Page 117 of Carmichael's Omega

I accept it. The Beta has an impressively nasty vocabulary. "The male Mattie was on the phone with must know him."

"Sí. Is that why you-"

"Sí."My voice is abrupt with shame. I Marked my male because of jealousy and my female because it took me too long to see her worth.

"Alpha," Rique says slowly.

I turn to look at him, surprised at his formality.

He visibly swallows. "You scent of them."

"¿Sí?"Of course, I do.

He shakes his head. "You scent as though they Marked you, too. Did they?" His eyes flash with confusion.

"No," I feel defeated. Marks. They may never want to Mark me. The bonds roll through me uneasily, like a river with two currents. They are... not afraid of me, just... intimidated. My wolf paws at the bonds again, trying to get them to perk up, but both bonds are sleeping, just like my mates.

---

He and his wolves arrive silently. Their SUVs, black with darkly-tinted windows, roll up with the headlights and interior dome lights off. When they step out, they look like a human black ops unit.

The Beta makes his way towards me. He has dark tan and brown camouflage face paint. It makes the vivid green of his eyes even more striking. Like a fucking adder.

His chest expands, and his head drops, chin to his chest. A deep, sonorous rumble makes his entire body shake.

He slowly lifts his head. "What's up, little punk?" he says. Violence swirls in the depths of his eyes.

So, we're back to this. I bare my teeth in a grin. "Not much,Jefe."

His growl is pitched so low that human ears couldn't hear it. "You mated my pups," he says softly. The threat is there, his alpha-wolf straining to come out and play. "My pups," he whispers again. "My... motherfucker. You mated Mattie, too?"

My teeth grind. My alpha-wolf doesn't like hearing the words "my" coming from his mouth. Not when he's talking about my mates. "My mates," I remind him through gritted teeth.

"Right. So let's do this, yeah? Like civilized wolves." His smile is macabre. He rolls his neck, cracking it audibly.

Our wolves ring us. I feel better with my males at my back. Sure, it's not the impressive array of camouflage professionalism that the Beta has, but they are loyal and, more importantly, my pack.

The Beta cracks the knuckles on his left hand. It trembles with barely-leashed aggression. Muscles are bulging. I can see the insanity flicker in his eyes. "My pups," he mutters again, under his breath.

I bare my canines at him. "Would Cassie ever kill someone?" I ask him gratingly. The question burns in my throat like vomit.

He grinds to a halt, shock evident in his face before he tosses his head back and laughs. I wait, impatient, for him to stop. Even his wolves shift anxiously, glancing at each other in confusion.

"If I cheated on her?"

He freezes, the laughter dying abruptly. Green adder's eyes meet mine, stirring with lethal intent. "Did you cheat on my pup?" he asks hoarsely.

"Never," I snarl. "If I did, would she grow angry enough to lash out and kill the other female?"

The rage fades. "What the fuck are you getting at, punk?"

"An omega killed my mother," I swallow to try and quell the taste of vomit. The bond with Cassidy flexes. Never. She would never attack another soul.

"Not all omegas are the same."

"I know. I'm mated to two,no?" I remind him, ignoring his sharp growl at the reminder. "Cassidy... she and Lily are the same. Exactly. Their personalities mirror each other,sí? Perfectly."

"Cassie couldn't hurt a fly."