Page 22 of Royal Omega

“Shall we?” Conrad asks, approaching from behind us. His arm is looped around the waist of his chosen omega. “Cindy and I are ready when you are.”

“Sure,” Ransom says with a sigh, forcing his gaze away from the doorway. He smiles down at Cindy, who looks stricken by his attention. I guess I can see how he can be intimidating, with all those tattoos, but Ransom is the best of us, and by far the most committed to the success of our pack. God knows Conrad is pushing us to the limit. Without Ransom, I’m not sure how much longer we could sustain all this chaos and confusion.

“Henry? Are you ready?” Conrad asks.

I clear my throat and force a smile. “Let’s do it.”

***

OUR DATE IS A BOATride out on a lake behind the mansion. The producers must have thought this would be romantic, but they obviously didn’t clear it with the camera team, who are cursing under their breath with every attempt to get a good shot of us in the boat. The boom guy almost falls in the water like three times trying to balance his mic. Conrad paddles us out, purposefully ignoring the poor team that is trying to chase us, until we’re in the middle of the lake with a camera crew in hot pursuit.

Feeling sympathetic, I take control of the oars and bring our boat up alongside the crew boat. While Conrad talks to Cindy, Ransom and I prop the oars across both dinghies so the cameras can stabilize a bit.

Cindy, it turns out, is a full-on jerk. She has spent most of the boat ride complaining about how Carissa has her own suite, and she doesn’t.

“I mean, do these people know who my family is? It’s true, we’re not the Castles. In fact, we’re wealthier. And we don’t make enemies all over town like they do.”

“That must be hard for you,” Conrad says sympathetically.

“Really?” Ransom says. “Is it hard? Sounds like you have a pretty nice set up in the omega space.”

Cindy looks down her nose at Ransom, and Conrad’s eyes narrow with irritation. “It’s the principle of the thing,” Cindy says. “I’m not going to apologize for saying I deserve the best.”

“Of course,” Conrad says, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Cindy smiles up at him coyly. Ransom and I exchange glances. There’s no chance in hell Conrad likes this girl. She’s terrible. Can he really expect us to pursue someone like this on an ongoing basis?

“Tell me, Cindy, have you made any friends here yet?”

Cindy sighs, snuggling closer to Conrad as she gives Ransom a suspicious look. “Not really. They’re all a little low-brow, if you ask me. They’re attractive enough as a group, but I was expecting a different class of omega when I signed up. That Randy person...” she wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “He’s just so...effeminate. I mean, I know he’s an omega, but he’s still a man. Who wants to live with someone like that? It turns my stomach a little bit.”

Ransom glances my way, his jaw clenching. I nod subtly, signaling that we’re both thinking the same thing: this girl is the worst. There’s no way Conrad doesn’t sense it.

Suddenly, Ransom stiffens, his eyes following something over my shoulder. I turn, and my eyes land on Carissa, making her way across the shoreline, surrounded by Pack One. Two men and a woman, all dressed in crisp suits, escort Carissa along the shore. They stop in front of a small cart with the words ICE CREAM emblazoned on the side. The female alpha gestures for Carissa to choose, pressing her hand to Carissa’s lower back encouragingly.

Ransom lets out a low growl, which startles Cindy.

“Can you not do that?” she asks. “It’s a little... low brow to growl like that in mixed company.”

“You like saying that, don’t you?” I ask her.

“What?”

“Low brow.”

Cindy’s cheeks color slightly. Conrad gives me a chastising look, but the cameras lean closer, as if they’re excited for the possible drama.

“Well,” Cindy sniffs. “What’s wrong with knowing what I like? I’m not going to apologize for being raised with taste.”

I struggle not to roll my eyes, but Ransom doesn’t hold back. He lets out a groan. “Seriously? How can you think it’s ok to judge people like that?”

“You judge people by their scent or their omega status, or how pretty they are,” Cindy snaps back. “Why shouldn’t I judge you by the alpha standards I want in a pack?”

“Well said,” Conrad drawls. His eyes flick over me with a warning. It makes me stiffen. He may be an alpha, but he’s not the head of this pack, and I don’t need to listen to him. Especially not about someone like this.

Clenching my jaw, I turn my gaze to the shore, scanning the figures there, hunting for Izzy. I catch sight of her under a broad umbrella, laughing at something one of those Army assholes has said. It doesn’t help the tension building between my shoulders; I’m going to make her mine — ours — whether Conrad likes it or not.

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