Page 112 of Omega's Heart

“It’ll probably look like that on the surface.” He liked this Alpha, who said what he thought. It probably wouldn’t be the same in the other packs. Honisloonz had been a good place to start after all, despite Kaden’s reluctance to face them. “I guess it does tie into the presidential race, though. If we pick the wrong pack and the press is bad, then the reason we’re backing this human gets shot down pretty quickly. He’ll have to disavow us and the logical pivot for him would be to come down hard on keeping us in line. His goal is to be president. Being associated with us at all is going to make it more difficult for him. We have to plan our hunt with the long goal in mind.”

“So you’re offering, what? A higher chance of being the next pack in line for that money, as long as we let them collar us and we play the good dog?” His nostrils flared as he scented the air in the car.

Ouch. The Alpha had obviously heard about Hunter, would definitely smell him on Kaden’s body, and he wasn’t pleased. “My foster pup is as much former military as I was. I haven’t abandoned my pack, I won’t abandon the soldiers who fought beside me. And I’m as sure as the Barrens are cold and desperate that I’m not going to leave him to the non-existent mercy of an organization that sees him as even less human than me.”

It was probably a false step, that, but Kaden’s family was his family. He wasn’t going to entertain commentary on it.

The Alpha made a face, not quite a snarl, but something more aggressive than a grimace. “You’re setting yourself up as the weirdo. For a fellow who’s just been sitting here preaching at me about appearances, it seems to be an odd stance to take.”

“My family is off-limits,” Kaden stated firmly.

“Not if you’re going into politics, it isn’t,” the Alpha told him dryly.

The next few minutes were quiet, both alphas lost in thought. The Alpha turned off the I-65 and onto the Parkway, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel as he followed the broad curves of the road. “You may be able to use the dog, but it’s going to take some delicate stepping or you’ll set off a whole string of traps.”

“I don’t want to use my family.” How had they ended up here?

“You won’t have a choice. That human will use you to further his ends, whether you want him to or not, and you’ll have to go along with it if you don’t want to lose any of the ground you’ve already made. The trick is going to be to make sure that however he uses you serves your purposes as well, to some degree. Or to convince him that what’s good for you will benefit him. That’s the only way to handle a politician, even inside the pack. I’m surprised, you being Veronica’s son, that you haven’t learned that lesson already.”

“Mom’s not making herself very well liked right now.”

“No, I would imagine. Some alphas have that maternal or paternal streak, but a lot don’t. She was an excellent Alpha’s Mate, but maybe not such great shakes as a mother?” The Alpha threw him a sympathetic glance.

“I didn’t come here to discuss my mother either.”

“No, I realize that. But you’d be a fool not to tap into that wealth of knowledge, no matter how far up your ass she is about your choice of mate.” The Alpha laughed at Kaden’s expression. “You thought I didn’t know what her opinion on that would be? Don’t be a fool, boy. From my understanding, you’ve chosen a smart young man with good connections, so I know there’s more than just fur and testicles inside that head of yours. Her problem is that she doesn’t see that because she can’t get past the idea of you wanting pups.”

I am nearly forty years old and I’m being lectured like a seventeen-year-old. It was kind of funny, on one hand. And the Alpha had implied he knew things about Felix that Kaden didn’t. What kinds of things had Felix not thought it was worthwhile talking about? Kaden thought they’d covered the important stuff. They’d talked about their families, but it was mostly funny stories, helping each other figure out who was who in the immediate family they were mating into. Felix had never mentioned connections.

Kaden eyed the Alpha, who grinned and suddenly had to pay close attention to the traffic around them. Not getting off that easy, old wolf. “Connections?” Kaden asked pointedly.

“So you really didn’t know?” The Alpha chuckled and pulled out to pass another car. “I don’t know if I think more of you now or less.” He glanced over his shoulder and moved back into their lane. “You really love that boy, then? This isn’t a political move?”

“I’ve never met his family. Just Felix. And if they all passed him up because of his size, then it’s not me, sir, who is the fool.”

“Well, good for you. But if you’re going to mate into that family, I might as well fill you in on who you’re getting as your new pack.”

Kaden made himself comfortable in the passenger seat and pasted his most agreeable expression on his face. “I’m all ears, sir.”

The rest of the drive had passed in a blink. Kaden’s head was still spinning by the time he unfolded himself from the car in front of the Alpha’s home.

His funny bone was having a grand old time too.

Just wait until I get hold of you, betrothed.

His mother was going to have kittens.

The Alpha led him toward what Kaden quickly figured out had to be the Alpha’s residence, an old two-story house with wide front steps and pillars holding up the roof of the porch. It had an aged style, but a closer look proved it to be less than twenty years old, by the windows and the doors. “I can find you one of our little apartments, too, if you’d rather, but if we’re going to spend most of the evening talking, I thought we might as well be under the same roof.”

Kaden picked up his suitcase and followed the alpha up the stairs. “I’m fine anywhere, sir. Slept on the ground a lot of nights in the army. And I’m sleeping on the couch at home right now.”

“Not even mated and you’re already sleeping on the couch? That’s a strong-willed omega you’ve got there.”

Kaden laughed. “No, sir. My mother is staying with me, but there’s only the one bed. Felix would be more likely to try to find a solution that worked for everyone if we ever fought. He’s got a good heart.”

The Alpha tipped his head in acknowledgment of that, then opened the front door. “Lucy, we’re home. Come meet Veronica’s boy.”

Kaden winced but still managed to paste a smile on as a round-faced pretty woman of the Alpha’s age popped out of a door at the end of the hallway. “Oh, you’re Kaden! I must say, you do look like your sire. Come in, Avery will take your bag up to your room. How was your flight?” The rapid-fire questions kept coming so fast Kaden couldn’t get a word in edgewise to answer them, until he realized he didn’t actually need to—she was quite fine carrying on both sides of the conversation on her own. And before he knew it, he was seated at a chair in the dining room with a glass of water and the promise of company and food soon to be on the table.