Page 64 of One for the Money
After Alex escaped that night, he tried to convince me that this was a good thing. Scent matched Alphas can calm Omega Storm, and now four of us are matched with Alex.
He’s dead set on the idea that that will reduce the likelihood of her falling into a Storm to nearly zero.
I see it as more Alphas at risk of a dangerous Omega.
He grabs my shoulder, stopping my checks of the Wheel. My inspection has to be done before we can do the show, so it’s probably best if I hear him out so he’ll leave me alone. He’s like a dog with a bone at this point.
“She hasn’t come out of her trailer in three days. I haven’t even seen movement. Matteo says he was texting her yesterday, but then she just dropped off and he didn’t hear back from her. She can’t still be sick, can she?”
“Or, the more likely scenario, is that she is avoiding us. She told us she didn’t want us. She told us she didn’t want any Alphas. Why were you expecting any outcome other than this? I don’t know what you expect me to do about this, Dario. I’m the last person who wants this. I’m on her side, here. Everything will go back to normal when her contract is up.”
My stomach revolts at the idea of her leaving us in just four months, but I bury that down deep.
I don’t want this Omega.
I can’t want this Omega.
My brother growls, spinning me around so I’m forced to look into the dark blue eyes that are twin to my own. “You need to get over this, Dex. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
“So was a Storm, and yet we still lost Dad to one!” I snarl, pushing him away. “Why does it seem like you’ve forgotten him because a pretty Omega crossed our path?”
“I haven’t forgotten him, you ass, I just don’t want to paint all Omegas as a risk when statistically, that’s asunlikely as dad getting out of jail!” He runs his fingers through his blond hair in frustration, leaving it jutting up at odd angles. “I can’t do this without you. Your fear of letting yourself be vulnerable around an Omega is keeping me from my dream.”
The words are a gut punch.
It’s not my intention to keep my brother from happiness. I’m not asking for my hangups to be his.
“Don’t let me stop you,” I tell him, shooing him with my hands. “If you want to go after her, be my guest.”
He shakes his head sadly and slumps down onto the ground. “I can’t do this without you. You’re my brother, and you always will be. I can’t go on and live a life without you, that you’re supposed to be a part of. From womb to tomb, dude. I’m not going to leave you behind.”
My eyes sting, and I have to look away from his pleading gaze. It’s not that I want to keep my brother from happiness. We grew up being told we’d share a scent match if we were ever lucky enough to find one. I’ve never imagined a pack without him in it.
And now I’m telling him to make one without me.
“Dario, I…”
“Dexter.” Jude’s voice is rough as he stomps into the tent. “I need you to go check on Alex.”
“Why?” I ask hesitantly. “What’s going on?”
“No one has seen her in days. When everything went down, you were the one she wanted to take her to her trailer. I need you to go make sure she’s okay.”
Dario leaps to his feet. “I’ll do it.”
Jude shakes his head and places a hand on my brother’s chest to slow his movements. “No. You’re too intense. It needs to be Dexter. When she was terrified and stressed, it was him she trusted to be alone with her. It has to be him.”
I take a few steps backward, shaking my head. “No,” Itell him softly. “I’m not going to. Come on, Jude, you know I don’t want to be alone with her.”
He growls, rushing forward and grabbing me by the front of my gray shirt. “I don’t care what you want, Dexter. That’s our Omega in there. I get that you have trauma. We all have fucking trauma. This is a goddamn circus, it’s a requirement to be fucked up. Go check on her. Make sure she’s not dead or dying. That’s a fucking order.”
“You don’t get to order me around,” I spit, wrenching myself out of his grip. I know that he let me go. There’s no way I could overpower the massive Alpha otherwise. “We are not in a pack, and you’re not my Prime Alpha.”
“But I am your fucking boss.” He crosses his arms over his chest and looks down his nose at me. “Go, Dexter. Go now.”
“You’d fire me over this?”
Dario’s eyes bounce between us as he watches on, mouth slack. He’s as dumbfounded as I am that Jude would go to this extent.
