Page 7 of Omega's Reign

“This will be a good thing. I swear to you. We will make it work.” I hold out my arms, wiggling my fingers, and getting the rest of the Silversteins to close the space around me, engulfing me in a hug.

My brother stares at me from behind them, silent and stoic, probably a bit judgmental, but I don’t care. It’s not only the Pack Regime leaders I have to prove myself to. It’s also my brothers.

It’s a good thing I’m up to the task. My favorite thing to do is prove them wrong.

4

Alphas Fall

Holly

“Beckett’s mad at me, isn’t he?” I sit beside Wesley in his suite. I still can’t go back into mine after the guard attack. There are dozens of other rooms to choose from, but I’ve decided I no longer desire my own space. I’ve had enough of my own space to last me the rest of my life.

Wesley shrugs without replying to my question and holds up a square of fabric to my nose. “Smell this.”

I can barely intake a breath before a pungent, unpleasant fragrance smacks my nose. I swing and bat the fabric away, wanting it nowhere near me. “What the hell? That was gross. Is this some kind of punishment?”

Chuckling, Wesley tugs out a second plastic bag from a duffle beside him. I missed him pulling out the first one because I’ve been lost in my thoughts about Beckett. “Definitely not. Smell this one next.”

I lean away and shake my head. “No way. Nu-uh. Get that away from me. It smells like BO.”

“I thought it was nasty too. I told Becks not to even bother with this one.” Wesley pulls out yet another bag, the sight of it sending my stomach tumbling.

Sliding to the other end of the couch, I put space between us and pinch my nose. “No more. I can’t stand it. Why are you trying to kill me? Death by stench was never on my list of ways I’d die.” My nasally voice whines, muffled against my palm.

Again, Wesley laughs. “I swear I’m not trying to kill the woman I’ve fallen in love with. This is actually to help keep you safe. Now I need you to pick the one that smells the best to you.”

I crinkle my forehead in confusion, staring at the stack of bagged pieces of fabric Wesley pulls from his duffel bag, no longer doing it one at a time.

It’s now that I realize what’s happening. I understand why some of them smell so bad to me. This isn’t just some smelly fabric. They are the scents of different alphas, and Wesley is trying to make me pick one out.

“Why do I need to pick an alpha scent? You know Beckett is my alpha.” I tighten my jaw, uncertainty picking up the pace of my heart.

“Of course, Beckett is your alpha. I’m not trying to replace my best friend. But we want you to be able to tolerate the scent of your new personal bodyguard. Things are getting really tough around here as we figure out who we can trust, so we have selected a handful of possibilities from Gilded Sands. Alphas that would be loyal to the soon-to-be former princess of that territory.” Wesley opens up another bag. “I think you might like this one. It kind of smells like cotton candy to me.”

I reluctantly stretch my neck and inhale a breath without taking the bag from his hands.

He’s right. The fabric does smell like cotton candy. Maybe a hint of bubblegum. It’s super sweet and pleasant.

“Nice, yeah?” Wesley asks confirming the expression he reads on my face. “Smell these three as well.”

I gingerly open one bag at a time and sniff the fabric, the first one smelling like wet grass and mint. The second and third have floral notes, one of them more like honeysuckle and the other one jasmine. I like all three of them and nod my head.

“These four I can live with. But what I don’t get is why? Why do you want me to have a personal bodyguard?” And how can my guys trust anyone else outside of our pack?

Wesley frowns at my question, dipping his chin slightly to break away from my gaze. He goes from playful to somber in a matter of seconds.

“I hate to admit this, but we need the help. We need someone who will be just as respected as Beckett, because Beckett can’t be around you twenty-four seven if he’s to take care of other duties. And no one really likes to listen to betas. It’s why we are not one of the strongest packs. We have our shortcomings.” Wesley finally flicks his gaze back to mine, his golden eyes not sparkling like usual.

I scoot closer to him and clasp his hand between both of mine. “You underestimate yourself. You are just as strong as any alpha I know. Maybe even stronger. You know my brother does just fine.” I’m talking about Desmond, the only beta of my siblings. And I’m the only omega. We’ve kind of been outsiders from our family together, even though we are still close. But my alpha brothers will never understand what we have to go through, considering our orders have been considered less than for as long as anyone can really remember.

“But we are constantly being tested to prove as much, lovely.” Wesley doesn’t use terms of endearment often, but when he does, it always makes me giddy inside. And lovely is one of my favorites. He sounds so cute saying it.

“We just have to get through the next couple months when everything will finally settle.” I lean in closer and touch my hand to his cheek, rubbing my palm over his skin, hoping my scent will fill him up with something more joyful than his intrusive thoughts about not being able to handle things.

“Which is why we would like you to have a bodyguard. Someone who can always watch out for you.” Bowing closer, he brushes his lips to mine, the feathery soft lightness of his kiss sending tingles across my body. “It’ll also allow the rest of us to let our guards down a bit. Not a lot but just enough to where we won’t be so concerned about the outside world and we can focus more on you. On what you want and need.” His insinuation gets to me in a good way, and I shiver, kissing Wesley more fervently. But he doesn’t let me shower him with my affection for long.

“So what do you say? Will you accept a bodyguard?” Wesley smirks, continuing to caress my arm while holding my other hand.

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