Page 59 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)
"Oh, well if you're asking how I got away from all the commotion inside, it's because my mom has an excellent ability to keep all the attention on herself. Plus, my date seems to have that same skill."
There's a slight shake in Milo's next inhale after the mention of Angie Winters inside.
"So they're throwing a fucking fit," I mutter, narrowing my eyes at Max. I can practically hear the shrill screams through the balcony door.
"That's certainly one way of putting it," he chuckles. "There's that filthy mouth I know and love. I was surprised. You clean up well. If I didn't know you were a dirty Southside whore, I would've mistaken you for someone proud enough to be born here."
His words cut through me like a knife. Slicing through the paper-thin defense of this outfit that feels more and more performative by the second and straight through to my heart.
"Don't fucking talk about her like that," Milo snarls, shifting our bodies so I'm behind him.
It happens so fast that I can't stop him, considering the restrictive nature of the dress I'm wearing and the sky-high heels I have on. I settle for clinging to the back of his suit jacket. Milo can probably feel the way my hand is trembling.
Why can't I fucking shake this feeling? This terror? This crippling insecurity?
Why the hell does Max's opinion even fucking matter right now?
"Oh?" Max says, his eyes lighting up as he eyes Milo up and down. "You really care for the whore, do you? Interesting, has she worked her magic on you? Shown you the tricks she knows? I mean, I can certainly see the appeal?—"
"I said shut the fuck up ," Milo hisses. His hands are clenched into fists by his sides, and his shoulders shake with unbridled rage.
"I don't think I will," Max huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. He shifts his cutting gaze to me.
"That pride of yours that you've seemed to develop in the few months since we've seen each other is such a fascinating development.
I wonder where you get the guts to pretend that you haven't spread your legs for money. "
" Shut up! " Milo yells. "Don't talk to my mate that way!"
Max stiffens, his eyes going wide with surprise.
"Mate? As in scent match?" A maniacal grin tugs at his lips. "So you're saying that I've fucked my little brother's scent match? Oh, it doesn't get better than this!"
He practically claps his hands with glee as he stalks his way over to us.
My breath stalls in my chest as his familiar scent of damp, rotting leaves fills my lungs.
"Get out of the way," he barks at Milo, his alpha dominance rolling off of him in waves.
Alpha barks normally only work on betas and omegas, but depending on how dominant an alpha is, their barks can also work on weaker alphas. With the confident swagger Max seems to have in his step, he expects Milo to just follow his instructions.
To be completely honest, the moment I feel that cloying, tingling, suffocating feeling of Max's dominance swirling in the air around us and crawling over my skin, I resign myself to whatever fate Max has in store for me.
But Milo surprises me. He surprises both of us.
Every single muscle in his body locks tight to the point that they start to tremble with the strain of fighting the command of the bark, but he remains standing in front of me.
"I don't think you want to do this," Max huffs under his breath, towering over the two of us.
"You're—you're not touching her," Milo grits out, his body frozen.
"If I want to bend her over this balcony and fuck her so my brother can see the kind of omega she really is then I will," Max snarls. "You will move ."
Fear turns my scent sour as I remain frozen behind Milo, my back pressing up against the balcony railing.
"No." It's a single syllable. Such a simple word. But I can feel it in my bones.
Milo won't let this motherfucker touch me. Not while he's still standing.
His body snaps forward and he slams his head into Max's.
There's the satisfying crunch of bone before Milo lets out a guttural sort of growl.
He practically jumps onto Max like a feral beast, with no fear or reservations despite the fact that Milo is in a drastically different weight class than Max.
"Run!" Milo calls to me before Max lets out a roar of pain.
I stumble sideways in my heels, my heart racing out of my chest.
I have to get out of here. I have to get Milo some help. I need?—
Someone behind me lets out a sickening, unnatural cry of pain. I whirl around and my eyes go wide.
There's blood. So much blood.
Milo is underneath Max, who has his hands wrapped around my mate's neck.
The rest of the world falls away. All I see is that disgusting look of glee on Max's expression. The same look he wore as he choked me, except this time, I actually think he's planning on killing Milo.
I can't fucking let that happen.
Before I know what I'm doing, my feet are moving and I'm grabbing the closest thing I can find.
A potted plant. There's just enough time for me to register that there are pink peonies in the pot before I slam it over Max's head.
It shatters, raining dirt all over the two men.
"Get off of him!" I scream.
The impact makes Max stagger, and he lets go of his hold around Milo's neck. I kick Max in the head with all of my might. I hear something tear in the fabric of my dress, but I don't give a shit.
My kick, in combination with the flower pot, seems to be enough to knock him off of Milo.
Milo coughs, wiping away some of the dirt from his face as he crawls away.
I fall to his side instantly, wiping at the dirt and trying to gauge how badly he was hurt. There's so much blood on his face. Oh god, what damage did Max do while I wasn't looking?
Milo continues coughing as he tries to catch his breath, but he reaches up and squeezes one of my frantically moving hands. It stops me enough to remember to breathe.
"What the hell is going on here!" Angie's shrill voice shocks me back to reality.
Fucking hell, just the thing we need.
Angie rushes over to Max, who's groaning in pain.
Behind her stand my three other mates, all wearing matching stricken, horrified, and furious expressions.
"Oh my god, what the hell happened?" Theo says, crouching down beside us, seemingly trying to figure out where Milo is hurt.
"We heard someone scream," Stone says, standing tall, like a broad sentinel, ready to pounce on any danger around us.
"It was a fucking nasty scream too," Theo mutters. "Come on bro, you've gotta say something, where does it hurt? Fucking hell, there's a lot of blood on you."
Milo lets out another cough. "Mostly... neck..." He says, pointing to himself.
"Max—Max was choking him," I fill in, my voice shaky.
I feel Killian's warm, strong presence as he falls to his knees behind me, wrapping himself around me like a soothing blanket. His chest rises and falls quickly with his breaths. I can practically feel his pulse roaring through his veins.
"I got him with a pot and a kick to the head," I say.
"Good job," Theo says, shooting me a strained smile. "Badass as hell, Spitfire."
"Oh no, my baby!" Killian's mom cries as she throws herself down onto the ground beside Max, who still seems to be finding his bearings.
"Oh my god! " Angie's shrill voice screams, cutting through the night air. "What the hell happened to your ear?”
She runs her hands through her hair as she stares down at something on the ground, disgusted.
My gaze jerks back to Milo who has a mischievous grin. That's when I realize the blood on his face, other than the splatter that must've come from when he initially broke Max's nose, is covering the lower part of his face.
"Did you—did you bite off his ear?" I whisper in shock.
Milo shrugs his shoulders before he nods his head.
"Holy fuck, no way that's insane!" Theo says, his eyes wide.
"So that scream came from Maximus, thank god," Stone mutters under his breath.
"More like fuck yes," Theo says. "That's impressive as hell! I don't know if I'd have the guts to tear a guy's ear off with my fucking teeth. You did good, Milo, real good."
"Yeah," I nod, reaching out and lacing my hand with Milo's. "You saved me."
I feel Killian stiffen behind me
"What happened?” Killian growled. "From the beginning.”