Page 38 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus (The Exchange)

Cassie comes over, giving me a quick hug. "I'll see you soon," she whispers, kissing my cheek. "You look good. I'm so happy for you."

I squeeze her back and whisper a quick, "I love you."

Damn, I've really missed my sister.

"Who was that?" Ben asks, eyeing Cassie's ass as she walks away.

"Don't worry about it," Luke growls. He holds me to him like he's terrified I'll bolt and abandon him to the insanity. "If you didn't bond Melody, then why the hell is she here?"

My heart sinks. The blonde is his ex-girlfriend, the one who broke his heart. I snuggle back into Luke's arms and try my damndest to figure out how to release soothing pheromones.

"Oh yeah, we wanted to, like, give you a peace offering," Ben says, nodding like his words make sense. "But back to that chick, who was she? She smells like she's mine."

My jaw drops.

"Dude, you hooked up with Mel on the way here," Luke's oldest brother says. He shakes his head in disgust.

"That was my sister, and she already has a pack," I tell Ben, pushing my glasses up my nose. "If you have something going on with another woman, maybe you should try focusing on that?"

"Right, who are you again?" Ben asks. He rolls his eyes, completely dismissing me.

I kinda want to punch him. Yeah, he looks like Luke, but their personalities couldn't be more different.

"She's mine," Luke growls. "And I suggest you speak to her with a little respect before I knock your ass out."

"Bro, did you present?" Ben asks. "You're totally giving me alpha vibes right now."

"Please shut up," Luke's mother begs. "Did you know it's been ten years? We promised we'd check in on you if we still hadn't heard from you."

"I'm good," Luke says, giving his mother a forced smile. "Thanks for checking in. You guys can go."

I'm so torn. Melody stands off to the side, looking mortified. She looks so miserable, I actually feel sorry for her. Until I remember how badly she hurt Luke. Then again, his brother was culpable in that, too, and he doesn't look uncomfortable at all.

"You never opened any of my letters," Ben says, sighing. "I explained it all."

"You developed a serious fear of being stuck with the same pussy for the rest of your life," Luke's oldest brother chimes in again. "Don't act like you suddenly had some great epiphany and developed a conscience. You never gave a shit if you hurt Luke, or Mel for that matter."

Archie comes to our side. "While this is an utterly charming conversation to have in the lobby of our business. I think it would be best if we moved this elsewhere." He shoves a hand at Luke's mother. "Archer Daniels. Your son is my packmate."

"Pack?" she squeals as Archie tries unsuccessfully to guide her away. "Oh Luke, congratulations."

"Don't look at my omega," Tom growls, stepping between me and Ben. "You're an annoying little prick. I think I want you to leave."

Luke snorts a laugh, shaking his head. "Both of our unwanted families show up in one day. How's that for a Christmas gift? Do you have something like that on your Fuck-It List, baby girl?"

I spin around, wrapping my arms around his stomach. "Nah, but we can add it. We can cross it out, too, like we did for hot cocoa by the fire after an orgy."

Luke barks a laugh, bending down to kiss me.

He kisses me way too dirty for our public location, but I go with it.

If he needs to stake his claim publicly then I'm here for exactly what he needs.

Luke shoves his knee between mine, bending me backwards as he devours me.

I pull back, gasping for air, and Luke smirks.

"Dude, the nerdy chick is actually kinda hot," Ben says, running a hand over his zipper. "I'm digging her dirty mouth."

Tom growls, but Luke is the one who moves. He slams his fist into his brother's face. "Don't talk about Everly again. Period. End of conversation. Otherwise I'll let Murphy at you, and he won't stop with a single swing."

Tom pulls me to his side, nodding his agreement and muttering about bears and winter.

Ben pops back up, rubbing at his jaw.

"Ohmigosh, this is just like old times," Luke's mother coos. She's freaking beaming about one son punching the other.

I shake my head, snorting a laugh.

"Right, then," Archie says, continuing to corral Luke's mother toward a hallway. "We're moving this lovely family reunion to the conference room."

Melody still stands off to the side. I disentangle myself from Tom and head in her direction.

"Hi," I say, offering her a hand to shake. "I'm Everly."

"Melody," she mutters. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even want to come. I thought…" She shakes her head. Her cheeks are pink, and she looks defeated. "I thought Ben was finally ready to buckle down and stop playing games. I had no idea he was planning to…"

My heart sinks. Luke's brother is a real piece of work.

