And it was her.
The sweet scent of omega rolled across me, my son covered in it. Had she been holding him? Rocking him so he would quiet down after a fit? God, had he shapeshifted in front of her? He couldn't have. The conversation wouldn't be anywhere near as calm if he had. I lowered my head and gave my son a soft huff just to be certain I had it right, but there was no denying it.
"Well, no doubt he's yours," she said, leaning heavily against the stair’s railing.
I tried to regain my composure. She was the one he'd bitten. God. What was I going to do? "I appreciate what you've done for my dog. Did he give you any trouble?"
"I thought he broke the skin when he bit my shoulder yesterday, but it's just bruised. No harm, no foul."
"If I could see, ma'am?" Gabe asked, moving forward.
"Are you his vet?"
Gabe didn't bother to ask me. "Yes ma'am, perhaps I can help you figure out what really happened."
As Gabe reached for her, I stepped between them and stared him down. "She said she was bitten. Let's leave it at that."
He frowned at me. I turned my attention back to her. "Ma'am. Miss Adelaine, isn't it?"
"It is."
Her tone had gone frosty, her skin paling. I glanced back at Gabe, who moved forward to offer her a hand. She shook her head at both of us and walked backward. The dogs began to growl once more and I was deftly aware of their presence behind the two of us.
"I don't know who you are," Sadie said. Her hand came to rest on her forehead, as if she were checking her temperature.
My cheeks flushed as her scent washed over me again. I clutched Tommy to try to keep a handle on myself. I wanted to pursue her, stalk her like the prey animal she was. I wanted to sink my teeth into her neck and show the world that she was mine, only mine, that she'd taken my kno-
The presence of other werewolves was exciting her inner beast as much as it was mine. I doubted that Gabriel was having any easier time with it. He was as much alpha as I was, the two of us sharing the need to lead when it came to it. We listened to Leo and Xavion when it was required, too. Alpha packs had been unheard of at one point, but we were little different than roving bands of unmatched stallions or lions when it came to leadership and, when it came to love.
Tommy's teeth sank into my arm and I grimaced. The pup practically hung from the limb, his lips curled in a snarl. It wasn't as if he were jealous; he was much too young to have that sort of affection for the omega in front of us. I corrected myself; for the soon-to-be not-omega in front of us, a human named Sadie Faye Adelaine.
Even the syllables of her name rang in my ears, offering themselves to me with wide arms and a teasing smile. I tried to shut the wolf up but he wasn't having any of it. Fur raced along my spine and down my shoulders. I pried my son from my arm and lowered my head to hide any wolfish eyes from scaring the woman.
"You don't have to know us. We aren't here to hurt you," Gabe said. "Just to get the pup and leave. Thank you for your assistance. We'll be in touch to discuss your compensation."
Sadie followed his face for the first few words, then I saw her gaze begin to drift. I put Tommy down and prepared for it. I'd been there when my father changed my mother. I knew what was coming, had seen it before. Sadie tried to respond. Her mouth worked but nothing came out of it. The mug flew toward the ground but Gabe scooped it out of thin air.
And I caught her when she fell.
She struggled with me for a moment, her expression untrusting. Then her head rolled back on her shoulders and I peeled off my glove to check her forehead myself. Despite the cool, she was burning up.
Gabe picked Tommy up. "How bad is she?"
"102, 103. Somewhere in there. She's close. She can't go to a human hospital like this. They'll send her to some closed-off ward and run tests. And it still won't stop her from transforming when the moon comes out in a few weeks." I said it all very quickly, but the seconds were moving at a glacier's speed as I held her in my arms.
It had been so long since I held an omega; any omega. I dared not lower my head and breathe her scent, run my hands over her to discover her. I held myself back and let out a slow, quiet sigh even as the rest of my instincts screamed for me to do something, anything, to claim this wonderful creature as my own.
Gabe clucked his tongue against his teeth. "Let me strap this guy in and I'll come back to help you out with her."
"What?"
He shrugged and walked back through the dogs, all of which were eyeing us with that same level of distrust that their owner had displayed. "We're taking her back to the house, aren't we? Like you said, human doctors are no good. You can't leave her here."
I ran the possibilities through my mind. Her, Sadie, in our home and laying on my bed. I would still have to administer the medication that would force her humanity to shine through, but that didn't have to picture into it for a moment. Instead, I dreamed of
