"And no one cares about the treaties?" Ty asked.
"You kidding me?" The other alpha gave a dark laugh. "When the hell has the law ever stopped a beta from doing what he wants?"
"And they call us monsters," Ty said grimly.
"You know there's only one way this can end peacefully."
"I know."
"All she has to do is—"
"I said I know," Ty cut off the other alpha before he could finish his thought. His voice wasn't the only thing that was tight. His whole body visibly tensed at the other alpha's words.
Mia's curiosity was piqued. She leaned in a little closer. She only had to what?
"It's not like after a full week, she's going to bond with someone else."
"I don't want to talk about it, Samson," Ty growled.
"Too bad, 'cause we're past the point of want. Unless something changes real soon, blood is going to be shed."
Apparently, that was Ty's breaking point.
"Enough," he barked, with enough force that even Mia recoiled.
Samson didn't even flinch.
Instead, he stood up from the chair. Mia still couldn't see his face, just the fall of brown hair that dusted his shoulders. The alpha clasped a friendly hand on Ty's shoulder.
"You know that it's true." He paused. "Both of you do."
And with that, Samson let go of Ty's shoulder and started down the stairs. Ty didn't turn to watch his friend go. He stayed completely still against the railing.
Mia found she couldn't move either. She couldn't turn away. All she could do was stand and stare at Ty's tortured expression.
After a full minute, Ty looked up. Though she knew there was no way that he could see her through the curtain, Mia felt his gaze.
"You can come out now, Mia," he said.
Shit.
* * *
A few seconds passed before Mia opened the door. Even then, only her bare toes broke the line that separated the inside of the house from the patio. The rest of her body stayed inside, just beyond the door jamb.
She clutched at a blanket draped around her shoulders, holding it tight to the center of her chest. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that hung just below her shoulder blades, giving him a clear view of the bright red flush radiating outward to her cheeks.
When would she learn that she couldn't hide from him? He'd known she was eavesdropping from the moment the floorboards in their bedroom squeaked. He'd sensed her delicate scent moving closer with every step.
Claiming bite or no, she was his omega, and he was aware of her presence every damn moment of the day. No tiptoeing was going to change that.
Still, he had to admit that her guilty blush was sexy as hell.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, gazing down at her feet.
"For what?" Ty asked. "This is your house. You can go where you please."
Her eyes flashed up, brows knit together over the bridge of her nose. Her confusion wasn't surprising. It was apparent she still didn't think of this place as her home.
But it was.
Their home.
Now and forever. If only she would get that through her stubborn head.
"You're not mad?" she asked.
"No, I'm fucking furious," he said. "But not about you peeking through keyholes."
"Then what?"
"You wouldn't understand."
She blinked, and her eyes widened in offense.
"I see," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm just a stupid little omega. I couldn't possibly understand."
Ty dragged his hand over his chin. A few days' growth of coarse hair bristled against his palm as he lifted his gaze up to the sky. "You don't see a goddamn thing."
"Really? Then you're not angry about soldiers invading the Boundaryland?" She spat the questions at him. "Or that my father is likely behind it?"
Sure, that was part of it. A big part. But not all.
"Or that I still haven't given you some weird bite…" she went on.
He snapped his gaze back to her. "There's nothing weird about the bite that binds us together. I've seen you battle the urge to share it with me as my knot pulses inside of you."
The blush reappeared in her cheeks. Lighting her up bright…but this time the flush had nothing to do with shame. At the mere suggestion of his knot, he could sense the heat rising in her blood.
She seemed determined to ignore it.
"So, that is what this is really about," she said. "You think that this whole thing—Dustin, the government, my father—will all go away if I bite you."
"I don't think it," Ty said. "I know it."
She crossed her arms, and the blanket fell off her shoulders. The fabric puddled around her ankles, exposing her slender legs. She was wearing one of his T-shirts, and it was far too big on her. The hem hung down to the middle of her thighs; the neckline barely clung to her shoulders. It would only take a second for him to tear it clean off.
The thought made Ty's cock surge, pressing painfully against the front of his jeans.
Mia's mouth tightened. The look in her eyes changed, shifting from angry to apologetic in an instant. She shook her head slowly.
"That's because you don't know my father or what he's capable of," she said. "It's a mistake to underestimate him."
Ty caught her gaze and held it as he brushed his hands off on his thighs. Slowly, he stood up. It only took him a single step to bridge the space between them. She tilted her chin up.
"It's a mistake to underestimate me," he said.
Her body reacted to the promise. The sweet scent of slick pooling between her legs filled the air, and his cock stirred.
But she refused to reach out to him.
Instead, she stumbled back a step…back into the house. Shaking her head, she turned her back to him.
As if she could escape the pull of their bond so easily.
"That's not what I mean," she said in a rush. "What I'm trying to tell you is that my father is ruthless. He doesn't care about the law. Only what he can get away with."
"So I've heard," Ty said.
That got Mia's
