Page 13 of Enticing Little Omega (Twisted Little Tales #5)

Christa

H aving Anton pacing around the kitchen like a caged animal, hair wild, words falling out of him like broken glass... is not what I expected when I agreed to let him speak to me alone.

I also wasn't expecting an apology.

I mean, what the heck? They hadn't done anything to me. I was the one that had run away without even talking to them.

But he was sorry.

Sorry they hadn't come back for me.

Sorry they'd left me with her .

And he sounded like he meant it. It sounded like it had been eating him alive for years.

I'd come into this confrontation ready to stand strong, to defend my independence and my decision to run off. I'd even rehearsed a little speech about how I wasn't some frightened girl anymore and I was ready to move forward. Forget the past.

But then he called me his little Omega. And showed me that raw, deep hurt.

Shared his pain with me.

It gutted me.

And it made no goddess damned sense. Anton and Drew were Tracy's sons. Her Alpha sons.

But Anton's voice, his face... he wasn't lying. He knew what she was like.

"Oh," I finally managed to push out the only word I could find.

He stood there. Stiff and silent. Like he couldn't speak or move any more.

I didn't know what to do. What to say. There was no box to put this big revelation into.

This big, strong Alpha had survived her too. And now he was looking at me like he'd failed me .

Like he needed my forgiveness.

How couldn't he see I could never blame him? I understood better than anyone. He and his brother had obviously gotten out as soon as they could and refused to look back.

And why would they look back for a random girl they'd never met before?

His agony made my chest ache.

And it stirred something deeper. Something I've ignored for way too long.

My Omega was pushing at me.

Anton was mine.

And he was hurting.

I couldn't let that stand.

My feet moved before I even realised it. One step. Two. and then my arms were around him, sliding under his broad shoulders, tucking myself into the space he made like I'd never left it.

Anton froze, completely. His whole body stiffened like he didn't know what the hell to do with the comfort.

And then... he just melted.

His arms came around me in a fierce, almost desperate grip, and his body rumbled with a purr so low and deep it vibrated through my ribs.

I closed my eyes and breathed him in, letting myself be held just for a second. Letting myself hold him back .

This wouldn't fix anything. Not even close to it.

But it was a start.

"Christa," a voice called, pulling us apart. "Unless you're planning on spoon feeding these customers yourself, I've got orders backing up and a grumpy pack out front wondering where their missing Alpha disappeared to."

I stepped back like I'd been caught making out behind the bleachers. Jo was standing in the doorway, hands on his hips, eyebrow arched so high it practically reached his hairline.

"Can I... take my break?" I asked, wiping my hands on my apron and not quite meeting his eyes.

He gave me the longest, most dramatic sigh I'd ever heard. "Yeah, yeah. Take it. Not like I wasn't expecting to lose you soon anyway. Might as well get used to it."

I choked on a laugh. "Jo—"

"Just go," he grumbled, waving me off. "But if they try to claim you before the next rush, I'm charging them for the lost labour."

I suppressed the snort that threatened. Mostly because I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry.

Would they expect me to pack up and leave with them if I agreed to become theirs?

Anton held the kitchen door open for me, his hand ghosting against my back as I stepped past him into the diner. My heart was pounding for reasons I didn't even fully understand. Everything felt too loud. The clatter of plates. The murmur of voices. My own thoughts screaming over one another.

The other members of the pack were in a corner booth by the window. William stood when he saw me, but didn't move any closer. Just watched with steady, soul-searching eyes like he was worried I might bolt at any second.

I didn't.

Instead, I slid into the booth opposite them. Anton followed, sitting beside me. Close, but not touching. And strangely, I didn't feel caged in.

It felt... comforting.

Yet another awkward silence settled over us. Honestly, I was getting kind of tired of not knowing what the fuck to say and how to act.

Then, all at once:

"We're sorry—" Annerly said.

"I didn't think you'd actually come out—" This from Drew.

"Do you want something to eat—" I blurted automatically, defaulting to server mode.

"We shouldn't have—" Anton spoke up from next to me.

"Stop!" William's voice cut through the overlapping words, calm but commanding. The Alpha in him showing without even trying. "One at a time," he said. Then he turned to me. "Thank you for sitting down with us."

I nodded once, unsure of what to say. My emotions were still tangled, like headphone wires left in a pocket too long. I glanced at Anton, then back at the rest of them. My pack.

Or what could be my pack.

If I was brave enough to give them, and us, a chance.

William cleared his throat. "We wanted to thank you for letting us have a chance. For agreeing to us courting you," he said gently. "And apologise for just showing up here today. That was... a mistake."

"I told you it was a stupid idea," Drew muttered, arms crossed.

William ignored him, but I couldn't help but wonder at the tension I was now very aware of running between them.

"We want to take you out on dates. Real ones. Give you the chance to get to know us," William continued to explain.

Annerly nodded. "One-on-one, at first. So you don't feel overwhelmed. You choose the pace. Whatever you need."

"And then maybe," Drew added with a crooked smile, "When you're ready, a group date. All of us, together. Show you how good we are when we're not being idiots."

I blinked at them. "Oh, when you said courting... you meant courting ." The thought felt strange. Old-fashioned. Formal. Sweet.

All four men nodded in agreement.

I stared down at my hands. I didn't know what to say. What the right thing here was.

My head and heart were a mess. My instincts were even worse. But under all of it, deep and steady and quiet, was the part of me that had always belonged to them.

The Omega inside me wanted this. Wanted them.

And maybe... maybe I did too.

"Okay," I said, voice barely above a whisper. It wasn't a promise. It wasn't forever. But it was a start. A step.

Four smiles bloomed in response. Not triumphant. Just hopeful.