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My pulse settles and I toss an arm over my face, groaning. “You’re a dick, you know that?”

“I do. It’s what makes me the big bucks.” Win sits back with his smug fucking grin, though it disappears fast. “You have a pre-bond that she can sign to protect your assets. What others concerns do you have with this omega?”

These men are my friends, the people who’ve always been there for me outside my pack. If I can’t be honest with them, there’s no one to hear my truth. “I don’t want her to break us apart.”

“Seems to me that the only person who can do that is you, Connor.”

“Harsh, but true.” Jace leans over, careful to maintain space between us while I’m emotionally volatile. “I’ll never understand how difficult the divorce was, but I can tell you with a high level of certainty that if you let it interfere with this new relationship, it will destroy you. Shelby may be gone, but she’s left wounds you need to heal before getting too deep with this woman.”

“How do I do that?”

“Tell her everything.”

My first instinct is to rear back, to step away. “Daphne doesn’t need to know.”

“She does if you’re interested in a future together.” Winter drops his notepad on the table. “Your pack has chosen Daphne, but that doesn’t mean you have to. You know that it’s not a requirement.”

“We won’t judge, whatever you choose,” Jace adds. “But I think it’s important to know where you stand. For her and for you.”

Do I want to go back to my boring life while Nate and Dez find love and move on without me? Do I want to be on the outside while Daphne becomes the center of their world? They’ll bond as soon as she lets them, maybe even have kids together. Babies I’ll help raise because that’s what pack does. But I’ll always be separate. Sitting in the waiting room for news instead of being with my family.

Could I handle watching my brothers fulfill our dreams without me?

No. Despite my reservations, I know that’s not what I want. Not with Daphne.

I’m in, if she’ll have me. “What do I need to know?”

Winter stares at the fire, gathering his thoughts. “You’re not officially courting, so your legal rights are limited. It gives you some protections against Daphne, should you need them, but very few against her former pack.”

“You think her exes will come after us?” Despite her telling me, I couldn’t read the court report. It felt like an invasion of privacy, and I didn’t want to make things worse.

Head wobbling, Win considers it. “The wrong judge could be persuaded toward alienation of affection.”

Fuck. “They’ll come after our business?”

“Unlikely, but it’s a risk you’ll need to be comfortable taking.”

I hate leaving the fate of the business I’ve worked so hard for in the lap of a someone I don’t know, but isn’t that exactly what’s happening to Daphne already? Courting us, if that even happens, has the potential to worsen her case, risk her business even more. How can I ask her for something I won’t do myself?

Maybe this is why she’s so flighty. Not just because she’s been burned, but because she’s trying to protect us from the chaos her exes could cause. I may not know Daphne well, but that seems like something she’d do.

Fuck me all over again. I’m such a dick.

“I’m willing if she is.”

Winter accepts my answer easily. “Inevitable courtship doesn’t give you the right to make medical or financial decisions, so Daphne will need to have a proxy. When it comes to protecting her and vice versa, there’s a bit of a grey area in the law. When you’re courting, you’re free to use whatever force necessary to protect each other from imminent harm because instincts go overboard.”

“I remember, but we’re not courting Daphne.”Yet.

Meeting Shelby in high school was both terrible and perfect. I found the omega I thought was my forever while dealing with early presentation and the hormone and instinct jumps that came with it. Anyone who looked at her too long was a threat. Didn’t get better after we got married, either. Not having a bond made me extra territorial.

“You know that, but your instincts may not. The law understands that sometimes wires get crossed, but I suggest treading lightly.” Win gives me a hard look. “I’m sure you don’t need the warning, but alphas who show violence early in relationships aren’t seen as stable.”

He’s talking about the OPA. If the Omega Protection Agency thinks Daphne’s in danger, they could take her away. Bar us from bonding her, maybe even give her back to her exes.

The growl shocks me, and I stare down at my rumbling chest.

“Connor,” Winter warns, as if I’m proving him right.