The inside of the house is very much what I expected from Max and his personality. The dark wooden furniture and floors make it look warm and homely. The ground floor is mostly open plan as we step into a living room kind of area. On the far end of the room, I spot a kitchen with a massive table and a huge fridge, enough space to feed ten people easily. To the other side of the back of the room, mirroring the kitchen, is a large closed-off room. The door is open and I spot a desk and shelves inside. His office or something. The ground floor is easily four times the size of my whole apartment, and that’s without taking into consideration that this place has another floor...
Once the door closes behind us, everyone looks at me and I realise that they’re waiting for me to say something. Oh, crap.
Now what? This was so not something I’d planned on having to do, explaining myself to a potential mate, let alone four potential mates... This was never supposed to happen. I was supposed to stay away from Alphas and just live on my own for the rest of my life.
Max sighs as he takes a couple of steps towards the kitchen. “Anyone want anything to drink?”
“Got anything stronger than the bubbly from the party?” Zack seems to have found his tongue back. His tone is combative, even though the question itself is innocent enough.
Max shakes his head. “Pretty sure we’re better off waiting with that a while longer. I have a suspicion we’re going to want to be as sober as possible for this chat.”
Behind me, Spence moves and the next moment, he’s at my side, his voice soft as he takes my arm. “Let’s get you out of those heels first, that should make you more comfortable. I have a feeling that tonight is stressful enough.” He nods towards a group of couches. “Let’s sit over there.”
How are they so calm?
But even as I look at each guy, I know that they’re not calm, they’re on edge, they’re just good at hiding it. They’re probably used to it, having to stay calm and in control when unexpected things happen. Being in charge, being the leader, the one people always look to for guidance, the Alpha.
I carefully lean on Spence as I take the heels off, immediately making me quite a lot shorter than the guys, and then I walk to the couches, dread taking hold in my stomach.
This is so not a conversation I wanted to have. This is a conversation I wasn’t planning on having, ever. I was supposed to stay out of the shifter society and now I’m plunged right into the middle of it, with four guys who by all appearances are some of the most desired Alphas in the area too... I went from a nobody to a somebody in a matter of moments.
The guys follow me and when I stop between the couches, too nervous to sit down, they spread out over them, in pairs, the way I know them. Zack and Spence, obviously used to ordering people around and a little younger than the other two Alphas, if not in age, then at least in how they act. And Max and Liam, more down to earth, more mature, not carrying their Alpha-ness as a weapon to subdue others around them.
As pairs, they’re totally different, but at the same time, they all make me feel the same. They make me feel like I don’t want to let them go, like I want to stay at their side, like I’ll be safe around them. Which is simply total bullshit. If I’d stayed away I’d have been much safer, being near them is what put me in this danger, what put us in this danger.
I just stare at the four Alphas, my four Alphas, if what just happened is anything to go by, my eyes constantly moving. But I don’t know where to start. I understand they want to know things, lots of things, but how to tell them... How to make them understand.
Liam leans forward, intense, but not angry, just... I don’t know... He’s hard to read right now, like he’s guarding part of himself. “So, you’re not human?” His voice is not accusing, it’s flat, like he’s asking a simple question, not something that will change everything once I answer it.
I shake my head. Nope, no matter how much I try, I can’t hide what I am, apparently. At least not around them.
He nods slowly, his eyes still on me. “You’re an Omega?”
I incline my head, breaking eye contact with him. It’s too intense, making my heart race and my whole body tremble.
Zack jerks his head up, anger in his gaze when I look at him, he nearly jumps up. “Why have you been decei—”
Spence pulls on his shoulder, crashing him back into the couch. “Accusations like that aren’t going to help.” His voice is sharp, but his eyes are kind when he meets mine. “Why?”
I want to make a snarky remark, the best defence is an offence, especially when I don’t know how else to respond, but the look in his eyes, the confusion, the sadness, stops me. Instead, my voice comes out tired, because I’m tired. I’m tired of this whole shifter world, of everything that has to do with it, of being so powerless in it. “Why do you think? I’m pretty sure the party we were just at should make it pretty clear as to why I wouldn’t want to broadcast my status. Why would I want to live like that? My life reduced to how rich the Alpha I’m mated to is and how many babies I can give him, how many Alpha offspring I can give him.” My voice turns harsh at the end,
