Page 1 of Their Knotty Pack
Prologue 1 - Miles
Six Months Ago
Gods, I'm so fucking nervous.
Ignoring my racing heart, I check my hair one last time in my bathroom mirror. Since I just had the color refreshed a week ago, the blue is so bright I'm reminded slightly of a preening peacock.
It wouldn't be the worst thing I've been compared to as a male omega. Most of it has been online, spouted by angry alphas when I didn't immediately offer to roll over and present at the first swipe of the Alpha-Helper app. Gods forbid I try to get to know someone before offering to spend my heat with them.
Tears sting my eyes as I take a deep breath. My heat. Fuck.
Sighing, I run my fingers through my bright blue strands one more time, making them look even more intentionally messy. I've never had a heat. Went on suppressants as soon as I could, but recently I started having some weird symptoms. My doctor says I can only take them for about another year before we start doing permanent damage to my kidneys.
So, I tried getting in front of it, thinking if I found some alphas to help me through my heat now…maybe it would give my kidneys enough of a break that I could just…hop right back on them after. The need to feel in control of at least one aspect of my life rides me so hard I'd rather risk organ damage than submit myself to the unknown.
Is the reasoning desperate and flawed? So much so that I'm thinking I might just get "desperate and flawed" tattooed on me somewhere.
Not my right arm, since that has all my favorite tattoos, but somewhere subtle…like my forehead.
Last week, I had finally reached the point where I went to the Omega Matching Service. They warned me that I likely wouldn't be able to detect a true scent match, but thenthatsignature reached out, wrapped its tendrils around me, and has held me in a chokehold ever since.
Raspberry and hibiscus.
The moment the floral combination filled my senses, I knew I had to meet the pack the card belonged to. The signature is unusual for an alpha though, a male one anyway.
What if…my heart pounds in excitement…what if they have a female alpha? I've never met one before. Maybe their scents are more fruity? I'm not an expert on fruits or anything, but the thought of raspberry and hibiscus mixing with my dark chocolate and blueberry scent makes my mouth water.
Gods, this could be good.
I guess I'll find out in an hour.
Bethany
The guys are acting weird tonight. They're going out to dinner, saying it's to meet with a client…but normally they take me to their business dinners. And, it's usually only one or two of them that go.
Not the whole pack.
They bring me along because it always looks good when a pack of lawyer alphas have an omega hanging on their arm. It shows that they're trustworthy.
Especially if their client is an omega.
Tonight though, they acted cagey, telling me that I would need to stay home. Sure, there have been times where they don't take me with them, but something about tonight sets my teeth on edge.
So, I fix myself up.
I curl my hair, I dress in my favorite little black dress, and open the tracking app the guys put on my phone for my safety.
What they don't realize is the app works both ways when you open it on their phones and turn ontheirlocation sharing.
Which I did two years ago.
I haven't had a reason to use it until now, but I frown when I pull up Chris' location and see that he's at The Alpha Lounge. That's…that's the nicest restaurant in town, and usually the wait list is over a month long. I mean, it's not when you have money, which my pack definitely does, but they're pretty frugal when it comes to having dinner with a client. Just a regular steakhouse is all they usually splurge for.
My stomach drops. Something about this…maybe it's all in my head. I should just stay home. Let them tell me about it when they get back.
But my lack of bond marks scream at me, an aching hole that's been in my heart the last three years. They say they don't want to bond yet because they don't want to subject me to the stress they feel at the office daily, and not for the first time…I'm questioning it.
I frown as I notice Marty's leaves looking a little dry. I grab my mister and spray the maidenhair fern in the pot on my window sill, trying to ease my anxiety.
