Page 14 of Alpha's Fated Desire

And if I was being honest with myself, there was no way I could resist being so near her and without knotting her myself.

Which is why we needed to get on with this meeting.

I brought my attention back to the situation at hand. I kept my voice lowered so we did not disturb her.

“As it stands, the omega, known as Gabriella, is currently unmated and living under our protection. She is no longer eligible to participate at the Omega Outings,” I stated formally to begin the meeting.

The problem was now addressed, and I left it to my packmates to continue. I wanted to hear what they had to say.

Stone scratched at his short buzz cut, processing my words. He was slow but always efficient.

“Can’t we just bend the rules and allow her one more season for the Outings?” He offered up.

It's a good idea, one that I had already thought of. Unfortunately, it would not work.

“No,” I replied firmly. “The other packs would see it as an unfair advantage and would try to break other rules, too. We don’t want to cause lawlessness.”

Our society was dependent on everyone choosing to follow the rules. If one too many alpha packs decided to rebel for whatever reason, it would be a real problem on our hands. We were responsible for the shifter inhabitants of West Virginia.

Chase shuffled his feet and tapped his finger nervously. He opened and closed his mouth several times.

“Chase, if you have a suggestion, spit it out,” I said.

“You’re not going to like it,” he warned me.

“That’s what this meeting is for,” I said, rolling my eyes. “We’re here to discuss solutions, not fucking icebreakers.”

Stone let out a muffled snort. I regretted my breach of professionalism but gestured for Chase to continue.

Chase glared at me but finally got on with it. He cleared his throat a couple of times and then started speaking calmly.

“Look, Roman, hear me out before you cut me off. Gabriella is in need of a pack of mates, and we are clearly in need of an omega. Honestly, I don’t think we have a predicament here at all.” He said carefully.

“I second Chase’s idea,” Stone added quickly before I could respond.

“I’ve never seen an omega quite like her,” Stone marveled.

“I know, right,” agreed Chase. “We would be fools to let her go.”

I let out a long, slow breath and pinched the bridge of my nose to remain calm. Even the thought of taking on an omega bride had my blood pressure rising and my chest feeling constricted.

But I had to speak rationally to Chase. Otherwise, I could see he was on the verge of leaving this pack and starting his own.

He was letting his emotions guide him.

“I hear you, Chase. We do need an omega, but not one who just randomly fell into our laps. Perhaps, in the future, we could properly find and thoroughly vet an omega prospect. We do not want a repeat of what happened before, and this is just too risky.” I said, trying to cooperate with him and meet in the middle.

Chase’s jaw tightened with restrained emotion, but he didn’t say a word. He gave a curt nod to show his understanding, and I continued the discussion.

“There is another option of finding her a pack of alphas through our own means,” I thought out loud, slowly.

That caught Chase’s attention, and he leaned forward intently.

“What do you mean? I thought she was no longer eligible?” He asked sharply.

My idea soured my stomach, but I knew I had to say it. This was a path I didn’t want to take, but I had to make my pack understand that Gabriella was not for us.

I had a bitter taste in my mouth as I reluctantly explained my point.

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