Page 9 of Their Knotty Pack
"Well…we need to figure this out. I want you, Bethany. I don't want a pack of alphas."
"I want you too," she says quietly, biting her lip. "It's like something that's been missing has finally clicked into place."
"I hate to be a cockblock, but we have another appointment coming in five minutes." Lanie interjects, looking a little guilty, but mostly relieved to get us out of the same room.
"What time do you get off work?" I ask, taking her hands in mine. I don't think I'll be able to leave here if I don't have some kind of idea of when I'll see her again.
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Five."
"Come to my place after. Please? We can talk through everything."
Wordlessly, she nods, and takes her phone out of her pocket. When she hands it to me, the screen is up to make a call so I tap in my number, calling myself so I have hers. "I'll text you my address, okay?"
She nods, worrying her bottom lip again, and I reach over to tug it free. "We'll work it out, okay?" I lean forward, brushing a light kiss over her lips, and making myself leave before I take my omega against the wall, social expectations and public nudity laws be damned.
Chapter 3
Brody
Iswear if I have to explain the reasoning behind the "no fraternization" rule one more time I'm going to burn this place to the ground and start over. I’ve worked too hard to make “Omegas First Law Firm” a reality to let that happen.
"Kane, I don'tcareif she's single now. She's in a vulnerable position, and you're in a seat of power. You absolutelycannotask if she wants to meet your pack. If she brings it up, that's one thing, and it has to wait until after her case is closed." The fresh-out-of-law-school alpha across from me nearlypouts, crossing his arms.
Really, I should mention the risk of her rejecting him and then him losing the case. Even if the two events are completely unrelated, it might still raise questions.
Questions we don't need, not with the resistance my organization is meeting from lawyers everywhere.
Thatwould make him back off. Nobody understands risk assessment better than a lawyer. But he needs to start thinking about how his actions will affect the people around him, not just to cover his own ass.
"I can't fucking focus when she's around, Bossman." He groans, his head falling back. "Shesmells so good."
I'm surprised this is coming from him. This is his third case since coming to work for me and he hasn't had any problems with the other two omegas he represented.
"Kane." My tone is sharp. "You will conduct yourself in a manner that's befitting of this organization or you will no longer be a part of it. Do you understand?"
He straightens, his pout gone. His fuck-boy mask slips off, and in its place an uncharacteristically serious expression. "I get it, I do. But…I'm not trying to be a dick. I really do have a hard time focusing when she's in the room. And before you suggest it, I don't want to be reassigned. She's…she's something else, boss."
Sighing, I run a hand over my face. "Listen. There's this stuff you can buy…it's called alpha-gel. You put it under your nose before having a meeting and it'll dampen the effects of her scent." I give him a wry smile. "It won't do anything about her personality though, so you're on your own with that one."
He nods once, already taking out his phone to look up the product. "I'm on it. But…I'm serious about her. Once this case is done, and all our professional ties are cut, I'm going for it."
"What you do outside of work hours has nothing to do with me if your company is no longer a client of ours and they areconsenting." I turn my attention back to the case file he brought in with him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kane."
He leaves, the door shutting behind him with a softsnick. Flipping through the pages, I find the before and after pictures of the home the omega in question came from.
Gina Sterling, Kane's client, was with her pack a little over two years, and they never bonded. Legally, she has no claim to anything of theirs based on that fact.
However, over the last year and a half, she has spent countless hours, all of her savings, and all her energy on renovations.
That she's done herself.
Based on the pictures, the house was an absolute shit hole before she stepped in and made it livable.
And then her pack brought home a new omega and expected her to just leave quietly.
To be fair, she did leave quietly—afterripping out every renovation she put her blood, sweat, and tears into. She took a crowbar and tore out the bookshelf wall she installed, put a hammer to the tile she laid piece by piece in the shower, and destroyed the nest she designed herself—the one they were intending to give to their new omega.
Now the pack is suing her for property damage, but our argument is every item that faced damage was bought and paid for by the omega herself. We have receipts, text proof of the pack members promising to pay her back for materials, but they never did. Therefore, the only property she damaged was her own.
