Page 19 of The Alpha’s Sin (Forbidden Omegaverse #7)

LOGAN

T hat night at dinner, Poppy is quiet. I know something must be wrong—she’s usually such a bright, chatty little thing.

I’m worried about her. She’s keeping her eyes down and answering in monosyllables when I talk to her.

She’s also barely picking at her food, even though I made chicken Caesar salad, which is usually one of her favorite meals.

Finally, I can’t take it anymore.

“Poppy, what’s wrong?” I demand, losing patience. “ And don’t tell me everything’s fine— I know it’s not. I can tell by the way you’re acting.”

She opens her mouth…closes it…then looks up at me with worried eyes.

“Logan,” she begins uncertainly. “ Do …do I smell really, uh, strong to you?”

“Smell really strong? What do you mean?” I ask, frowning. Clearly something is going on— I just don’t see what it is yet. But I’m determined to find out. “ Do you think you smell bad, sweetheart?” I ask her. “ Because I promise, you don’t.”

In fact, she smells incredibly good. The scent of her Heat teases my nose and makes my cock so hard it hurts, but I’ve been trying to ignore it because I can’t do anything about it.

I haven’t massaged her again since that first night—it feels dangerous to let her get naked for me when I want her so damn badly.

But she’s shaking her head.

“No, I don’t mean do I smell bad— I know I don’t. I take a shower every morning. I just…wondered about my scent. From a Were perspective, I mean.”

“Well…you smell hot,” I say, frankly. Better to be honest about it. “ Like a female in Heat . Why , is it bothering you?” I have a sudden unwelcome thought. “ Did somebody say something to you about your scent?”

“Well…kind of,” she hedges. “ It wasn’t a big deal though, really.”

But I can see by the haunted, vulnerable look in her eyes that it is a big deal to her.

“All right,” I say. Putting down my fork, I rise from my seat and go to hers.

Poppy gives a surprised squeak when I scoop her up, but she doesn’t make any protest when I carry her to the living room and settle on the couch with her in my lap. She has her head down but I lift her chin gently but firmly and look her in the eyes.

“Tell me what happened,” I say. “ All of it, whatever it was. Did someone hurt you? Threaten you? I can’t protect you if I don’t know the score, sweetheart.”

She still seems reluctant to talk but finally she begins.

“There were these two guys in the store today, right before the end of my shift. I , um, think they were Weres …”

My heart starts to beat faster and inside I can hear my Wolf howling a warning. A pregnant female who’s also in Heat is one of the most delicate, vulnerable people on the planet. They’re attractive for all the wrong reasons to males with nothing but breeding on their minds.

“Tell me more,” I say, somehow keeping my voice even, though I want to rage and growl at the thought of anyone even coming near my Poppy .

“Well, they came up to my register…” she begins.

Bit by bit I coax it out of her. All about the two scruffy looking males who approached her. And how they “talked about my scent” as Poppy puts it.

I have an idea they probably said much worse than what she’s telling me, but I don’t push too hard— I need to get the whole story and I don’t want her shutting down if I start prying. So I just let her talk.

“I told them I had a husband who’s an Alpha and that you— I mean he—would mess them up if they didn’t leave me alone.” Her cheeks get red with a blush at the slip. But I like the fact that she’s thinking of me as her mate—her husband.

“What did they say to that?” I ask.

She looks down at her hands.

“They said…said they didn’t smell a man on me. A male, I mean—an Alpha . So they didn’t believe me.”

“And what happened then?” My heart is banging painfully in my ribs. Did they threaten her? Assault her? But no—my sensitive Were nose would have picked up the scent of other males on her—just as their noses picked up the absence of an Alpha’s scent. Of my scent.

“My manager came out from the back—she’d been doing inventory—and asked if there was a problem,” Poppy says and I feel my Wolf settling down a little, though we’re both still upset. “ That defused the situation and they left.”

I get the feeling there’s something she’s not telling me but she looks so upset I hate to push.

“Could you describe them to me again?” I ask. “ And did you catch any names?”

“Er…they both had on dirty old clothes,” she says hesitantly. “ One of them was wearing a dirty red ball cap and the other one had a long skinny braid down his back, you know? We used to call them ‘rattails’ when I was in school. Oh , and I heard them calling each other ‘ Leroy ’ and ‘ Kyle .’”

Instantly, my Wolf’s hackles rise again.

“Those fuckers,” I growl.

The males she’s describing aren’t really part of the local Pack .

But they’re not Lone Wolves for the same reasons I am.

I prefer to keep to myself and keep control of my own business.

Technically the local Pack Master —a blowhard by the name of Larry Townsend , who also happens to be the Mayor of our town—has jurisdiction over me.

But so far, he’s left me alone—which is exactly how I like it.

Kyle Barnson and Leroy Towers are a different story.

Both of them were kicked out of the Pack for trying to assault a teenaged girl who had gone into her first Heat Cycle early.

She was only thirteen and if her father hadn’t come around the back of the house where the two of them cornered her, the assault would have been more than just attempted.

The two of them got off with just expulsion from the Pack because they hadn’t actually done anything to the girl—though you can bet they wanted to.

They claimed it was her scent that drove them out of their minds—which is bullshit.

No matter how hot a female smells, a male Were can reign himself in.

I’m living proof of that— I have a female in Heat sitting on my lap right now!

But not for long. I have to put Poppy on the couch so I can stand up and pace.

I’m so angry I can’t see straight. Those fuckers!

I can’t believe they dared to bother Poppy !

I want to hunt them down and wring their scrawny necks!

Both of them are Betas —they’d be easy prey.

And the Moon Goddess knows I’d be happy to rip out both their throats.

Poppy’s eyes are wide with worry as she watches me pace.

“Logan…” she begins but I cut her off.

“You’re not going back there,” I say, frowning fiercely at her. “ You’re not going back to a place where you’re in danger.”

Poppy gets a stubborn look on her face.

“We’ve been through this before— I’m not just going to stay home all day. I need to work—to earn my keep.”

“No, you fucking don’t!” I exclaim, glaring at her. “ I’ve got you, sweetheart— I’ll provide for you and the baby. Didn’t I give you my word I would?”

“Yes, and I believe you,” she says calmly.

“ But I made a promise to myself when Dirk left— I’m never going to be wholly dependent on a man again.

” Her voice drops. “ Not even one as kind and sweet as you. Please , Logan —try to understand. I need to earn my own money— I need to know I could make it if…if something happens.”

She means if I suddenly decide to kick her out. I would never fucking do that, but I can tell that Dirk’s abandonment of her has left a bitter mark. Thanks to my fucking asshole of a little brother, she’s never going to wholly trust anyone again—not even me.

I guess I can’t blame her. He really did her dirty. But God , it hurts my heart to know she can’t fully trust me. I want to be her rock—her protector. I want to keep her safe from anyone who might dare to try and harm her…

And that thought gives me an idea.