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CHAPTER SIX

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despicable_warn1n9: Lars’s face says it all. Paragon fucked up and he knows it. Everyone knows it.

garlic.bread.yum: She literally moved from 15 th to 7 th her first time in a Formula 1 car. I wouldn’t write her off completely.

jmimmaculate: Men have faster reflexes than women. That’s just science. That’s why women should only race women. But we don’t have to worry about it. She’ll wash herself out after three races.

thebibliophileblonde: Maybe men are faster off the block, but women have the stamina. If you don’t believe me, check with your last girlfriend. If you can’t last long enough to finish the race, the start doesn’t matter.

scared_shift: Bad argument when some women can’t finish at all.

thebibliophileblonde: I’m sure that’s only with you.

I’d seen Vanessa before. Photos. Videos. Glances at Gray’s screen when he’d been on calls with her these past couple of months. All that, and nothing prepared me for how stunning she was.

Gray hadn’t been wrong. The moment we stepped into the room her scent barreled into me like an out-of-control car into a barrier—with full force and no finesse. The ombre racing suit looked like it was made for her, clinging to her and making it clear she had sinful curves disguised beneath it. Long, dark hair that shone.

She was speaking to Gray, and suddenly her eyes snapped to mine. One quickly-fraying thread of self-control kept me from crossing the distance to her and wrapping her up so tightly we merged. The look on her face was both desire and panic. Grayson said something to her before someone stepped in and began to take her away.

No .

I took a step forward and a hand landed on my chest. “Wait.”

My growl ripped through my chest as I snarled at Elias. He just smirked and nodded his head toward Grayson. “If he’s letting her walk away, there’s a reason.”

“Not a good one.”

Gray came toward us, running a hand through his hair. He looked messier than normal, and his eyes contained the same wildness as mine. “Where is she going?”

“Photoshoot,” he said and glanced between us. “She scented you. Wanted you. But she won’t make it if we’re in the same room. She’s barely holding on as it is.”

Fierce protectiveness swirled through me. To fix the problem. To make sure my Omega was okay.

“Both of us?” Elias asked.

“Both of you,” Gray confirmed. He set a hand on Elias’s shoulder. “Both of you.”

I couldn’t seem to form the words I needed. All my brain wanted to do was act. Granted, words never came easily, but right now I felt like every conscious thought had been poured out like water onto concrete.

“How long is she scheduled for?” Elias asked.

“Too fucking long,” Gray muttered.

“Is there—” My whole body tensed at the idea I was proposing because it didn’t involve being close to her, and that was unacceptable. “Is there any way we can see her without torturing her with our scents?”

Not that being scent matched was torture. But if her reaction was as strong as mine, to three of us? It would be overwhelming and could hurt her while she was trying to function on the biggest day of her life.

“There are some windows on the second floor. Let’s try not to come off as total creeps.”

We followed him, no one glancing our way at all. The three of us together was a common enough sight here that it wouldn’t tip anyone off. Getting out of here with her would be a different story. Already my mind searched for a solution, because there was no way my Omega was getting in the trunk of a car again.

Elias sighed. “I wish I could trade brains with you for a second so I can feel it.”

“You don’t?” Gray asked.

“I…” Elias shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans. “She smells amazing. And it is stronger than any scent I’ve come across, but I didn’t react the way you did.”

Laughing once, I shook my head. “Probably for the best.”

Gray opened the door to a conference room. It had large windows that overlooked the space that was currently filled with people and Vanessa at the center. “As soon as you meet her, you’ll know. Beta or not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because, scent aside, it’s the same feeling as when we realized we were a pack. For us, it’s just buried underneath the power of her scent.”

I stepped up to the window and watched. The filming and photos were for promotions. There were more things that needed the driver’s photos than you ever would have thought. From the pictures used on the website to the photos placed on the outside of the paddock at every racetrack. Small filmed videos used by commentators when using stats, etc.

Vanessa smiled, but every so often I caught her glancing up to where the three of us were. Elias stepped back. “We look like a bunch of gargoyles watching her.”

