Page 30 of Power Shift

I swallow a possessive growl, keeping my lips flat.

“You.”

She sways forward at the claim in the word. So do I.

A light breeze curls around my ear, carrying my scent toward her as it grows stronger with our closeness. I’m helpless to the spike. All I want to know is if she likes it. And me. If she doesn’t . . .

“Me,” she echoes.

The grass is smooshed flat beneath my shoes as I continue to eat at the space between us. She buries her teeth into her plump bottom lip and brings her head back to keep our eyes locked the closer I get. Releasing her purse strap, she drops her hand, letting it hang limp.

“I’m Ronan,” I force out.

Her lashes flutter. When I breathe in, a low rumble explodes in my chest. Grey-blue eyes fill with black as her pupils swallow the colour, a soft noise escaping her. The sound of her distress flays me open.

She shivers, every inch of her body quaking. “Ronan.”

“Your name,” I groan, my clothes growing so tight to my body that I lift a hand to paw desperately at my shirt, wanting it off. “Tell me your name.”

Oh,fuck. Lemon shortbread fills the air in thick puffs, creating a cloud of her perfume around us. Yeah, she’s my omega alright.

Myfucking omega.

I don’t have to be the one to go to her. Once I’ve closed my eyes, trying to rein myself back in, I feel her come toward me. I snap my eyes open and focus every ounce of my attention on her.

The pink tint on her skin is a beckoning, but the tiny pink tongue darting across her lips is a warning. If I kiss her right now—when we’re both in this daze—I’ll never get another shot at capturing this moment. Once and done.

“Please, Petal. Your name.”

She steals all the air between us in a sharp inhale. “I like Petal better.”

“You can have both,” I declare.

“Briar.”

My cock throbs, cum making my briefs sticky as I swallow past the dryness in my throat and nod. “Briar.”

She puffs out a breath, a whine following. My entire body reacts to that sound. I feel like I can’t breathe as I reach a hand out, holding it in the air. The heat from her cheek crosses the space between her skin and my palm in a silent plea for me to shift it just an inch.

Leaning forward, she brings her nose to my chest and inhales deeply, nuzzling her cheek into my hand. The immediate sizzle where we touch encourages me to take a better hold of her, palming her cheek with a sturdiness I wish I felt in my legs.

Briar shuts her eyes. The immediate trust she’s gifting to me cranks the dial on my protectiveness. We’re out in the open right here, and I know we’re not alone.

There’s so much to be discussed. Does she know what’s happening, or is her omega driving her right now? Is she in control of herself at all?

A cold rush drips down the back of my neck.

“Ronan?”

The male voice flips a switch inside of me. Driven by pure animal instinct, I use my hold on Briar to pull her against my chest and snarl at my packmate, warning him to back off.

He gawks at me, jaw unhinged. There’s a rattling in my chest as I stare him down, my arms bracketing the omega in my arms.

Mine.

I blink, my packmate’s face slowly registering. He’s not a danger. He’s pack. A beta.

“Alright, Ro. I’m not going to take her from you,” Dash murmurs, slowly lifting his hands into the air. “You can trust me.”

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