Page 229 of Omega for the Pack

“Don’t have too much fun while we’re gone,” he said. The rest of the pack kissed me before disappearing from the house. I could hear their excited exclamations as they got to the speedboats.

“Men,” muttered Jade. “How in the world did you snag seven of them?”

“I…it all just came together,” I said lamely, watching her chop up a head of lettuce on a brown cutting board. Her rings flashed from the sunlight as she held the knife carefully between her fingers. “Do you need help with anything?”

“No thanks, hun,” she said. “It’s just salad. Goodness knows I have to start watching my weight.” She patted her chubby belly and sighed.

“You’re not that big at all,” I said, but my mind was elsewhere. We heard the roar of the speedboat engine disappear.

My heart began racing with the possibility of escaping to the Royal Palace. This was the first time I was without an alpha standing guard over me.

I had to see my son.

The alphas were taking their time to come to a decision. As I listened to Jade talk about her work and the alpha she was crushing on, I contemplated how I’d leave. “I’m sorry, but do you have scent blockers?”

“Isn’t the alpha mark enough to keep predators away?” she asked.

“No, I forgot about that,” I lied. I wanted to hide my identity as an omega so I could take a damn taxi without any issues.

I had to pass for a beta, at least. Betas didn’t have a distinct scent as omegas did. My heart thundered so loud in my chest that I could barely hear what Jade was saying over the racket in my brain. The little voice was telling me to get my child, and the other voice demanded I stay put and wait for my pack for extra protection.

“Why do you need the scent blockers?”

I was jolted out of my thoughts.

“Nothing, I just wanted to take a walk outside without the pack around me constantly,” I said.

I could tell Jade was starting to feel bad for me, judging by the way she was twisting her fingers together anxiously. After everything that happened to me, I told myself I wouldn’t manipulate or lie to people anymore, but I had to do this for my son.

“Well, if that’s the case,” she said, walking over to her brown purse on the counter after drying her hands. “Here you go. I bet seven males could be alotfor one omega and you need a break.”

“Thank you so much, Jade.”

I took the bottle of cream from her and headed off to a random room in the huge house and locked the door.

This room was an office. Chestnut table and a large portrait of an alpha werewolf. A mini flag of Howl’s Edge island sat on the desk, striped in yellow and green with a wolf’s eye in the middle.

I quickly stripped off my red shirt and my black shorts. I slathered on the cream, trying not to use too much and finish her supply. After covering myself in the cream and throwing my clothes back on, I was glad my scent wasn’t as obvious anymore. Unless an alpha decided to come really close to me, I was safe.

My legs were shaky,and I was light-headed as I exited the taxi.

“Thank you,” I called to the driver, shutting the door.

He zoomed away as fast as possible, as if I was an inconvenience. He didn’t even talk through the whole ride.Whatever.That wasn’t any of my concerns right now.

I was facing the back of the palace, where the massive graveyard was.

It was the only way I could enter without running into the guards at the front. After living here for a few months, I knew this was the least guarded area. It was where Voss and I had made plans for our life together every night without getting caught. I wasn’t attached to him at all. He was just a way out and a way to my freedom. A pawn in the game on my path to freedom. Until everything went wrong.

As I walked between the wall of trees that blocked off the graveyard, my heart started racing again at the sight of the extravagant building. The divide between the wealthy and the poor always made me question if we were living in the island paradise that we all thought we were living.

Immediately, I saw Gabe playing with Queen Ophelia out on the terrace.

Ophelia had on a white straw hat and laughed as Gabe chased a butterfly off a rose. She looked much older than the last time I saw her. But I didn’t care about her. My eyes were only on my son right now. He wore the same blue overalls they had him wear before, and his chubby cheeks were pink from his large smile. My heart ached. I wanted to run around this bush I was kneeling behind and go to him.

To call out his name. To hug him.

But instead, I knelt there, watching him play for a while. Ophelia was distracted and looking at herself in a handheld mirror, her hand covered in long white gloves. I looked back toward Gabe and saw him running dangerously close to the pond. Panicking, I looked back at Ophelia and saw her staring at him wide-eyed. Frozen in her seat.

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