Page 15 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus

Archie and I share a look. Oh yeah, he's got itbad.

"She has a week before her heat is supposed to hit," Murphy growls, drawing my attention. He's bent over studying his computer monitor. It looks tiny in comparison to his massive frame. He curses. "She's already in pre-heat, or she's about to be. You'll need to be extra vigilant."

Great, she's going to get even more potent with each day that passes. Let's hope she gets alphas soon. She needs alpha pheromones rubbed off onto her or my job is about to becomeveryfucking difficult.

"Christ," Archie muses. "Are you scouring her medical records?"

Murphy grunts.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Archie chuckles.

"And Connor actually believes you assholes are going to let her match with another pack?" I laugh.

This isn't the first time I've seen alphas find their omega. They get borderline stalkerish. Nothing is off limits. There's no line they won't cross. My bosses might not see it yet, but they'retotallyfucking fucked.

"We'll see how it goes," Murphy grunts. "Keep her safe or I'll break both your legs and claim it was a skiing accident."

I laugh. I'm pretty sure that was a joke, but not sure enough that I'll take the risk.

I guide Evie into the restaurant a while later. The lodge includes an all inclusive breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet. It's where all the staff for both sides of the lodge tend to eat and congregate. Evie's not tiny as far as omegas go, but she's small compared to me. The top of her head barely meets my shoulder. There are a lot of people around, and it's making me itchy.

We head to the line. I grab a single tray with two plates and aim for the meat station. I toss bacon and sausage onto both plates.

Evie frowns at the tray and I ask, "Are you a vegetarian?"

Fuck, are there vegetarian omegas? Omega biology is designed to produce as many babies as possible, which we learned in school means they crave protein and fat. That sounds way worse in my head than it did when my alpha and omega dynamics teacher said it. I shouldn't have been in that class, but everyone was so sure I'd present as an alpha that they lumped me into it in ninth grade.

"No," Evie says, giving me a shy smile. "I was just wondering if both those are for you or…"

"Shit," I say, rubbing at the back of my neck. I'm fucking this up. "No, one's meant for you. I forget not everyone's a hardcore carnivore."

Everly laughs. It's a light, tinkling sound that makes my chest tighten as I study her face. There's something about her smile that makes my pulse pound.

"Try to save enough room for some of that French toast." She nods further down the line where I know the carbs are located."Ohmigosh, I see the whipped cream from here!" Her hands clasp in front of her as she practically vibrates with excitement.

I grin, shaking my head.She’s ridiculously cute.

“The stuffed French toast is some of the best you'll ever eat,” I say, smirking.

“Okay, well get a move on then,” she says, giving me aget goinggesture. I laugh as I fill our plates with scrambled eggs.

She bolts for the sweets table as soon as I’ve got the tray lifted off the line. Her short black dress isn’t provocative in the least, but her curvy body fills it out a little too nicely. I sigh, glancing away from her swaying backside. My cock is suddenly determined to act a fool at breakfast.

This is why I brought her to the buffet rather than the upscale restaurant on the third floor. Her sweet, apple pie scent fills the air as she darts across the room, and I notice pretty fucking quick that I’m not the only one trailing her luscious form. I glare at a few of the snowboarding and ski instructors until they get the hint.

“I think I owe you an apology for how I acted last night,” I say after we’ve mostly finished eating.

Everly tilts her head, studying my face. “For what?” she asks. Her nose scrunches. “I’m the one who violated your personal space with my nose. I’m sorry forthat.”

I sigh. Yeah, now I feel like even more of an asshole. She's soft in a way I'm not used to.

“No. Don’t apologize for that. It shouldn't have been such a big deal. I overreacted."

"Okay, no worries," she says, brushing her face clean with a napkin.

My hand falls to the schedule of activities for the week. "Have you given any extra thought to what you'd like to do today?"

"No, it feels weird to go to the mixers and things, when I'm supposed to be meeting a pack."