Page 70 of The Omega Project

The mohawk alpha’s eyes bulge in his pretty face. “Who the hell are you to give us orders in our own damn hotel?”

“I trust him,” Kat says quietly, walking towards us with the confidence of a trained fighter facing a confrontation. “I know Creed, and he would never put any of us in harm’s way.”

“And we all know his psycho packmate. Everyone here has had the shitty luck of running into the arsehole…”

“Stop.” I glare at the sneering alpha. “Don’t insult Finn. He isn’t the problem here.”

“Take a step back, Noah,” Lexi huffs, worming her way in front of him and giving him a little push. She might not be aschoolteacher anymore, but she still has a voice of authority, and her alpha flicks her a brooding look. “These are ourguests, and you’re embarrassing me right now.”

“Can someone turn off the alarm?” Kat asks, sticking a finger in her ear. “Then maybe we can all sit down and talk this out…”

I shoot her a grateful look, but my gaze is drawn past her to Finn, who is entering the room from another door. His face is an implacable mask as he looks around, only softening when his gaze comes to rest on me. “Are you alright?”

I nod, but no one else in the room looks happy to see him, retreating into their pack groups as he strides towards me. I glance at Noah, worried he’s going to try something, but it’s his blond packmate who pulls a gun and points it at Finn. “I have every excuse to shoot you right now,” Cliff growls.

My stomach lurches up into my throat, but Finn just waves a hand. “Calm.”

It’s a command I’ve heard before, but never with a snapping echo that makes my hair stand on end. Cliff drops the gun, which skitters across the floor, but Finn keeps his hands up. “I’m sorry for commanding you, but I need to examine my mates. Step back from the door and give us room.”

“Get the fuck out of my hotel,” Cliff spits, but steps back, herding Noah and Lexi behind him.

Only Kat holds her ground, and she shoots me a concerned look. “You’re not in danger here, right?”

“No.” I flash her a wobbly smile. “But Soren is going into heat, and Finn is taking all precautions.”

She nods, drawing away, and then Finn is wrapping me in his arms. He murmurs more calming words in my ear, then grips Creed’s shoulder. “We’re leaving. Do I need to sedate him?”

“No,” a small voice huffs behind me, and I turn to find Soren struggling into his clothes. He gives up on his buttons, raking a hand through his wet hair and padding barefoot to our side.“There was some descenter in the shower, and based on the pain level, I should be okay for the drive home.”

“We’re not driving,” Finn says in that calm, neutral tone, but he pulls Soren in for a tight hug. He murmurs something in his ear, then nods at Creed, who takes up position at Soren’s side.

I grab Finn’s arm. “I don’t think they’re going to let us rent a room.”

He smiles down at me, one of those lightning-fast quirks of his mouth that makes my heart flutter. “I’ve been circling the city since you arrived.”

I’m not sure how that helps, but I’m too focused on getting out of the hotel to question him. Finn presses something on his phone and the alarm stops, but he doesn’t speak as we move through the silent room. I catch Clark’s eye, wincing at his pale face, but Lexi and Jack come rushing towards us with carrier bags in their arms. Their alphas both snarl, but Lexi gives them a look that would make me slink under my desk if I was in her class. “There’s a blanket for each of you in here. Nice and soft, so it doesn’t chafe your skin. There’s also water bottles and some pain medication.” She looks up at Finn, her gaze polite but unwavering. “I take it you parked on the roof again?”

Jack snorts but focuses on Soren and me. “Helicopters aren’t much fun in a heat. We popped a couple of pairs of earbuds in there, in case your alpha’s model doesn’t come with the usual creature comforts.”

I’m not sure if he’s joking, but their kindness has me biting my lip as I grab both bags. “Thanks so much. And sorry for breaking up the party like this.”

They wave off the apology, but Soren is whispering in Creed’s ear, and he finally pulls away and faces the room. “You deserve better than us rushing out like this, but I want you to know that Finn is protecting you as much as me. No time for all the gory details, but I'm probably why you had those run-ins with Finn.I volunteered for an experimental treatment a few years ago and it messed me up so bad, I got stuck mid-switch.” There’s a shocked murmur around the room, and Soren winces. “Yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds. All the heats and ruts with none of the happy endings.” He takes a deep breath and sneaks a glance at Finn, but I’m relieved to see he’s watching Soren with soft eyes. “This is my first heat in a while, and we're not really sure how it's going to go, so Finn is on high alert. He needs to get me home quickly so he can monitor any changes, although the whole storming the White Castle is a bit much, even for a prince like me.”

His joke is met with a ripple of uneasy laughter, but Dr. Finchley steps forward and takes his hand. “It sounds like you’ve been through a lot, my dear, but you’re not alone in this. Anything we can do to help, just ask.”

Tears trickle down my cheeks at the shocked look he gives her, like he can’t imagine any of these strangers putting themselves out to help him. But Clark and Kat both echo her offers of help, until Cliff steps forward and says, “Thanks for explaining this to us, but you should go now and be with your pack.”

He doesn’t look at Finn or Creed, but I get a faint nod as we walk past, and then we’re climbing a small stairwell to step out into the balmy night air. As fraught as everything was inside, I’ve still got enough energy left to exclaim, “You weren’t kidding about parking on the roof!”

Langston

The only thing that keeps me from pacing furrows into the floorboards is that they stay in touch by phone as they race home in Finn’s helicopter. According to Creed, Soren is calm, but his heat is coming on fast. I assume Finn had something to do with calming him down, since I’ve seen him use his gift of persuasion before, but none of us can predict how Soren is going to react to his switch. Will it make a difference to be in his pack nest, surrounded by his mates? Or will he revert to the pain-wracked, fury-driven omega we all watched suffer for so many months?

I’ve already agreed to facilitate his heat. Not only am I too tense to properly tend Soren as an alpha should, but both Creed and Finn need to finish what they’ve started with him. In Creed’s case, it’s cementing their half-formed bond, while Finn needs a chance to forgive himself for his part in Soren’s suffering.

“How close are they now?”

“Close. Five minutes, or less.” Derek’s helped me get the nest ready, and as the whoop-whoop of distant rotors fills the air, I pull him in for a hard kiss. “Thank fuck you were here, or I’d still be dithering over which sheets to use.”

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