Page 183 of Omega's Heart

“Yeah.” Felix was quiet for a moment, then he added, “Maybe we should have gotten something smaller. This feels like rubbing their noses in our good fortune.”

“Never look back. You don’t want to see what’s gaining on you.” As true now as it had been in the Army.

“I suppose it is too late. Maybe we can park it out of sight.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Kaden promised. “I think that’s it, is it? The white place?”

“It looks like how Holland described it. The house next door is for guests.”

There wasn’t much space for parking cars beside the houses, despite this place having once been a human town. Kaden suspected that some of the houses were newer, crammed into the gaps between the original ones. Certainly, the one they would be staying in looked like an afterthought, deep and narrow with mismatched windows that gave it a lopsided appearance. He stopped the car in front of it and they got out, stretching the kinks out of their backs while the sun beat down on them and the air smelled like baked earth and sage.

“We can come back for the bags,” Kaden murmured, hitting the lock button on the keyfob. Odd that no one had come out to meet them.

Then a dark, lean-faced shifter in a faded checked shirt and jeans walked out of the narrow space between the two houses. “I have to say, you look a lot like your brothers.”

“Buffalo Gap?” Kaden stepped toward the other shifter, one hand on Felix’s arm to keep him just a little behind. Just in case.

“That’s me. And you must be Kaden Mercy Hills, formerly Salma Wood. So, you’re here to talk money and politics.”

Kaden grinned at him. “I am. Do I need tactical gear and a pile of sandbags to hide behind?”

Alpha Buffalo Gap laughed and shook his head, closing the rest of the distance between them. “No, I don’t think so. I should hope that son of mine has enough sense of filial responsibility to do the right thing.”

“Holland’s not the only one making the choice. Ultimately, it’s not down to who we like best, it’s who will further the political goals of the Mutch family and of the senator the most.” That would give Mercy Hills a little bit of political cover if the next trust was awarded somewhere other than here.

The Alpha nodded. “Come on in.”

Mitchel had only addressed Kaden so far, as if he was the only person of importance there. Strike one. “This is my mate, Felix.”

The Alpha turned back to look at him. “I know. You’ll find the door to the guest house is open if you want to go inside and start getting familiar with the kitchen. I’ll send one of the other omegas over to take you down to the warehouse to stock up on anything you think you’ll need.”

Kaden stiffened and Felix ran a hand down his back and leaned in close to whisper, “It’s okay. From what Holland’s said, this is normal. Go do your thing. I’ll make sure there’s stuff you like in the cupboards.”

He didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to throw his weight against the Alpha of a pack, especially when he needed the support of that pack. Grimly, he handed the keys over to Felix. “You do not haul those bags into the house yourself, you hear me? I’ll get them when I come back.”

“I’m pregnant, not sick.”

“Humor me.” Kaden had known not to expect it to be like Mercy Hills, so he wasn’t disappointed in that way. But even in Salma a guest who happened to be an omega was still a guest, and not the servant that Mitchel was making Felix out to be.

Felix kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll talk later,” he whispered, no more than a breath of sound into Kaden’s good ear. “I’ll bring in my carry-on, so I can set some things out,” he said aloud, covering up for his secret message.

Kaden nodded and ran a hand down his arm. “Make sure you rest.”

“I will.” Then Felix nodded to the Alpha and climbed the stairs to go inside the guest house.

“Come on in,” Mitchel said and gestured toward his house. “We’ll have some tea and get to know each other a little better.”

Kaden watched the door close behind his mate, reminding himself the entire time that Felix was a grown shifter able to take care of himself. It didn’t make him any less offended by the Buffalo Gap Alpha’s dismissal of his mate, but he hadn’t spent half his life surrounded by humans without learning how to hide his real feelings. “Lead the way,” he said with a friendly smile and tried not to think about how fun it would be to bounce the other shifter around the street until he apologized.

C H A P T E R 9 6

I explored the house while Kaden dealt with the Alpha. He’d been annoyed by the Buffalo Gap Alpha, but I hadn’t been surprised. From some of the things that Bax and Holland had let fall in casual conversation, I was expecting to have to be on my guard here. Anything that would make Bax frown and get all closed-mouthed and snappy was worth approaching with caution. Rather like Montana Border--I’d been treated well or better than well in all the other enclaves, but Montana Border had been extremely unpleasant. Even on our second trip. I understood entirely why Jason hadn’t wanted to go back there.

Oddly, the immediate dismissal didn’t bother me. Not much, anyway. I wasn’t sure why, though it might have been because Kaden so very obviously saw me as someone worth his time. It occurred to me that this very reaction could be useful. A litmus test, kind of, if I remembered my English classes properly.

I was glad now that I’d decided to keep going on these trips—it might not give Kaden much extra information, but it would certainly be worth reporting to the omegas. Maybe this was my niche in Mercy Hills—not a gardener, or an Alpha’s Mate, or a nurse or any of those still so desperately needed jobs. But someone who could go and test the waters, be the good host, make Mercy Hills a friendly place. Certainly, those political mates I’d met among the humans seemed to play that role to some degree or other. Being the public face had never been a goal of mine, but in White River, everyone knew me, if only for my size. I was used to being noticed and looked at. For the first time, though, that notice could be useful.

How, though?