Page 29

Chapter 29

Ava

The next morning, I come down to breakfast and find Dante cooking breakfast in a nice suit. The other Alphas are all dressed in their usual work-from-home attire, which consists of slightly more casual business wear.

“What’s the occasion?” I ask, my brows pulling together.

“I’m going into the office today.” Dante smiles at me and prepares me a plate. “I thought you might like to come with me.”

The idea of getting out of the house is nice, and I want to stay close to Dante after yesterday. I want to stay close to all four men if possible, but Dante is the one I felt the most unstable with yesterday, even though things are better now.

“That sounds great.” I take the plate from him. “I’ll just get changed after breakfast.”

“I think you look just fine now,” Ethan says flirtatiously, winking at me from the table.

I’m wearing an oversized shirt that Caleb gave me, and the boxers he gave me when I was first here, since after yesterday I hadn’t wanted to smell anything except them. “Yes, I’m sure that would be a hoot at the office.”

“It would be an event, that’s for sure,” Garrett mutters.

I grin at him and devour my breakfast. I didn’t eat anything for most of yesterday and now I feel starving, and Dante is quick to pile my plate up with a second helping.

The food is delicious, as always, and I feel like I’m going to burst by the time I finish my third helping, but I know what I’m eating is nothing compared to what the men wolf down as Alphas.

“You need a lot of carbs,” Caleb explained to me at one point, when I expressed feeling self-conscious and confused about just how much food I’ve been eating, far more than usual. “When your heat hits, you’ll be burning a fuck-ton of carbs during the sex, and your body will want it so badly it’ll be hard to convince you to take a break to eat. So your body wants you to load up on the front end so you don’t die or pass out from hunger.”

It's times like these when I understand why Omegas traditionally live with Alpha packs. If we didn’t have multiple people taking care of us, feeding us beforehand, fucking us during, keeping us safe, how would we as Omegas have survived long enough to create civilization?

When I finish eating, I head upstairs to get changed into something cute. I want to show myself off a little for Dante, and I also want to look nice for being in the office.

This is the first time I’m going to meet anyone who’s important to Dante and the pack. Their company is the most important thing to them and they care about their employees. I want to make a good impression.

There are plenty of cute clothes for me to choose from, but I settle on a soft pink skirt and a cream blouse to go with it, with some pink heels. Nothing too crazy, just an inch and a half, so I look a little sophisticated without looking like some kind of sugar baby.

I do my hair and put on a bit of light makeup, and when I’m satisfied with my appearance, I head downstairs. Dante is standing by the door, and I can tell the moment he sees me, because his honey and bourbon scent turns rich and hungry. When I get closer, I see his eyes are dark, the gray of his irises almost swallowed by the black.

“You look good,” he says quietly.

“Thank you.” I do a little twirl, grinning.

Dante’s nostrils flare. “We should get going.”

I want to tease him a bit more and see how long he can control himself, but I don’t want to actually distract him from necessary work.

Now that Marcus is trying to get at us by releasing an identical product ahead of Dante’s company, I don’t think they can afford to be distracted.

When my heat finally arrives, they’ll have to drop everything for a few days, so I know it’s important for them to get as much done before that as possible. If my flirting keeps Dante from focusing, and they fail in their product launch as a result, I’ll never forgive myself.

Dante offers me his arm and I take it, smiling as I press against his side. Having his scent around me, knowing that I make him happy and proud, feels like the best thing I could ever hope for.

We’re touching in some small way for the entire drive over. Nothing crazy, but Dante has his hand on my thigh, and I have my hand over his. Just a constant place of connection. It helps me to feel grounded.

“I think I’ve learned my lesson about keeping myself locked away from you all,” I admit quietly as we drive over to the office.

“Oh?” Dante’s voice is gentle, not smug or amused.

“I feel so much better being close to at least one of you. The moment you touch me it all feels better.” I pause. “I’m surprised that it’s not scaring me.”

“Well… I don’t know what it’s like to be an Omega. But I know how scared I got when I realized I wanted to make a proper pack with the other three.”

