Page 148 of Unhinged Omega

I step into what can only be described as a living room, though that seems too mundane a word for the space. Rich carpets cover the concrete floor, and actual paintings hang on the walls. A massive fireplace dominates one wall, the warm light from the crackling fire lighting up the comfortable-looking furniture and a freakingpiano. And there's an absolutely massive animal skull mounted above the fireplace.

I don't even know what the hell that thing was in life, but it was huge and it had horns.Lotsof horns.

But it's the people in the room that make me freeze.

Geo leans against the mantel, his one eye fixed on us and his muscular arms folded over his broad chest. Nikolai stands neara window—a fuckingwindow, underground?—his eyes widening as they lock onto me. And there, practically vibrating with excitement, is the pretty blond alpha from the airfield.

The Knight's growl deepens to a pitch that makes my teeth ache, almost snarling. His massive frame tenses beside me.

"Sorry," I drawl, rolling my eyes. "He's a little alpha-aggressive."

Whatever stupor has come over Nikolai evaporates in an instant. "Get away from that thing!" he snaps, taking a step forward. "It'll tear you apart!"

I can't help but laugh. "Please. I'd take him over youanyday." I pause, putting a finger on my lips. "Actually… I did." The words come out dripping with venom, and I take savage satisfaction in the way Nikolai's eyes narrow.

I can tell he wants to know if that's why I'm not in heat anymore. For all he knows, I got my hands on pills that got me out of it. Or maybe I let an alpha in the underground fuck me. And I can practically see the gears turning behind his eyes as he tries to figure out if I mean Iliterallychose the Knight over him.

Joke's on him.

I'll let him wonder forever.

The blond alpha moves then, approaching me with an expression of pure adoration that seems utterly out of place, considering I've never even met him. "My goddess," he breathes, reaching for my hand. "At last?—"

The Knight's snarl cuts through the room like a thunderclap. The blond alpha stumbles back, his pupils blowing wide until the blue in his pretty eyes is a thin ring.

"No. Touching," I snap, stepping closer to the Knight's protective bulk and wrapping my arms around his non-metal arm. Even with my hands just resting near the arteries beneath his scarred skin, I can feel his normally slow, steady pulse thundering like a war drum. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

I know Geo said he thinks he's my mate, but that's utterly fucking ridiculous.

Even if he does smell…

Huh.

Kind of good, actually. Better than good. He smells like honey, rich and golden and clean. Nothing like the acrid scent of alpha that usually repels me.

And then, I find myself wondering what the odds are that I happen to be standing in a room with four alphas who are all somehow exceptions to my strange little rule.

Azarel was the first. I assumed he was theonlyalpha who would ever smell good to me. That it was a sign from the universe we were meant to be together.

But if that's true, the same would apply to Nikolai. And that's a pill that's way too big and bitter to swallow. Even Geo smells dangerously pleasant, like stone and leather and those expensive cigars he likes.

I'm too tired for this shit.

"My name is Raven, and I'm your mate," the blond says, his smooth voice wavering slightly as he gives me puppy dog eyes.

Raven's an odd name for an alpha with hair like spun sunlight. Then again, theydolike shiny shit.

And this is the shiniest fucking alpha I've ever seen.

I'm starting to see why the big brute with the eyepatch would clearly do anything for him, even if it makes him infinitely more of a pain in my ass. His confidence seems to grow as he takes another step forward, ignoring—or maybe just in spite of—the Knight's warning growl.

"I felt it the moment I saw you at the Alpha's Alpha," Raven continues. "Surely you felt it, too?"

"The Alpha's Alpha?" My nose wrinkles as I remember the incense and scent maskers pumped through those vents at thatplace Monty dragged me to so I could watch him get his rocks off with all his freaky little fetishes. "That tacky sex club?"

Raven's expression goes blank and Geo runs a hand over his face. Nikolai barks out a laugh.

"Tacky?" Raven croaks, sounding like I just took a sledgehammer to the gravestones of every asshole that came before him.

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