Page 68 of Hide or Die

“You don’t know that,” Alex retorted. “They already tried standing and fighting, and look where it got them.”

Flynn stared at her. “You have actuallymetLeona McCready, right?”

Alex’s lips thinned, and I couldn’t get past the haunted look behind her green eyes.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “And where do you stand on this?”

I tapped the tabletop rhythmically with the fingers of my right hand. “The way I see it, there are a couple of options. You and Flynn can throw down, and maybe once you’ve kicked his ass, he’ll reconsider things.” Flynn scoffed. I ignored him and continued. “Or we can discuss a compromise.”

“I’m listening,” she said, not breaking expression.

“Not sure there’s much to compromise on,” Flynn observed.

“Hear me out,” I said. “Leona’s heat is coming on in a little over a week. Beckett could probably score a heat blocker for her in that amount of time, but she’s already been on that shit for years. Eventually it’s going to kill her.” This next bit was going to be the tricky part, and I watched Alex’s expression carefully. “Or, alternately, he could find her some contraceptives.”

Her features froze.

“From a reputable source,” I added quickly. “You know Beckett has the right contacts to get the good stuff.”

“That’s a thought,” Flynn said, clearly catching on.

Alex didn’t dismiss it out of hand or fly off the handle—and, of course, that was why she led our pack. Well, that and the fact that she could pound both of us into the dirt, if it ever came to that.

“You’re talking about a no-strings-attached heat contract. Which, I hasten to point out, is what I thought Irina and I were going to have, before I succumbed to knot-brain in mid-coupling and agreed to give her a mating bite.”

“You were alone, and you were both young,” I said. “Plus, I hope I don’t have to point out that I’ve been with more omegas than I care to remember, yet I’ve never been tempted to bite. And Flynn treats sex like it’s a recreational sport.”

“Hey,” Flynn protested, sounding mildly insulted. A moment later, he seemed to realize I was on his side in this, and he added, “It’s just nice to get close to people, that’s all. It doesn’t have to be a huge deal.”

“We’ll all be there to police each other and keep emotions from getting out of hand,” I said, hoping to bring my argument home. “This kind of thing wasn’t at all unusual in the old days, before the Purge. And isn’t that exactly what we’re all fighting for? The freedom to be ourselves and manage our lives the way we see fit?”

Alex’s jaw tightened, the tendons working with tension for a long moment. “All right.” It sounded like the words were being pulled from her. “Counter-proposal.Ifthey agree to stay here instead of sneaking out of the country to hide, andifthey furthermore agree to a heat contract with the two of you—then she uses a cervical cap with spermicide in addition to hormonal contraception, and anyone knotting her wears a condom. I’m present for all of it, and if I see teeth coming anywhere near a mating gland, I will deliver the beat-down of yourfucking life.”

Flynn grinned at her. “Done.”

She looked mildly taken aback, either because she’d been geared up for more of a fight, or because she’d just realized that this might really be about to happen. She shot me a sharp look, and I shrugged.

“Works for me,” I said, not about to bring up the fact that triple-redundancy in contraception seemed like a bit of overkill, to put it mildly.

She had her reasons. And frankly, I’d expected more resistance, so I wasn’t about to make a fuss.

Flynn looked like he could float on air. “Great! It’s all settled. Now we just need to wait for Beckett to work his magic.”

“Yeah. Great,” Alex echoed faintly. “Fuck.”

---