It’s hard to imagine the confident Dante being nervous about anything, never mind scared . Even when he was up against Marcus in the store, he wasn’t scared. He was upset because he was angry on my behalf. I was the one who was scared.

“It’s scary when you think that you want someone to be in your life forever and you want to make a commitment to them. Whether that’s a business partner, or a spouse, or even wanting a child… you’re not going to be the same person anymore, by committing to them.”

“Once you do that, someone has the power to hurt you,” I admit.

Dante nods. “And I can’t say that it wasn’t scary at first, agreeing to move in together. To being not just business partners but a pack . Discussing getting an Omega, sharing our secrets, opening up. It was a lot.”

“And did you ever stop being scared?”

Dante nods. “I don’t know when it was. There was just one day when I woke up, and I realized that I wasn’t worried anymore about one of them saying he couldn’t do this, or one of them taking the money and running. I actually trusted them and felt safe with them.”

“Isn’t it scary how not scared you are?”

“Sometimes, yes, but I think that’s just how it is with every relationship. That moment when you realize that you’re feeling safe and okay? That’s a good thing. Relationships are supposed to make you feel better. If we make you feel better, then we’re doing something right. That’s not supposed to be scary.”

I nod. It reassures me, to know that this is natural. That whether I originally looked for it or not, my Omega experience is turning out okay.

We get to the office that houses the company, and park in Dante’s designated spot. My stomach twists and it hits me like a punch to the gut that Dante and the other three own this place.

It’s kind of how I felt when Ethan took me home and I saw the mansion for the first time, as Dante takes me up to the offices.

My four Alphas are rich and powerful. I’ve become used to just thinking of them as the sweet men who take care of me. But they’re more than just good men. They’re powerful men. They have a high social status.

As we walk in and all eyes turn to us, my heart races, and I find myself hoping that I’ll live up to everyone’s expectations of me.

I’m sure that Dante’s employees won’t be surprised if he has an Omega mate. They’re probably wondering why he hasn’t found one already, as handsome and popular as he is. But as everyone waves to Dante and greets him enthusiastically, clearly happy to see him, I worry that I’m not going to measure up.

They must want their beloved boss to have someone sophisticated and wonderful. It’s clear, as Dante speaks to everyone, that he’s liked and admired. More than any other boss or company owner I’ve met.

The fear sinks into my stomach that I won’t be everything they want for Dante.

But then Dante puts his arm around me and nuzzles into my neck, scenting me. “And this is Ava,” he says proudly to one of the IT guys, the floor manager, and a receptionist.

All three people look at me, and I know they can smell me. In fact, they can probably smell that I’m near my heat. But I don’t mind as much now, because Dante’s made it clear that I’m his, and that he’s happy to have me here.

I smile and hold out my hand. “It’s so nice to meet you all. Dante’s been telling me all about the company and how much it means to him.”

“It’s a pleasure to work for him,” the IT guy says. “And it’s great to meet you.”

“We knew something was going on when Dante and the others were working from home all of a sudden,” the receptionist gushes, sounding excited. “But an Omega! That’s so great! Congratulations.”

My face flushes hot. “Well, we’re… we’re not mated just yet.”

I feel like crap the moment I say it, because I worry that makes it sound like I’m denying my connection with Dante, when I just don’t want anyone to have a false impression.

“We’ve only just started courting,” Dante says. “We’re trying to do the steps in the right order. Call me old-fashioned.”

“I’m sure the next step is coming up soon,” the floor manager says, winking.

I struggle not to glare at him. I’m sure they can all tell my heat’s coming up but I’m still embarrassed to have it mentioned.

“Yes.” Dante squeezes me. “I’ve got to go and check on some things in my office, but I’m glad everyone’s getting to meet Ava.”

Everyone does, in fact, seem happy to see me. “I didn’t think they’d be so welcoming,” I admit as we make our way through the office. I’m still tucked under Dante’s arm, and he squeezes me gently.

I can smell how proud of me he is, how pleased he is to show me off. It makes me happy, and I hope that he can tell how pleased I am to be shown off like this.

“Everyone needs to know that you’re my Omega,” Dante murmurs. “I’m going to show you off to everybody.”

