Page 19 of The Long Lost Omega

“We will handle it. She doesn’t know us well, and seemed about as unenthusiastic about it as we were. It won't be the end ofthe world, just the end of the business deal.” He said, and I swallowed.

“Can I trust you, Kaden?” I asked.

“Safira, I will spend the rest of my life making this up to you. We should have told you about this earlier, but I forgot you don’t know what it means when a pack isn’t on a registry. There are so many things about our world that I forget you have no experience with. I really don’t want to lose you. Please let us fix this. We only agreed to the deal right before you came back into our lives.” His words sounded choked, like he was holding back emotions as deep as mine. I slowly reached out my hand, taking his. His body relaxed as I finally touched him.

“I want you to fix it before I see you again. Don’t lead anyone on.” I warned, and he nodded.

“It’s always been you, Safira. I won’t let anyone tell me who to be with. Not now, not ever again.”

Chapter 18

Jax

Our fathers sure knew how to put us down. We’d received the lecture of our lives, and I wished I’d been the one to escort Safira home rather than Kaden. Anything would be better than listening to them tell us about how disappointed they were. They’d called all the fathers in, and we spent the next two hours listening to nine alphas and two betas rip us to shreds about our “poor decision making.”

“And if we hear even a peep about you doing something so stupid again, we’ll take away your cars and keep you grounded in the house until you bond with Illiana!” Edson shouted at us. I looked at him in rage. They were going too far.

“We paid for our cars, and our house, on our own! We aren’t kids anymore, we’re grown adults. You can’t ground us, father.” I said as I glared at him.

“You bought everything with the money you made fromourcompany. We gave you responsibility, and we can take it away! If you dare break your end of the bargain, you can forget about being a part of the company, and forget about being part of the family!” He shouted back at me. Tony kept his mouth shut. It was probably for the best. His green eyes blazed with rage, but if he spoke his mind we’d be in even more trouble. They didn’t understand. None of our fathers were bonded to an omega they’d scent matched with. All of their unions were practical, and to be honest, none of them understood the deep connection we’d felt with Safira. I looked at Tony, both of us in a silent agreement to wait and discuss what the plan was once we were done being lectured. When our fathers finally felt they’d beaten us into submission, they left, slamming the door in their wake. I turned to look at my packmate.

“I never expected them to be that angry.” he said as he sat down on the sofa. I sighed.

“We’ve never had to fight them on anything this big before. They never scent matched with anyone. That’s why they don’t understand. As much as they take care of our moms, I don’t think they know how strong the connection is with a true mate.” I murmured. Our fathers might not get it, but they wouldn’t stop us from living our lives the way we knew best. That I was sure of.

Tony and I waited for Kaden to get back, the anxiety of what had happened in the car ride eating away at us. When he finally walked through the door, we stood up and rushed over, our anxiety about the whole thing eating us alive.

“What happened with Safira?” Tony finally asked, his voice calm for the first time since we’d been caught with her at the country club.

“I explained everything. Don’t worry, she’s mad but she’s giving us a chance to make things right. She feels the same way about us as we feel about her. I think she’s still absorbing how things work here, but she knows we are doing everything we can to be with her and keep her safe.” Kaden’s words eased my tension, and I let out a sigh of relief. As long as we didn’t lose her, there was still hope. I updated him on the threats from our fathers. His expression grew serious before he spoke again.

“Let’s go talk to Cora.”

Chapter 19

Kaden

Our steps echoed through the manor as we sought out Cora - my mom and the omega of my family’s pack. She had been an integral part of Jax and Tony’s life, especially after Jax’s mom fell ill. Tony’s mom was around occasionally, but spent most of her time shopping and traveling. My mom had been the one who was more of a mother figure to the three of us.

We found her in the reading room, curled up on the couch with a book. She spent most of her time at home, cleaning and cooking dinner for when my fathers would come home late after working all day. She raised her head when we entered, and gave us a warm smile.

“Boys! Come have a seat.” She always called us boys, no matter that we were in our twenties now. We settled in around the room, each taking a seat as she set her book down. “Tell mewhat’s wrong. I know it’s serious, I heard it in your voice.” Her words were already calming me down as she took my hand. I was so happy to have her. Our fathers could be over the top alpha-holes at times, and if it weren’t for her presence, we might have become a bit too much like them.

“It’s about the upcoming bonding.” I said. She nodded; her expression reserved as her eyes searched my face. “Do you remember Safira?” I asked, and she broke into a smile.

“Of course I remember Safira. Although I might be the only one! I’m sure your fathers thought we made her up out of thin air.” She chuckled. “I know you looked for her for so long. Is the memory of her giving you second thoughts on the bonding?” Her words were kind, and I was glad that she had been there as a witness the first time we met our mystery girl.

“That’s the thing. She’s not a memory, mom. We found her. She’s back!” I said, and her eyes widened with shock.

“Really? That’s amazing! How? You looked everywhere!” Her words came out quickly as she sat up with excitement.

“It’s a really long story, but it’s not important now. We finally found her, but of course after we’d already been promised to bond with another.” My mom’s face fell. She knew how long fathers had worked to secure the deal, even though she wasn’t involved with the business. I sat closer to her. “They are threatening to cut us out. They threatened to disown us. But the thing is, she’s the one.” I said in a whisper.

“She’s always been the one.” Jax added, the shadows from the fireplace playing on his face as he sat somberly in the chair. My mom leaned back, her brows knit as she considered what we told her.

“I think deep down I always knew this would be an issue. Even as kids, before you presented, you fought for years to find her. She made such an impression on all of you. I figured if you ever found her again, you’d discover you were mates.” Her admission confirmed what we knew to be true. She was always our mate. Tony moved forward, falling to his knees on the ground as he grabbed at his hair, the dark masses of hair peeking through his hands as he groaned in frustration.

“What do we do? How can we get them to see that she’s the endgame for us? We can’t give her up!” He howled out. I felt his distress through our bond. Once an alpha found his mate, it was almost painful to be apart from her. And we’d never been in a position where we had to choose to go against our family. My mom reached out her other hand, rubbing his back as he looked at her in torment.

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