Page 60 of Deadly Sweet

He raises a brow. “Yeah? How so?”

“Well, she has no idea about your family. So, if she wants you, it won’t be because of the money you come from.”

He huffs out a breath and goes back to pacing.

“I can’t believe you’ve been around this crap for ten years. How did you deal with it?” he asks, not looking at me.

“Just like any other job, it has its ups and downs. Dealing with Alphas and Omegas wasn’t the hard part. It’s dealing with scent matches and the obstacles that could come between them. It’s why I’m not fighting this more. I know what it would mean if you guys were away from her. What it would mean for her to be away from you. She smelled you, she had your scent, and her body reacted to you. If she has a heat, and you guys aren't there, she could die. I know that would kill Jake, and I don’t think Caleb would be all too happy about it either.”

Walker lets out a low growl, cloudy eyes darting my way. I smirk. “And you’d be lying if you said the idea of her coming into harm's way doesn’t bother you.”

I don’t know her well enough to have an attachment to her like the guys already do. I’m not an Alpha, she’s not my scent match, but I am intrigued.

Something about her calls to me. She’s strong, smart, playful, and in the small amount of time I was around her, I found myself wanting more.

When we left to come home last night, I was waiting for Walker to insist we turn around and head back there. But he didn’t. He held strong.

By the looks of him right now, I don’t think he's got much fight left in him anymore.

“Of course, I don’t want anything to happen to her. As far as I know, she didn’t do anything to deserve to be in harm's way.”

He says it as if he doesn't know she’s a serial killer. Still, killing those men isn't killing innocent people.

The type of men she kills are the same type of people who took her, held her against her will for years, and did only god knows what to her. It makes my stomach sick just thinking about it.

I’ve been around Omegas who have been without their Alphas when their heats kicked in. And I’ve been able to get them the help they needed, either by getting them to their Alphas in time, or to the hospital to be under medical observation. There's only been one Omega I didn’t get to in time. The last one I was assigned to. Someone who made a big impact on my life, one I was closer to than most. A friend. Someone I’m still close with to this day. I see him every few months, hang out, and have a drink with his Alphas. Still, sometimes when I close my eyes, I see him, Spencer, lying on the bathroom floor literally dying.

It fucked with my mind, I had to go to counseling that the school provided me because of it. After he was safely part of his pack, I knew I was done. I couldn’t risk being in charge of anyone else, holding their lives in my hands and failing them again. So I retired two years ago.

It didn’t take long for me to get bored, so I ended up getting a part time security gig just guarding businesses during the night.

Once Athena was born, I decided being a full-time dad was for me.

I fucking love it. That little girl is my whole world.

The only thing I’m really worried about is how Savannah is going to feel. Will she want Athena? Will she love her like she’s her own? Or would this be a deal breaker for her?

Because I can tell you right now, all of us would choose Athena over our Omega. No matter how much it would kill us.

I just pray it doesn't come down to that.

The sound of the front door opening has Walker halting. His eyes go wide, flicking over to mine. “I think our Omega is here.” I chuckle.

I say our, but I’m not sure if that’s true. Savannah is scent matched to my best friends, my pack mates, but there's nothing binding us together—nothing pushing her to want me.

What if she’s not attracted to me? I’m older by at least twenty years. I’m not as young as I used to be. I’ve been told I’m a silver fox more than once by Spencer's mate, Everly. She insisted I was good-looking for my age. I’ll have to take her word for it.

I’m fit. I work out regularly. We have a home gym I spend some of my free time in, mostly when the baby is napping or when the guys are home.

But what if I’m not what she wants?

A lot of Omegas don’t want Betas; they can’t always give them what Alphas can.

This isn’t like me. I’m not one to overthink and worry. Yet, I find myself wanting the little spitfire of an Omega to like me, want me, just as much as she would want my packmates.

With the life that I’ve lived, settling down was never really something that was in the cards for me. Finding an Omega wasn't on the top of my list. Sure, I’ve always wanted to find love and settle down... it just never happened.

We’re about to get up and go to greet them when Caleb and Jake come into the kitchen.

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