Page 43 of The Pack Next Door
“Nope, no, no.” I held out a hand as if that would be enough to ward this off. “Not omega. I’m…”
So much more than that, I wanted to say, so my designation felt like an ill-fitting suit. Too tight at the collar, too loose and amorphous around my body, but what they’d told me left me wondering how well my existing identity fit. This was all too deep to consider on their deck on a hot summer night.
“I’m going to go.” A nod because that had me feeling better. “Just for some time to process.”
“Pretty sure we can help you with anything you’re going through,” Jace said, but his searching gaze felt too intrusive right now.
“I’ll put out some fires at work and then we’ll talk.” I nodded sharply. “Later. Yeah, later.”
The wolf didn’t want to. Her paws planted hard, but she was never the one to rule me. I was across their grass, the sound of their growls in my ears, but not enough to stop me. I paused for a second, the wolf straining against my control, then I jumped over the fence, not stopping until I was inside the house.
“Briar…?” Mum called, but I was up the stairs and into my room, my hands shaking as I grabbed my phone the minute I threw myself down on my bed.
Ring Tom, the potter, I thought, using that practical plan of action as a shield between me and them. My mates… I scrolled through the missed calls, checking who had left messages before pausing on one. Riley. She’d called not long after Candy and that tracked. Her mates were always bemoaning the fact she refused to keep to normal office hours. Tapping on the message, her voice came through the speakers, a lifeline I didn’t know I needed.
“Hi Briar, hopefully this isn’t an intrusion, but Candy let me know what’s happening. If you feel comfortable discussing your situation, I’d love to make a time to chat. This is my personal number, so feel free to call or text at any time if you’re open to talking about what’s happening.”
Should I? My thumb shook as it hovered over her contact. I was just going through what every other omega did the minute they found their mates. It might be fifteen years later, but I still knew what to do. Judge the alphas on their actions, not just their pretty words, and decide whether to accept the bond. But sometimes it felt like that last bit was just a caveat tacked on the end, a sop to free will. What omega would turn her fated mates down? They were the only men for her.
But in the process of discovering what possibilities were out there for me in a world where fate had passed me over, I’d foundsomething else. The person I would become, not the omega. That was enough to have me putting the call through.
“Briar?” I smiled when I saw Riley’s face appear on the screen. “How are you?” Her concern was palpable. “Candy said you’re going into heat again?”
Straight to the point was Riley.
“Yeah, and I’ve found out why.” My tongue flicked over my lips. Suddenly my mouth was bone dry. As I reached for my drink bottle, I spilled the details. “Candy was right. I’ve found my alphas.”
It didn’t seem real until I told someone outside of all this. Like a cold cloth to my forehead, it felt like I could see past instincts and the clamour of my body.
“And how do you feel about that?” she asked in a carefully professional tone.
“Like I want to jump each of their bones and rut them into the bed.” Riley let out a loud snort of surprise and that had me grinning. Safe, in my mother’s house, it seemed I could admit those things. “But I can’t.”
“Don’t want to?” Riley replied smoothly, having recovered. “I can suggest some pharmacological options. Can’t? That seems psychological and outside of my wheelhouse, though we do have some very capable people on staff at Crowe Corp.”
“I’m not sure that will help.” My spine sagged as I stared at the screen. “It’s not a traumatic childhood or maladaptive coping strategies that’s keeping me from running next door and rutting with the three of them until this heat wears off.” I took a long sip of my drink. “It’s what comes next.”
The fact I was traumatised by recurring heats sometimes felt like nature was having one last dig at me. Female omegas went into heat to bond with their alphas and to bear babies. Riley had declared me unable to, but she also posited that I didn’t have fated mates. Just then I saw April’s thin mouth as she talkedabout an omega’s role. Even if I was prepared to pick up my life and move to Moon River, which frankly, I wasn’t, there was what came next.
“I’m not sure how many alphas would be cool with an omega that couldn’t give them kids,” I said finally.
“Forgive me.” A male face swum into view. Fen, one of Riley’s mates, stood there. “I should’ve said I was in the office with Riley, but Briar.” That confident, caring tone had me stiffening in bed, because it was too similar to Gideon’s. “I can tell you with absolute certainty that your mates will accept you, no matter what your concerns are.” His hand landed on Riley’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “There literally is no other woman in the world for them, and if you give these guys a chance, I’m willing to bet they’ll show you that.”
I sat back, frowning slightly, but as I tried to process, Riley spoke up.
“Whatever you need support with, Briar, we’re here for you. If at all possible, I’d love to take some blood tests when you’re back in the city.”
“Riley…” Fen growled.
“This is important,” she said. “What if there’s biochemical markers we’re missing, or perhaps pheromones?”
“Briar.” Fen turned back to the phone. “Keep in touch no matter what you decide. In the meantime, me and my brothers will do a bit of a background check on your alphas. What’s their last name?”
“Whitlock,” I croaked out, the name conjuring the three of them instantly.
“A Glen Hallow pack.” Suddenly Fen seemed serious. “I’ll do some digging and see what I can find out.”
“So did you want me to send you a script for some hormone blockers?” Riley asked. “They’ve been used with beta patients with uterine cancer and the like. It stops the aggressive growthand allows the chemo time to work, but they could be useful in your situation.”
