Page 42 of In Control

“You have no fucking idea, Esra. She’s exactly the kind of woman who needs to be pampered and treasured and I intend to do that.”

“She’s a brat,” I scoff. “You know nothing about women. It’s why you’re always getting yourself entangled and involved.” He always has some girlfriend on the go. Someone he falls for before they finally lay down the ultimatum: them or the pack. He always chooses our pack and it always ends.

I can’t be dealing with that bullshit. It’s why I’ve never let things get beyond one night.

“She’s a grown woman. You want to date her, go ahead. You really think your university will give a shit?”

Maybe he is right. Maybe they wouldn’t. I’m not going to take the risk to find out. It’s taken years of grit and determination to make it to the top, especially someone like me with no exclusive school background, no rich parents to fund me, no connections or mentors.

Besides, our pack is barely holding together after last time.

“Would your hospital give a shit if you dated one of your patients?”

He smirks and I remember the girlfriend before last had been some daughter of a patient. How does he get away with this shit? Because he’s good at his job, that’s why. One of the best.

“Like I said, you want to date her too, then go ahead.”

“And what about Gabriel?” Roman asks. He looks exhausted, tired of always being the one who tries to mop everything up between the four of us. He’s a peacemaker by nature and every raised voice, every harsh word, pains him. I feel it through the bond occasionally when his shields falter.

“I’m going to introduce them,” Liam says. “I think Gabe will like her.”

“Wh-wh-what?” Over the years, Liam has introduced us to his girlfriends, invited them over for pack dinners and celebrations. One even joined us for Christmas one year. But generally he’s kept those relationships separate from the pack. He’s never talked about introducing a woman to our omega so early on in a relationship. “What the hell do you mean by ‘introduce’?” I ask with suspicion.

“Like I said, I think Gabe would like her.”

“Fuck you!”

Gabe will have Sophia falling into bed with him quicker than I can shout the words ‘no fucking way’. The omega has more charm in the tip of his little finger than most people have in their entire being. Plus he’s exquisitely beautiful and insanely hot. I still wonder how our fucked-up pack landed such a catch of an omega.

“You’re not the leader of this pack, Esra. This is a democracy not a dictatorship. You don’t get to tell me, or Gabe, who we can and can’t sleep with.”

“It’s his career, man,” Roman mutters.

“Is it?” Liam says, staring hard at me. “Is that really the reason? Because I’m not so sure it is, Roman. If Esra ever bothered to sort out his shit from–”

I spin on my heels and march straight out of the kitchen, the blood pounding in my ears, my heart hammering in my chest. My palms are damp and cool sweat trickles down my neck. In my room, I slump down on the end of the bed, head in hands and concentrate on just trying to breathe.

It’s my fault. All of this is my fault. Nothing has been the same since …

And this is going to go the same way. I can just see it. So why the hell can’t they?

10

Sophia

I staywith Rosie and her pack for the rest of the day, joining them for the ritual pack Sunday-night dinner and appreciating the way I’m mollycoddled; Seb piling my plate high with his legendary roast potatoes and Rosie insisting I take the last piece of dessert.

By the time I return to my apartment, I’m satisfyingly full and sedated, the early craze of emotions crashing around my body, calmed.

I check my mobile as I climb out of the taxi, seeing my mum’s phoned me twice. I should return the call, but instead I slide my phone in my back pocket and beep myself into the apartment block.

When I headed off to university all those years ago, my dad insisted on renting me out a nice apartment, claiming no daughter of his would be living in grotty student accommodation. It was always my dad caring for me, looking out for me. I never wanted for anything. My brother used to tease me, calling me a daddy’s girl, and I guess it was true. I worshipped him. I thought he worshipped me back.

I look back at that girl now with something akin to shame. She never appreciated what she had, never understood the value of it. She took everything for bloody granted.

Well, she had to learn pretty quick. Because when my father disappeared, along with his money, and the entire world came crashing down around me, I’d learned the value of having someone you could rely on, someone you could trust.

Luckily, I had my Trust Fund otherwise I’d have lost this apartment like my mother lost the house. Not that it took her long to find her a man who would buy her a new one.

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