Page 220 of Unhinged Omega

"What am I going to do? Kick you out? Then I'd have a pissed-off Ravenanda mutated rage monster on my case." He tilts his head toward Knight, who responds with a warning growl. "Besides, other than the piano, you've been surprisingly well-behaved guests. So long as you keep him in line."

Knight's growl sounds irritated now.

"We'll see." A thought occurs to me. "Speaking of Nikolai... where exactly did he go?"

"Off to find Raven." Geo leans back in his chair. "After that...performance, he couldn't get out of here fast enough. Must not have wanted an encore. Can't say I blame him."

I groan.

But despite myself, my mind conjures an image of Nikolai wounded, facing who knows what dangers in the wasteland. Damn it. Why the hell should I care? He's nothing to me.

Yet there's that inexplicable pull again.

"What's the deal with you three anyway?" I ask, partly to distract myself from these unwelcome concerns.

Geo blanches, his expression shifting from mild annoyance to genuine discomfort. "There is no 'the three of us.' Period."

"Could have fooled me." I settle onto the couch, drawing my legs beneath me as Knight stands near the armrest. I reach up and rest my hand on his forearm, idly stroking his scarred skin. "Raven calls you 'Daddy' even though you're hardly old enough to be his father, and he and Nikolai have so much unresolved sexual tension between them, they always seem on the verge of either fucking or killing each other..."

"Are you always this direct?" Geo asks with a grunt.

"It's a gift," I answer. "Vrissian mother."

Geo scoffs. "You're not far off where Raven and Nikolai are concerned. But if you're asking if they're together, the answer is no. If you're asking if they everwere, I got no fucking idea and that's the way I like it."

Hmm. Interesting.

"And what about you?" I can't help but press. "I see the way you look at Raven."

"I don't—" Geo cuts himself off, his jaw working. "You're seeing shit that isn't there."

"If you say so." I can't help the knowing smirk that tugs at my lips.

He watches me for a long moment, eye narrowed. "Would it bother you?"

"What?"

"Two of your alphas being with each other."

"They're notmyalphas," I correct quickly, ignoring Knight's soft growl behind me. "But no, it wouldn't bother me." I hesitate, then decide honesty is the simplest approach. "Actually… it's kind of hot."

Geo's eyebrows shoot up.

"But it's irrelevant," I continue, smoothing my robe. "I already have a mate."

Knight shifts behind me, and I can feel him listening intently. There's a tension in his posture I can sense without even looking at him.

"Ah yes, the mysterious Azarel." Geo leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Is he really worth all this trouble? A highborn lady such as yourself chasing an alpha across the Outer Reaches seems a bit backward, doesn't it?"

His words strike a nerve, prodding at doubts I'd rather stay buried. What if Azarel isn't looking for me? What if he's moved on? What if I was never as important to him as he was to me?

I bristle, my chin lifting defiantly. "Azarelislooking for me," I say with confidence I no longer possess. "He'd do anything to find me."

"Maybe." Geo's voice softens, and for a moment, I see genuine concern in his expression as he searches my face. "I hope that's true."

Before I can respond, the door bursts open. Raven staggers in, supporting a frighteningly pale Nikolai who's leaning heavily against him. Blood stains Nikolai's shirt, and his normally sharp eyes are glassy, unfocused.

My heart lurches painfully as the sense that something is wrong finally merges with reality.

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