22. Barret

Chapter twenty-two

Barret

I don't know what my Omega is up to, but the moment he shoved a pot of blue paint in my hands, I knew it must be something good.

Apparently, we are decorating Mila's room, and we are going to do all we can to ensure that Beta is comfortable.

It's funny, really. She arrived in this pack as a threat, but now it's as if we are finally accepting her.

She still has no official place in our pack, but when I spy the way Oliver looks at her, I wonder how long that will last.

The poor sap is falling for her, and when he finally realizes his feelings for her, well, then, we're truly and utterly doomed…

Oliver is the glue that holds us together, the heart and center of our pack, and as his Alphas, we have to do everything in our power to ensure that he is happy and satisfied.

Even if that means that Mila's room gets a fresh new coat of paint, so be it.

Gryphon took no part in the decorating. He and Oliver's relationship has been rocky for the last few days, and Lachlan and I can feel the tear in the bond.

It's as if we lost a vital cog in our machine, and the effects have not been pretty.

Things have been extra tense, and Lachlan was a little disoriented at first.

I had a migraine from the separation.

Their bond is still there. It's just not as strong, not as tight.

It seems Oliver closed off the bond between them, and what the hell did Gryphon do to make him so mad?

Happy Omega, happy life, they say at the academy.

When your Omega is mad at you to the point where they no longer want to be as connected with you, then you know things must be bad.

It's obvious the breakup has to do with Mila.

It seems that pretty Beta has created a tear right through our pack, and maybe we should be more careful.

But when I look at her, I don't feel as anxious as I should, and that worries me.

I'm conflicted, and I don't know what to do.

The best I can do is make my Omega happy. His happiness seems to correlate with Mila's now, and I suppose that will be my new purpose.

I'm sure Gryphon will come around. When he pulls his head out of his ass.

Maybe if he embraced her, things wouldn't be so bad. After all, it's what our Omega wants.

What is his problem?

He has been taking a lot of trips to the central government lately. Has Governor Lily been filling his head again?

Apparently, Governor Frederick is hatching up a plan to overthrow us all, and he is using Mila as a means to get to us.

I was worried at first, but the more time I spend with her, then the more I start to doubt Governor Lily's claims.

Mila is blameless here.

I'm aware Beta soldiers get paid a high fee in order to be placed within an Alpha/Omega pack.

I was only rude to her at first because my Omega was scared that she would take his place.

Her presence upset him, and I wanted her to know that she would never replace him and that we never wanted her here.

That's why I took her to the tool shed the first night she got here, and I am still kicking myself over my behavior.

I know I'm no Prince Charming, but that was just too much.

Well, I'm going to make up for all that now by painting her room for her.

I will make it up to her and Oliver.

The pair of them paint the south wall of the room together, and they work in perfect tandem.

Lachlan and I paint the north wall, and we can't take our eyes off them.

As a result, we're not doing the best job.

Oliver will be pissed.

Fortunately, he seems to be too distracted by Mila to care, and who could blame him?

She's alluring. This small, seemingly docile creature who is trained in combat.

Who blushes at the mere sight of my Omega…

It's mouth-watering.

Mila is a true enigma.

She has fire in her soul, and I bet she could knock out any grown man twice her size with all the training she has had.

But she also happens to be one of the sweetest girls I have had the pleasure of meeting.

Most Beta girls are cruel and vindictive. They are spiteful and jealous of Omegas and want us Alphas all for themselves.

Yet Mila doesn't seem all that interested in me, Lachlan, or Gryphon.

She only sees Oliver.

Oliver flicks his paintbrush at her, and she giggles softly when he gets paint on her face.

Flecks of blue stick to her button nose, and I lick my lips, half tempted to walk over and wipe it from her lovely face.

Yet Oliver does the honors for me, grabbing a cloth as he cleans her perfect nose and cheeks.

She's so much smaller than him, she has to crane her neck just to smile up at him. Through our bond, I can sense that Oliver likes this.

He appreciates that she makes him feel like a man.

It even changes his usually sweet scent into something masculine, woodsy, cedar, I think, and holy fuck… it smells… Alpha.

Is it possible his whole genetic makeup can change just like that?

I gasp next when blue paint speckles my own face, and I round on Lachlan.

The blond bastard wears a shit-eating grin on his face, his manic blue eyes alight with mischief as he fucks with me.

Was he feeling left out of the tender moment between our Omega and Mila?

Well, he's barking up the wrong tree.

I grab my paintbrush, swiping it down his face as a declaration of war.

Lachlan and I have a paint fight now, and it looks like we haven't changed much since our academy days after all.

We're still just a couple of immature brats.

It was Gryphon who always kept us in check and made us remember our place.

That Alpha has a major case of 'stick up the ass', and as a result, he expects us all to be just as stiff.

"Hey! Cut it out, you two. You're making a mess of Mila's room," Oliver scolds.

"He fucking started it," I curse, chucking more paint at Lachlan.

Lachlan cackles like a deranged circus clown, flicking his own paintbrush at me once again, and what a fucking lunatic.

"And I'm ending it. Seriously. Act your ages, not your shoe sizes..."

Considering that my shoe size is thirteen, I guess he kind of makes a point.

We really are acting like a couple of teenage brats.

I wonder what shoe size Mila is. Judging by her tiny feet, I would have to say three…

Fucking adorable.

Finally, Lachlan and I stop. He sneers at me. "I won."

I wipe my face with a cloth. "None of us are winning here, Lachlan."

His smile falters when he gets the double meaning, and now we both look across the room at Oliver and Mila.

Once again, they work in tandem, and I can't help but feel left out.

I just want to be a part of whatever is going on between them.

I guess I now know why Lachlan started that paint war. He was craving attention from our Omega and Mila.

But his efforts only proved futile.

The best we can do is just be present. We're trying, and that's all that matters.

I'm sure our Omega will grace us with his undying attention once again.

But truth be told…

I am just as happy to watch them on the sidelines.