Page 45 of Bonds and Beasts

"The rut blockers," Easton presses. "When Bello lost control. You had them in your bag. It looks like a prescription. Why do you have them?"

Acidic shame boils in my gut. "I don't know, man, I just do." I try to turn away but Adison is next to me. She approached when I wasn't paying attention.

"I want to understand. You're the first person I really got to know after everything." Her earnest gaze meets mine. "I thought we trusted each other. That you'd protect me when I need it." I scrub a hand over my face, guilt splashing cold water over the hot flames of embarrassment at my center.

Her eyes are full of glassy tears. "Tell me, please."

Whatever I thought I could do to keep her out was a cold joke. I can't deny my mate any more than I can deny air.

I slowly make my way around to sit on the couch against the hotel wall. Adison perches next to me and tentatively takes my hand in hers. I squeeze it and she squeezes back.

"My mom was an omega. My dad was a packless alpha. Their meeting wasn't exactly a romance for the ages," I start explaining.

"What does that—?" Bello starts, but Adison cuts him a look that has our lead alpha falling back into silence. I like that. I like that our omega knows she has power here. That's part of the problem with my origin story. My mother didn't.

"My mother was very likely my father's scent match. When they first met, he snapped into a rut and she snapped into a heat spike. They both lost total control and when they came to, they’d bonded with each other."

Adison gasps. My packmates are silent but wear serious expressions. I’ve never told them any of this.

"My mom left as soon as she had me, and my dad continued having rut issues. They can be genetic, so once I designated, I started taking rut blockers to be careful."

Adison tips her head. "I'm glad you were proactive. That was really great of you. But why does that mean you're rejecting me now?"

I hang my head, guilt-ridden. "I'm not trying to reject you, Adison. I see how it looks. I'm, God, I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I just… When we talked about settling here and being in one place, I've never done that. I don't want to be the one that screws that up. My parents couldn't do it, and I'm not sure how I can."

Her pretty fingers find my chin, tilting it so I'm looking at her and not the floor. "Do you want to? Have a permanent home, I mean?"

I breathe deep. It's the crazy dream of a younger me who was always couch-surfing and relying on relatives who really didn't want to deal with me. Not having a constant home during my childhood has made the possibility of it now seem unreal. Sure my pack and I have had apartments in LA, lavish ones. We changed them yearly just because we could. But a home as a family. Someplace that felt like forever. That’s like a castle in a fantasy book.

Still, I look at Adison, my mate, my Sweet Girl, and tell her the truth. "Yes."

Then an easier question. "Do you trust me and your pack?"

"Yes."

"Then let us make this happen for you."

I close my eyes and nod. I don't really know if it can happen, but for those green eyes, I'll fucking try.

Bello

The newspaper on the table flashes the story we all knew was coming. It's about us courting an omega. It's the headline we weren’t expecting.

"Beauty Pack Courts the Omega Beast". Somehow, the tabloids got the story of her designation party. The article paints Adison in the worst light, saying she's a half-feral recluse of an omega. I toss it down. It's all sensationalized. It's also a crazy spin for anyone to take unless they'd been fed it by someone. A week has passed since Dean's crisis. He's been tending to her every need despite the fact that she forgave him right away. It's clear Adison doesn't hold onto hurts like that. When I asked her why, she said it takes too much energy that she'd rather use for other activities, like playing in the yard with Colt and spending time with us. She's too kind.

Which is why this article has my teeth clenching and rage boiling in my gut. They've painted her like some degenerate who enjoys that her scent glands drive alphas to rut. I had my lawyer on speed dial as soon as I saw it, and a PR campaign drawn up with my agency. I called Lumi first.

"I saw! It's terrible," she said in that fake, tooth-achingly sweet voice of hers. I'm well aware that Lumi doesn't care about anything but the bottom line, but she still works for me.

"I want this tackled. I don't want this to stick," I growl. Several cooing platitudes later and I'm off the phone feeling no more assured than when we started.

The soft landing of small feet and the heavier footfalls behind tell me that my pack and my omega are up. I shove the article under my plate, folded so she can't see it.

"Forget it, I've already seen it," Adison says. I turn.

Her hair is in loose braids and she's wearing a soft cable-knit cream sweater and slacks. It covers almost every inch of her, and still she's the most striking person in any room I've ever been in. Adison slides onto my lap from the side and brings her warm soft lips to mine. She clearly means for it to be a brief kiss, but I'm a selfish alpha. My hand cups the back of her neck and pulls her closer, intensifying everything. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, opening her for me, deep and insistent. She moans into me and as we pull apart she nips at my bottom lip.

Dean, grumpy bastard that he is in the mornings, reaches over and pulls Adison onto his lap, accusing me of being an omega hog. I let her go because I am an omega hog, and I will be selfish later.