Page 175 of Claiming the Pack's Omega
My jaw clenches. I know they're right. I know it deep down in my bones. They're not saying anything I haven't already thought about myself.
"I'm sorry we're dogpiling you and getting all worked up, man," Stone says, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I'm just not a fan of this whole dinnerthing with Reyna. Your shitshow of a family are the type of people to say something that'll make me wanna tear my stitches and fuck shit up, you know?"
"I get what you're saying. Trust me, I do," I sigh. "If anything, I'm expecting something to go terribly wrong."
"And we'll be here to help if things go wrong. You're not alone," Theo says, reaching over and gripping my shoulder.
"If something does go wrong, we leave immediately. We don't give them a chance to rile us up enough to make things worse, okay?"
My packmates all nod in confirmation.
"One of us must be with Reyna at all times. She's not to be left alone." Especially not with my brother in the house, but I don't say that part out loud.
He'll probably have his own date to try and upstage the omega he thinks I'm bringing, but I don't want to risk him doing something insane.
"You don't need to tell us twice," Stone nods.
My hands are starting to get clammy, goddammit. I wipe them down on my slacks and nod.
"Great, then I think we're ready for tonight. Reyna has already listened to a call between my Mother, brother, and I, so she likely knows what to expect."
The rest of them talk briefly about work, the case, and those developments, but I find myself spacing out a little bit. I can't get rid of this impending sense of doom, no matter how hard I try.
I've never been a big drinker, but the liquor cabinet with our expensive whiskey is calling for me to pour myself a glass or two before I go, to prepare for this shitshow of an evening. But that would be a terrible idea. I need my wits about me, when it comes to my family. They have a bad habit of rewriting reality to suit whatever narrative they want, in any given moment, so I generally tend to avoid anything that changes my perception of things.
I've spent long enough out of that house to learn that the way I was raised wasn't normal, but there are just certain habits I picked up living in that environment that I can't seem to shake.
"You ready, boys?"
Reyna's voice is sultry and playful.
I turn around in my seat and my jaw hits the fucking floor.
I thought she looked enchanting in that dress before she headed upstairs to finish getting ready, but now? Now my brain has lost all ability to find the proper adjective for how stunning she looks.
Just as I predicted, her makeup is a lot more intense than it has been, when it's just been the five of us in the pack house. Her eyes are lined with dark eyeliner, giving her a fierce and sultry look and making her storm gray eyes pop.
As she lifts a hand to give us a little finger wave, her crimson red lips quirking in a little smile, I notice that both her lips and her nails match the dress she's wearing. Her hair is up in an elaborate up-do and her neck and ears are adorned with a matching ruby jewelry set.
She's used her physical appearance as a weapon for a very long time and it's obvious that she's a master at it.
"Holy shit," Stone breathed out.
"You look fucking phenomenal," Theo says, standing from his seat.
"Do I?" Reyna says, giving us a little spin.
"You know you do," I say as I stand and walk over to her.
As I stare down at her, my heart lodges itself in my throat. It's still so crazy to me that the little omega in front of me can make my body react this way.
"We're ready, but are you ready, Princess?"
I reach up and brush the back of my fingertips against her collarbone, desperate to touch some part of her. She looks so perfect that part of me is afraid that my touch will do something to taint her.
A brief flash of anxiety appears in her storm gray eyes, but she's quick to mask it. It's not surprising that she's nervous. I'm certainly nervous as well.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she says.
