Page 83 of X-Clan The Origin
“You know I don’t condone the use of suppressants, Riley.” The chastising note in his voice grated on my nerves. While I fully agreed with him, it wasn’t his place to chastisemymate. “It’s unnatural to hide your distinction, which is why your wolf fought it.”
Riley sighed, her fingers stilling in my hair. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re an Alpha, Kieran. That’s a very differentdistinction.”
“True,” he conceded. “And I understand why you desired to hide. X-Clan Alphas lack a certain amount of decorum and skill when it comes to wooing their Omegas.”
If I could have, I would have snorted.Asshole.
“Yes.” Riley’s easy agreement had me growling inside. “But Jonas didn’t just claim me. He… he showed me what good Alphas want from a mate.”
“Oh?” Kieran sounded intrigued. “And what does a good Alpha want from a mate?”
Her fingers combed through my hair again, all the way to my shoulders before leaving my mane behind in favor of my naked chest. “A partner.” She placed her palm over my heart. “A lifemate.”
Silence fell for a long moment before Kieran said, “Jonas is a good Alpha. He’ll do right by you.”
You say that now,I thought at him.After voicing the option of letting me die.
“I know he will,” Riley replied, her palm drifting over my torso and back up to my throat. “I’m not the kind of wolf to obey without cause.”
Kieran chuckled. “You will absolutely give him hell. I wish I could be around to see it.”
“Maybe you will be.”
“No. He won’t choose to stay in Blood Sector.”
Is that where we’re heading?I wondered.Blood Sector?
“Why not? His mom lives there. It’s where he grew up. And you have the technology to create a new lab. It makes sense for us to live with you,” Riley said, her arguments sound, and yet the notion of living there made me sick to my stomach.
Orsicker, anyway.
Whatever magic Kieran had used to heal me had left me queasy already.
The thought of returning to Blood Sector and staying there just worsened the sensation.
“Jonas won’t be comfortable in Blood Sector,” Kieran told her. “He needs to be in a pack where he can stand on equal footing, and he’s never had that among the V-Clan wolves. That’s why he left.”
Among other reasons, I thought, slightly miffed thatPrince Charminghad discerned these details about me without ever having asked.
“He’s an Alpha,” Kieran continued. “He needs to feel in control. He can’t have that in my sector. Not because of anything I’ll do, or anything my wolves will do—it’s just a natural progression. V-Clan wolves and X-Clan wolves may be able to mate, but we’re very different animals.”
That was a polite way of saying that X-Clan Alphas were inferior to V-Clan Alphas.
I couldn’t fault his logic, as it was true to an extent. All species had their own strengths. But the V-Clan wolves were notoriously lethal and ranked higher on the predator index than most supernaturals.
Vampires were one of their primary adversaries.
Hence my gratitude toward Kieran for handling the Alpha vampire when I hadn’t been able to.
Most males in my situation might have disliked him for proving stronger and more capable in the situation. But not me. I wasn’t too proud to admit that he’d saved my ass.
It was the aftermath of that situation that had pissed me off.
And his subsequent offer to just let me die, coupled with his easy candor right now with Riley.
Mine, my wolf kept growling.Riley is mine.
She and Kieran were friends. I accepted that. But that didn’t stop my possessive animal from wanting to snarl out his claim.
