10. Jeremy

My head is splitting in two, and I groan, heading up the stairs of my grandparent"s old house.

I"m just on my way to my room, where I hope to take some aspirin and sleep for seventy-two hours straight before I"m confronted by an angry Troy.

The Alpha slams me hard against the wall, and I"m too tired to even fight him.

Honestly, his ire is understandable.

What were we thinking? We only went and brought a stray Omega into our home.

We have stolen property from the government pretty much, and we are going to be in some deep shit if anyone finds out.

But I couldn"t deny Rian.

The moment he saw that pretty, doe-eyed Omega, he was adamant that we bring her home and keep her safe from God knows what.

I always swore to never get involved with the runaways. It"s my job to return them to the government, but there"s something different about Belle…

I won"t deny that I sensed the spark the moment I caught wind of her sweet caramel too and great. Fucking fantastic.

I remember something my cousin told me in a bar once, "When you find the right Omega, you will know…"

Since he has two, one would assume that he knows what he"s talking about.

Troy wraps his fingers around my throat, flashing his electric blue eyes in warning. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn"t squeeze the life from your lungs, Jay…"

I close my eyes, loosing a breath from my lips. I hold up my hands in surrender. "Look, I had no choice. Rian…"

Troy growls, pushing me into the wall.

There"s no missing the pain in his eyes when I mention our Beta, and once again, I wonder if Troy and Rian are keeping something from Leo and me.

Troy"s face tics as it takes him some time to compose himself. Finally, he removes his hand from my throat, taking his bitter coffee scent with him to the other side of the hall.

He palms his face, leaning against the wall. "This is bad, Jay… fucking bad… Why?"

Why, he asks?

Why I didn"t just do my job and take her to the government like I"m supposed to?

Like I have always done?

I have no fucking clue, but I couldn"t deny my Beta"s wishes…

I couldn"t deny my own.

I couldn"t stand the thought of handing that sweet, blue-eyed Omega over to a pack of vicious wolves.

Not that it ever stopped me before.

Only God knows how many Omegas I have sent to their doom over the years.

I never cared to check up on any of them. It was always easier that way.

At the end of the day, all that mattered was the paycheck.

But then Belle stumbled into our lives, and look at me now…

Troy is right. I have many answers too, but I guess my answers lay with a higher power.

I never believed in miracles, but the moment I looked into Belle"s beautiful ocean eyes, I finally realized why some Alphas lose their cool.

Why they do stupid shit.

I feel like I could hang the moon for Belle.

And Rian. He should be jealous of her. A beautiful Omega has fallen into our hands, and as a Beta, that fact automatically puts him in second place.

We would never replace him. We"ve all formed a bond. We even gave him our bites.

But the Beta doesn"t seem to deem her a threat.

I brush myself off, making a move for my room. I glance over at Troy as I reach the door.

He"s still having an existential crisis.

I raise a brow. "Troy?"

Finally, he opens his eyes, and there"s no missing the grief.

He"s torn. Torn about what"s best for his pack, his Beta, or the new Omega that has fallen into our care.

"How could you do this to Rian?"

Again, the comment strikes me as odd. He was in the room; he saw the way our Beta was acting around that Omega.

He was as smitten as any Alpha…

"Is there something I should know, Troy?" I ask now.

The Alpha stares at me strangely for a few moments. Then his face hardens, and he straightens his back, moving down the hall. "No comment."

I narrow my eyes as he slips into his own room.

There is something between him and Rian, and I will find out.

I try to get a general sense through the bond, but Troy blocks me out. Rian does the same thing too, and I won"t deny that I"m hurt by their secrets.

Whatever they have to share, they can share it with the whole pack.

Leo and I would understand. We"re all in this together but now… I just want to sleep.

But after a long hot shower first.

Belle"s sweet caramel lingers, and it"s going to take a lifetime to rid her scent from my skin.