Page 43 of Follow Your Instincts

I bundled Maggie into the Range Rover as quickly as possible. She sat in silence, wrapped in her own arms, for the first 15 minutes of our drive.

“I’m so sorry,” she said suddenly, quietly.

“What on earth are you sorry for, sugar?” I asked, looking at her in confusion.

“I obviously upset Lachlan,” she said bitterly. “He didn’t like seeing me with Ben like that. Clearly,hedoesn’t see me as almost part of the pack.”

Anger burned in my stomach again. A growl erupted in my throat, and I choked it off, surprised. “The only one who should be sorry is Lachlan,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “I have no idea why he acted that way. And I’m sorry that he scared you.”

Maggie contemplated for a moment. “I wasn’t scared,” she said. I looked at her skeptically. “Maybe I should’ve been, but I didn’t feel like he was going to hurt me or anything. It just seems like I came in and disrupted the dynamic you guys have in a few hours.”

I sighed. “At the risk of scaring you away completely, our dynamic has been messed up for a while,” I said sadly.

“Messed up how?” Maggie asked.

“Well, we’d basically given up on finding an Omega. Our pack is a little… different,” I said slowly. Maggie just looked at me, waiting for further explanation.

“Firstly, we were all older than usual when we packed up. Ben and I had never clicked with other Alphas the way that we do with each other,” I said.

“Because Ben’s bi?” Maggie asked. “That can’t be that rare.”

“No it’s not, but a lot of traditional, conservative Alphas made him feel like shit because of it. And a lot of Omegas wemet in the early days were uncomfortable with it.”

“Fucking homophobic assholes,” Maggie seethed with real venom in her voice.

I chuckled lightly. “I think you know Ben well enough by now to know it didn’t bother him too much. Soren is another anomaly. Having Betas in a pack isn’t that uncommon, but many packs treat them like they’re… less than. Omegas that grew up in pack structures that perpetuate those dynamics weren’t interested in him being a core member of the pack.”

Maggie squeezed my hand hard. “Can you tell me these Omegas’ names so I can hunt them down and… I don’t know, punch them in the boob?”

“No, I can’t remember any names so the boobs will have to go un-punched,” I said.

“What about you?” Maggie asked. “You said you didn’t click with other Alphas?”

Nerves bubbled in my stomach. I wasn’t ready for this conversation, but I didn’t want to lie, not to Maggie.

“A story for another time, sugar,” I said, then smiled at her. She met my eyes then nodded.

I reached out for her hand, and she entwined her fingers with mine.

We rode in silence for another few minutes, and I stroked my thumb up and down the back of her hand.

“And… Lach-Lachlan? What makes him different? He seems like a normal, growly Alpha to me,” She said.

“That story isn’t mine to tell, sugar. And yes, he’s a grumpy bastard a lot of the time, but I promise you that whatever made him act like an asshole tonight was NOT your fault. I’ve never seen him like that,” I said, shaking my head. What the hell had happened?

Maggie was quiet the rest of the way back to the Center, but the silence was comfortable and relaxed rather than tense. I turned on the radio to the classical station and hummed along, still stroking Maggie’s hand. The sun was starting to set as we pulled up to the parking lot.

“Thank you for taking me home. And I’m so-”

“I hate to interrupt you, but I’m not going to listen to another apology,” I said firmly, and took both of her hands in mine.

Maggie smiled softly and nodded. “Okay, but I still said it in my head.”

I mock-growled at her, and she laughed a little. My heart lightened, then immediately clenched in dread.

“Please don’t let today scare you off,” I said, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. This was her decision, and we would respect it, but already I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her.

“I think I need some time,” Maggie said after a few moments. “It’s not just Lachlan… I think I just need to get used to the Omega thing a little more.”

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