Page 30 of Omega on Fire

"I know." His voice is deceptively calm. "But we need to keep her as busy as we can. Maybe engage with her on a one-on-one basis so as to not trigger her heat. She needs a chance to get to know us."

I inhale deeply, recalling the honeyed cinnamon that clung to her skin, undercut with something smokier. "It could be hours. Maybe days. The doctor wasn't clear."

"Fuck." Joker runs a hand over his face. "It's not ideal."

"Understatement of the year." I pace across the room, my thoughts racing back to my sisters—to what happened to them when their heats came. My thoughts always go back to my own personal experiences. I would never want that for Charlotte. She's been through so much already. Trauma on top of trauma is something I want to shield her from. My sisters were married off to Alphas three times their age, treated like breeding stock by my so-calledreligious parents. It's not Charlotte's predicament but the woman has already been forced to?—

The memory makes bile rise in my throat.

"We need to be careful with her," I say, my voice harder than intended. "An unclaimed Omega in heat in a house with three Alphas and a Beta, you know we're playing with fire. I know we all want her here. Want her, but. . ."

Teagan leans against his desk, arms crossed. "Like I said, we'll rotate. One at a time in her presence. Ease her into pack life."

"Pack life?" I stop pacing. "She hasn't agreed to anything."

"Yet." Teagan's voice is firm. "She will. It's not an if, Mo. It's a when."

I bristle at his certainty. "She deserves a choice."

"She'll have one," Joker interjects, ever the mediator. "But Te's right, she's pack. You felt it in her presence. We all did."

I had. God help me, I had. But that doesn't make it right to assume.

"I'm not going to be part of forcing an Omega into anything," I say, my voice dropping to a near-growl. "You didn't see what I saw growing up. My sisters—" The words catch in my throat, memories floodingback of their tear-streaked faces as they were led away to their ‘blessed unions’.

Teagan's expression softens. "This isn't the same, Deacon."

"Isn't it? We're already planning her future without her input."

"Planning for contingencies," Joker corrects. "There's a difference."

I run a hand over my cornrows, frustration building. "My parents used to talk about my sisters' 'divine purpose' the same way you're talking about Charlotte's place in our pack. All righteous certainty, no regard for what they actually wanted." The room falls silent.

"That's not us," he finally says. "You know that's not us."

"I know." And I do. These men are my brothers, my family by choice rather than blood. But principles matter. "I just, I admire her. After everything she's been through, look at her, her strength, her fire. The way she stands up to Beaux's bullshit without flinching. If she stays with us," I continue, "I want it to be because she chooses us. Not because we maneuvered her into it. Not because her biology gave her no choice. But because she wants this pack as much as we want her."

Joker's rain-scent wraps around me, calming. Our beta may be frantic by nature, but he is our solace just the same. "She will. But her heat is still coming, and we need to prepare."

"Separate rooms, we take turns training her," Teagan decides. "And we keep our distance unless she explicitly asks otherwise."

I nod, some of the tension leaving my shoulders. "And if she wants to leave after?"

"Then she leaves. After we've solved the problems with the Senator and she's safe. She's free." Teagan meets my eyes, his gaze unwavering. "I promise you that, Deacon."

I hold his stare, searching for any hint of deception. There is none. Just the steady resolve of my pack Alpha.

"Alright." I exhale slowly. "But I'm serious about this. I'd rather lose her than keep her against her will."

"Agreed," Josiah says, his fingers already tapping away at his tablet. "Though I doubt Beaux will make it easy for her to walk away."

That's an understatement. Motley had practically vibrated with possessive energy from the moment he laid eyes on her. Called her his ‘Harlequin’, a name that means more to him than any of us fully understand.

"Beaux will fall in line," Teagan states with quiet authority. "We all will. For her sake."

I nod, but the unease lingers. Charlotte Matthews isn't just any Omega. She's a fighter, a voice for her designation. And something tells me the four of us might be in for more than we bargained for when we brought her into our territory.

God help us all when her heat finally hits.

---