Page 31 of The Omega Lesson

I rub my cheeks, just wanting to get this over. “Okay. Does it say anything about me? What I should do?”

“Doctor Karp checked your file and said your birth control is still up to date.” I give a reluctant nod. Not that I have anything against the doctor, exactly, but I’m definitely used to more privacy than this. “I’ve taken the liberty of checking everyone’s sexual health screens and have them here if you want to look through them.”

The silence is suddenly so thick, I can’t disguise my gasp at the pinch of pain that rolls through my body. It brings both Ben and Jack over to the bed, and when Jack starts to rub my shoulders, Travis’ frown deepens. “I should mention that some omegas find it difficult to have another omega in the room during their heat.”

That flash of panic is back, because if there’s an expert in the room, it’s Jack. The thought of him sitting out, maybe even leaving the house, is terrifying. But he just gives me a reassuring smile. “That won’t happen here.”

“You don’t know that, Jackson,” his brother replies, still scrolling on the screen. “Some omegas can get very territorial.”

“And some alphas can knock you on your arse.” When Travis looks up at him, Jack folds his arms. “I also know that I’ve switched. So yeah, territory isn’t going to be an issue here.”

I gulp, staring up at the hard line of Jack’s jaw. “You’re an alpha right now?”

There’s a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. “Is that okay? I can take over the facilitation if you want.”

“No,” I grab his hand, a little zing of pleasure shooting through me. “I won’t pretend I wasn’t going to lean on your omega knowledge, but I still definitely want you to be a part of it.”

And it’s not like it’d be a hardship to take Jack’s knot. We’ve already been deeply intimate, and even in the back of a limo with Travis growling at us, our chemistry had been scorching hot. “I’m glad, actually,” I tell him, pressing his warm palm to my flushed cheek. “I already know we’re good together.”

“And you still have me to even up the odds,” Mattie jokes, resting his chin on my thigh. My hands instantly go to those sunshine locks, but Travis is frowning again. “What?” Mattie demands, steam almost coming out of his ears. “You think I’m gonna screw up somehow, don’t you?”

“No, but you’ll need to be prepared to step aside for one of the alphas. I’m not trying to be insulting, Matthew, but this is biology. Alexa will need their knots.”

I have to dig my nails into my palms to stop myself from accidentally ripping Mattie’s hair out by the roots. “Get out, Travis.”

“What?”

I can feel Noah quietly chuckling next to me, but I don’t look away from his older brother. Travis is squirming now, even though he clearly doesn’t know what he said wrong. But I refuse to give him an inch. “No one says Mattie is support crew,” I spit. “In my opinion, he’s the most goddamn important person in this room. So, you can just go facilitate from the hallway if that’s your attitude.”

Despite our history, I’m not trying to make Travis out to be the bad guy – he’s doing that all on his own. And his discomfort is worth it for the smirk on Mattie’s face. He’s the only reason I’m here, after all. And if Travis or anyone else treats him as less than essential, then we’ll go off and deal with my heat alone.

But Travis just drops his gaze back to his phone. “It also says you should set some verbal boundaries,” he mutters. “Like safe words, in case you’re overwhelmed and need a break.”

Seriously? Maybe we should also throw in some hand signals, in case I lose control of my vocal cords altogether.

But it’s my turn to give in as gracefully as possible. “How about we just go with red and green? It works in the classroom.”

That heavy silence is back, only to be broken by Mattie, who sniggers. “I don’t think I’m the only one with teacher fantasies, babe. You try putting us in the naughty corner, I’m thinking it might have the opposite effect.”

The conversation I had with Robyn about being labelled the academy’s Mistress of Discipline flashes through my mind and I groan. “Oh, God. Really? Then… I don’t know. Bananas?” I throw out there, nodding at his cute sleep shorts. “And… oysters. I see one, and I want to puke.”

They’re all laughing at me now, and I give a grudging smile, but I’m actually kind of relieved. There’s been way too much emotion churning through me the last few days. And while that’s not likely to change during my heat, laughing about silly stuff is a bit of a pressure release.

I sink back against Mattie and Noah, but Jack slides off the bed and clears his throat. “There’s one other thing we should talk about,” he says, and I can tell from his serious tone it’s going to be a doozie.What now?As if reading my mind, he gives a little shrug and pulls down his collar, exposing his neck. I suck in a sharp breath at the raw mark on his throat. It’s fresh and deep, and as wide as a Cheshire grin.

“Bites,” Jack says, his eyes glowing as he looks at Ben. “Who wants ‘em, and who’s up for giving ‘em?”

Mattie

Those sneaky bastards.

It’s the first thought that flashes through my brain.

But then I’m overcome with such a strange feeling, I have to press my lips together to stop the pressure at the back of my eyes. Which is fucking surreal. I don’t remember the last time Icried -and probably never about anything good. I thought happy tears were just something girls staged for their Instagram proposals. Like they rubbed some chilli sauce in their eyes between takes, or maybe they just imagined their childhood puppy getting run over by a Mr. Whippy van. But fuck, there’s a giant bubble in my chest, and if I don’t pop it somehow, I reckon it’s going to squeeze some moisture out of me, whether I like it or not.

“Way to go, bro,” I croak instead, and slide off the bed to slap Ben on the shoulder. He’s grinning now, although he’s got one eye canted Travis’ way. But I figure Lexi’s verbal spanking from earlier is keeping his big mouth shut.

Which is fucking hysterical. Travis has always been uptight and annoying, but he’s still the most powerful alpha in the room. Not to mention the CEO of one of the biggest agricultural corporations in the Southern Hemisphere. The dude decides to halt farming production, and half the country won’t get their breakfast cereal in the morning.

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