Page 20 of Their Perfect Omega

I needed a release, even though I’d just had one.

My pack thought I’d gone out to find a hookup, and sometimes I did, but if they knew where I really went and what I did, they would have worried. Worry was the last thing any of us needed.

“Shouldn’t we go look for him? It’s a few miles back to your house, and it’s so dark.” Kara put her hand over the back of the seat and touched my shoulder.

Was she trying to comfort me? If anything, I should have been in the backseat with her, pulling her into my lap and purring away her tears. I didn’t know her that well, but I got the gist of why her eyes were sad, even before Avery had taken off.

I put my hand over hers, even though I shouldn’t have been touching her. None of us should. “He needs to get his head on straight before he comes home.”

“It wasn’t all his fault. I wanted it just as much as he did.” She sighed and moved her hand, sitting back in the seat.

“Do you have your seatbelt on?” Tate looked in the rearview mirror.

“Yes.” I could hear a hint of sass in her voice. “Is yours on, Dad?”

I snorted and looked over at Tate. “Daddy, can we go find some tacos?”

He lifted a brow at me and looked back at the road. “It’s two in the morning, Cal. Or are you being inappropriate? Not really the time...”

“It’s the best time for any kind of tacos. Just flip a bitch at the light; there’s always food trucks outside that one cluster of clubs.” I turned in my seat to look at Kara. “Do you like tacos?”

Her stomach growled. “Does anyone not like tacos?”

“You’d be surprised. I once...” I let my voice drift off and cringed. Saying I once briefly dated a girl who hated all kinds of tacos including the dessert ice cream tacos felt wrong. “You know what? Not liking tacos is a major red flag for me.”

This was the first time I was getting a good look at her. Even though it was dark, I could make out the blue of her eyes. They were probably even more striking in the light. Her brown hair was curly and fell well past her shoulders.

She wore a band T-shirt, a few sizes too big, but with the way she was sitting, I could see the outline of her breasts. And her legs. The shorts were longer, but her calves were bitable.

What was I doing?

Before I popped a boner, I turned back around in my seat. “I hope the food trucks aren’t busy. One of us should probably get out and order.”

“Text Alvaro and let him know we’re stopping.” Tate made a U-turn and drove back in the direction we’d just come.

I shot a quick text to Alvaro telling him we’d get him his usual. He was super picky about the taco trucks he ate at, but we’d gotten good at figuring out the good and the bad.

“I hate being an omega.” She muttered the words quietly, but Tate and I both heard them and gave each other a look. “It’s unfair that just because I don’t have a pack to ‘protect me,’ I can’t even go to a taco truck and order my own damn tacos.”

Tate kept his attention forward but looked thoughtful, like always. “I know that must be frustrating for you. But what happened tonight? I have no doubt that Avery would have been able to stop himself before things got too far, but other alphas might not have.”

“I don’t regret it.” She moved into the middle seat, buckling the seat belt and leaning forward, putting her elbows on the center console and resting her cheeks on her fists.

Tate’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. I hadn’t taken a breath through my nose since we’d gotten in the SUV, but his reaction made me want to.

“What Tate was trying to say is that alphas are assholes and will take what they want when they see or smell someone they like. And your scent is... desirable.” I dug my fingers into my jeans, so badly wanting to scent her. I’d gotten a hint of her earlier and shut my nose right down.

“Why can’t alphas take something, then? Omegas have to suffer in solitary confinement because they can’t control themselves? Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” She sounded angry, and I turned again.

Wow. She was way too close to us.

She glanced at my lips and sat back in her seat quickly. What the fuck was happening? Were we all going to lose our minds over this omega and be in even worse shit with the alpha overlords and the OPS?

Omega Protective Services meant well, but they had been a thorn in our side ever since we matched with Jenna and she called them, crying that we’d abandoned her.

We’d done no such thing. We had no idea how crazy it was going to be after our first single hit. If she would have just waited a few minutes we would have found her.

Jenna hadn’t been the first omega on our list of twenty we submitted, but she had been in the top ten. It was weird to think about how it all worked and how detached it was, but at the end of the day, Omega Match worked... most of the time.

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