Page 2 of Wild Omegas (Wild Skies Ranch Omegaverse #1)

Carson

There are probably a hundred other ways I could have resolved this. Lifting an omega I don’t know and holding her against my chest until I’m inside the main house at Wild Skies Ranch is absolutely the most red-flag solution. But she didn’t seem keen on keeping weight off her ankle.

Now I’m awkwardly placing her on the closest couch in the sitting room and trying to forget the floral and honey scent wafting from this omega. Although wafting really isn’t a strong enough word. Her pervasive scent is like a tornado. I can’t think straight.

What are the chances a scent-matched omega ends up in my arms on any given day? Apparently not zero.

“Everything okay?” I hear called from outside.

Luke appears in the front doorway down the hall. His black t-shirt is sweat-marked and his jeans are covered in dirt. He kicks off his dirty work boots at the entrance though before coming farther inside.

I nod toward where the omega sits on the couch, cursing me under her breath. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” I say. “But you putting weight on that ankle is only going to make it worse.”

“You could have maybe, I don’t know, just supported me,” she shoots back with a hazel-eyed glare that ignites a fire within me. Her long brown hair is slightly untamed from the wind but it makes her look wild and breathtaking. “Not hauled me around like a doll.”

“Like a doll ?” I hold in a snorted laugh but can’t stop the smile from twisting my lips. “A bit dramatic.”

“Are you laughing at me?” she fires back.

Luke steps in between us. “Now, I know Carson can be a bit thick-headed, but I’m sure he meant well. Are you okay—” Luke stops dead in his tracks. He can scent her too, can’t he? His bearded jaw slips open, but when words finally make it past his lips, they’re not what I expected. “Josie Rose?”

I step back. He knows her? Let him handle her fire then.

Josie’s eyes move to him and narrow as if she’s trying to place him in her memory. “I’m sorry?”

Luke raises his hands. “Luke. Our grandparents were friends. God, it must be nearly twenty years since I last saw you.”

Josie’s face relaxes slightly, her full lips parting with surprise. I study the motion. It’s hard to look away. “Luke—yes! I remember. Yes, twenty years at least.”

Luke approaches her so I busy myself with kicking off my own shoes. The Roses don’t have many rules they wish to be followed when they’re not here, but not allowing shoes in the house were the first on the list. The least we can do is oblige them.

While I remove my boots I catch movement down the driveway. Brooks is on his way back from the sheep fields. He stops when he sees Josie’s car, then spots me in the doorway and tilts his head with an unspoken question.

I wave him on in. He’ll have to see it to believe it.

And I need to know if Luke and Brooks are also scent-matched to Josie.

Simply from pure curiosity. We formed our pack a year ago after we’d all worked here on Wild Skies Ranch for many years, but never has an omega entered the picture despite our looking.

Maybe Josie just fell right into our path like she did her grandparents’ driveway.

“Are you okay?” Luke asks now that he’s sat next to Josie. He’s reaching for her shoes but she bats his hand away.

“I can take off my own shoes,” she argues and then does so, but not without great difficulty. “After some ice I’m sure my ankle will be fine.”

“And rest,” I add.

She shoots another glare my way.

“My mistake, Josie,” I say. “I’ll let you hobble inside in pain next time.”

At this, Josie finally looks just a little guilty. It’s enough for me to say, “I’m sorry for assuming carrying you would be okay. I just didn’t want you to injure yourself further. It’s not in my nature to let omegas suffer.”

Luke gives me a sidelong glance.

“Well, thank you,” Josie lets out. Her eyes are wet with tears about to fall. Understandably so. Twisted ankles hurt like hell.

Luke’s hand is flexing at his side just out of Josie’s view, but I see it. “You’re an omega?”

Clearly he can tell that she is. It’s plain as day.

Josie nods sheepishly. “I am. Was too young to know that when we knew each other though.”

Brooks hurries in at that moment. “Hey, I heard a car that very badly needs a muffler and knew it wasn’t you all. We have visitors—” He sees Josie and stops in place, dumbfounded.

See. That is the kind of reaction she has on people, and Luke’s over here trying to confirm something she couldn’t have known twenty years ago. That’d make her, what? Ten or fifteen back then? She looks about our age but it’s hard to tell for sure.

“You are beautiful ,” Brooks says like a wonderstruck teenager. I clear my throat and he straightens. “I’m Brooks. You must be the owner of the car needing a muffler?”

Josie’s cheeks flush with warmth but her eyes are still welling with tears. We’re a lot, I realize. This is all a lot. And she’s in pain. “I am. Nice to meet you all. Do you… staff the ranch?”

“Yes.” Luke stands. “We’re all employees of the Rose family. We heard someone was coming to stay but had no idea it’d be you.”

Josie pushes a loose strand of brown hair back behind her ear. “I… truthfully hadn’t expected to have company upon arrival.”

“Lucky for you, you do,” I say. Or she’d likely still be in in the driveway trying to bring in a heavy-ass cooler on a bad ankle.

“I’ll grab you a painkiller.” Luke disappears into the kitchen before Josie can protest.

“And we’ll bring in your things,” I say with a nod to Brooks.

Josie goes to stand up. “No, it’s really okay. I’ve got it.”

“Are you always this stubborn?” The question is past my lips before I can stop it. I have no right to talk to her this way, but something about Josie just… lights a fire within me. Gets under my skin. Makes me understand why Luke enjoys the work he does with wild horses so much.

Break them. Make them realize they’re safe. Then love them with all you have.

The moment Josie quite literally fell into my life, I finally understood Luke.

Josie’s jaw sets hard. “I can handle myself.”

It’s clear she can’t. I’ve seen the same look on overwhelmed sales teams, on burnt-out CEOs, on so many staff in the billionaire life I left behind. “I never said you couldn’t. But you should accept help when you need it.”

“And help we can absolutely do.” Brooks makes his way back toward the front door. He slips his work boots back on. “Anything you want brought in first?”

Resignation finally shows on Josie’s face. She relaxes back against the couch. “The cooler. There are groceries in there absolutely need to hit the fridge immediately.”

“Can do!” Without another word Brooks is gone. I follow suit, not keen to be left alone with this fiery omega while she clearly despises me.

Let her. I’m not sure what brought Josie to her family’s ranch, but it’s obviously left a huge weight on her shoulders.

Injured people don’t refuse help unless they’ve spent too long dealing with it alone.

Josie is, in this moment, a mystery I wish to unravel.