30. Troy

The door slams shut behind her, and the Alpha inside me is smug that he has the upper hand.

But the man in me is raging.

No male in his right mind would turn Belle away, but I didn"t like the way she was lingering around Rian"s door.

He is sick and needs my protection.

Plus, I don"t trust her.

Belle is nothing but trouble, and I have no idea why she is even still here.

If it were up to me, then she would have been gone from the day she first arrived. But Leo and Rian are too blind to see the danger she poses to our pack. To Rian.

Jeremy is somewhat cautious, but he is still giving her the benefit of the doubt.

They are all idiots.

But even as her sweet caramel scent drifts around the hallway, burying deep inside my veins, I push it aside.

She will not get under my skin.

Rian is all I need.

Still, it"s going to take some willpower to remove the sight of her tear-filled eyes from my mind. And the guilt that comes with it too.

No. My Alpha is justified in his behavior. He was only protecting his mate.

That"s why I carry a bag of suppressants from the black market.

Rian still doesn"t want anyone to know. He is afraid, and I will stop at nothing to protect his secret.

Even if I have to be an asshole.

"Belle!"

I close my eyes, letting out the pent-up air in my lungs as Leo"s voice fills the house.

"Belle! Fuck!"

He stumbles up the stairs, following her scent through the house, and he freezes the moment he spies me.

We glare at each other, and I detect the hatred in my pack brother"s eyes.

That bitch is tearing us apart, and for that, I will always hate her.

Leo was my comrade in arms, but now, he is my enemy.

"What did you do?" he snarls, storming closer.

I stand straight, keeping my legs far apart as I cross my arms.

Leo shoves me against the wall, wrapping his hands around my neck.

Funny how we both always aim for the throat when we attack our opponents.

We"re birds of a feather, but Belle has only torn us apart.

He shows me the whites of his eyes. "I will fucking kill you…"

It looks as if Belle"s scent has only led him so far, and I smile smugly when I meet his livid brown eyes.

She"s just down the hall in her bedroom.

Fucking bedroom.

My brothers gave her a room in our house…

I recall the tattoo on her wrist. It strikes me as awfully suspicious.

Number twenty-three.

Whatever could that mean?

As pissed as I am at Leo, I won"t attack him.

He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

He is not himself. He hasn"t been since Belle arrived.

However, I"ve noticed that the light has returned to his eyes these days. He is no longer ominous and depressed, and it appears his dark spells are over.

Could Belle have taken that darkness away?

It doesn"t matter.

In the end, Belle is not his mate.

Rianis his mate, and he needs us more than anything now.

"Where is she?" he hisses.

I don"t reply. If he is really so sure about her, then his nose would have led him to her room where she is sulking.

But his Alpha has only led him to Rian.

Once again, I am smug.

He snaps his teeth. "Answer me, prick!"

I don"t even look in the direction of her room.

There comes a sound in the room behind us, and I jump into action, shoving Leo aside.

My mate needs me.

"Hey, we are not done!" Leo rages.

I ignore him, running straight to Rian"s bedside. He is cramping again, writhing around under his blankets.

His scent hits me hard, and even Leo forgets all about his current little infatuation as we both focus on the only person who matters now.

Rian is in pain, and if we don"t act soon, then it will already be too late.

I don"t even look at Leo as I order, "Leo, water. Now!"

The Alpha doesn"t move, and I finally show him my teeth. "Water!"

Finally, he wakes up, then rushes down the hall away from Belle.

Good. His Alpha has finally come back to its senses.

Rian is our only concern.

Always.

No pretty blue-eyed Omega will ever change that fact.

Rian is a mess. His face is taut as he shrivels up in pain, a cold sweat breaking out across his tan skin.

"T-Troy…"

"I"m here," I whisper, brushing back his dark brown curls.

He opens his eyes, and the green light has vanished from his irises.

My heart breaks at the sight of my mate in pain.

He needs me more than anything now, and I will stop at nothing to ensure that he is safe.

A purr rumbles from my chest, and the lines vanish from his face as he relaxes under the sound of my soothing sound.

"Troy…"

"I know, I know… It"s okay. I got the suppressants."

He shakes his head, breathing in a mouthful of shaky air. "N-no…"

"Leo will be here any moment with the water."

The suppressants have to be taken with water.

Rian shakes his head again, opening his eyes just enough to stare into mine. "It"s… too late, Troy… It"s happening."

It takes my mind a moment to register, but once it does, everything zooms into focus, and now Rian is the only thing I see.

"I"ve… gone into heat…"

As the words leave his mouth, he cries out, doubling over, and a growl rips from my throat.

Where the fuck is Leo?

The sound of footsteps arrives, and Leo bounds inside the room with a glass of water in hand, Jeremy just behind him.

A look of pure shock takes over Leo when he catches Rian"s scent, but Jeremy barely looks surprised.

He always suspected enough from the beginning, but I had to honor my mate"s wish.

He didn"t want anyone to know.

Not even our pack brothers.

"F-fuck… is he?" Leo whispers, and I reach my hand out.

"Water."

Leo snaps out of it and passes me the glass.

It will be too late for the pills now, but the water will still help to quench his dry throat.

He guzzles back the water, then flops back down on the bed, squeezing his face in pain.

There"s only one thing for me to do now.

Rian will need my knot.

He will need all of our knots.

"He"s an Omega…" Leo voices at last.

I don"t even look at Leo or his heartbroken face as he realizes that me and Rian had been lying to him this whole time.

I will feel guilty about it later when my mate isn"t in pain.

No, not mate. Omega.

Rian is my Omega, and I will scream it from the rooftop.

I start getting Rian out of his clothes. They are drenched and covered in sweat.

Leo continues. "All this time… I had been pining… hoping for our Omega… but… we had Rian… Why?"

He glances at me, brown eyes shining with tears.

But my only concern is my Omega.

"Grab all the blankets you can find. Both of you. We"re taking him to the nest."

The nest that Leo built, and it"s a good thing he had the foresight.

Because it will be Rian"s nest now. No more lying.

We will worry about the consequences later.

No one else will know but us.

There"s also Belle to contend with, but hopefully, my threat remains clear.

If she does anything to hurt Rian, then she is dead.

Leo nods, determination running through his eyes, and now he searches the house for blankets and pillows, forgetting all about Belle.

I knew he would come to his senses.

Rian needs us.

I don"t look at the questioning gaze in Jeremy"s eyes as I lift Rian and carry him to the empty nest.

The nest is cold and lifeless as I push my way inside, but that"s okay.

It will soon be filled with our scents.

Leo returns, and now we crowd around Rian, ensuring he is as comfortable as possible.

His eyes snap open, telling me what he needs, and I don"t think.

I shuck off my pants, then place him on my lap, burying myself deep inside him.

Rian relaxes, and just like that, the pain goes away.

My Alpha takes the reins and now it"s just me and my Omega.

I have gone into a rut.

I have an out-of-body experience next as I watch myself lose control, rutting back and forth inside Rian. He groans and writhes beneath me, his body seeking friction as he begs for my knot—begs to be fucked into oblivion.

So, I heed his call.

Soon, lightning strikes down my spine, and I throw my head back and roar.

My knot swells, locking deep inside him, and the Omega falls limp in my arms.

He doesn"t open his eyes for some time after, face and body flush with sweat as he pants for breath.

But I"m still not done.

I will never be done…

Not until my Omega has had his fill.