Page 9 of One Wild Omega

“You know damned well the chief doesn’t like relatives working on the same crew,” Fitz replied. Considering who the province’s chief was, there was no way he and his brothers wouldeverbe on the same crew. Their father had been with the city’s fire department for nearly forty years, starting exactly where they had. On the job, he made them call him chief. They got no special treatment and never would. “Since you and Harry are on the only two other crews on this side of town, that means I’d have to go over the bridge and work in Victoria Highlands.Notgonna happen.”

“They have fires on that side of town, too,” Harrison said.

“They have fires? Really? You mean you can’t throw money at a fire to stop it?” Emerson asked with a snort.

“Exactly my point. I don’t want to work around a bunch of stuck-up, rich snobs. Add in the fact I’d have to hightail it across town to get to class? No, thank you,” Fitz said. “I like the Southside. We’re family over here. Far away from the first families of Fort Seattle with their big houses, huge bank accounts, and fast cars.”

“Jealous?” Harrison asked, lifting a brow.

Fitz sat back in his chair. “I’m just tired of hardworking people being abused by the likes of those assholes. Look how hard we had it… and then these guys are handed everything in life?”

“Look, it wasn’t the McCrearys or the Lachlans or any other family out there that caused Pops and Dad to spit out eight kids,” Harrison said. “Things were rough because there were too many mouths to feed and not always enough to feed them.”

The moneyed town leaders had fought pay raises for public servants for far too long, until a rash of fires ontheirside of town had altered minds a decade or so before. When there hadn’t been enough manpower or equipment to save all those fancy houses and fast cars, their eyes had been opened. “Maybe if Dad have been paid what he deserved when he was first in the department, we all wouldn’t have suffered as much as we did. You can’t say they’re not to blame for that.”

“Suffer? When did we ever truly suffer?” Harrison asked, brow furrowed. “Were things tough? Sure. But we made it through and we’re made of harder stuff than those prissy rich alphas on the other side of town.Andwe’re all doing pretty well now. Rand’s going to work for the enemy.” Harrison paused to cross himself. Firefighters and police officers had a bit of an adversarial nature, and no one in the family was happy Randall had applied to the police academy. “Lucas is cooking away in that fancy restaurant. And Harley and Bay are both mated to decent enough alphas. The three of us are in the department, just like Dad. And soon—you’ll graduate with that fancy degree of yours and be some big shot, fancy architect.”

“Who’ll end up living over in the Victoria Highlands and forget all about us,” Emerson said with a snort.

Fitz ignored Emerson. “I’ll graduateifmy captain stops switching my damned schedule at the last minute and making me miss class.” He paused, mentally calculating what Harrison had just said. “You left one out of the roll call.”

“Let’snotbring up the youngest right now,” Harrison said, sighing.

“Why?” Fitz asked. “What’s up with River?”

“Pops found an alpha in his room early this morning. Nearly screamed the house down,” Emerson said. “I was in the shower and nearly fell on my ass trying to jump out and see what the commotion was.” He lifted his arm, showing a massive dark purple bruise on his elbow. “Caught myself on the ledge. Feelsrealgood.”

“What’s River doing with some alpha in the house? He’s only seventeen.”

“And you weren’t thinking with your dick at seventeen?” Harrison asked. “Omegas aren’t all that different than we are.”

“Alphas can’t get pregnant,” Emerson interjected.

Fitz shook his head, eyeing Harrison and pointing at Emerson. “That’snotwhat I was implying. So you remember who said that a.k.a. not me.”

“Whatwereyou implying? Omegas can’t be free to do as they want?” Harrison asked him.

“It’s disrespectful to Pops and Dad,” Fitz said. “I might’ve been thinking with my dick at seventeen, but the hell if I did it under the same roof as my parents.”

“Yeah, but you had to share a bedroom with two other baby alphas,” Emerson said. “River’s the youngest and the last one left at home. He’s got a room of his own where he can do all the bad he wants to.” Emerson growled. “He’s lucky I was in the shower or else I woulda chased that kid down.”

“I would paygood moneyto see you running down the street after some young alpha at the top of his physical peak,” Harrison said before sharing a wide grin.

Emerson frowned. “Who said I’m not in top physical shape?” He flexed a thickly muscled bicep. “I wanna see an eighteen-year-old with guns like these.”

“All bulk,” Harrison said, the leaner of the twins. “These young guys are quick, man. I see the lean, lanky noobs coming in from the academy and I doubt you could keep up. What they don’t have in experience, they make up for with energy. I wish I still had that kind of rev in the engine.”

Emerson scoffed. “Damn… you’re barely thirty and still talking like an old man. I know I’d beatyourslow ass in a race.”

Harrison tossed his head back dramatically and barked with laughter. The sound was enough to make Fitz join him. “Wanna go outside right now and test that theory?”

Emerson lifted his beer toward his lips. “Another night. When I haven’t had a couple of beers in me. I’ve got beer bloat.”

“Beer bloat?” Harrison slapped his twin’s gut. “You’re getting fat off Pop’s cooking. You need out of that house.”

“I like how Em said River was the last one at home,” Fitz added. “As if he’s not sleeping in our childhood home again.”

“Atemporarystop after a bad breakup.” Emerson sighed. “I need to get out of there. They’re all about to drive me insane.”

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