Page 56 of Follow Your Instincts

“Be careful,” Bridget said as I got dressed in layers of running gear.

“I’ll be back in like 40 minutes tops,” I said, and gave her a quick hug before making my way out the front door and through the secured gate.

I put on a metal playlist and took off, running faster than I usually did. Speaking with Broad had stirred up all the anger I thought I’d worked through. But I wasn’t surprised. Alphas got away with bullshit like that everyday, protected by the other Alphas that wanted to keep themselves in power. Todd Phillips wasn’t special, and neither was I. There had to be countless other Omegas with stories like mine.

I powered through the first mile in under 9 minutes, a personal best, and that small win dulled a bit of my anger.Now that’s how you channel your rage, I thought, and slowed down slightly, not wanting to gas myself out too fast.

What I really wanted was to be with… the pack. I wouldn’t allow myself to think of them asmypack, but I missed them.Even if Lucas was still a little distant, and Lachlan would have preferred to have me as far away as possible, they were mine. The only good thing about being an Omega was the connection I was building with them, and I wasn’t going to waste that. Lachlan was just going to have to deal with it.

I turned the last corner that would bring me back to the Center. My legs were a little shaky from the exertion, but I felt much better than I had before. Fucking Freddie Broad could kiss my ass, and so could Todd Phillips.

There was a stretch of darkness before the bright pools of light that illuminated the sidewalk outside the Center’s privacy fences. A shape lunged out and hit me in the side, knocking the wind out of me and pushing me down into the street. I scraped my hands as I tried to catch myself, and the road tore up the skin on my left knee. A car coming up the street slammed on its brakes, narrowly avoiding hitting me in the head. I turned, wheezing and gasping, to fend off another attack, but it never came. The shadow was already running up the street away from me and the Center.

Under the chemical smell of descenter, I caught a hint of sweet orange and clove.

Chapter 22

Lachlan

Could lust drive a person insane? I knew the answer was yes because it was happening to me. That had to be the explanation for why my brain felt like it was on fire, like it wasn’t even my own anymore.

One of the objects of my new obsession was easy to avoid. I attended our pack dates dutifully, keeping my distance from Maggie when what I really wanted to do was devour her. I spent a lot of time on those outings with my fists clenched, on the far side of the room, with the kind of erection you’re only supposed to get as a teenager.

I could have told myself it was just a biological response to her scent, but the truth was much more terrifying. She was a joy to be around; witty, kind, funny, and absolutely gorgeous. It would be so, so easy to let myself get close to her and that’s why I kept my distance.

She’d be too easy to love. While the abstract thought of an Omega to complete our pack had been nice, the reality of courting was proving to be much more intimidating. If I loved her, then I could lose her. I couldn’t do that again.

My other obsession was much harder to escape. Ben and hisfucking scentwere everywhere and it was killing me.

I spent most of my time working in an attempt not to thinkabout them. Because if I stopped working, my brain took the opportunity to create elaborate fantasies about Maggie and Ben that almost feltwrongbecause they were so intense.

Every night, I tried to relieve the ever-mounting tension by stroking myself, thinking of the three of us together. Alongside vivid images of sinking into Maggie, of claiming her and feeling her tight warmth squeeze around my knot while she writhed, were fantasies of fucking Ben, making him groan as Maggie had. I imagined him on his knees for me, those bright brown eyes on mine as he choked on my cock.

Sometimes I had to flee upstairs early after pack dinners, trying to hide how hard I was after Ben groaned a little too appreciatively about Lucas’s cooking, or gave me an unthinking hug, or sometimes even just smiled at me for too long.

I knew Ben was bi; he hadn’t been shy about bringing home Betas, and even a few Alphas, in the past, and about 60% of the time they were men. I had never really cared, but now the thought made me see red. He and Maggie weremine.

I was sitting in my office, trying to avoid joining the rest of the pack for dinner until the last possible moment. I’d been lost in fantasies again for at least thirty minutes, which was horrible timing considering I would have to be around him and his scent for an extended time soon. Ben’s scent didn’t affect me quite as much as Maggie’s perfume, but the thought of his sweetness still made me groan. I put my head in my hands and pulled at my hair; I could still smell him even now.

“Damn, Lach, is it that bad?” I started at the sound of Ben’s voice.

“Huh?” I said. His eyes were bright with amusement, and he was wearing a knowing smile.

“Your pheromones are so strong you’re gonna get me drunk. If you miss Maggie that much, you know you can call her, right? I think she’d probably agree to a date just the two of you now,” he said, and leaned casually against the doorframe. How had I never noticed how beautiful he was? His dark blondwaves looked almost golden in the light of my office, and I was hit with an urge to run my fingers through his hair. I wanted to taste the freckles on his cheeks, see if they continued down the rest of his body.

Keep it together, I warned myself sternly, then realized I had been staring at him blankly for too long.

“Um…” I said.

“Jesus Christ, man, you clearly need to see her,” Ben said and reached out his hand to pull me up. “Come on, dinnertime.”

“No- I’ll be out in a couple of minutes, I have a few emails to send,” I said, not wanting to stand up and reveal the rather startling erection I was sporting.

“Lachlan, I can already see you’re hard as a fucking rock, so just come out and have dinner,” Ben teased, staring pointedly at my groin, and my face flushed. He laughed and pulled me to my feet. “I wish Maggie were here to see how cute you are when you’re embarrassed.”

I adjusted myself as we walked through the living room, trying to think of anything else. The sight of Soren looking grim did the trick.

He had his phone on speaker, and I could hear Maggie’s voice on the other end.

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