Page 2 of Pack’s Prize

“It’s not that simple,” I said, not for the first time. “To pull this off…”

“She has to be perfect,” Elias said, nodding. He–very generously–didn’t roll his eyes, like Theo would have. Like I would have, had this not been my desperate project I had dragged them into.

Step one: Find an omega. That part was easy, I thought, looking out of the club, where omegas dotted the landscape like ornamental flowers, all of them dressed to show off their–ahem–accomplishments, darting glances at the alpha packs here to scoop them up.

Step two was the hard part, because step two, well, step two was–

“This is insane, you know that, right, Michael?”

“If it wereyourfamily’s company, don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same, Theo.”

“I wouldn’t do the same,”he said easily. “Of course not. Bribe an omega to let us pretend to court her?” He scoffed. “All for a business you don’t even care about? You’rerich, Michael, just pay the lawyer to rewrite the will so you can inherit without this,” he gestured, annoyed at the flat, non-alcoholic beers on our table, at the people here with us, at the club itself. “This nonsense. This… sham. It’s ridiculous.”

He was cute when he was prickly, his nose wrinkling, but I wasn’t stupid enough to say so.

Just stupid enough to get us into this mess,I thought.

“Listen,” I said, “it’s either this ridiculous scheme, or wereallycourt an omega. Your decision.” It wasn’t much of a decision at all–honestly, it was unlikely that any decent omega would have us, not living the way we did, but just because I didn’t like to pull rank didn’t mean I wasn’t pack alpha. Sometimes Theo just needed reminding. “Just try to remember, the better she is at her part, the shorter she has to stick around. The faster we can go back to…” I grabbed his thigh under the table, his thigh firm under my fingers. “Just us.”

He scowled, but I didn’t acknowledge it, instead looking towards the dance floor.

“So,” said Elias, breaking his silence with the steadfast practicality I had come to expect from him. “What about her? That blonde over there?”

Theo scoffed. “What, so you two can make adorable blue eyed children together?”

“No,” said Elias, unbothered, “I just thought she was pretty.”

“Pretty isn’t good enough,” I explained. The man had already lost interest in his blonde, and that meant she wasn’t going to cut it. My two packmates exchanged looks over my head.

“Michael will only get his cock out for a brunette, Elias,” Theo drawled.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, Theo?” I asked. “You know as well as I do that isn’t what this about. If I wanted to fuck omegas–”

He looked right back at me, with none of the deference you’d expect from a beta or omega, and cocked his eyebrow. “Go ahead,” he said. “Finish your sentence.”

“If Iwantedto fuckomegas,” I said, louder, and then sighed, staunching the building anger in my chest. I turned my body to his, squeezing his leg once more under the table. He tensed, but didn’t pull away. “I’m just asking you to be logical about this, please. If I wanted tocourtan omega, this would be a lot easier. But I don’t. I only want you. You, and Elias. You’re all I need.”

His brows drew together, deepening the faint lines that were etched lightly into his skin now, after so many years of peering at a sketchbook. “Yes?”

“Yes. Just please try to remember,” I said, looking at him but speaking loud enough that Elias could hear, too, “that this–the omega, I mean–it’s temporary. I just… Ineedthis.” Ineededthat business. Not for the money, but my alpha pride was on the line.

“I know,” came Elias’s low voice from behind me, and I could feel as he shifted closer to me in the booth, his body angled toward mine. His giant presence, looming behind me, was both a comfort and a challenge. “Weknow.” Theo’s eyes slid from mine to the place above my shoulder where Elias was sitting, and he gave a tight nod. Whatever silent conversation my pack’s other two members were having caused Theo to deflate in a deep sigh.

“Yes,” he said at last. “We know. But…”

I braced myself for another round of protest, but it never came. Instead, Theo’s hand found mine under the table, prying my fingers from his thigh and lacing them with his own.

“...This booth is feeling cramped. Can we dance?”

CHAPTERTHREE

Ava

I danced for a few songs,my skin prickling pleasantly under the eyes of the alphas roaming the edges of the club, but I wasn’t here just todance. It was time to put my plan into action.

Step one was to go to Ardor, and here I was, on the dance floor, in my highest high heels and a too tight, too low cut, too short dress, my makeup flawless and my dark hair falling in a curtain over my narrow shoulders. I knew I looked good.

No, not good.

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