Page 111 of Power Shift

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“What kind of person are you? Do you have many similarities to my son?”

The questions surprise me. They aren’t what I was expecting. Usually, all anyone wants to know about you when you’re an omega is what you do for work and if you want kids. I can’t say I’ve ever had a stranger ask me about who I am instead.

“Honestly,” I start, folding my hands in my lap, “I don’t think I’m anything like Ronan. You weren’t wrong about everything still being very new, but I think I have a pretty good sense of the man he is, and I’ve had twenty-five years to try and figure myself out.

“Ronan is gruff where I’m soft and brave when I want to cower. He’s had my back every single time I’ve needed him to, and I like to think that I’ve been able to give him a safe space to be himself in return. With him, I can feel my backbone becoming a bit stronger. I know there are a million things we still have to learn about one another, but I’m having a really great time doing that so far.”

Kira’s upturned lips settle some of my anxiety after blurting out so much about myself to her.

“I always had a feeling that he’d find someone a bit warmer than me and his sister, Ciara. Someone like his father. That man prefers to crack jokes over serious conversations any day of the week. Giving Ronan a hard time with just about everything is something his sister and I can’t help ourselves with, and he’s grown a thick skin because of it. I think you’ll help soften it up a bit. So long as you still promise to give him a hard time when he deserves it. Lord knows that boy has a habit of grunting a few too many times instead of making proper conversation. The best love is the kind where both people have the safety and support to learn and grow.”

I nod, absorbing her words. “You don’t think we’re already too different?”

She lifts a brow. “Is there such a thing as too different? I couldn’t be further from my husband in most things, but our key values are the same.”

“You’re right. I just—this whole situation has been, well, overwhelming,” I admit sheepishly.

“Please tell me if I’m overstepping here, but I also know how pack life works. Ours here is small, but again, the core values are the same. Will you be the pack omega? Or are you and Ronan . . .?” she asks, slightly wary.

My eyes blow wide. “Oh! No! I’d never make him leave the Montgomery pack. I’m—” I pause, my cheeks burning as I take in her expression, searching for any sign of discomfort or judgment. There’s neither. “We’re scent-matched.”

She sips in a sharp breath, a hand lifting to cup her throat. “Oh, that’s even better than I was expecting. I knew it was serious, but a scent match? That’s . . . that’s incredible.”

“I’m glad you think so. I do too,” I murmur.

“My boy has found his mate.”

A feeling of weightlessness comes over me at her support. It’s like getting a passing grade on the test that will determine whether you get held back a year or not.

“Now I understand why you mentioned it being overwhelming. Just the thought of having four mates gives me a headache, so I can’t imagine how it feels to actually have to deal with such a change in your life,” she adds, softly touching my arm.

“I’ve been handling it okay. Trying to, at least.”

“Have they been good to you?”

The way she asks the question is like she’s already contemplating the fastest and most efficient way to deliver a scolding to four grown men.

“They have. Ronan and Jasper have welcomed me with open arms and haven’t stopped trying to make me feel like a part of the pack from the moment I met them.”

She frowns. “And the other two?”

“Uh . . . it’s just been a little hard to handle for them, I think.”

“For them? What about you? An omega who’s been thrown into an already established pack of three very successful, larger-than-life alphas? If that’s an excuse they’re using for treating you poorly, Briar, don’t you allow it,” she says firmly. The hand on my arm shifts to cover both of my hands. “If Landon is the root of this, I need you to know that it isn’t because of anything you’ve done. That boy needs a smack upside the head.”

“How do you know it’s Landon?” I whisper, unable to be any louder as spikes spear my chest.

Somehow, hearing that someone who hasn’t even seen me and Landon together is able to pick up on the fact we aren’t as connected as the others . . . it hurts. Is it really that obvious?

“I’ve known your mates for as long as Ronan has, and we’re well over a decade now. Ever since Landon’s mother was kickedout of his father’s pack, he’s been so grey, the vibrancy he had as a child dulled completely.”

My surprise must be obvious because she gives my hands a squeeze and tips her chin.

“He wasn’t always so closed off,” she confirms.

“Why was his mother kicked out? What happened?”

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