AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re speaking again,” the alpha staring at me points out. “I was wondering if you would when you woke.”
And because I’m stupid and awkward, I do this weird, seated half-curtsy thing that does not achieve the casual air I was striving for because my voice shakes. “Ta-da.”
Good Lord.
Kill me now.
Tristan doesn’t even crack a derisive smirk. In fact, his frown deepens. “Are you—” He pauses to clear his throat and tug at the sleeve of his dress shirt. “How do you feel?”
I assume “wet” isn’t a great answer, even if it’s true. Honestly, I need a shower and food and some clothes to borrow, but I’m too chicken to say anything other than, “F-fine.”
His scowl just gets more severe when he sighs. “You shouldn’t lie to me, Serena. I can still?—”
My stomach starts to roil, and he cuts himself off, narrowing his flashing eyes and scanning over my body. “Did we harm you earlier? I know it must be difficult for you to believe, but none of us would ever hurt you on purpose. If what Jonah did wasn’t welcome…”
I notice he omits any mention of his own role in the whole thing. Which makes sense, right? Why would a powerful, beautiful man like Tristan Thorne want to admit to an attraction to me?
I’m still in this STUPID RUBBER THONG.
My cheeks burn. “He didn’t do anything wrong. I should probably apologize to him, though. I was…”—unhinged—“Is he okay?”
For the first time since the whole biting fiasco, the side of Tristan’s mouth twitches. “He’s fine, omega. Jonah is used to taking hits from three-hundred-pound linebackers. I’m afraid having a tiny omega grind into his face doesn’t rank high on his list of concerns.”
Oh. Of course. Stupid.
These are, like, grown men. They probably have sex all the time.
I mean, I’m no virgin, but I know I have significantly less experience than most people my age. Especially other omegas. I’ve never even had a knot, real or fake, and?—
A low sound echoes in Tristan’s chest. I think it’s a growl, but he douses it too quickly for me to feel sure.
The air in my lungs freezes over. Is he… angry? With me?
Shit. I can’t piss this alpha off. I have literally nowhere else to go, not to mention he’s already marked me, and his pack smells like heaven and—and?—
“Breathe, omega,” he barks, low and firm. “There are a few things you should know.”
chapter
nineteen
I don’t often feel stupid.
Guilty? Yes. All the time.
Guilt has been my constant companion since Spencer was old enough to talk to me about what he went through in the same household that raised me like a prince.
It only got worse when I got older and realized how privileged our family was. And then even worse, again, when I got into politics and saw just how much I wasn’t doing. Couldn’t do.
I’m also all too familiar with doubt. I’ve always wondered if I was doing the right thing. For my brother, my pack, the people who elect me. Hell, the people who didn’t elect me, too.
But stupid? Embarrassed by my own cluelessness?
No. This seething burn of humiliation in my stomach is brand-new.
Well-deserved, though, for many reasons. Chief among them, at the moment, being the fact that I honestly thought this omega might not hate me.
Back at the police station, before everything went wrong, it felt like we connected. I felt it again when I was tending her bond mark. And the instinctive reaction my body had to hers is undeniable.
