Page 13 of Crave

Radic might be a Beta, but he didn’t fuck around. He had power in his position, and he’d wield it to protect those who needed it. I could respect that.

“You have our word,” Merrick said solemnly.

Radic nodded and smiled at us. “That being said, I know you guys will finally treat them how they deserve, so I’m rooting for you.”

Someone called out to him, so we said our goodbyes and left. Walking home, we were mostly silent, lost in our own thoughts.

Finally, standing outside the Packhouse we’d bought hoping to convince an Omega to join our Pack—never dreaming it could be Susannah—I looked over at my long-time friend and lover, the man who held a piece of my heart in his calloused hands. “What do you want to do?”

He held my gaze. “We take the gift that's been given to us and take our second chance. Show them that we’re the Alphas they were always meant to be with.”

We wouldn’t fuck it up this time.

8

TANNER

My first assignment as a responsible member of the undead world, and I was already making a dog’s breakfast of it. I’d let it slip that someone's Omega was pregnant, in a very public place, and then almost outed a hidden Omega. But mostly, I’d failed to live up to the ghost of the previous town doctor, whom the town had very obviously adored.

From the previous doctor’s notes—which were nearly illegible, but he’d kept plenty of them—the need for a doctor in Maxton was twofold. Firstly, to hold hands and lend a supportive ear, and secondly, to stitch the odd finger back on and deliver a baby.

No one was lining up for either service from a vampire. I’d been relieved when Courtland had given me the genealogy mapping project. Honestly, though, their problems reproducing with each other had probably been a divine intervention, because that family tree was gnarly.

I hoped the new Alpha encouraged them to fish outside the Maxton lagoon for potential mates, otherwise their little Manixlettes were going to have more heads than a Kings Cross brothel.

I looked at the new Omega in front of me, a woman in her mid-twenties with dirt under her fingernails and sporting a frown. Her notes said she was a mechanic and worked with her father. Her Beta mother had died during childbirth, so she’d been raised by just her paternal parent.

I continued writing down names as she rattled them off, and we were only up to second cousins. Half of Maxton must have been listed here.

Now was the time for me to put my professional doctor’s hat on, because this part was about to get awkward. “As you’ve probably been made aware, the heat will hit once every six to eight months. It’s important that you have a plan in place for that time, whether it be potential partners or a secure location to ride out the heat. I can give you painkillers and hormone stabilizers that’ll ease the uncomfortable nature of the heat symptoms, but I can’t lie to you—from all accounts I’ve found, it's miserable without, uh...other thingsto take your mind off it.”

Mischa snorted. “Have you seen the list? I’m related to every single one of the eligible Manix in this town. And the ones who aren’t genetically related to me somehow aren’t people I want to fuck, if you catch my drift.”

I winced, because yeah, I definitely got her point. “No one said they had to be Manix. Or from Maxton.”

She blinked at me. “What?”

I shrugged, flicking through the notes I had in front of me. “Nothing in my research says that another supernatural can’t satisfy the heat urges, especially one with a knot. Or hell, even a human. Obviously, proper birth control would be necessary, because offspring between full-blooded Manix and full-blooded two-natured shifters can have some serious birth defects, but otherwise, let a thousand blossoms bloom,” I finished, my voice kinda strangled. Why did I have to spend the day having the birds and the bees talk with Omegas?

“The old Alpha prohibited it,” she whispered, like it was still treason.

I snorted. “No offense, but the old Alpha sounded like a tosser. Honestly, talk about a hypocrite.”

I’d done the Huxley-Grey Pack first in my genealogy quest, considering Naja Huxley-Grey was kind of the reason for this whole thing. I’d learned that one of her Alphas was the half-blood son of the old Alpha General and a human.What a tool.

“My father would have a heart attack if I spent a week shacked up with a shifter.”

“Not going to lie, Miss Hayles, but the Manix are going to have to learn to think outside the box. Otherwise, it won’t matter if you have dozens of new Omegas—your bloodlines will start looking like that of European royalty, if you know what I mean.”

“They’ll all have knobbly knees and weak chins?”

I grinned. “Exactly.” Fear flashed through her eyes, and I cursed the fangs.Dammit.“Anyway, let me know if you have any questions or develop any concerning symptoms.”

Mischa nodded and stumbled out of the office, like this was all just too much. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to move through your life thinking you were one thing, and then magically being turned into something else.

Oh, wait.

I sighed, resting my head on the smooth wooden desk. The work was interesting, and given the Manix had been considered extinct until a little while ago, it was quite an honor to get this post.

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