Page 79 of Rejected Beta

I make sure to take my time, letting them see how unbothered I am. I can't let themrile me up, there's too much still at stake.

I unlock the door and swing it open, staying in the doorway so they'd have to push past me to get inside. "What are you two doing here? I thought you were giving me time and space to think?"

Nicole glares at me. “Do you think we're fools? We got a call, letting us know about your little meeting today with the Council. You two are trying to cut us out, you're taking our omega for yourself."

I snarl, completely done with these two, no longer needing to play nice. “He's not your omega. He never was. He was always mine. This just makes it official. You both knew how I felt about him, I told you all about him back when things were good between us. You should’ve known this is exactly what would happen if you brought him here."

Brad has the nerve to look wounded. “This is how you repay us for this little reunion?"

My laugh is harsh and dark. “You didn't do this for me. You did this for you. This is all a game to you, you're using both of us to get what you want. Give me a break. You haven't been looking for me this whole time. You saw an opportunity when you stumbled across Jareth and you took it. But it failed. I am grateful that you reunited us though, but I can't forgive or forget what you did to me six years ago."

Nicole snarls. “You think we're just going to slink back home? You have our daughter and our omega. We're not going back without both of them. You're welcome to stay here if you're so intent on staying mad at us, but you'll be doing it alone."

Jareth thrusts his body into the small space next to mine, his expression cold with rage. “I’m not going back with you. The courtship is dissolved and is now official with Moira."

"And my daughter is going nowhere."

Nicole sniffs. “We'll see."

I step towards her, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. “Are you threatening her?”

She chuckles, the sound mean. “It's not a threat. It's a promise. We're alphas. We run this world. You think a judge is going to let you keep custody over us? Especially once we give them the sob story that you ran off with our child and we've been searching ever since. You'll be lucky if we have to ship her back off to you for three weekends a year."

"Why are you so intent on my daughter? You didn't care six years ago."

I want to hear it.

Nicole shrugs carelessly. “Things change. And if you're going to steal our omega, then we'll happily take your daughter."

"What are you saying?" I want it as clear as possible for the cameras watching.

"The omega comes back with us and maybe we can be convinced to leave you and the kid alone. Think about it. You have two days before we file for custody and those alphas with the OC are perfectly happy to act as character witnesses. They're not happy at all with how things went down this morning. Your fancy lawyer isn't going to save you."

Nicole spins on her stupid red heels and strides off, Brad following in her wake.

I'm going to kill them.

If they're dead, they can't pull any of this shit ever again.

Jareth tugs me back into his body. “Maybe I should go back with them."

I snarl and spin in his arms. “What? No. Absolutely not."

He grimaces. ”There's a chance they're right and a judge will award them custody."

I snort and close and lock the door of my studio behind us. “I can't imagine any judge doing that once they view the video that I just got of their threats."

He gasps. “I forgot all about the cameras."

I smile grimly. “They performed rather perfectly. Enzo is going to have a field day with that footage along with everything else you got for me. Lexie will be safe, I'm sure of it. If it does start to look bad, we'll run. The three of us."

There’s no way I can send Jareth back to them. And no way in hell are they getting Lexie.

"What about Ryder and Hendrix?" Jareth asks.

My shoulders slump and I shake my head. “They have lives here, I can't ask them to run with us."

It wouldn’t be fair.

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