He can say whatever the hell he wants about me, but like hell will I let them say shit that could blow back on Reyna.
She lets out a soft scoff and rolls her eyes before reaching over the center console again and resting a hand on my thigh. It’s like the omega in her is calling to my reeling alpha, grounding him.
It helps, because without that, I probably would’ve done something stupid and irreversible.
“Okay, that’s enough," my mother sighs.
Of course she only steps in after Maximus has thrown exponentially more than his fair share of insults.
“He’s avoiding the question, Mom,” Maximus pushes. “It’s a perfectly acceptable question.”
“Not when you callmyomega some omega bitch,” I snap back.
There’s silence at the end of the line.
I guess neither of them expected me to say that.
Reyna covers her mouth to stifle a snicker.
“You’re joking,” Maximus snorts. “You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re too embarrassed to not have one.”
“You do, Killian?” For whatever reason, she sounds excited. Maybe even eager. Which is so bizarre because she’s never taken any interest in my love life. “Are things serious?”
My gaze lands on Reyna and I reach down to rest my hand on hers, which is still on my thigh.
“Yes. They are,” I say.
Those words are more to Reyna than they are to my mother, and I hope Reyna can see that.
“Oh that’s wonderful! Bring her to the next family dinner! I expect you, your pack, and your omega here at seven o’clock sharp on Saturday, do you understand, young man?”
“I’ll check my schedule,” I say.
Like hell am I going to give her an obedient “Yes, mother,” right after that shitshow of a call.
“But—”
“I’ve got to go, Mom. Lunch break is over,” I say, pressing the bright red end call button, cutting her off before she has a chance to say anything more.
The silence that fills the car is so amazing.
“Holy shit,” I say, breathing out a sigh of relief. “I’ve never hung up on her like that before.”
“Whoa, seriously?” Reyna asks, her eyes wide as she leans forward, trying to catch my gaze.
“Yeah,” I say, scrubbing a hand down my face to try and get rid of the embarrassment. It doesn’t work very well.
“You’re kidding, you put up with that kind of bullshit on the regular andthat’sthe first time you’ve ever hung up on her?”
I blink at her slowly before I nod.
She flips her hand over so she’s lacing her fingers with mine.
“I can see why you’re such a workaholic, holy shit! ‘Even if you’re off playing politics, we still expect you to show up at home.’ That’s actually insane," she says, mocking my mother’s breathy tone of voice. “Playingpolitics? You’re the youngest council member this stupid ass city has ever seen!”
Her rant has my heart threatening to beat out of my chest again. I’ve never been more attracted to someone in my entire life.
Well, technically, I’ve never been more attracted to anyone other than Reyna anyway, but there’s just something special, seeing her worked up in my defense.