Page 128 of Claiming the Pack's Omega

My jaw clenches so hard I can hear it creaking.

“You know why I don’t come home often,” I say slowly, my voice so low it’s just a hint above a growl.

It’s so hard to maintain my control and composure with my family. They seem to know just what to say and how to say it to mess with my head.

“You need to get over the issues you have with your brother,” Mother chastises. I can practically hear the eyeroll in her voice.

“Yeah, bro! Everything’s in the past! I got over it, so should you.”

Fucking hell. Speak of the devil.

Of course, my mother wouldn’t just call me, even if she did actually want me back home.

She doesn’t really care that much about me. There are three things she cares about: my father, her appearance, and most of all? My older brother Maximus.

There’s no room in that family for me.

“Forgive me for not getting over you terrorizing my childhood,” I grit out. Now that I know my brother is on the other line too, it’s like my body has gone into defense mode.

I counted down the days until I moved away to college. That day was the start of my freedom, of my life. I moved in all by myself because my parents didn’t care enough, not when Maximus was moving into his senior year.

“There will be plenty more years for us to help you move in, Killian, don’t be selfish.”

My mother’s words that day still ring in my ears as I think back to that time.

They never helped me move in.

Maximus still lives with them. They expanded the pool house so he’d have his own place, but that good-for-nothing, piece of shit, bum still mooches off them, even though he’s well into his mid-thirties by now.

He’s the golden child of the family. Always has been, always will be.

I’m pretty sure if I didn’t work a job and had nowhere to stay, they’d kick me to the curb after I couldn’t pay whatever arbitrary amount they wanted for “rent,” or whatever. Lord knows they don’t need the money.

“Killian,” my mother snaps, her tone as sharp as a whip. “Do not speak to your brother that way.”

I flinch involuntarily. It’s been fifteen years since I’ve lived under her roof, but I guess that’s not long enough to get rid of the eighteen I spent there in the first place. My brain is wired to feartheir negative reactions: their disappointment, their disgust, their anger.

I guess in the same way it’s programmed to loathe my brother.

It’s only natural, considering he’s gotten everything I’ve ever wanted when he’s barely lifted a finger.

I’ve clawed my way up to a position on Riverwell’s council, the youngest person to ever do so, and all I got from my mother was an uninterested hum.

The car door opens slowly, and I see a wide-eyed Reyna looking at me.

I close my eyes, slamming my head back against the headrest behind me.

I was too distracted with my shitshow of a family to realize she’d come out of the office. How much has she heard? Certainly my mother’s last comment, if her wide-eyed expression is anything to go by.

I take a deep breath, giving her a small nod and a wave for her to come into the car. I’m not going to have her wait outside while I finish up this conversation. She’ll be able to hear everything anyway, with my phone connected to the car’s Bluetooth.

“Did you hear me?” My mother’s shrill voice says over the line. “Apologize to him right now.”

My jaw clenches and I grip the steering wheel so hard the leather cracks under my grip.

“Answer our mom, asshat. Or what, cats got your tongue? You don’t want to offer your big bro an apology?”

I almost start laughing when my mom doesn’t comment on Maximus’s insult. Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck them all.