Page 14 of Pack Frenzy
Too many Alphas use that as an excuse.
Blake did.
Said it was an accident. Breath play that went too far. But the bruises told a different story—rage, not passion. By the time we found them, Meredith was gone.
Cassian broke his jaw in three places before I dragged him off, my own knuckles bloody from where I’d tried first. I called the cops after.
Blake walked on daddy’s money and a lawyer who made reasonable doubt sound like reasonable certainty.
Cassian still says I should’ve let him finish the job. Some days, I think he’s right. And I’ve had to live with that for nine fucking years now.
I pull out of the Nexus parking lot. At the exit, a set of guards goes over our paperwork with bureaucratic thoroughness, scanning, checking, scanning again before finally waving us through like we’re smuggling contraband instead of an approved Omega.
When we pass through the gate, Jess’s scent fills the cabin immediately—sugar and skin and something wildly, dangerously alive. Jasmine blooming hot and vanilla gone dark, almost caramelized, the way heat changes sweetness into something richer, more intoxicating.
My own scent deepens. Next to me, Cassian’s leather and amber thickens, filling the spaces between us. Even Eli’s bergamot cuts through with something bright and citrus-edged, attraction he’d deny if I called him on it.
That low thrum of recognition of my Alpha side running under the surface like an electrical current I can’t shut off, so I angle the vent toward the back and keep my eyes on the road like my life depends on it.
“There are rules,” I tell her. “Ours, not Nexus’s.”
In the rearview mirror, her eyes meet mine, but there’s no fear in them, just alertness.
“Rule one,” Cassian says, voice low, easy. “You don’t do anything you don’t want to do.”
Her brows lift. “Ever?”
“Ever,” I confirm. “Consent’s not a form you sign once.”
Eli adds, “Saying yes once doesn’t mean yes always.”
Her shoulders drop, barely, but it’s there. Cassian notices too, though he pretends not to.
“Rule two,” I continue. “Don’t go anywhere alone. That’s not control. It’s protection.”
“Because I might run?”
“Because we protect what’s ours,” Cassian says.
But all of us know that Blake’s still out there, and we never let our guard down.
Cassian still tells me we should kill him because he got out scot-free from his dad paying bail, and a high-paid lawyer. But even with Blake down in Florida, there’s plenty of other Alphas willing to take an Omega who isn’t claimed and bonded.
She nods, a small motion that feels like trust. “And rule three?”
“Eat when Eli tells you to.”
Eli rolls his eyes. “That’s not?—”
“It is,” Cassian cuts in. “You’re dangerous when you’re hungry.”
Jess laughs, and it hits me low in the gut. Vanilla spikes, warm and bright, but I don’t let it show.
“Can’t say I blame him. I’m starving. No offense, but Nexus food is shit.”
Cassian glances back, amused. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Anything.”
