Page 18 of The Omega's Alpha
“Quin needs someone smart to run that office. And you already know most of the job.”
The thought of being around Quin all day, every day, made my heart race. “Are you sure? I mean, there’s still three pups home that need a lot of looking after.”
Abel waved it away grandly, and I just barely kept myself from rolling my eyes at his alpha’s ignorance. “The pups can go to daycare in the day. And we’ll find someone for evenings if he needs to be out. Maybe Cale? He’s still got school work, but it wouldn’t be every night, and he did all right when you looked after the office before.”
I— Wow. Yes, Cale could do it. He’d had all the same training I did, back in Buffalo Gap. It occurred to me suddenly that the omegas were still all here, but hadn’t that only been agreed for six months? “What if Uncle Mitchell wants him to go back home?”
Abel cocked an eyebrow at me. “Do you think any of those packs want their omegas back? They’re trying to slow us down,burdenus withuselessmembers of shifter society.” Sarcasm dripped from his words like acid. “They’ve agreed to let them stay.”
It was almost like I could read his mind. “Well, fuck them and their stupid, antiquated ideas too.”Oh, Lysoonka, entire days with Quin.
He grinned, and I did too. For a moment, I felt like an alpha, like I’d just risen triumphant from a fight for dominance, my enemy bleeding his life out onto the ground at my feet while I howled my supremacy to the moon. Then I decided—no. I felt like an omega finally set free from a cage.
“You already talked to him?” Bax’s words interrupted us.
Abel suddenly looked sheepish. He glanced down at the floor, then back up at Bax with the most—I hated to use it, but hangdog was the most apt word for it—expression I’d ever seen him wear. “The moment seemed right.”
Bax turned to me. “I wanted to be here.”
I knew what he was asking. “It’s okay, he did a good job. Yes, I’ll take over from you in the office again.” And if I maybe had an ulterior motive, who was to know?
“Oh, good.” Bax came forward, his expression relieved, and hugged me. “It’ll give you and Quin some time too.”
I twitched and he gave a breath of a chuckle at my naivete before letting me go. “Did you tell him the other news?” he asked Abel.
“What news?” I said.
“We’re going to finish Duke’s and Bram’s house before any of the others. You’ll have your apartment back before October’s full moon.”
Bax went to wrap himself around Abel, but he sent me a conspiratorial wink before turning his face up to his mate’s. “Come to bed.”
“I was going to have tea.”
Bax gave him a look, then walked out of the kitchen with another wink for me, and a sultry look for Abel that had the alpha following along like a moth after a candle, tea completely forgotten.Alphas and their hormones.
The kettle whistled, reminding me of my empty mug. I shook my head and went back to the cupboard for a new teabag.
Chapter Sixteen
Quin steppedthrough the door into his office, and stared around, wondering why the hell he’d bothered. His head felt stuffed with cotton and his eyes burned. He’d avoided looking into the mirror this morning, so his jaw was covered in stubble, but he’d been afraid of what he’d see. The dreams last night had been like the ones when he’d first come home, screaming, confused visions that left him sick and scared and wracked with guilt.
Soldier up.He’d survived the Middle East, he could get through today. Well, what was left of today. It was—he glanced at the clock and winced—ten past ten already.
Quin poked his head into the outside office to say hi to Louise and to Bax. Except Bax wasn’t the only one at his desk. Holland was the one sitting in the chair behind the screen, while Bax bustled about, pulling files out of drawers and spreading them over the narrow table that stretched along the wall behind it. All motion stopped as everyone turned to stare at Quin.
“Good morning,” Bax said.
Holland just smiled in his direction, but it felt to Quin like everywhere Holland’s eyes rested, he’d touched Quin’s body with warm, ghostly fingers. He was crazy to feel this way about the other man, especially considering his problems.
“Good morning, Alpha,” Louise said. “I have the weekly financial report for you to look over, when you have a moment.”
Damn. He glanced over at Bax and Holland in hopes of a reprieve. He absolutely wasn’t in the right frame of mind today.
Holland leaned over and checked the screen. “Maybe later this morning. I’ll make sure he gets to it,” he promised with a nod to her.
Crap.“Right. What’s first?”
Holland looked at the screen again. “Applications for funding for new businesses—you filling them out, not you approving pack funds. Then you have the applications to move to the new houses to start looking through.”