"How about you and I grab some hot chocolate while we let them catch up?" I offer. The words are out before I can hold them back. I freeze. Did I majorly overstep? Because it feels like maybe I did.

My eyes fly to Luke's, and I mouth, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, Mel," Luke says, pulling me into his chest. He scent marks my cheek and then the other side.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he murmurs, pulling my mouth to his.

"Don't get too sugared up. Let me get rid of them, and we'll get back to marking things off your list." His hand lands on my lower stomach, and he beams.

"Okay," I agree breathlessly.

Luke smirks, smacks my ass, and swaggers off toward the conference room. There is something about a guy in unlaced boots and tight jeans that's incredibly freaking hot.

"Don't think just because of the extenuating circumstances that I won't be keeping track of your sugar intake," Tom says. "It's probably gonna get worse before it gets better."

I snort a laugh and lead Melody off to the café.

The last thing I expected to do on Christmas Eve was listen to Luke's ex sob into her hot chocolate about what a douche canoe his brother, Ben, is.

Murphy frowns, shaking his head. I look at him for guidance but he shrugs, glancing away quickly.

I pat Melody's shoulder and hand her a wad of napkins. Okay, so, after listening to her story I actually feel a little bad for her. She's older than I am, and still unbonded all because she fell in love with an asshole who plays games.

My sister's pack may have left me for her, but they actually wanted her… They bonded her and treat her extremely well. Melody made some poor choices when she was sixteen, but she's spent the last ten years basically in limbo.

"Listen," I say, patting her shoulder. "I know it's not my business, not at all. But at some point I think you have to cut your losses. Ben doesn't seem like he's in a place to change, and I only met him for five minutes."

"No, I know," she whimpers, wiping at her eyes. "I need to apologize to Luke. And honestly, I'm sorry to you, too. I shouldn't be here."

"You don't need to apologize to me," I clarify. "But I do think it would mean a lot if you spoke to Luke and put the past to rest."

Tom growls. My eyes fly to his, and he shrugs. "As long as she keeps her distance. Don't expect him to baby you or wipe your tears. You fucked him over, hard."

Melody's hands fly to her face, and she cries harder. I shoot Tom a look that screams "what the hell?"

"What?" Tom asks, scratching at his jaw as he frowns. "Are we pretending that never happened?"

I try to stifle the laugh, and fail miserably. It comes out as a terrible sound between a cough and a snort. He's freaking adorable, and totally clueless about social niceties.

It's one of my favorite things about him.

Cassie marches into the cafeteria with Colin on her hip. She spots me and comes over.

"Do you mind?" she asks, glancing behind her. "I've picked up a stalker, and I may need to lay his ass out."

"Hey, Colin," I say, scooping my nephew out of her arms.

Ben swaggers into the cafeteria. He spots Cassie and makes a bee-line for us. I hug Colin, and he squeals.

"Weevie," he says, smacking a kiss on my cheek. He's still working on how to pronounce my name properly. He's precious. He gives me another slobbery kiss. "Missed you."

"Listen, asshole." Cassie heads for the line, jabbing a finger at Ben. "I'm bonded and pregnant. I didn't fuck around with himbos before I was married, and I certainly don't have time for your shit now."

Ben smirks, following Cassie unrepentantly. "I'm a changed man. You'll see; I can be so good for you."

Melody scoffs, glaring at my sister and Luke's brother.

"Want me to knock his ass out for you?" Tom asks. He's dead serious. "It might jostle his brain cells enough they start working."

"No," Melody says, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "Do you think I could sign up for The Exchange? I have a heat coming up, and I really can't imagine going back to our small town after this."

"Sure," Tom says, shrugging. "Not our location, but one of the others? Definitely."

"I've spent too many years looking like a fool because of him," Melody says, playing with Colin's tiny hand. "But I needed to see this in order to finally move on."

I give her a nod and an encouraging smile. Because, seriously, what else can I do?

"Fuck," Tom growls, staring at me with undisguised hunger. "I can't wait until it's our baby you're holding."

My heart pounds wildly as Tom scoops Colin out of my arms and grins down at him.

Colin always feels so tall when I hold him, but he looks tiny in comparison to Tom.

I swear my ovaries weep at the sight. I have to bite my lip to keep myself from blurting out, "I love you.

" It's still way too soon… I'd sound like a total freak.

Luke comes sauntering in and lights up when he spots us.

"Hey, little man," he says, scooping Colin out of Tom's arms. "Think it'll be a boy or a girl?"

I shrug, swallowing thickly. "I'd be happy with either."