Page 16 of No Omega Needed

"Dex." I blow out a shaky breath, trying to get myself under control. I know I'm stronger than this.Keep telling yourself that until you believe it."Family is what you make it. You're stuck with us. You're part of the family."

"Yeah," Dex says, brushing his lips over my forehead.

When he's at his best, Dex is real in a way not many people are. When he puts on that rock star veneer, it's disappointing.

The only thing standing in the way of Dexter Clark being truly happy is… Dexter freaking Clark.

Mostly, I just want him to be okay. I need to see him thriving, or at least get back to where he was. It sucks watching him destroy his own happiness. Dex seemed a lot happier before we came to Florida. There was a lot less of him hitting on everyone with a dick.

Not to mention he has, like, tripled his coke intake. We've all always partied, so I feel like a hypocrite trying to find a way to bring it up, but also I'm pregnant and that changes things.

It has for me and Issac, but Dex hasn't followed suit.

I sigh, blowing out a heavy breath.

I pray to God he gets his shit together. Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll be part of that famous twenty-seven club. His twenty-seventh birthday is right around the corner. A shiver runs down my spine. I do something I don't often do.

I pray.

Whether or not Dexter and I are meant to be, I still love him and we all need him to be okay.

Chapter Four

Jude Walker

Riggs slams open the apartment door and I follow, hot on his heels. He's furious. Anger vibrates off him in waves. My eyes track him as he stomps from one room to the next. We used to share this place with Griffin Stone before he fell in love with Lyric Sinclair, but it's just been me and Vince for a while now.

The conversation we had upstairs with Lyric plays through my mind as I give him a few minutes to cool off, but it doesn't help. He's still pissed as hell, and I can't blame him.

Apparently, we're going to be moving over to keep an eye on Love. Which I'm fine with, but I know Riggs feels differently.

"What are you thinking?" I ask as he slams a dresser drawer.

Riggs starts gathering his shit, tossing it into duffle bags, and cursing under his breath.

"Do you plan on answering me?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I fucked up." Riggs shakes his head. "I missed fucking Jaxon Stormer. I failed the kid," he says, talking about Lyric.

"No, she made it very clear that's not why she assigned us to Love," I say, frowning. Although he might be right. We are both attracted to Love McKinley. It's an unnatural level of wanting,considering that for most of my life I've never much cared for the thought of sex in general.

"Don't be an idiot," Riggs hisses, swiping a palm through the air. The big black watch he always wears catches in the light. "I've been distracted as hell. She was right to get rid of me."

"I'll reiterate what Lyric said. Do you honestly think she would have asked us to look after her very pregnant friend if she didn't trust us?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

Storm's job was literally to stay out of sight. He was back-up, eyes in the sky security. He wasn't supposed to have close contact, and nothing bad happened to Lyric on our watch.

Riggs is letting his guilt get the better of him. He slides his hand across his face. His massive shoulders shrug.

"Fuck if I know. All I do know is I'm way too attracted to McKinley. How the hell am I supposed to live with her?"

I glance away, biting my lip. I've been wondering the same thing.

"Issac with his bullshit taunting…" Riggs sighs. "It's like he's trying to build her a harem."

I snort. "She's not an omega."

"Like that matters. Don't try to act like you aren't dying to toss your penny into her wishing well," Riggs says, smirking.

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