Page 63 of Your Wild Omega

“Ohm?” I brush my cheek over hers, marking her with my scent. So long as she smells like me, no one else can take her, right?

She sucks in a ragged breath.

White Mine leans on the bench and hooks one arm around her waist. I study him carefully. I just declared myself the pack supreme, but he hasn’t fought me. Is this dangerous, pale alpha really not responding to my challenge? Will he let me take this role?

I stiffen as glistening liquid slides down his cheeks. My head swivels as I look from him to Mine and back again. That liquid results from pain, does it not? Why’s it coming from him but not her? I run my thumb over Mine’s cheeks to be sure, the sharp bones covered in silky smooth skin gliding under my thumb. Dry. Just a thin coating of the brown cream that hides bond marks.

I don’t like seeing White Mine shed water. With an unhappy rumble, I reach around Mine and pick him up by the waist, depositing him next to our omega. Then I lean in and lick the salty liquid off his cheeks.

“Tears,” he whispers against my ear. “These are called tears.”

“Teas.”

“Yeah.”

I straighten and cup Mine’s face, tipping my head to study her. “Ohm, teas?”

White Mine shakes his head. “Ohm keeps her tears for her heats, so I cry for her at other times.”

Mine spasms in response and throws her arms around the slender alpha. No tears leak from her, but she shivers like a dying fighter.

I hum in concern as White Mine strokes her back and holds her tight. I have too much to learn, too many pieces to fit together. Right now, I need more words. And I need to know what causes tears so I can stop it happening again.

Did I cause this? Did I make White Mine sad?

“I’m sorry, Rickon,” Ohm murmurs, clinging to the other alpha. Her fingers curl as if she’s in physical pain. “I know him joining us was your dream. I just—”

“It’s okay,” he says, winding his hands under her thighs to lift her. “You don’t have to explain.” More tears fall from his eyes into her hair.

I help, lifting and turning until she’s straddling his lap. As he holds her close, I crowd her back so she can’t fall.

White Mine lets out a sigh. “It was only a fantasy. Callisto’s the one who made the choice.”

A whispering sound behind us makes me spin around, searching for danger.

The slender alpha squeezes my shoulder. “It’s okay, Zack. It’s only rain on the glass.”

Droplets like his tears spatter against the dark windows and slide down in pale silver-black streaks. The Outside is weeping with White Mine. A shiver runs through my bones. That’s how powerful and dangerous he is—even the endless roof acknowledges him.

Which is exactly why I have to know.

I’ll give him one chance. I lift Mine off his legs and set her down beside him on the hard slab.

Every instinct screams at me as I lower my head into White Mine’s lap, which is still warm from our ohm’s presence, and expose the back of my neck to him. I shiver uncontrollably, waiting to see what he’ll do.

He freezes.

“What’s he doing?” Mine whispers, pressing her belly. “Fuck. He feels so . . . I don’t know . . . vulnerable right now.”

White Mine lifts his hand and I tense. His fingers feel cool as they stroke my exposed neck. Fresh shivers and hot and cold chills follow in their wake. If he closes his grip, it could be all over for me. Although his body doesn’t seem physically strong enough to snap my neck, I know it’s a ruse. White Mine has strange powers.

“I think . . . I think he’s submitting. He’s exposing his neck to me.”

The alpha’s gentle strokes relax some of the tension I’ve been holding in my body all day. I soften and rest my hands around his hips. Is he the kind of alpha who toys with his prey?

“Oh,” Mine says, resting her hand on my shoulder, joining the three of us. Her chest shivers with her long breath. “He’s conflicted.”

White Mine’s hands slide up into my hair and then gently down to my jaw. He lifts my head and gazes at me, light glinting in eyes the same color as the plant I broke. “You don’t have to do that, Zack. It’s a complicated situation, but I believe you have Red’s best interests at heart. I don’t think I could’ve made a hard call like that.”

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