Page 220 of Omega's Heart

The phone buzzed again. Bax pulled it out to glance at the screen, made a face, and put it back in his pocket. “Yeah, it’s them. Mom’s number, but the last two messages that came in from her phone were your sire.”

The back door slammed open and Pip came racing in. “Madoc’s granny is being mean to Hunter. And she won’t let Lonnie come play with us.”

I dried my hands on a towel. “I’ll handle this.” I ruffled Pip’s hair. “Stay here, little terror. I’ll get your buddies.”

“Can we have cookies?” she asked, brightening.

“Ask your Papa,” I told her as I headed for the front of the house.

The alphas had taken our chairs out onto the porch, drinking sweet tea as they talked about politics and the intricacies of running a pack. Hunter was nowhere to be seen, but if he’d been sent off by my packmother, he’d likely gone hunting the pups to play.

Veronica had Lonnie on her lap. The pup kept twisting in her grasp, leaning over in an attempt to slither out of her arms. Under cover of gathering up empty plates, I casually moved Veronica’s glass of tea a little closer to her chair and the flailing arms of the pup on her lap.

“Oops!” It hadn’t taken long for Lonnie to knock the tea onto her. “Let me take that pup, Veronica.” I plucked Lonnie out of her hands and propped him on my hip, trying not to enjoy watching her struggle. Her expression now that she’d figured out what I was doing was a marvel. I could see her starting to waver, then stumbling over her ideas of what a proper omega was and realizing that this path of her very own choosing was the source of her unhappiness.

“I’ll be right back,” Veronica said, getting to her feet. Her eyes rested on Lonnie with more than a touch of longing. “I just need a towel.”

“You wait right there and I’ll get you one,” I promised, then disappeared back into the house before she could object. “Veronica needs a wet towel, she spilled tea on herself.”

“She did?” Holland gave me a look that said he didn’t quite believe my nonchalant explanation, but he just soaked a towel in warm water and wrung it out.

I handed Lonnie off to him. “I’ll bring it out. Can you check on the pups?”

“You mean keep them away from her? I see what you’re doing, you know. Do you think she won’t?”

“I hope she does. She’s used to pack politics and fighting to get what she wants. I’m not going to fight with her. She’s going to get everything she says she expects, and she’s already hating all of it.” I winked. “So is Kaden.”

“Quin isn’t enjoying it either,” Holland sighed. “How did you figure it out?”

“I wish I could say I was a genius, but no. Previous experience, back in White River, and I was younger then.” I paused, looking for the right term. “I guess I was more passive aggressive at that age. When this shifter told me I was only good for cooking and cleaning, I went out of my way to make things for Full Moon that were twice as tasty as anything she brought. And made sure her suitors got to try both. Kind of the same with the rest of the old stereotypes, too.” I smiled at him and shook my head. “Don’t tell Kaden, okay? It’s not a very pretty part of my personality.”

Raleigh laughed at me from his place at the stove, still packing up leftovers. “I think it’s a perfect part of your personality. It balances Kaden storming in and running people over by sheer force of will. Not every problem needs to be solved with a sledgehammer.”

“He does do that,” I agreed. “Well, I should get this towel out to Veronica, or I’ll risk being a bad omega.” I waggled my eyebrows at them and left to the sound of their laughter.

C H A P T E R 1 1 3

T he omegas were all holed up in the kitchen, doing ‘omega work’. The pups were being kept out of the way so the ‘alphas could talk’.

Kaden was bored and he missed Felix.

None of his brothers were happy either.

Abel slipped away for a while, muttering something about a ‘puppies and bunnies’ talk. Kaden silently wished him luck finding the now-elusive pre-teen. Or maybe not—the longer it took to find Fan, the less time he’d have to spend at this awkwardly divided dinner and family gathering.

Quin’s phone kept making noises in his pocket. He’d pull it out, look at it, then put it away again, but the lines on his face grew more pronounced every time.

Their mother looked over at him. “You can get it if you need to. I know how much work being Alpha is.”

“It’s not Alpha business.” Quin’s eyes met Kaden’s, then he turned back to their mother. “It’s Holland’s father. He’s still pissed that Holland didn’t automatically award the Mutch Trust to Buffalo Gap.”

Veronica leaned back in her chair, a small frown wrinkling her forehead. “I thought your choice made perfect sense. As much as I would have liked it for Salma, Green Moon has struggled for years and that fire was just another kick in the middle of the beating. What is Mitchel’s problem with it?”

Quin shrugged and his mouth tightened. “Holland’s his son, right? His omega son. He owes it to his father to give him power because Mitchel let him live.”

Kaden watched with interest as his mother’s body went stiff—who would have thought she could be offended on behalf of one of her omega packsons?

“What does he mean, let him live?” she asked, her voice gone dangerously quiet.