“You will be.” He leaned in and kissed the top of my head before vacating the room, leaving me alone to stew in my thoughts.

Chapter

Thirteen

CONRAD

Well, fuck.

Four businessmen stood in front of me, grim expressions on their faces, wearing suits worthy of a C-suite boardroom. They stared me down, waiting for me to step out of their path.

People like this didn’t frequent the Omega Haven Residence. They had to be Talia’s fathers.

I wasn’t expecting to meet them alone—I wasn’t prepared to be their sole freaking focus. My hair was a goddamn mess, I’d missed my chance to shower, and my injuries were nowhere near healed.

I’d hoped that meeting us as a group, they wouldn’t notice my messiness, but we were alone in this hallway.

Look on the bright side, Conrad. At least you aren’t meeting the parents in a hospital gown.

“Are you needing something?” one of them asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. They would be headed for the meeting room where Mercer and West were, same as me.

Why had I needed to stop at the damn bathroom? I could have been safely tucked away with my pack and not out here alone, where no one would see me go missing.

Alright, that was an exaggeration.

This place was full of cameras.

But still.

“Um…”

Ineededto make a good impression.

They mightkillme if I didn’t. If I was dead, I wouldn’t be able to kill Benjamin. I wouldn’t be able to help save the love of my life from her asshole scent match—now, bonded mate. She needed us, and I needed to make amends for what I’d done.

How did I make a good impression on mafia bosses who didn’t know who I was?

Was I supposed to… bow?

I cringed. It was a stupid idea, but maybe… it was the best one I had right now.

I had to dosomethingto convince them I wasn’t simply a problem they had to solve. If I pretended I didn’t know who they were, they’d see me in the meeting room and think I was an absolute idiot.

“Sirs,” I said, nodding. The nod was huge and exaggerated, almost as deep as if it were a bow. “Are you Pack Alfieri?”

Eye contact, or no eye contact?

I chose eye contact. Not prolonged—all I did was quickly glance into the eyes of each of the men in front of me. It gave me a chance to gauge how pissed off they were.

Oh, yeah.

These men were ready to start a war. The fury blazing in their eyes and the tension in their bodies screamed of fathers whowere about to blow some shit up for their daughter. Probably not the best time to stand in front of them.

This definitely wasn’t going to be the good impression I envisioned.

“You must be one of those Villem motorcycle club alphas.” A different man spoke, a growl in his tone.