Page 108 of Knot Their Omega

“Yes. I traveled mostly to Europe because there was a specific style of art I wanted to portray in my technique that required me to go abroad. It wasn’t as spontaneous as it sounds. I got recruited after showing a few samples to a mentor who wanted to take me in and give me a place I could practice and learn with real clientele who wouldn’t go anal if I fucked up.”

My mentor saved me from how I was spiraling. I would have been acting foolish like my brother, only my need for drugs and alcohol would have landed me six feet under faster than we could bury our sister.

“When I tattoo, I don’t need to think. I don’t need to question what I’ve done wrong in life. Why I couldn’t be stronger? Smarter. Faster. Richer. Fucking perfect. There’s no need for that,” I confess and close my eyes for a moment. I’ve never shared this with anyone. Not even my parents. “All I have todo is focus on the creation I’m about to permanently ink on another. How such a drawn piece will carry a mark on my client. A memory. A reminder. A visual of pain and power that will give them strength to keep going in this wild world. Some tattoos truly save people’s lives, especially Omegas.”

“You tattoo Omegas?”

Her whisper encourages me to open my eyes to see her solemn expression.

“Mhmm,” I reply and allow my gaze to soften on her. “You know how many tattoo artists take Omega clients as an Alpha?”

When she and even Icarus shake their heads, I further smile.

“None,” I reveal. “Until I finished my practice and launched my own studio. At first, they had to have permission from their Alphas to get it done, and one of them had to be present to ensure nothing sexual went down. Once word got around that my tolerance was high and I wasn’t easily swayed by Omegas, my practice grew. With the amount of success I gained, I got permission from the government to tattoo pack-less Omegas as well. That’s when I hit a new time high in business because tattoos hold a unique sense of control and power among Omegas.”

“Because it’s something almost forbidden that you’re allowing them to have. Like they’re going against the common rules of requesting permission from those who should own them to lay a mark they get to choose and not anyone else,” she summarizes. “Wow. That’s… life-changing.”

“I’m glad you see the vision,” I whisper in return. “A lot of Alphas don’t get it, but we’re not very good with thinking with our brains.”

She giggles while Icarus rolls his eyes. He knows I’m right.

“But now… you’re back,” she points out the obvious.

“Sadly. Unless I can prove I have an Omega, my biz is on hold. A bit of a pain since I’m booked out for two years, but I’ll just have to work around it until I figure shit out.”

She frowns at the news before she leans her head back to see Icarus, who I realize is back to standing behind her.Even his arm is snaked around her.He doesn’t like not being in close proximity to her.

I’d never admit it to him, but it’s nice to see.

Especially when he’s such a closed-off, emotionless fucker.

The only one in the pack who shows his emotions easily is Kenji.

Then again, he’s fucking mad… but I guess I don’t blame him.

“Can’t we do something?” she asks Icarus. “I mean… is he a part of your pack?”

“Not really,” Icarus says the truth, which kind of makes sense since we haven’t been super close since I’ve left.Since the riff with Nate, I guess they all just let me float away and do my own shit.“But it’s not like he’s a stranger. We were all friends. It’s just…”

“Nate, Jr. Yeah,” she brushes it off as if she already knows what my little brother’s response is going to be. “We’ll deal with that later.”

‘We?’ She’s going to help?

“What are you thinking?” Icarus asks.

“Can’t he just tag along in our scheme? I mean, it’s temporary,” she offers and tries not to look embarrassed as she speaks the next part. “And… it’s not like we don’t have chemistry. Though, I had no intention of climbing him like a tree. It just kind of happened.”

“I’m proud I have that effect on you, Rebel,” I tease.

“Shut up,” Icarus huffs my way.

I pull my hands out of my pockets so he doesn’t attempt to shoot me for the hell of it.Icarus would fucking do it too.Say it was an “accident”.

He’s done that with a paintball to my balls.

What’s a gunshot or two?

“It’ll only be three months, which isn’t long, and from the looks of it, he’s going to have to come on tour with us, won’t he?” She points my way. “He’s the apparent ghost singer of the band. I don’t know how the hell you guys are going to pull that off with live performances, but if he’s going to have to pretend to be his younger brother for performances while Nate Jr. does the press and model stuff, then he has no choice but to stick around.”

---