Page 1 of Untamed Omega

Chapter One

Markus

“Anything I can do?” I asked, midafternoon. Locke, our alpha, who demanded we not call him that, was in the food storage closet with a clipboard, his brow furrowed. He’d sighed three times since I came in five seconds before.

“You have enough to do.” He grunted and went back to moving jars of beans and bags of flour around.

“Everyone here is pretty healthy now, and all my morning visits are complete. Let me help you.” I reached for the clipboard, but he moved it away.

“Do you think I’m incapable of handling this?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.

“No, not at all…” The word alpha was right on the tip of my tongue. “I like to keep busy.”

He scribbled some numbers down on the paper then stretched his neck. He hated inventory but when it was his turn, he did so with a minimal amount of grumbling. “Why don’t you rest?” he said. “There are warm chocolate-chip cookies and a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. Take a walk. Sit on a bench. Read. Something other than trying to relieve me of this headache.”

“Ah, so you do think this job is a headache. I don’t mind doing it.”

He turned those eyes on me, and I stiffened. Sure, I was an alpha as well, but he wasthealpha around here. His word was law. Our animals followed his grizzly when we ran as a community.

In charge, whether he chose the title or not.

Which was why I caved. “Okay. I’ll go find something to do.” I walked backward with my palms out in surrender.

“Rest. We need you strong and steady. We never know when we might get another survivor in.”

“He gave me that speech this morning.” I turned to see Locke’s mate, Kellan, holding their daughter Elise in his arms. She was growing like a fertilized weed, exhibiting signs her animal was about to emerge. Early, of course, but with all the experiments some went through, nothing could be deemed normal around here. “I was trying to get up and bake muffins.”

“Oh, those were yours? Very good. I loved the pecan-and-brown-sugar streusel on the top.”

Kellan laughed. “No, he made me stay in bed. I think Rob baked them. He doesn’t say a lot, but he makes one hell of a muffin.”

Locke let out a low growl.

Kellan immediately gave him the stink eye. “I was talking about his muffins.”

“Exactly. Muffins sounds like a metaphor for something else. I can’t help it. It’s the alpha in me.”

Kellan and I rolled our eyes. But he looked down at Elise and shook his head. “Daddy is being broody today because he hates inventory. He’s being silly. Markus, you want to join us for a midday snack?”

I nodded. At least it would occupy my mind a bit.

We walked the short distance to the kitchen where I nabbed one of the muffins in question while Kellan grabbed a kitchen-sink cookie and sat down. “Let me make you something to drink? Are you having coffee yet?”

He nodded. “I am. I think Elise is weaning on her own. No sugar. Lots of cream, please.”

I prepared his cup first and then one for myself. Black. Adding things to my coffee felt like a luxury I didn’t deserve. I’d made up all kinds of rules like that for myself. With whathappened to my omega, what I let happen, I didn’t deserve the good things in life.

“Markus?” Kellan asked, pulling me from my intrusive thoughts.

“Yes. Sorry. Here you are. I got lost there.”

I placed the cup in front of him and then sat across from him. I’d gotten a piece of cheese out from the fridge and offered it to Elise.

“She loves cheese. Thank you.”

I nodded and sipped on my caffeine.

“Is there something you want to talk about, Markus? You’re there for all of us, but do you have someone to speak to? I would never betray your confidence, but if not me, someone else?”

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