Page 28 of The Mafia's Omega Queen

Pushing up off the wall, I thread my fingers through his hair, holding him to me, refusing to let him go. Before he knows what’s happening, I’m dropping us both into the water, Arden flipping over me and making a massive splash as he breaks the surface.

Seeing retaliation in the near future, I make a mad dash for the stairs before he even makes it back up for air. My feet slip across the wet surface as I scramble out, my giggles piercing the air as he finally reemerges. His eyes dart around, looking for me, and the second he catches sight of me, he takes off, slicing through the water like he was born in it.

His wet shoes make squishy noises as he finally makes it out of the pool, chasing after me. The moment my hand closes around my towel, his strong arms wrap around my waist, and he hauls me off my feet, spinning us around.

“You’ll pay for that later, sweets,” his husky voice murmurs. A shudder trails down my spine as his tongue traces the shell of my ear. I grind my ass against his sopping-wet jean-clad erection, earning a desire-laced growl. It’s music to my ears.

Arden releases me and smacks my ass, the wet material of the bikini doing nothing to diminish the sting of the hit. He rips the towel from my grip and wraps it around me, holding me close and rubbing his hands up and down, drying me off.

Instead of letting me go, he swoops me up into his arms, carrying me bridal-style into the house, leaving a river of water in his wake. Andre comes around the corner right as we pass into the living room, sputtering indignantly at the mess he’s leaving behind. Peeking over Arden’s shoulder, I catch Andre’s eyes and point at Arden. Putting all the blame where it’s due. Andre’s eyes narrow on Arden’s back, and if looks could kill, my alpha would be six feet under.

Stifling my laughter gets harder as Andre mimes slicing Arden’s throat till we disappear down the hall toward Vinny’s office. “Where are we going?” I ask, my eyebrows furrowing. I would rather we head upstairs to my room, where he can enact his punishment for dragging him into the pool.

Granted, there hasn’t been much time to really spend with Vinny, but I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I agreed to give him a chance. Maybe it took almost dying for me to see that we belong together, or maybe it’s the pesky idea that he’s actually one of my fated mates after all that has transpired. Either way, I said yes, so I need to give him the chance.

Arden kicks the partially shut door open and strides into the room, sitting on the only available wing-back chair and situating me on his lap. The guys are scattered around the room, Vinny perched in his office chair behind his desk, Gavin in the chair next to us, and Hunter chilling on the couch, his man-spread taking up most of the space. They all watch me expectantly until they look around as a slow drip, drip, drip sounds in the quiet room. I snort in laughter, knowing exactly what they hear.

“What the fuck is that?” Vinny asks, his gaze roving the walls like the pipes behind them may be slowly about to burst open and flood his sacred space.

“That, Vinny, is what happens when someone tries to scare me.”

He gets this adorable confused look on his face, which quickly turns to horror as he finally zones in on Arden. Water is dripping off of his soaking wet clothes, splattering onto the pristine hardwood floor.

“Dammit,” he mutters, jumping up from his chair and disappearing out the office door. Moments later, he comes back in with an armful of towels, dropping them to the floor and scooting them under our dripping frames. “That’s the original hardwood. You’re going to destroy it.”

“Blame him,” I murmur, nodding my head back at the culprit. “I was enjoying a swim when he showed up. Not my fault he slipped.”

Vinny rolls his eyes, the action so unlike him, and returns to his desk, shaking his head. “Before this can turn into an episode of who done it, we actually want to talk to you about something, Haylee.”

Shit, he sounds so serious, and it matches the look on his handsome face as he gazes back at me. But this time, there’s no animosity or hate brewing in his hazel orbs. Have to admit, it’s a nice change.

Sitting up, I give him my full attention. My hands fold on my lap, knowing this isn’t a joking matter, especially when he uses my name and not the little pet name he has picked out for me.

“Talk to me, Vinny. What’s going on?”

He moves forward, sliding a stack of papers across his desk. He doesn’t say a word as I take them in my hands, just sits back and waits. My eyebrows climb with every word I read, wondering if this is just some trick. But the email on top from Dad tells me this has to be true. He would never suggest something if it were false.

The papers flip through my fingers as I go through them, each one sounding more and more promising until I reach the end, where there are numerous comments from other omegas in case studies. They all report that they can resist alpha barks. Every. Single. One.

But is it really that easy? Pop a pill, and boom, you don’t get caught in an alpha command? Just the prospect of it makes me giddy. But shit, where was this information a while ago. This could have saved so much damn hurt. Better late than never, I guess.

Shuffling through the pages again, I go back to the one with the side effects. None of them really seem that bad. Just normal everyday stuff that can happen without it. I giggle. The worst would be the shits. Plug your noses, boys. This girl’s going to explode.

The guys have obviously done their homework on this drug, and my inner omega squeals at the care these four men have for me. It really shows me the kind of men they are if they are presenting me a drug that could block out my alphas’ commands. They care more for me than about me following their orders.

After restacking the papers, I place them down on Vinny’s desk, nibbling my bottom lip. I’ll need to get a phone so I can call Dad and have him order the drug. This is absolutely revolutionary and will go a long way in cementing my place in an alpha-dominated world.

“What are you thinking, princess?” So much for him using my name, but at least, this time, he continues to infuse the word with affection. Not the previously held disdain.

“Honestly, I think it’s worth giving it a shot. Anything is better at this point than doing nothing at all. If you guys will give me a few minutes to call my dad, I’d like to have him go ahead and get his hands on it. He’s been looking for solutions to this problem for what feels like ever, and I would be stupid to pass it up over headaches and explosive diarrhea.”

The guys all bust out laughing, the sound music to my ears, but I shrug my shoulders. It’s the truth.

It takes a minute, but one by one, they all compose themselves, back to the seriousness they were when we first came in here.

“But before I call him, what do you guys think?” Smart, Haylee. Ask them after already saying you are going to do it. I’ll have to be more conscious of my decisions in the future. After all, it’s not just me anymore. They are all affected by my choices, too—even Vinny, even if we aren’t there yet.

“Honestly, little killer, we wouldn’t have brought it up if we weren’t one hundred percent sure about it. We,” he waves his hand around the room, “have already talked about it, and we think you should do it.”

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