Page 26 of Omega's Triplets

Mark felt his eyebrows shoot up. “I thought their whole mantra was that they took care of the omega girls they kept, so you’d all be healthy.”

“They did,” Maddy said. “They had us examined regularly by a doctor. They gave us nutritious food, and they made us exercise regularly. But they didn’t give us anycomforts.” She glanced at Mark hesitantly, then back at the bed. “Can I sit on it?”

“You can do whatever you want,” he said. “It’s yours as long as you’re here.”

“How long am I here?”

“Well,” Mark said, “that’s probably a longer conversation.”

She nodded and went over to the bed. With a little giggle, she sat down and bounced on the mattress. She seemed like a child, suddenly. “I haven’t had a bed since I was thirteen,” she said.

That seemed painfully tragic to Mark, but the smile on her face told him she was happy about her new circumstances. That was good. If she was happy here, it would be easy to convince her to stay.

“I’ll let you get settled in,” he said, and nodded goodbye.

He lingered outside the door after he’d left, eavesdropping, wondering what a girl like this would do now that she had a space of her own. Mark had to admit that he was strangely captivated by her. He hadn’t expected that. He had known that an omega was an essential resource for the pack, but he hadn’t anticipated that he would feel so personally invested.

And yet he did. He couldn’t think of her as just a means to an end, not now that she was here. Not now that he knew her. She had surprised him. His mother had been an omega, so, of course, he had never believed the urban legend that omegas were nothing more than mindless breeding machines. But his mother had been so...maternal. She had been utterly dedicated to Mark and his siblings, and to being a good wife to their father.

Would Maddy be that way once she gave birth to her first litter? He didn’t think so, somehow. She seemed different at her core. There was a spark in her, a feistiness. He wondered if it was a side effect of the trauma she’d been through, being kidnapped at such a young age, or if she’d always been that way.

Harley was waiting for him on the stairs. “How is she?” he asked.

“She’s all right. Don’t go in there now. She needs her privacy.”

The look Harley gave him shocked Mark. It was venomous. “Do you think I’m an idiot?” his brother asked.

“What?” Mark was completely taken aback.

“You’re the one who wanted to get an omega from the Death Fangs,” Harley reminded him. “You’re the one who led us intokidnappingwhen we couldn’t afford to buy her at auction. And you’re the one who couldn’t resolve things with Jamie when he didn’t want any part of it. We’re in this situation because of you, Mark.”

“What situation?” He felt thoroughly confused. “We got our omega. Everything’s fine now.”

Harley barked out a laugh. “Everything’s about as far from fine as it’s ever been. And the fact that you can stand there and warn me not to bother her—to be sensitive to her privacy—oh, boy, that’s a hell of a fucking joke.”

“All right,” Mark said. His confusion was quickly giving way to anger. “Pull yourself together. Whatever’s wrong with you, go and run it off or something.”

“Can’t take it, can you?” Harley spat. “No one ever disagrees with Mark. Mark’s in charge. Mark’s thealpha. Well, here’s some news for you, asshole. You’re not the only alpha in this pack, and I don’t have to follow your orders.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re so mad about—”

“You don’t? Really? You forced our hand back there, Mark. We had to go along with what you wanted or let you walk into the Death Fangs’ auction alone and unprotected.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Bullshit. You wouldn’t have let any of us go alone into that hornet’s nest, and you know it.”

Mark couldn’t disagree with that. He stood for a long time, staring at his brother, who was looking at him in a way he never had before. “It worked out fine,” he said finally, quietly. “Okay, maybe I didn’t take your opinions into account. But we got what we wanted in the end.”

“Through coincidence and dumb luck.” Harley shook his head. “You’d better not walk around this house thinking your plan was a success, Mark. We found a runaway omega by the side of the road, and that had nothing to do with your idea to kidnap somebody being any good.”

Mark was speechless.

“And I’m going in to see her,” Harley added, and swept past him and up the stairs like a storm cloud.

***

JAMIE VOLUNTEERED TOdo the shopping, mostly to get out of the house and away from his brothers. In all the excitement of finding Maddy and getting her away from the Death Fangs, he had forgotten his anger. But now that they were home, it came flooding back to him.

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