Page 7 of A Pack of Mistletoe
A giggle bubbles in my chest. Hysterical, stressed. I just manage to keep it from escaping.
I look straight at Kai, hoping the next words out of my mouth don’t have him throwing me out—or worse, calling his family to out me.
His warm eyes hold mine, steady and encouraging.
“I’m not,” I say. “I’m an omega.”
The confession feels like it’s being carved out of me. After hiding for two years, saying it aloud makes me feel raw and exposed. Kai’s brow furrows. He looks confused but not angry. That’s understandable since it’s been four years since he’s seen me and two since I’ve seen him. That last Christmas party still haunts me.
“If this is some kind of joke from my brother, you can tell him to fuck off,” Logan says.
Kai’s growl rips through the room. Logan’s eyes widen before he puts his hands up.
Slowly, as though reaching toward a skittish kitten, Kai takes my hand. I don’t pull away.
“Why should we believe you? Why would you hide something like that?” Harlan asks.
“Harlan,” Kai growls, protective.
I lift a hand. “It’s okay, Kai. This isn’t exactly normal.” I turn back to Harlan. “I thought I was a beta for a really long time. Everyone did. I never designated as anything else. Turns out I was just a late bloomer. A little over two years ago, my designation came through—very late. It was at this party. My parents like parties. They use them to make connections.”
I take a deep breath. My heart races, the room feels claustrophobic. I wish I were only telling this to Kai. I wish we were alone. But they all deserve tounderstand why I’m doing this if they’re going to get dragged into my mess. Even if it does benefit them. It’s a lot to ask.
Kai smooths down some of my wild curls and tucks them behind my ear. “It’s okay. Take your time."
I close my eyes and breathe deeply.
“My family doesn’t really have a use for betas. As a beta, I would have just been expected to look nice at parties, marry well enough, and have babies. But as an omega—” I glance at Kai. He knows. He grew up in the same world.
“You became a bargaining chip. A means to more power for your family,” he says.
I nod.
“I tried to leave before they could find out, but they caught me. I couldn’t get away.” I suppress a shudder. No need for grim details. “My family negotiated my bond to an established pack that could help with their future business aspirations. It took a while, but my brother eventually found a way to help me leave. He also got me in touch with a dealer who could provide me with an experimental drug meant to suppress my omega hormones. To silence the part of the brain where omegas reside.”
Every alpha expression changes—shock, disgust, sadness. Kai looks devastated.
“You what?” Harlan demands.
“I had to. They would have found me so much faster if I’d been trying to hide as an omega. We only make up twenty percent of the population. Less in Michigan.”
Harlan snaps his mouth shut, jaw grinding. Finally, he exhales. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“Not that it matters,” I say. “Government crackdowns on experimental drugs mean my supply is gone. I’ll slowly revert over the next few weeks. On top of that, my brother says the PI my parents hired is close. He’s going to find me any day now. He may already have.”
I look around the room, meeting each gaze. “That’s why I’m doing this. I need protection—from my family and from the pack they sold me to.”
“Who’s your family, Sugarplum?” Wyatt asks. That Oklahoma drawl could drown me.
I open my mouth, but Kai answers for me. “The Morales family. Enrique Morales is Rosie’s father.”
Harlan jerks back as if struck, glaring at Kai. “In all the time you talked about this girl, you never once mentioned that little detail.”
I glance at Kai, question in my eyes. He’s avoiding my gaze. He talks about me? Why?
Harlan’s eyes return to me, assessing. The last time he’d seen me, I was eighteen and a college freshman. Two years later Kai left for a big job opportunity. Two years after that I designated at a Christmas party at my parents house. Then I moved here and it's been two years since then. Six whole years and a lot of change. I look completely different now. I can see the moment he dismisses the memory. We met only briefly, in a garden.
“Who’s the pack, then?” Logan asks. There’s calculation in his cool blue eyes.
