Page 21 of Royal Omega

I hold up a hand to stop her. “Stay for a moment,” I say softly. And then I do something I’ve been dreaming of doing ever since I first scented her. I open my arms and pull her against my chest. She stiffens for a moment, as if she wants to pull away. It’ll kill me, but I’ll let her. If she doesn’t want to be held, I won’t force it on her.

But then she sighs, pressing her cheek over my heart. She fits here so perfectly that it feels like fate. I drop my lips to the top of her head, breathing in that heady scent of honeycomb and ginger.Carissa.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I rumble, my voice deep and uber-alpha in response to her omega.

She shakes her head, and lifts her arms, circling them around my neck. “Could you just hold me for a moment longer?” she asks.

“Love, I’ll hold you as long as you like.”

I tighten my hold on her, my heart thudding loudly in my chest as my protective instincts go into overdrive.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” I ask.

“I just... One of the alphas in your pack is someone I knew when I was young. We were important to each other, once upon a time. I thought he was gone forever...” She trails off with a shiver before squaring her shoulders. “It just surprised me. I needed a minute.” She looks up at me, her eyes filling with tears again. “It’s silly, I know. I should be able to control myself. Usually, I can. But he was... he was someone I cared about very deeply.”

Fucking Conrad. I thought he said she didn’t care about him at all. Looking at her now, I can see the heartbreak written all over her face. I know what Conrad was told, but I’d be willing to bet every cent I have that Carissa is innocent in all of this.

Conrad is a strange case. He’s confident and wily, but he has this vulnerability hidden beneath it all — a squishy center that he protects jealously. If he thinks he’s going to be hurt, he goes on the offense. I think that’s what a lot of this Carissa stuff is about; him being hurt. It’s possible she hurt him more than anyone else ever has. It’s also possible that he’s spent the last decade trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

It’s definitely prevented us from getting closer to each other. I dream about him sometimes, imagining what things could be like between us, but he’ll never let it happen. He’ll never let me in.

Carissa lets out a low sniffle, drawing my attention back to her. She deserves better than this. Better than me, and definitely better than Conrad. Whatever he has planned, it won’t make her happy. And she should be happy.

I’m on the edge of scooping her up in my arms and running out of here when I hear a scuffing sound on the floor. Glancing over, I find myself staring straight into a camera lens. Fuck. I adjust my body so I’m blocking the camera with my back, growling like an animal at the intrusion, but Carissa stiffens all the same, pushing against my chest until I’m forced to let her go.

“Thanks,” she says, giving me a brilliant smile.

“Don’t mention it, Carissa. I’m Henry, by the way.”

“I know,” she says, offering me a small smile that hits me straight in the chest. “Call me Izzy, ok? That’s what my friends call me. Thanks again.”

Then she takes a deep breath before stepping out from behind the stairs.

“Any time,” I murmur at her back. And I mean it; any fucking time.

***

IFOLLOW HER BACK TOthe group, only to find that all the packs have chosen their date partners. I clench my jaw as I watch Carissa talk to Willard, laughing off her sudden exit, saying something about how she didn’t eat enough breakfast and was feeling just a little bit queasy.

“I was worried I might puke in front of the cameras,” she jokes.

“Well, are you feeling all right now?” Willard asks. “Because this pack here is excited to take you on a date.”

Pack One, all Army vets, stare at Carissa with interest. They seem as captivated by the little omega as I am, and it makes the alpha in me want to break things. One of the Army pack draws her under his arm as they walk out the front door, headed off on their adventure.

My blood boils, and I clench my hands into fists at my side to keep myself steady.

“You ok?” Ransom asks from behind me.

“No,” I growl.

“Me either.”

“She recognized him.”

Ransom raises an eyebrow. “And?”

“She was completely shocked. It’s like she thought he was dead or something. She didn’t give me the whole story but, Ransom, my gut is telling me that there’s no way she’s the person Conrad believes—”

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