Back in the old days, Omegas that were courted by an Alpha or Alpha pack would be shown off to the various members of the Alpha’s society like their family and friends. It was a big deal, and kind of like a coming out party for debutantes, or the way women in Regency periods were presented in court when they were ready to get married.

Now, it’s a lot more informal. But it’s still important that as the Omega, I’m introduced to all the people in the lives of my pack who are important to my Alphas.

I’d introduce the men to my friends and family too, except I don’t really have any. I haven’t seen my parents in a decade, and I don’t want to, and I’m not sure what to do about my former coworkers.

Dante shows me around the building. “The other three and I have offices on the top floor, but we like to wander around the other departments to make sure that we’re available to everyone.”

“Sure it’s not your way of micromanaging?” I tease him, leaning into his side.

“Hey, I’m not a micromanager. That’s Caleb.” Dante smirks at me. “In all seriousness, Caleb spends a lot of time in the tech area with Ethan, since that’s their specialty. I can show you if you want.”

“I’d love that, actually.” I’m not sure how well I’ll understand everything, but I want to see all the aspects of the business.

“We try to keep our team small.”

“You mean, you four workaholics would do all the work yourselves if you could.”

“Maybe.” Dante grins. “But that’s part of why we’re glad you’re here. It means that we can have something in our lives that isn’t work.”

I understand what he means. Dante knows every inch of this office, knows the name of every employee, and that’s fantastic. But everyone’s also surprised that he and the others haven’t been in the office, and I know a thing or two about flinging yourself into your work.

“It’s almost like I make you happy,” I tease him, not realizing how it sounds until the words are flying out of my mouth.

“You do,” Dante says seriously. “You make me very happy. For most of my adult life, our work with this company, building it up, has been the most important thing to us. But now that’s changing, and I think that’s a good thing.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just nuzzle into him instead.

At the tech section, I do get to see some of the prototypes for the watch and try them on. “Are they comfortable?” Dante asks.

I nod, turning my wrist this way and that. I’m still worried about Marcus, but I’m feeling better as I try on this watch. It’s comfortable, smooth, and has a pretty design in lots of different colors for people to choose from.

“This will change so many lives,” I murmur.

I’m used to how wonderful my Alphas are, that it kind of… slips my mind, just how much they’re doing for Omegas. And it’s not because they met me. This isn’t just for me. That’s just the kind of people they are.

Dante grins at me. “That’s the plan.”

Dante leads me to his office, a huge room that has large glass windows with remote-control shades that he presses a button to lower.

“Usually I like to keep the windows open,” he says, closing the door behind him. “I want people to feel like I’m approachable and like they can talk to me if there’s a problem. I want them to easily see if I’m busy and in a meeting, or if I’m available to chat about something.”

I nod, but for some reason, I can’t hear his voice very well. It sounds almost… muffled? That can’t be right.

Come to think of it I couldn’t really hear the other voices before as well as usual, either. I kind of zoned out during the conversation. I didn’t think about it, figuring it was just my nerves.

Except now, Dante’s voice sounds muffled. I feel like I’m struggling to hear him.

My heart is pounding in my ears, and my body feels hot all over. Not just hot, either. It feels… aching. Empty .

My breaths come in rapidly and I stumble forward to brace my hands on the desk. “Dante.”

The word comes out as a moan.

I look at him, and all I can think, all I can possibly want, is Dante’s Alpha knot.

“Please,” I manage to get out. It’s a whimper.

Dante grabs me to keep me from sinking to the floor. “Ava. Baby girl, you’re… you’re perfuming all over the place. Fuck .”

On that last word, his voice drops down into an Alpha growl. I whimper again, my panties immediately ruined with my slick as I shiver with heat.

I’m glad that he closed the door to his office, because there’s no way that anyone would be able to avoid smelling me otherwise. This is far worse than the club, I can already tell.

“My heat,” I blurt out in realization, the last word turning into a moan. “My heat has started.”

It’s here, for real this time. There’s no way to stop it or get control of myself.

And we’re in Dante’s office.