Page 3 of Eternal

“Oh shut up, Freya. They don’t love her. I have it on good authority, from my father himself, that the alphas came up with a plan and it all involved her father.”

Farren could probably hide how the other girls’ gossip made her truly feel, but at the mention of her father, her body rigidified, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from charging into the lounge area of the bathroom and demand they tell her everything each of them knew about her father.

“I heard the same thing and it’s true.”

“Well don’t all rush to tell us what it is. Us lowly betas aren’t privy to all that secret information.”

Laughter broke out before their conversation resumed.

“So apparently… the real reason she’s here is that the alphas were using her as bait to capture her father.”

“But her father died in that horrible fire.”

“Oh Freya, you’re so dumb. Her father will always be considered alive until there’s a damn corpse to prove otherwise. But that’s not even the point. We all know what the bounty is on her father’s head, right? A huge, huge, huge one billion dollars. Don’t you find it ironic that’s what they paid her?”

“I thought they paid her that amount as compensation for saving Duncan, Faith.”

“Mallory, you’re new to the pack and don’t know much, so I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself. Also, I don’t think you know who I am exactly. My name is Faith Back. My father is Anthony Back and he is on the board of counsel for the pack. He’s one of the alpha’s right-hand men, so when he says something, it’s true. You better accept that, or you can leave our little circle of friends. Anyway, girls, look at it this way. Harold Dean Kinsley has been escaping capture for over a decade now.

“Yes, the alphas needed her to rescue Duncan, and we know what the alphas are capable of doing to protect one of their own and it wouldn’t have involved a single cent. They have other means. But come on, the bounty for Kinsley is a billion dollars and suddenly that’s the amount they give her? Think, girls. The only reason they paid her that amount was because she earned it. They’re using her to lure Kinsley out of hiding. And when he takes the bait, as the most wanted man on the alphas’ hit list, they’re going to sever his head and celebrate the victory.

“They’re not even going to care what happens to Farren after that. She served her purpose, which was to bring Kinsley out of hiding. And they paid her for a job well done. And all this? The engagement and everything else? This is just to lure him out. Still think she’s the luckiest girl in the world, Freya?

“I thought they paid her two billion dollars,” the girl called Mallory said. “And they rescued her from Laura Brenner before she could have her claim marks removed.

“That’s your last warning, Mallory. And of course, they rescued her. They still needed her to catch her father. Anyway, what this means is that it won’t be long before the alphas are back to looking for their omega, and since Sara and I are the only two omegas who stand any chance of filling the title as their mate, I say let the games begin. I’m ready to be their omega. And I trust I can rely on each of your support to help me make that happen. With the vampire war at hand, they’re going to need a strong omega at their sides. Not Farren Kinsley. She made our alpha kings weak. Like she had cast some spell on them, like a witch. But her time is up and it’s my time now.”

The reverberating shock of their words didn’t last long before dark fury settled over her.

Chapter Two

Too furious to move immediately, Farren stayed rooted in the same spot. They continued to talk about her, and she registered their words on a subconscious level. She was stuck in a horrible loop and had to physically force herself into action. Nothing else they said mattered anymore, except how the alphas had used her to get to her father.

In one five-minute, eavesdropped-on conversation, her whole life came crumbling down around her.

And the only person she had to blame was herself for being so devastatingly stupid as to think she loved them. Well, they didn’t love her. They called her their life, their world, but it was all part of the grand scheme to lure her father out. The father she believed had died and over whom she had been mourning an agonized internal battle for years and years.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Shaking with fury, her eyes blurry with tears, she didn’t stay to listen to anymore.

Picking up the skirts of her dress, she fled. Her attention had been to escape to their den, change her clothes and leave. And also give them their money back. She wasn’t going to help them execute her father. And they clearly believed he was still alive.

She had no idea how to process that knowledge. How could she not feel his presence if he were alive? How could the alpha twins be so heartless?

But that was their plan all along. They were using her and this was just a massive farce.

She didn’t question her actions when, instead of leaving the hall, she headed in the opposite direction, her gaze angrily sweeping through the hundreds of guests for the three men who had single-handedly destroyed her.She ignored the many greetings she received, then mumbled apologies when she was stopped to be congratulated, and quickly sidestepped the person.

She was also gathering unwanted attention, she realized, maybe because of the wild look in her eye and the crazy way she stalked the gigantic room looking for them.

But caring even less that the look in her eye maintained both wrath and sadness, she stopped a pristinely dressed waiter and asked him if he knew where the twins were. He directed her toward an alcove where a group of men sat around in ridiculously priced chairs, smoking cigars and talking animatedly.

Her blood soared with heat as she took on the formidable sights of the twins. Her body may have reacted, her clit may have tightened and pulsed and her nipples the same, but eventually she would be able to crush those sensations with time, she assured herself.

If her sweet father, who actually loved animals and especially wolves to the point where it ruined his marriage, was their number one enemy, then they could consider her the same.

Snagging a glass of champagne off the waiter’s tray, she downed the contents in one unladylike gulp. She didn’t even like the taste and she barely drank alcohol, but she needed something to douse the rage inside her and wondered belatedly if the champagne had only added fuel to her blistering fire.

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