Page 69 of The Omega Lesson

Lexi puts a hand on Mattie’s shoulder, but he’s busy picking at a thread on his school trousers. “Lexi overreacted. She found me in his office and stopped the session before it started. As you can see, I’m fine.” I swallow hard, hating every stilted word out of his mouth, but force myself to stay silent. “He does it to all the betas,” Mattie goes on, his eyes still lowered. “Well, the six of us in the senior group who haven’t presented yet. He says he’s beating the beta out of us.”

Lexi can’t hold her rage in a moment longer. “He’s an elitist piece of shit! God, I should have grabbed that paddle out of his hands and given him a taste of his own medicine….”

Lighting flashes through my veins at the word “paddle”, but I hold my tongue as Mattie shoots a faint smile in her direction. “I thought you were going to. I bet no one’s ever commanded him like that in his life.”

“Commanded him?”

Lexi tries to wave it off, but Noah gives a low, dark chuckle. “Apparently, she went all dominatrix on the prick. I felt it through the bond, and I twitched so hard, Jedediah nearly tossed me out of the saddle.”

Jealousy licks through me at their connection, adding to the turmoil in my gut, but Lexi is frowning. “I just told him to leave Mattie alone. But it was weird,” she confesses. “I’ve never had anything like that kind of power before.”

Noah’s grin turns sly. “I asked Jack about mating a switch, and he said there’s sometimes a power boost.” He waggles his brows at me. “Did you get an upgrade when you started banging my brother?”

I scowl at him, refusing to answer. Instead, I crouch in front of Mattie and reach out to cup the back of his neck. “No. One. Hurts. You.”

Everyone goes still, no doubt sensing the emotions bubbling under my skin. I can’t command Mattie to protect himself – that would be insulting – but I need him to know how much he means to me. I gently pull him forward until our foreheads are touching. Every line of his body is taut, his foot tapping hard on the old floorboards, but I hold him until he tilts his eyes up to meet mine. “No one is allowed to touch you against your will. Do you hear me?”

His gaze immediately drops back to his knees. “I can look after myself…”

“You can, but you don’t have to. Not against this kind of crap.” He frowns but I give him a little shake. “Because you’remine,Matthew. My brother. My blood. My pack.” The air seems to shift as I hold us together. Mattie’s lashes flutter, and I know he’s breathing in the unwavering promise in my scent. The pure alpha protectiveness that’s like titanium armour when we wrap it around the people we love. “Do you understand me, Matthew?”

“I get it,” he finally murmurs. “I just don’t want any of you to think I’m weak, just because I’m a beta.”

It’s not like it’s a new concept. Even when I went to Prendiville, failing to present as an alpha was like the kiss of death. Betas were either ignored, or outright bullied. And I feel a flush of shame that this is the first time we’re having this conversation. “You’re one of the best men I know,” I tell him gruffly, kissing him hard on the forehead before letting him go.

Mattie makes a big deal of wiping it off in disgust. “Jesus. Okay. But a handshake would do, bro.”

We exchange a tentative smirk, but my heart lurches at the surprise lingering in his eyes. It’s a harsh reminder of how he lived, how he grew up; fighting for every scrap of safety or affection. He clearly still doesn’t expect this – for someone to care enough to protect him - and a part of me wants to march over to the school and tear Drummond’s head from his shoulders. But when I glance Lexi’s way, something crackles between us. I see the same rage and love in her eyes, and it fills me with a different kind of purpose.

I lurch off my knees and go straight over to her, dropping my head so I can bury my face in her neck. She smells like the mate marks on her throat, her own alluring floral scent, and my baby brother. All of which calls to the alpha in me. “Thank you,” I murmur against her skin. “For being there for him when I couldn’t.”

I want to apologise for doubting her – for telling her to protect herself over protecting her mate – but she cups the back of my neck, a lot like I just did to Mattie. “It’s okay. We have each other now. And there’s enough of us to keep everyone safe.”

There’s an almost maternal note to her words, her body rocking gently against mine, and I look over her head at Noah. For once, he’s dropped the smartarse routine, and is staring at her with gleaming eyes. I already knew he was gone on Lexi, but now I realise what she really means to him. “Pack,” I murmur.

She pulls back to look at me. “I’m glad you’re home.” A faint blush touches her cheeks. “Jack’s really missed you.”

It’s on the top of my tongue to ask if she’s missed me, too, but I swing back to my brother. “What do you want us to do about Drummond?”

Matthew raises his brows at me. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if he’s abusing kids, we should get him kicked out for starters. The school might say it’s justified discipline, but if he’s targeting betas, that won’t stand up. Abuse aside, there are plenty of designation discrimination laws we can throw at him.” Noah’s mouth twists and I know he’s thinking exactly what I am. That if he’s been beating my brother on the sly, then the legal approach is too good for him. Luckily, I have a helicopter at my disposal and the Lyalls own more land than most European monarchs. Plenty of empty space to bury a body. “Maybe I should invite him up north for another cadet conference.”

Lexi arches a brow in my direction. “Did you do that last week?”

“I wish I’d thought of it,” I admit, “but it was Travis. He said something about Drummond harassing you at the Old Boys’ Dinner.”

The other guys stiffen at that, but she waves it off. “The important thing is, he can’t hurt anyone else.” She walks over to Mattie and climbs onto his lap. Her movements are hesitant, like she thinks he might object. But he wraps his arms around her, the last of the tension fading from his body. “Whatever you want to do, Mattie,” she whispers against his neck. “We’ll back you all the way.”

I suddenly realise there’s probably more to the story, but Mattie is all wrapped up in Lexi now. “I don’t want him picking on betas. Or anyone, really. But I don’t want you messing up your career on my account, either. You heard what he said. He’s going to get Miller to fail your probation. They’ll throw you out, Lexi.”

“Bullshit,” Noah snarls. “I’ve only been there five minutes, and I know you’re the best thing in that place.” Lexi gives him a small smile, but Noah is working up a head of steam. “If he threatened you, the guy is done. And if Miller tries to cover for him, he can fuck right off, too.”

I know he means it, but Lexi just bites her lip, lost in thought for a long moment. When she finally moves again, it’s to climb off Mattie’s lap and to walk around the room, touching various things. She lingers longest on a framed picture of her daughter. Another part of her life I’ve missed out on, but plan to rectify soon.

“I have to make a phone call,” she says quietly, staring down at my brother. “I won’t say anything unless you want me to, Mattie. But think about what Ben said. No one gets to treat you as anything less than the amazing person you are.”

Mattie pulls a face but then leans in, his hands wrapping around her waist as he rests his head on her stomach. It’s almost the exact position he took the day I went to save him from his mother. Wrapped around a woman who was so out of it, she barely seemed to register we were even in the room.

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