Page 45 of Talk About… Trouble

“Shepherd,” he said in that gruff way of his.

A sly smile curled Devon’s lips as he looked at her. “I see what you meant about him being the hot boss.”

“Oh my god, Dev, you can’t say that,” she said, her face flaming red.

“Why not?” Shepherd asked as he gave the male omega a slow, sexy look. “I’m only your boss during working hours.”

“Oh my god,” she groaned again, turning and burying her face into Nash’s chest since he was right there. He chuckled and gave her a squeeze, giving us an assessing look.

“I guess we all should take him up on that offer to go inside. Devon and I already ate, but if she needs to finish, she should finish. And I could use a drink.”

“I’ve got iced tea and beer. If you need something stronger, I also have bourbon.”

“Of course, you do,” Devon said, laughing again. The sound was so carefree and musical, it had us all turning to watch him, soaking it in.

Two omegas.

If what she said was true, at least.

It seemed presumptuous to assume that she wanted to include us in the mix, but he was definitely mine. I could feel it. It went beyond the scent that nearly dropped me to my knees. It was the way that he drew me in, like he was the sun and we were all just orbiting around him.

They were so different, and yet they were a perfect complement to each other’s personalities. Where she was soft and warm and sweet, he was playful and feisty and fiery. They would be so much fun.

And pure trouble. I couldn’t wait.

“Uh oh, I think we broke the beta,” Devon joked.

She turned around to look at me and gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Braxton. I didn’t mean to come in like a wrecking ball today.”

“I’m not complaining,” I clarified. “I was just worried for you, and now I’m trying to make sense of all of this.”

“Come on,” Shepherd said, turning and heading inside, expecting us all to follow.

We all did without hesitation. Devon took the chair she was in before, sliding her onto his lap. Nash sat next to them, leaving the other side of the table for Shepherd and me.

Shepherd grabbed the bourbon and a set of shot glasses, but he looked right at Nash, who had driven.

“Just watch yourself if you’re driving my omegas.”

Her cheeks were burning when he saidmy, and Devon just looked like he had won the best prize, whispering something in her ear that had her softly gasping and hiding her face behind her hands.

“Aren’t they great together?” Nash said, grinning like a fool. It was hilarious how alphas could go from grumpy to downright sappy at just the sight of their omegas.

“They are,” Shepherd said, filling up the shots and passing them around. “Now, I’m going to need to be filled in a little bit on what’s going on here. Someone start talking.”

Wren reached for a shot glass, downing it, and then staring hard at the table while she started to speak, unable to face any of us.

“I gave you guys the easy version. The hard version is that I was drugged. Repeatedly. With experimental pheromone-affecting drugs. They forced my body to go into quick, temporary heats. It forced me to think and react like someone was a scent match, but so much worse than an actual pairing. I was feral for them. My omega went dormant in an attempt to protect us.”

Low growls filled the table as Nash and Shepherd both let their anger be heard. Devon had lost all sense of humor, and I was trying not to throw up at the picture she was painting. This was awful and I wanted to hunt them down with Shepherd.

Despite what she was spilling, these horrors and atrocities they acted against her, she was speaking so steadily.

“After my omega shut down, I have no heats, and scents are dulled. Even though you guys have amazing scents, I’m not getting the physical reaction I should get for a true scent match. It’s making me question whether this is real or just me hoping too hard or?—”

“Stop that. We’re not doubting anything right now. I already told you, you’re mine, and nothing’s going to change that. Even if it never turns into being scent matches, we’re still scent-compatible, and I choose you, whether you have some scent match pack out there or not.”

More growls from the alphas had him chuckling.

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