Page 75 of The Omega Lesson

He sounds genuinely upset, which goes a little way to easing some of the ache in my chest, but it just makes Anton set his jaw. “We appreciated the heads up, but this is a family matter, Travis. We’ll handle it from here.”

A family matter?I look around the table and realise they don’t know what the words mean. In the short time I’ve known my pack, they’ve given me more love and support than in all the years I’ve been part of this so-called family.

I snatch up the letter and tuck it in my purse. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers, Richard.” When he opens his mouth to sneer at me again, I pick up an oily napkin and toss it in his face. “Get ready to choke on your oysters, because Louise DiAngelo is my new best friend.”

My father grunts, probably as much at my public display as my name-dropping, but I don’t hang around to find out. Turning on my heel, I march out of the restaurant and don’t stop until Travis grabs my arm halfway across the foyer.

“Lexi, I’m sorry. Shit. It never occurred to me they’d use it against you like that.”

I rub a weary hand across my forehead. “Travis, the only thing that surprised me in there was you.” He flinches, and I sigh. “My family doesn’t summon me to a fancy restaurant unless they’re planning to shove something nasty down my throat.”

His troubled gaze drops to his brothers’ bite marks on my throat. “You still haven’t told them you’re a switch?”

“Do you blame me?” The truth is, my family doesn’t really care what’s going on in my life. On the rare occasions when we do catch up, it’s either so they can lecture me, or rehash all the ways I’ve disappointed them over the years. Maybe not as blatantly or publicly as just now, but the message has always been the same. And I’ve swallowed it down like a nasty oyster because of Bree… and maybe because I believed they were all I’d ever have. “They don’t deserve to know the real me,” I say simply.

Travis studies me for a moment longer, then holds out his hand, palm up. “Will you come back with me for a moment? I have a message I want to deliver as well.”

My shoulders slump, and I give a weary shake of my head. So much for the party mood I left in the penthouse less than an hour ago. “Please, can we skip it? I’ve really been through enough today…”

“Lexi. This was my fuck-up. Just give me a chance to make it right.”

I sigh again, but place my hand in his. It’s crazy how it can still send shivers down my spine, even after everything we’ve been through. But I square my shoulders and let him lead me back into the lion’s den.

They’ve obviously been talking about me, because they stop as soon as we approach. The frown on my dad’s face is deep, his eyes tired, but I refuse to soften. And then I realise Anton is scowling at the way Travis is holding my hand. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got a few things I want to make very clear,” Travis says in a quiet, clipped voice that sends a different kind of shiver down my spine. “Firstly, oysters are disgusting, and watching the three of you hoover them up is enough to give me nightmares.” I grin at that, because of all the things I expected him to say, that didn’t make the list.

But then he turns his attention to my dad. “Mr. Novak, I’m hereby informing you I’m terminating discussions with your firm. Thanks for the pitch, but I’d rather hire an ambulance chaser working out of the mall.”

Anton is suddenly on his feet. “What the hell is this, Travis?”

“What does it look like, Anton? This is me terminating a friendship with you on the grounds that you’re a roaring dickhead, as Noah is so fond of saying.” My brother flushes red, his mouth dropping open, but Travis is leaning on the edge of the table, staring into Anton’s eyes with all the power of his alpha. “And if you need it spelled out, this is also me courting your sister.”

All eyes are suddenly turning my way, but now there’s something dawning there other than disapproval. Hopefully it’s the realisation that all their years of bullying and nastiness are about to backfire on them in a big way. “And I don’t care what I promised you when we were kids, Anton. I plan to chase Lexi all over this city until she agrees to give me a chance, because she’s the best damn thing that ever happened to my pack.”

I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open like my brother’s, but Travis doesn’t wait for us to recover. Instead, he turns on Richard, and pins him with a black glare I feel all the way to my toes. “As for you, Zoric. Go after Lexi’s visitation rights again, and it’ll be the second biggest mistake of your life.”

Lexi

This time we make it all the way across the foyer before I drag Travis into an alcove. He gives a grunt of surprise as I push him up against a marble wall, and when I press my hands to his chest, his heart is beating nearly as fast as mine. “Did you really just say all that?”

His mouth curves into a slow, wicked smile. “Happy to put it in writing and then you can personally hand-deliver it to them.”

I’m pretty sure my mouth falls open again. I’m so used to the crap my family doles out, I never imagined what it would feel like if someone took my side. But now I know. It’s a cross between a heart-attack and the swoony feeling I get when I think about my pack. And I’m pretty sure if I don’t kiss Travis soon, all these emotions swirling in my chest are going to bring me to my knees.

But Travis must have a similar idea, because as I rise up on my toes, he’s already swooping down to claim a kiss. Or maybe he meets me halfway.

And there goes my heart again. Rearranging itself to echo his rhythm, beating as frantically as the pulse I can feel under my hands. Instead of teenage yearning, heat spreads through me like a wildfire and there’s more than a spark of interest in his ink-black eyes when he pulls back.

“You taste like good memories.”

I cock a brow at him. “Oh? But this is our first kiss. You must be remembering some other girl.”

“Never. You’ve just forgotten about the elbow kiss.”

I stare at him, suddenly shy. “You remember that?”

“I remember thinking it was worth putting up with your brother so I could get close to you once a week.”

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