There wasn’t a single cell in my body that gave a fuck. “How are we going to do this, Gray?”

He sat down heavily in one of the chairs. “I honestly have no idea.”

Turning briefly from the window, I looked at him. “We’re not keeping this a secret forever.” It wasn’t a suggestion. In this business we worked too closely and someone would inevitably find out.

“No, of course not. But it does need to be kept secret for a while. This fucks with everything .”

I growled before I could check myself. My Alpha felt the words were blaming Vanessa, even though they weren’t. Gray wasn’t wrong. This did fuck with everything. But I was ready for it too.

The world’s magnetic poles had reversed the second I breathed her in, and now everything revolved around her. I would figure anything out, and I hadn’t even met her yet. Hadn’t touched her. Kissed her.

“Let’s get through actually meeting her before worrying about the press aspect.” Elias rejoined me at the window just as Vanessa looked up at us. I caught a flicker of a smile before she looked back at the camera, striding forward with helmet in hand. “What does she have tomorrow?”

“I don’t know her schedule,” Gray said with a sigh. “But she doesn’t have anything with the team. Every media outlet in the known universe will want to speak with her.”

“All the more reason to have her with us. No one’s getting to her if they don’t know where the fuck she is.”

Elias chuckled. “He’s got a point.”

“I do. What else is she doing today, Gray? And how are we getting her out of here?”

He looked down at his phone and tapped a few things before answering. “However many promo shots they need. It will be awhile. They need her in different clothes. She also has a couple one-on-ones with reporters we already know are friendly. After that, as long as she doesn’t have anything planned for herself, she’s finished.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that even if she’s planned something, she’ll probably cancel,” Elias said.

One could only hope.

All our phones buzzed at the same time.

River

I’m dying here.

Beck

You probably have it easier. We’re watching through a window.

River

Kinky. Or creepy. I’m not sure which.

Elias

Hopefully the first.

Grayson laughed and shook his head, but one look at his face told me he suffered just as much. I’d never felt anything like the magnetic pull towards this woman. If someone had asked me yesterday if I knew what complete certainty felt like, I would have said yes.

I would have been wrong.

Never in my life had I felt so sure of something. Vanessa Lennon was my Omega. End of discussion. Full stop.

My fingers flexed around my phone, wanting to touch something else much softer.

I shoved a hand through my hair and sat on the floor with my back against the wall with the windows. “I feel like a horny teenager,” I muttered.

“Except it’s not anyone that will satisfy. It’s just her.” Grayson nodded.

Another text chimed.

River

I’m going to the gym just to do something. Please text me when you’re on your way.

Grayson

Will do.

“Can we have the press dismissed?” I asked.

“Most of them will leave as soon as the press conference with Lars is over, which should be soon. I’ll make sure security clears them.” He thought for a moment. “One of you will have to drive your car home, and the other, I’ll have you pull my car into the loading dock. We can close the doors and get her in the back seat. Ducked down with the blacked-out windows and we’ll be okay.”

I nodded. That was better than throwing her in the trunk again.

“I—” Stopping, I swallowed. More than thinking that this fucked with everything, I thought about the fact that this changed everything. It was both glorious and terrifying. “What do we do?”

Grayson smiled grimly, like he followed my exact line of thinking. “One step at a time. The five of us got thrown into open waters together. We’re going to help each other swim.”

“And then fuck on the beach,” Elias said with a grin.

We laughed, but my gut still tightened. She was our match, but that didn’t mean she wanted us. Vanessa had just been thrust into the spotlight of the entire world. Of all the timings that could have happened, this was probably the worst. If she wanted to focus on that and not us, I would understand.

I would be devastated, but I would understand.

Unable to go this long without looking, I stood and watched her once more, this time as she turned back and forth toward the camera with a stoic but determined look on her face.

It was already going to be fun watching her take on all of racing. Now, hopefully, we would be doing it with her, and I couldn’t fucking wait.