Page 84 of Power Shift

The anxious vibes coming off Sadie right now are strong enough to make my nose burn with her scorched scent. She agreed to come out tonight knowing that we would be in the omega-only section. I’m still shocked she said yes even with that reassurance.

“The seats here are better than they are on the other side. That’s not very fair, is it? We all pay the same to watch these games,” he states nonchalantly.

Still standing beside me, he stares down at us with intrigue. It’s the same look that’s responsible for the special “Omega Only” sections in most public spaces. Some alphas don’t know how to properly behave around an unmated omega, and that makes them a danger to us.

After having so many accidental matings over the past decade, all omegas must be given the opportunity to sit in omega-only areas. Usually, Clover and I don’t bother, but with Sadie in attendance, we figured we’d give it a try. It seems that now it was just a waste of a few extra hundred bucks.

“Do you want me to call security and have them haul you out of here?” Clover asks, pushing to her feet.

We’re all small in comparison to this guy, but Clover’s the tallest of us and has the sharpest bravado. I’ve seen her intimidate alphas far bigger than this one in less busy spaces.

I sneak a glance at the seats around ours and relax slightly when I see the number of empty seats. Apart from our small section, everyone already sitting on this side of the arena seems to be focused on the ice and where both teams are now skating around the boards for their warm-up. I try to search for one of the Montgomery alphas but flinch back into my seat when a firm hand touches my head, stroking my hair.

“Hands off, fucker,” Clover hisses at him.

He glares at her. “Settle down, omega. I’ll warm this seat here for whoever it belongs to.”

I don’t jump out of my seat the way I want to. Sadie was supposed to have a fun night out before baby comes, not get caught up being accosted by a no-good alpha like the ones she’s currently trying to avoid. I’ll happily be a buffer between her and him until security realizes that they let an alpha in.

“You’re all unmated. Why not give a guy a chance?” the alpha asks, his grin making bile crawl up my throat.

If his receding hairline wasn’t bad enough, his strong rubber scent would be. I want to run away from him, but I stay in my seat and reach for Sadie’s hand, finding it fisted in her lap.

This is the last situation I wanted to be in tonight. Calling attention to myself while attending my very first hockey game is a complete nightmare. I don’t want a single member of the Montgomery pack to think I’m trying to embarrass them or that having an omega is more work than it’s worth.

“Who said we’re unmated?” I ask, cocking my head.

His eyes fix themselves to my throat, and he inhales deeply. “Where’s the bite, then? You smell good enough to eat, omega.”

“Don’t you know that there are far more interesting places to be marked than the throat,” I retort.

It’s the wrong thing to say. Instead of respecting that I could be mated, he grows more interested. His eyes slip down my body at a snail’s pace, lingering on my chest.

“Do tell this lonely alpha where you’ve been bitten, beauty,” he drawls.

“Briar,” Clover says.

I ignore her, narrowing my eyes on this guy. When I push to my feet, his expression shifts, growing darker.

“Unless you want me to scream for help, you’ll leave us alone. I’m sure you’re aware of what happens to alphas who find themselves threatening the safety of an omega in a public space,” I warn, voice low in an attempt not to call any more attention to us.

“Briar,” Clover repeats my name with more force behind it this time. “Look?—”

The alpha extends his hand and tucks a finger beneath the collar of my jersey to try and expose my shoulder. I flinch, his touch ice-cold. There’s a bang from the boards a breath later that sends him stumbling.

I step back and nearly fall onto Sadie’s lap before Clover’s catching me, standing at my back. As I whip my head to the ice, my heart skips several beats.

Electric-blue eyes catch mine from where Landon stands at the plexiglass. My inhale is shaky and sharp as I take in the sight of him wearing bulky padding, a jersey with the number 29 and a C on the chest, and skates that add a few inches to his already towering height. His nostrils flare as he wets his lips and darts his eyes to the alpha beside me who’s frozen in place, still lingering.

The growl that escapes Landon is feral, cold enough to chill someone right down to the bone.

He punches the glass with a gloved hand and flashes twin rows of white teeth as he snarls at the man, who takes another careless step in our direction. The gasps from around us don’t faze me. I’m trapped in Landon’s orbit, too busy preening at his protectiveness to worry about what other omegas are thinking.

He’s my alpha, not theirs.

Oh, god. I’m hot all over again, this time in addition to a tightness in my belly that shouldn’t be there yet. I keep waiting for another sign of an impending heat to come, but nothing does.

My temperature dies down before I can smell a change in my scent, the pain disappearing.False alarm.

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