Page 7 of Worthy or Knot (Serendipity Omegaverse #3)

Seven

CHARLOTTE

T he cafe is busy, but it’s easy enough to spot Marcus tucked in the back surrounded by the glass of the corner windows looking out over the street twenty feet below.

His eyes are locked on something outside, but his hand clenches the mug on the table so hard his knuckles are white.

My throat tightens, but I breathe through it.

Megan grabs my arm as we navigate the tables, skipping the counter to order.

An envelope sits in the center of the table.

Here we go .

We’ll finally learn the Omega’s name.

I didn’t have the heart to ask Marcus over the last week. He’s been so… fragile, something I never thought I’d see from him. His shoulders have been rigid, and his entire countenance has felt like one sharp word will shatter him entirely.

When I run my hand along his shoulder, he pulls his gaze away from the windows. His throat ripples with a swallow, and then he laces his fingers with mine, bringing our combined hands to his lap.

Megan sits in the open chair across from him, leaving the one closer to him for me.

Instead, I opt for his lap, letting go of his hand to wedge myself in the small space between him and the table without disturbing his hold on the mostly-full coffee.

He kisses my temple, the touch second-nature, and I relax into him, trying to ease all the tension from him despite not being an Omega.

“Love you,” I whisper, trying my best to lace it with the possession I feel but don’t quite yet understand how to wield. His arm tightens around my waist.

“I know, Lottie,” he says.

Silence descends on us again, so thick it’s cloying. After a long couple minutes, Megan grabs the envelope.

“Really thought they’d pick me,” she says to break the silence, ripping open the paper without fanfare.

“Maybe they didn’t realize you were working today,” Marcus says, though his voice is oddly detached. “You don’t typically work overnights.”

“True.” She pulls out the single page, and her face pales.

My stomach drops. Not again. Not with the Omega being there.

Marcus is a wall underneath and behind me, a rising wave of tension tightening his arms. I palm his thigh, letting my nails prick his skin. He sucks in a breath, and the eerie stillness of his body softens.

Megan’s throat moves with her heavy swallow as she sets the paper on the table so we can read it, too.

“We weren’t shortlisted,” she whispers.

Marcus drops his head to my shoulder, his body shaking around me. I clutch his arm to my belly, trying to offer him comfort.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, twisting so I can run my lips over his ear and down his neck.

“I thought it might be bad,” Marcus whispers.

“What? Why?” Megan asks, looking up from the paper. “The Omega was there. I thought it was all but done.”

“I felt him yesterday. His sorrow.”

He’d felt the Omega’s sorrow and didn’t bring it up? He’s spent an entire day in agony? I frown and pull away from him enough I can see his face. His eyes are red, and tears line his lashes.

“You didn’t say anything,” I say, cupping his face.

“It was mixed with pain and fear, so I’d hoped it was unrelated,” he admits. “And it’s not like I felt it for very long, only a few minutes in the middle of the afternoon.”

Still, he shouldn’t have had to endure that alone.

A single tear falls down his cheek, and I wipe it away without a word, trying to use my body the way he uses his, that way that’s supposed to be instinctual for Alphas to calm the one they love. He presses his cheek into my touch, but the rigidity of his muscles doesn’t ease.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I whisper.

“I just…” He trails off and swallows, the movement of his Adam’s apple almost enough to distract me.

His voice is an agonized whisper when he continues.

“How did the Council think there was a better option than me? He’s literally bonded to me.

I can… I can feel him in my chest like his emotions are my own even if it is only for moments at a time. ”

His hands fist on my hips, and his next words are a low, rumbling growl that promises violence. In an instant, the nutmeg spice of his unique Alpha scent surrounds us, the edge of it soured by his rage.

“And they thought there was someone better ?”

I press my lips to his temple, trying to keep as much of me touching him as possible, ignoring my own hesitation over public displays of affection.

Keeping Marcus calm is more important than my own desire for privacy right now.

After a long minute, he finally sucks in a breath and the angry, sour note of his nutmeg fades.

“There’s more,” Megan says, her voice so incredibly solemn.

Confusion twists my stomach. How could there be more?

If a pack isn’t shortlisted, that’s all there is to it.

We have to wait until the next gala for another chance.

Only packs that are shortlisted, put on a selection panel for one or more of the Omegas that attended, have a chance of having something to do after this point in the process.

“What is it?” I ask, focusing on her.

Marcus has dropped into full shaking sobs, though he makes no noise.

I carefully peel his hand off his mug and turn into him, doing my best to block him from whatever watchful eyes might be in the cafe.

Luckily, most of New York is incredibly unflappable, and I’m not nearly famous enough of an influencer to gain scrutiny while living my life.

“We’ve been barred from attending until next year.”

Honestly, that doesn’t even really register at the moment.

If Marcus’s Omega has been matched with someone else, I’m not sure he’ll have any desire to keep going anyway.

Sure, we officially were wanting to match for Megan’s sake, for her to be able to find an Omega and potentially bond them.

But in reality, finding the unknown Omega of Marcus’s past was the unspoken reason the three of us agreed to combine into a pack, though we’d never breathe a word of that anywhere near where the Unified Council might hear of it.

You don’t just go around trying to manipulate the Council. It doesn’t ever end well.

Right now, distraction is paramount for Marcus.

In all reality, this is like a breakup of sorts.

Or maybe a death? Either way, we need to tire him out so he’s not trapped in the awful thought spiral that’s bound to happen at some point.

And then we’ll make sure we have cheesecake and wine ready for when it does.

Megan and I share a look, and she nods.

“Do you have any meetings?” I ask, tracing the shell of Marcus’s ear.

He sucks in a breath before shaking his head, still not looking at us.

“Good.” I press my lips to his temple and try again to push some of that soothing ability into my touch, though I’m not really sure it works.

Without another word, Megan tucks the stupid paper into her purse and then stands, grabbing Marcus’s mug and setting it carefully into the dish return bucket tucked in the back corner.

While she cleans the table, I ease to my feet and guide Marcus to his, holding tight to his hand and wiping away the tears.

“Open climb at the gym is still happening for another couple hours,” I say. “Let’s go.”