Page 69 of Power Shift

A dainty finger reaches up to tuck a chunk of hair behind her ear, lingering behind the delicate curve of it. “Are you okay?”

I drop my hand to my lap and grab my cock, pressing down hard. My vision grows dark around the edges momentarily before I release myself and jolt to my feet.

“I need some air.”

Jasper stands, moving toward me to help, but I’m shifting out of reach before he can make it two steps.

“Alone,” I snip.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Briar rambles, hopping out of her seat. “I know it’s not my business.”

“It is your business,” Ronan says, reassuring her with a brush of his hand across hers.

Dash scrunches his features. “Do you need someone to come with?”

I smell the spike in my scent at the same time everyone else does. The scorching cinnamon clinging to a thick vanilla smothers the table before four sets of eyes drop to my crotch.

The only set I care about are the ones that widen to the size of saucers before shooting up to the ceiling. Briar turns redder than the spaghetti sauce it took two showers to get fully out of my hair.

I’m out of there before any of those fuckers have a chance to say anything to me about what they saw. I know it’s coming, and regardless of how I feel about the omega, there’s no need to embarrass her any more than she already is.

With my dinner untouched and still on my plate, I rush away from the table and straight out the front door. My sock-clad feet pound against the driveway as I take off into a jog, content to run until my legs give out.

Maybe by then, I’ll be calm enough to show my face again instead of on the brink of yet another rut.

23

RONAN

“Well, that was fucking awkward,”I grunt.

It’s the first time anyone has spoken since Landon took off a few moments ago. I wish it hadn’t been me to break the silence. Jasper pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

“So, I think we need to talk more about what happened when you and Landon met,” Dash states.

Briar looks like she wants to be anywhere but here as we all turn to look at her, searching for any hint of how she’s feeling with all of this.

Jasper clears his throat, releasing his nose. “Are you up to it, love?”

“It seems only fair. Especially given Landon’s obvious feelings toward me.”

“Don’t take them personally. His opinion on pack omegas is very different than ours,” Jasper says.

I roll my jaw, shoving away my immediate frustration at his use of that excuse. It’s not enough for me. Landon’s not one to be so vicious, and I’m not a fan of the version of him I’ve been seeing, let alone in Briar’s presence.

Hearing her tell us that she met him previously was enough of a strike against him, but to know he rejected her right then and there?

My fingers curl as I struggle to keep my cool.

Not accepting her when I first laid eyes on her was never a possibility. The pull was too strong, and I felt it in my goddamn soul who she was to me.To us. I’ll never understand how Landon was even able to walk away, let alone in such a mortifying situation.

“How was he able to leave you there?” I ask roughly, desperate for an answer.

Briar worries her lip, eyes low. “I mortified the both of us. Not to mention completely covered him in food. I always thought he couldn’t fully pick up on my scent. I’ve never left the house without scent-blocking perfume.”

“Honestly, I doubt it. I thought it was weird when he had the SUV detailed for so long, but now . . . it makes sense that he was trying to get rid of your scent,” Dash says.

Jasper huffs, glaring at him when Briar stiffens, face paling.

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