lustfur pack, was not too happy about that. Even parents couldn’t just take an omega out of Howl’s Edge and get away with it. So, instead of her parents getting punished, we were doing Tiana a favor.
I had signed up to find the stolen omega, and it was going to be me who won the riches.
We looked over at her, and I saw her chatting with Wesley. She somehow found her way to another alpha.
“Ha, looks like she just can’t help it,” laughed Tony as we watched her flirt with Wesley.
“No, no, no, what the hell,” I muttered, making my way over to them. Wesley looked surprised with those blue eyes of his as he saw me. Tiana didn’t retreat like the last time. Instead, she turned to face me, fire in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked me, seething. “Is he your boyfriend, too?”
“No,” I growled. I could see Tony’s body shaking with laughter. Damn him.
“Then what’s your problem with me? You had no issues breaking into the bathroom yesterday,” she said, her eyes narrowed.
“Whoa,” said Wesley, his eyebrows raised. “You did what, Grant?”
“Grant, you didn’t tell us this,” said Tony gleefully.
I took a deep breath to calm down. They were testing me.
“No, I didn’t,” I said calmly. “I might have been a little too strict on you all. Let’s have lunch together since you’re all dying to get to know each other.”
“That sounds nice,” said the little minx. Her nose was in the air, and she wasn’t backing down. I never saw this side of her, and I was surprised. Her omega instincts wanted to be around alpha males, and I knew she couldn’t help it, not knowing what she wanted from us. She needed a knot when she went into full heat. Several alpha knots inside her, actually. I knew exactly what she needed, but we couldn’t touch her. Mating her wasn’t on the table.
As she walked by me, her strawberry scent trailed behind her, putting my senses on alert.
I thought this would be easy, but I was starting to realize this would be a lot harder than I thought.
Nine
TIANA
Grant was being such a jerk. I didn’t get what his problem was. He touched me, and now he’s acting like nothing happened.Was he jealous of his pack?That had to be it.
“Let’s sit here,” said Wesley, pointing to a table next to the ship’s edge. It had a good view of the ocean.
“It’s perfect,” I said, sitting at the round table covered in white cloth. Wesley and Tony sat on either side of me. Grant sat across from us, scowling. I was still upset with Tony for how he talked to me earlier, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it now.
“Looks like it’s about to rain,” observed Tony.
“Yeah, it’s pretty dark,” I agreed, a little worried. The ship was bumpy, and the water was choppy. The sky was dark and covered with ominous clouds. It wasn’t a great week for a cruise vacation. And I didn’t trust the ship itself since I could hear every creak and groan. However, Lori did mention that her cousin was cheap, so I was worried about this old ship.
The waiter came to take our orders, and I noticed the bride and groom were taking pictures with their family. I felt terrible for Lori as she was dragged into it. She hated taking pictures, and I could see it on her face.
I looked back at the group of men I was sitting with. I had grown unsure of myself and remembered how miserable I was a few days ago being lonely.
I was drawn to them, and I didn’t understand why. I felt like I belonged to them. I rubbed my hot forehead with my hand, wondering what the heck was going on with me.