Page 23 of The Omega Lesson

Ben makes a strangled sound since it’shislap they’re discussing, but Noah rubs a hand over his hawk and gives Lexi one of his long, slow blinks. Maybe it’s the booze, but I’m pretty sure he’s trying to be seductive. Which is a joke. Because my brother doesn’ttrywith anyone. He doesn’t need to; he just slinks around the place like a feral cat and people rush to pet him.

But right now, he’s pointing a bright pink fingernail in Lexi’s direction. “Whatever this party game is we’re playing, I pickherfor Team Trouble.”

Lexi cocks a brow at him. “Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves first?” Her gaze slides my way, a hint of amusement in her dark eyes. “My name might not make a catchy rhyme.”

“Oh, fuck yes.” Noah wraps an arm around Mattie’s neck and gives another eyelash flutter. “Like Gertie. I always wanted a friend called Dirty Gertie.”

“You’re close. It’s Lexi.”

He looks her over, all but vibrating with silent laughter as he bites his lip. “No, sorry. Can’t think of a single word that rhymes with that, unfortunately.”

Lexi just smiles, and I press a grateful hand to her knee. She probably thinks Noah is just playing around, but my brother is the king of snap decisions. Forget about three seconds. He has the instincts of a wild wolf and with one whiff, he either loves you or hates you. Anyone looking around this room would think he has a million friends, but I bet he can’t remember more than a handful of their names. Unlike the lone wolf, he just doesn’t like his own company very much.

But it seems he likes Lexi. And he’s holding onto Mattie like he doesn’t plan on giving him back anytime soon.

It’s a start, and I reach over and take her hand. It’s time I lay everything out and we decide if, like Ben said, we’re going to let all the bullshit ruin our lives. Or if we’re going to try to make a new one. As a pack.

“A few years ago, Ben came to visit me in London,” I start, holding his eyes before looking at Lexi. Even Mattie and Noah look intrigued, since this isn’t a story I’ve shared with them. “It was the Rugby World Cup; Wallabies and the Red and Whites, and it was a ripper of a game. But right after the half-time break, I started to feel strange. Sweating, rapid heartbeat, everything suddenly more sensitive than it should be. You all know I’ve been on a cocktail of meds for a long time. But there were… breaks. Times when they didn’t work so well, or I had to go off them for health reasons. Anyway, that’s what I thought it was. I panicked, because I didn’t want to go into heat in the middle of a packed stadium.”

The room is deathly quiet, and I clear my throat. The panic I felt, elbow-to-elbow with drunk, rowdy alphas, comes rushing back, and I know they can all smell it leaking from my pores. “I dragged Ben out of our seats, and some passing guy gave him the eye. Nothing new, except I wanted to tear his head off with my bare hands. It was Ben who said I was acting like I was deep into a rut.” I can feel his gaze drilling into the side of my face, no doubt reliving the way I fucked him all over that ugly stadium bathroom, but I just shrug. “I won’t go into details, but it took a while to go back to normal. Or as normal as I’ve ever been.”

“But how?” Lexi asks, clearly concerned. “The meds shouldn’t trigger that kind of reaction, should they?”

“No, but a switch can.” There’s no comprehension on her face, and my heart sinks a little. “I don’t know if they were in that crowd, or someone I’d seen at work that day, but they triggered me. Like flipping a switch on my genetics. Even though I’ve had investigators looking into this for a couple of years, there’s still a lot of unknowns. But I’m almost certain you have to be genetically susceptible to it.”

There’s a long silence until Mattie scratches his head. “You mean you’re a switch, Jack? LikeKirikaeru? The Japanese manga?” We all stare at him and he huffs. “I mean, that’s fucking awesome, but I didn’t think it was a real thing.”

“Well, it’s really rare. The reports I got said that while stress or some other emotion can trigger it, that first biological change usually needs something big to bring it to life.”

“Like…?”

“A connection.” I link my fingers through Lexi’s. “That wasn’t just a quick fuck in the back of a limo, love. Not in any way.”

She gives me a tentative smile, but Noah has rocked forward on Mattie’s lap.“Excuse me?”He looks between us, that pink fingernail at work again. “Isthatwhy you smell like a crème brûlée?” I try to smother him with my stare, but he just grins. “So, you’re both really switches? As in, today I’m big and growly, and tomorrow I’m soft and frilly?”

And then he’s suddenly laughing, a deep belly cackle that has him tumbling off Mattie’s lap. We all stare at him in shock until he finally drops his head back on the floor and stares up at the ceiling with a look of wonder on his face. “Can you imagine dear old dad’s reaction? The son he fuckingexiledis actually so goddamn cool, he’s AC/DC. You flip a switch and you can play plug or socket, right?”

I roll my eyes at him. “Alpha or omega. But I’m an omega the majority of the time. Or I will be when my hormones settle down.”

“The point is,” Ben interrupts, nudging Noah with the toe of his boot, “we need to help Lexi through this.” His arms tighten around her and she looks up at him in surprise, but I get it. Ben isn’t just attracted to her anymore, or interested in her for Mattie’s sake; now he wants to protect her. Maybe it’s just dynamics at work, but his alpha instincts are fully engaged.

“Wait up,” Mattie says slowly. “So, this is going to be her first heat, right? Isn’t that something that requires doctors? And you know, people who have a clue what they’re doing?”

Lexi makes a choking sound and pushes herself off Ben’s lap, backing up towards the piano. “No. That’s… crazy. A heat? I can’t be going into heat.”

“Babe…”

“No, I’m saying it doesn’t make sense. Iknowomegas. Girls I played with before I presented. They were all cute and sweet and… I guess frilly,” she says with a glance in Noah’s direction.

“You’re cute and sweet,” Mattie says, trying to get her to smile.

But she’s pacing now, her arms crossed tight. “I don’t know about switches or anything like that, but Ilockedyou, Jack.” She flushes, but surges on. “I was an alpha in that moment. You can’t deny that.”

“I’m not.” I can’t blame her for being so upset. It took a long time for me to accept that switches weren’t just an urban myth - or a manga trope. “And you’re still an alpha. You’re still you. Switching doesn’t change that part of you. But it… accesses other parts. Omega attributes, in your case.”

She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to explore that, but she stops pacing and sits back down beside me. Mattie instantly jumps up and comes around to her other side. She’s stiff for a moment, then leans back against him with a sigh. “Can we really be sure that’s what this is? Maybe I’m sick, or something. Do I even smell like an omega?”

“That’s what I meant about omega attributes. You’re covered in slick, love.”

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