Page 41 of In Control

“Yes,” I growl. “She’s one of the postgraduate students at my college.”

Gabriel peers over his shoulder at Liam.

“Something I knew nothing about.”

“You fucked her!” I yell so loudly, Gabriel screws up his eyes. “You must have known.”

“I knew she was a student. I didn’t know where or what she was studying. It never came up.” He glares at me. “But you know what, Cole, even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’d still have fucked her.”

I launch at him and it’s only Roman, wandering into the kitchen with a startled yawn, who grabs my arm and stops me from killing our packmate.

“What the fuck!” he roars.

Gabriel throws his arms in the air. “Woman drama. I’m over this.” And I watch through red-hazed vision as my omega storms out of the kitchen.

Roman glances after him with a pained expression. We could all detect the hurt and upset in his scent and it tugs at our bonds and our alpha instincts. We are meant to make our omega happy. We are not meant to cause him pain.

“You’re fighting over some woman?” Roman looks at us both with disgust, “In front of Gabriel?”

“It’s not like that,” Liam mutters.

And I scowl at him because it is like that.

“It’s the beta – the one he’s been obsessing about.”

“I haven’t,” I mutter pathetically.

“You slept with her?” Now it’s Liam’s turn to receive one of Roman’s disappointed expressions.

“I didn’t know she wasthatgirl, OK?”

“You just said that wouldn’t have stopped you.”

“You said you weren’t fucking interested in her.”

Shit, I’m interested all right. I just can’t do anything about it. And he brought that temptation, that danger, into our house, our packhouse.

Roman lowers his voice. “You can’t be fighting about some girl in front of Gabriel.”

“Why not?” I spit. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to sit and listen to Gabriel recount his latest sexual conquest, all the time my heart splintering into a million pieces and my guts wrenched in a thousand different ways.

“Because,” Roman says, getting all up in my face, “he’s your omega. Underneath that hard shell of his, he’s emotional and vulnerable, and you made a promise to him and this pack to always look after him and care for him.”

I take a stumbling step away, running my hands through my hair. The anger seeps away and I’m left with the image of hurt swimming in my omega’s eyes.

“Shit! Shit! You’re right … I’m sorry. I’ll go make it up to him.”

“Not until we sort this shit out between the two of you.”

I glare up at Liam. “There’s nothing more to discuss. He fucked up. I’m sure he won’t do it again.”

Liam shakes his hand. “I didn’t fuck up. I met a woman. I liked her. I took her out and then home with me. You’re the complication here, Cole.”

“There’s no complication. My career is important to me, just like yours is to you, Roman’s is to him and Gabriel’s is to him. Fucking around with one of my students is out of the question. You know what happened last time … How can you even contemplate this, Liam?”

“I’m not fucking around,” Liam growls. “I told you. I like her. I want to keep seeing her.”

“Sophia isn’t the kind of woman who dates.”

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