Page 57 of Roulette Rodeo
I open my eyes to find Shiloh standing in the medical building doorway, watching me.
"You coming?" he asks, and there's challenge in it.
"She's your omega," I say, the words bitter on my tongue. "Your mess to clean up."
Something flashes across his face—hurt or disappointment— but he nods and disappears back inside.
Your omega.
Not ours. Not the pack's.
His.
Because that's the lie I need to tell myself.
That she's Shiloh's problem, not mine. That when she wakes up—if she wakes up—I can maintain distance. Can be the cold strategist who doesn't care about garnet eyes and cherry scentsand the way she'd looked at Shiloh like he was her whole world compressed into a single person.
I turn away from the medical building, heading for the main house instead.
I need a drink, a shower, and several hours of sleep before I deal with this nuisance.
But even as I walk away, her scent follows me.
Clings to my clothes and skin like an imprinted memory.
Three years we'd kept our lives omega-free, after careful control and measured responses.
All undone by a virgin omega who knows how to box…fuck, it’s so damn laughable.
Our pack has become a mockery at best.
The house is quiet, empty with my brothers at the medical building. I pour myself three fingers of whiskey—the good stuff, the twenty-year-old Pappy that costs more per bottle than most people make in a month. It burns going down, but not enough to wash away the taste of cherries.
I'm on my third glass when my phone buzzes.
Corwin:She's stable. Voss thinks she'll make a full recovery.
I stare at the message for a long moment, waiting to feel relief.Or disappointment.Or anything other than this hollow sensation in my chest.
She's going to live…
Which means we're going to have to deal with what comes next. With an omega in our space, in our lives, in our carefully maintained balance.
I type back:Good. When she wakes up, she's gone.
The response is immediate.
Shiloh:Like hell she is.
Then Talon:Pack vote. You know the rules.
Pack vote. Where majority rules and I'm already outnumbered three to one.
Corwin:Just give her a chance, Rafe. You might be surprised.
A chance.
Like we gave Sophia a chance?
