Page 11 of Impossible

Indigo looks between Wilder and I. For a moment I think she might snap back at me like she did at him, but I suppose some part of the last twenty minutes has given me a modicum of trust in her book, though I can’t imagine why. She nods slightly and turns to leave. She has to use her entire bodyweight to heave the heavy oak door, and I lurch to grab it when she struggles to get it all the way open. It flies open under my hand—her struggle made me think I’d need to use more force than I actually did. I bite my lip. She really is weak.

She nestles herself into one of the leather chairs in the waiting area, drawing her knees up to her chest. How she does that and still fits in the chair, I have no idea. I nod at Bertha, who immediately gets up and offers her water. I wait until Indigo accepts, watching her take a ginger sip before stepping back into Wilder’s office.

“Are youtryingto scare her shitless?“ I seethe the moment the door closes. I don’t want Indigo to hear me yelling, not when we first meet. Not when I want forever with her.Focus, Leon.

“She’s just another omega,” Wilder waves his hand dismissively.

“No, she isn’t.”

“Get some food in her and take her to the dorms,” he continues like he didn’t even hear me. “We’ll get her weighed and set up a feeding tube or something. Diana said they had a rough appointment yesterday—apparently she’s quite belligerent, but her parents signed the omega agreement, so the timing is actually ideal. She’s ours to do with as we please. We’ll get her weight back up and she’ll probably have her first heat in the next few weeks.”

A muscle in my jaw flexes. So, she’s a ward. A ward he’s planning on force-feeding and pressing into service without any education or awareness of who or what she is.

“Are you joking?” I ask, struggling to keep my voice calm.

He raises a brow, not speaking. Like he’s waiting for me to continue.

“She’s scared, sick, and alone, and you want to force-feed her and then leave her at the mercy of a group of alphas she will no doubt think is fuckingrapingher?”

“She’ll be in heat, she’ll want it.”

I see red. I want to climb over the desk in front of me and piece Wilder apart, watch him scream and cry and cower as I dominate him, send him groveling to the floor. I’m suddenly grateful for the lack of bond. Risk would already be here, knife in hand. Hollis’s disapproval would be deafening. But I’m Leon. I’m not the one who gets violent urges. Who he has to worry about.

“She has no idea what she is.” I force my voice to remain even. “She hasn’t had theyearsof education that the other omegas get.”

“She’ll get a crash course. We have great teachers here. Why are you so bent out of shape about this?”

“Outside of the fact that you’re talking about ruining her life?” I fume.

Because she’s mine.

I almost say the words. I come so close to letting them slip that my mouth is open, the air passing through my vocal cords, my lips parting with the concussive force of the letterB.

Then I stop.

She has no idea what she is. She isn’t a part of our world. She is sick, and young, and if her parents signed the omega agreement,alone. Ripping her from her life and then staking a claim on her in the next breath? I can’t picture a way that would go well.

Plus, she’s not mine. She’sours. And we are a sorry excuse for a pack right now.

Not to mention, Wilder could block me from seeing her, if I admit to it. A fated mate bond is nothing to be messed with, but with his middling dominance and small-mindedness, an alpha like Wilder would jump at the opportunity to step on Midas Pack, golden boys of the Coalition. Well,formergolden boys.

“She’s an omega, Leon.” Wilder fills my silence. “It isn’truining her life.God. Why are you so dramatic?”

“I like to think of it as empathetic.”

He cocks a brow at me. “You think she’s cute, don’t you? Her scent got you a little muddled, Midas?”

I bury the snarl in my chest. “Just being a decent person.”

“Good,” he barks a laugh. “Don’t get any ideas. She’ll be in heat long before Midas Pack gets back on the pack list.”

“What? We’re at the top of the list. Have been for years.”

“After everything that’s happened, you can’t seriously think the Coalition would grant you an omega,” Wilder scoffs. His eyes flash to my stump. I cross my arms, hiding it from sight. “You’ve been off the list since you were all demoted. Didn’t you notice you haven’t been sent any heat-sheets?”

I haven’t. Been too busy keeping Joshua from developing bed sores and Risk from OD-ing. On second thought, I guess I can understand losing our spot on the list. Dread pits my stomach. Indie can’t go to another pack. She just can’t. I school my features into passivity. Wilder can’t know.

“I’ve been busy trying to do right by the students,” I say through gritted teeth. “Of which she is now one.”

---