Page 11 of The Omega Lesson

Ben Cliff’s answering smile is so smug, I can almost predict the next words out of his mouth. “What a coincidence. I’m presenting some award. Looks like a perfect chance to get to know each other a whole lot better, Miss Novak.”

Ben

At quarter to seven the next evening, our limo pulls up outside the smallest house I’ve ever seen. It’s obviously one of the cheap rentals the academy provides to members of staff, and I can’t say I’m impressed. Not that it doesn’t have a certain charm with the fairy lights strung along the verandah, and the freshly painted picket fence. But the house itself is in serious need of an upgrade and I’m not even sure it’s to code anymore. Maybe sometime around the nineteenth century it passed inspection, but the chimney looks like it’s about to slide off the roof, and even in the fading light I can tell there’s something insidious eating away at the foundations.

The look on my face must speak volumes, because Matthew elbows me in the ribs as he scrambles out. He’s been in a pissy mood since I escorted him to his dorm last night. But if this was his alternate accommodation for the evening, I was doing him a favour. I have half a mind to stop him from even stepping foot on the sagging verandah, but Jack puts a restraining hand on my arm.

“Leave him alone,” he tells me in his most exasperated voice. “Tonight’s going to be hard enough on them as it is.”

I’m the picture of innocence as I say, “I’m just looking out for him.”

But Jack’s dark eyes narrow as they trail down my face. “You’re meddling, and you know it.”

“She’s his teacher. And he’s a Cliff. Everyone’s going to meddle.”

Jack can’t argue with that, and he bites his lip as he stares out the window. “She looked completely freaked out last night.”

“Well, she wasn’t the only one. I thought I was going for a quick chat with a bloke in a bowtie. You know how these academy teachers are. Most of them are using it as a springboard into a uni position. I doubt half of them can remember the kids’ names. How was I supposed to know she was different?” Jack arches a brow, and I laugh. “Yeah, I learnt my fucking lesson.”

“Then don’t forget it. She means a lot to Mattie, and that’s all that matters.”

I grunt, but the truth is, everything about last night is burned into my brain. Lexi Novak was all firm stare and luscious curves, with just a hint of softness that’s so rare on an alpha. Completely distracting, and that’s before you get to her scent. Most female alphas smell like whiskey – bold, cold, and sometimes hard to swallow – but all I could smell in that poor excuse of an office was honey and vanilla. I wondered at first if she was using a scent enhancer, but even across the room I knew it was all her. And it made my mouth water in a way that surprised me.

“She’s pretty,” I mutter.

“Pretty?” Jack scoffs. “She’s delicious.”

I shrug, like I didn’t really notice, but how the hell Matthew gets through her classes without dying of blue balls is beyond me.

“So, are we agreed? You’re ready to drop the overbearing guardian act now?”

I huff and stretch my legs out into the aisle. “Why would I stop now if it gets me what I want?”

Jack rolls his eyes and I can’t resist a moment longer. I lean over and pull him tight to my side, my nose nudging his as I stare at his lips and breathe in his scent. Lexi Novak might smell like a spring garden, but Jack’s sweetness has a darker edge that’s been driving me nuts since we were kids. “Fuck, but I want that with you, sweetheart.”

He melts into my side, his lips sliding along my jaw. “Screwing in school offices? Or making passionate pack declarations amongst the poetry books?”

I chuckle, but it doesn’t take long for my smile to fade. On one hand, I’m over the moon that Matthew is interested in forming a pack, since he’s shown nothing but scorn for the idea in the past. The fact it’s his teacher is a complication, but not one we can’t work through given our money, resources, and influence in the school. As for the public sex, that was irresponsible, dangerous… and hot as fuck.

A better man would feel bad about catching them in the act, but I don’t regret it in the least. Seeing my baby brother with his pants down isn’t ideal, but it’s a reality of pack life. Nudity isn’t a big deal, and sex happens in group settings more often than not. And at the end of the day, packmates are closer than family. If it’s done right, the bonds between mates are stronger than any other connection on this planet. And if there’s one thing I want above all else, it’s a Lyall-Cliff pack.

Matthew might not know it now, but that’s what he needs too. I get that forging out on his own probably feels like the right move. He’s young, independent, and has only seen the worst of family life. He’s carrying some deep scars I can only guess at, but I saw the way he was living as a kid. Bloody horrific, his family home only a step up from a crack house, with predators lurking in every doorway. I’d been so close to a feral rage, first finding out I had a brother and then seeing him in danger like that… Hell, I still can’t look at him without breaking out into an angry sweat.

I know he thinks he’ll be happy with just his alpha. But that’s not an option. He needs a pack. He deserves one. And so do I.

Jack must sense my whirling thoughts because his hand is on my face, turning me towards his velvet gaze. “I trust Mattie’s judgement. If he thinks she’s worthy of pack, then we should get to know her better. And if she likes what she sees, we could ask them to think about joining us, too.”

Like always, being this close to Jack Lyall is instantly soothing. But it doesn’t stop me from shooting a cocky brow his way. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re about to be stuck at a boring dinner together, then.”

Jack smacks my chest. “You’re a smug sonofabitch sometimes, Benjamin Cliff.”

I grab his hand, working it in hard little circles over my heart. “And you love me for it, sweetheart.”

“Cockiness isn’t as attractive as you think it is, you know.” But he leans up to nuzzle at the side of my neck, his teeth capturing my earlobe and biting down until I grunt. “I told you I should have given you a blowjob in the shower before we left. Now you’re going to have to suffer through all those boring speeches with a rock-hard cock.”

It sends a thrill through me; both the taunt in his voice and his teeth in my flesh. Jack’s a master at edging me. Comes with the territory when you’ve been having a long-distance relationship for half a decade. By the time we actually get our clothes off in the same room, I’m already halfway into a rut. But Jack never gives in without a fight. And I fucking love him for that.

I grunt and cup my aching junk. We had sex last night – twice, until he passed out from jetlag – but I had meetings all day and there was no time to complete the hat-trick. “Fair warning. Soon as I’ve dumped this award, I’m bending you over the first available surface.”

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