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I need her. I fucking need her near me. I’ve waited long enough.

Vae turns to me and murmurs, “Caelan, I think we need to tell you⁠—”

He trails off as his gaze falls to land on my chest. He cocks his head, brows furrowing in confusion, and it only takes a second for me to realize why.

I’m growling.

Well… Fuck it. I was trying to play it cool. Gather all the information and discover the truth without being potentially manipulated, but that’s not me. Not in this situation, at least.

It feels good to drop all pretense and give in to my raging anger. I turn to Gav and snarl, “Bring her here. Now.”

Part of me expects to be reprimanded, but Gav simply nods and reaches for his phone, shooting off a text before calmly placing it back down.

If these assholes had any clue who I’m really pissed at, they’d be pissing themselves right now, not patiently waiting for their victim to arrive.

The rumbling in my chest increases in volume, and so does my rage. I can’t even look at my Packmates without getting nauseous. Can’t fucking wrap my mind around the reality that the men I’ve lived with for centuries could really believe Idril would do something to hurt me.

To hurt anyone.

The minutes tick by in silence, and the air thickens with anticipation. Everyone’s clearly on edge.

Well… everyone except for Riven and the Omega.

The female scrolls through her phone aimlessly, nodding her head to a beat only she can hear. Like she knows I’m watching her, she glances up and looks right at me, a small, knowing smirk tilting up the corners of her lips.

She holds my gaze steadily. Confidently. It almost feels like she can see all the way into my soul.

As soon as I think the words, the Omega’s smirk grows, widening into a grin⁠—

And she fucking winks at me.

I jerk, eyes darting around the table to see if anyone else just saw that because… what the fuck?

Who is this Omega?

The only one who seems to notice is Gavran, who’s watching the Omega with a frown. She must have some kind of fucking sixth sense because she turns from me, deliberately focusing her attention on Gav.

I don’t know whether to be confused or intimidated.

The two watch each other. The more his frown deepens, the wider she grins. I see the moment something clocks for Gav. His eyes widen, and his face drains of color. Horror etches itself into every line of his expression, and fear—legitimate fear—darkens his amber eyes.

Whatever realization he just had, it scared the shit out of him. His eyes dart to me, to the Omega, back to me, and then back to the Omega. With an audible groan, he props his elbows on top of the table and his head drops into his hands.

“Fuck.”

At the sound of his curse, the Omega releases what I can only describe as a fucking cackle of delight.

What the fuck is going on?

I’m about to ask what the hell I’m missing when the door creaks open and I no longer care.

I lurch from my seat so fast I send it toppling to the floor. My fucking heart is racing a thousand miles a minute. A tingling like pins and needles begins in my lips, spreads to my face, down my neck, and into my arms and legs. I swallow, and my vision blacks out.

I have to blink twice before it comes back, and the first thing I see⁠—

Idril.

My Mate.