Page 9

“There she is,” Jace says, nodding toward a pretty, curvy brunette.

I catch her honey scent before I even see her.

As I take her in, moving from one table to another, I realize he’s right. She has a shy demeanor, never seeming to look a customer in the eye.

Shit. She’s an omega. Jace is correct without a doubt. My breath stops when I notice the purple bruising around her right eye.

It looks brutal and fresh. The idea that someone would strike her doesn’t sit well with me.

“What happened there?” I wonder aloud, struggling to control the urge to rut as her scent wafts by me again.Fuck, she smells so damn good.

Jace leans forward in his seat, intensity in his eyes as he gazes at her. “That bruise wasn’t there yesterday.”

At that moment, the girl walks by, carrying a tray of mugs. Her scent is much stronger now. My heart pounds and blood rushes in my ears as I turn to Jace. Her name tag says:Mia.

“You... you were right.” The words rasp out of my throat as I grip the table. A growl erupts from me, and my eyes flash. “This isn’t right. Are you sure she doesn’t have a pack?”

Before Jace can respond, the door to the café opens abruptly, sending a cold blast of air into the space.

The man who walks in puts me on edge immediately. He’sangry and seeking a confrontation. His blond hair is wild and messy, covering his bloodshot eyes.

His eyes scan the café before landing on the omega.

Every muscle in my body stiffens as I watch this newcomer prowl toward her. She hasn’t noticed his presence yet, taking an order from the couple at the table next to us. It catches her off guard when he stomps into her line of sight.

“We need to talk,” he rasps under his breath, as he pulls her aside. His hands wave animatedly as he whispers harshly.

It clicks, then. This asshole is the one who gave her that bruise.

At that moment, I want to leap from this table and tear him to shreds. I want to hear his howls of pain as I rip into him. I want to feel his blood on me, warm and sticky. For the crime of laying a finger on our omega because she will be ours, and I would tear his damn throat out.

But now is not the time or place. I don’t want to scare her.

“I can’t believe she would waste her time with such a lowlife,” I say, my voice practically a growl.

“I agree with you, Finn,” says Jace, and I can feel his rage radiating off him in waves. Like me, he is trying to hold back because no one hurts what is ours.

“Please sit down or leave,” Mia’s manager says, wearing a white apron. “I mean it, Justin.”

Mia looks down at the floor in shame, and my blood boils. It wasn’t enough for him to damage her face; this jackass had to humiliate her in her place of work.

After her boyfriend orders a drink and sits down at the table nearest the counter, Mia rushes away, probably to the employee break room.

My eyes narrow at Justin as he smugly takes a sip of his coffee. If it were up to me, he’d be outside on his ass or lying in a pool of his ownblood.

“We have to do something about this. She is an omega, alone, and this lowlife is hurting her. It’s unacceptable,” I say.

Jace leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Kane won’t like it. He barely believed me. Even with your support, he’ll be hard to convince.”

The whole situation seems hard to believe, even to me. The likelihood of a beautiful omega being alone and vulnerable in the middle of D.C.? Practically impossible. And yet, somehow, I’m staring at that reality right now.

“You’re right. It won’t be easy at all,” I concede.

“Maybe...” Jace trails off.

I narrow my eyes in his direction. “I know that look on your face. It usually means trouble.”

Jace laughs at that.