Page 33 of Iris
Or two Alphas?
My cheeks get hot with his words. “I don’t make the rules, but I also don’t think anyone should tell anyone what makes the ‘right’ relationship. If all the adults a willing, it shouldn’t matter.”
“But what about biology?” He waits a beat. “Omegas need an Alpha’s knot to help them with their heat. A Delta can’t do that. They won’t be able to have any children.”
Xavier’s fist bangs on the bar, and I jump. He’s giving Killian a warning, which he ignores.
“Isn’t that against the word of your Monarch?” he asks.
He’s right. It’s wrong, all of it, according to the Council. We learn the importance of our hierarchy and pack life at school, how Omegas were made to be with Alphas because we’re the only ones who can take their knot and bear their kids. Believe it or not, the Monarch is actually more modern than most, but when it comes to the Council, tradition always wins out.
But there are exceptions. Look at Quinn’s dad and Mrs. Hyde. They’re mated and she’s an Omega and he’s a Beta. Sure it’s their second mate bond, but they have to be making it work. Even with Mrs. Hyde’s heats…
Thinking about that vile woman in such an intimate way makes me want to vomit, so I shake the thoughts out of my head.
“You’re still young. Naïve.” Killian strides behind the bar and pours himself another drink.
“And you’re a dick,” I say the same time as Xavier signs to him.
Then, he pauses, pulls out a pad of paper and a pen, and scribbles something down before sliding it across the counter to me.
I look at it.
Jinx.
“You two seem to think alike.” Killian scowls. “Xavier may look mean, but he’s soft when it comes to pretty girls.”
“Look, Papa, Daddy!”
I turn. Emmie has been changed out of her dirty dress and now wears pretty pink jeans and a matching top. And in her hands is the biggest bowl of ice cream I’ve ever seen, topped with chocolate syrup and rainbow sprinkles. As she struggles to carry it and Delores, she walks inside and comes around the bar.
When she sees me still here, her entire face lights up. Her smile radiates. “Icy, you stayed!”
“Icy was just about to leave,” mutters Killian.
“I got me some ice cream,” she says, admiring her bowl. Then she holds it out. “Do you want some?”
“Uh, I’m not?—”
Emmie tries to hurry over but trips over Delores’s hanging leg. The bowl flies and lands on my stomach, spilling the ice cream all over my dress, ruining it.
I gasp in horror, and as the bowl falls, Emmie bursts into tears.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Xavier
It’s fucking full-on pandemonium. I don’t know who’s freaking the most, Emmie or Iris or Freya, who suddenly appears in the door.
The bowl falls and shatters on the floor into a million glass pieces.
I sign to Killian, who was close enough to catch it, but instead is sipping his drink like nothing happened.
He shrugs.
