Chapter 42 #2
While Cole goes to take the call downstairs, I take another look around.
I can imagine us all living here. It wouldn’t take a lot to make it feel like home—just lots of cushions, Laz’s artwork, and the guys’ scent.
We could sit around playing board games, snuggled under blankets, watching the sun set over the beach…
Suddenly, Cole’s raised voice reaches me, making my stomach churn. Did we lose the house? As I cautiously make my way back down, I realize we’re not alone, my nose scrunching at the musty, wet moss smell.
“What are you doing here?” Cole talks to the mysterious intruder. His jaw works, his lips pressed tightly together. I’ve never seen him this riled up.
Although the man he’s addressing has his back to me, I can tell he’s an alpha of gigantic proportions with silvery hair and a snazzy, gray suit.
The man inhales sharply and spins to face me.
I’m almost blinded by his gold watch catching the light, which looks like it weighs a ton.
He props his sunglasses on his head as his gaze scans over me in a pretentious I don’t have time for you way.
His eyes narrow in blatant disapproval and his mouth twists into an unpleasant sneer, obviously finding me lacking. “This is the omega, I take it?”
“Her name is Faye.” Cole moves to stand in front of me, like he’s trying to create a barrier between us. “And yes, she is our omega.”
“You haven’t bonded yet.” The man’s shoulders sag in relief. “There’s still time. It’s not legally binding.”
I have no clue who he is, but I already dislike him.
“So that’s why you’re here?” Cole snarls “To convince me to change my mind?”
“I heard you were looking at houses. I came here to advise you to cut your losses and stop you from making an irreparable mistake.” His tone is as cold as ice. “There’s still time for me to find you a more suitable match. Someone more well-bred.”
Ouch. I don’t have time to process his insult as I’m too distracted by Cole’s visceral reaction. He shakes in fury, like he’s about to explode. I put a gentle hand on his arm to try to calm him down.
“Damon and this omega can find a new pack. I never had a pack, and I turned out fine.” The man waves his hand dismissively, like we’re pieces of garbage to be thrown in the trash. “You don’t need some … hippie,” he screws up his face at me, “ruining your prospects.”
“Faye and Damon are part of my pack.” Cole is so enraged, spittle flies past his lips. “They are my family. Bonded or not, Faye is my omega.”
“Be reasonable, son.”
So this is Cole’s dad. The longer I stare, the more I see some resemblance. They have a similar stature, although Cole’s dad has a more pointed chin, teeth that are too big for his mouth, making him look like a shark, and watery eyes.
“This omega has no money, no status. Who is she? Where did she come from? Do you think it’s a coincidence that she came sniffing around you. The richest pack in this state?” He shakes his head. “Open your eyes, son.”
“Faye didn’t even know who I was when we first met.” Rage pours from Cole’s words. “I’ve never met an omega so reluctant to be spoiled.”
Cole’s dad doesn’t acknowledge this, continuing his tirade.
“I can see the appeal. Even I can’t deny that she smells delectable.
” He inhales deeply, making me wince. Cole’s nostrils flare in fury.
Scenting an omega like that is considered socially unacceptable and downright rude, especially when an omega is bonded.
It’s a blatant sign of disrespect. “But you can’t think with your knot and throw away your future.
You need to be more calculated. I admit, I have made some mistakes in the past—”
“Like abandoning your daughter?” Cole seethes.
“She is not my daughter,” his dad hisses.
“She’s your blood.”
“She doesn’t even have my name!” Muscles coiled, jaws set, the two stand in an angry face-off. I’m not sure who is more furious. “Besides, that has nothing to do with your current situation. Choosing this omega is a sign of your weakness.”
“Weakness?” I can’t stand back and listen to him any longer. Usually, I avoid confrontation, but hearing how his dad speaks to him has made me mad. “Cole is the strongest alpha I know. He cares about the people he loves and would do anything for them, which is more that can be said for you.”
“And she speaks out of turn?” Cole’s dad tsks, looking straight through me, letting me know what kind of alpha he is. An alpha who sees omegas as nothing more than accessories. “How will an untrained omega fit into our world?”
“I intend to keep Faye as far away from your world as I can,” Cole counters.
“And I assume you want to do that with my money?” He crosses his arms and straightens. He’s a few inches shorter than Cole, but he’s still an imposing man. “If you bond against my wishes, I’ll cut you off.”
“I don’t need your money.” Cole huffs out a sardonic laugh. “I have my own investments.”
The smirk falls off his dad’s face. Clearly, he believed that was his trump card. He doesn’t understand that there is more to life than money.
“Fine. Consider our ties cut. Let’s see how that works out for you.” Cole’s dad nods, like he knows something we don’t. “Sweet slick will only get you so far.”
“Omegas aren’t just sex objects.” No longer able to hold back, I speak up again.
Gram would be proud. I’m shaking while I talk, my voice quivering, but I can’t say nothing.
It’s alphas like him who remind me why the Omega Unite movement is so important.
“Cole will be fine without your money. He has his pack, and we love him.”
Finding this amusing, Cole’s dad laughs, clutching his belly. “Oh, sweetheart.” He shakes his head. “Do you really think your love is enough for an alpha like Cole? What happens when he gets bored of your slick? What an alpha wants more than anything is power.”
Cole grits his teeth, looking like he’s ready to tear his dad’s throat out. “If you don’t get out of our house in the next ten seconds—”
“Calm down, son.” His tone drips with passive aggression. “You may think love is enough now, but you’re wrong.” He shakes his head again, lip curled in disgust. “Don’t come crawling back when you regret your decision.”
Is he right? Will love always be enough for Cole? More importantly, will I be enough?
I grab Cole’s wrist to hold him back as his dad retreats to a waiting car. “A reaction is what he wants,” I murmur so only he can hear. “Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
“But he disrespected you,” Cole growls, his chest heaving.
“I’m okay.” I curl an arm around him. “Let him go.”
He doesn’t calm, pacing back-and-forth, until his father’s car is a blot in the distance.
“I’m so sorry he talked to you like that, Faye.” Cole hangs his head in shame. “My father is a…” A dark expression crosses his features. “Well, you’ve met him. You now know what he’s like.”
“He cut you off because of me.” I struggle to swallow past the lump of guilt clogging my airway. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” Cole holds my face in his hands. “I’d rather be penniless and have my—our—pack.”
“And what he said about power—”
“Power is everything to him.” Cole pushes out a long exhale. “He’s never experienced a scent match like ours. He’s never even known love. In fact, I don’t think he’s capable of feeling it. I’m nothing like him, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that I’m not.”
Chewing on my cuticle, I nod faintly.
“What is it, little omega?” Cole asks, tipping my chin up. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Am I…?” Uneasiness has replaced my earlier outspoken courage. “Am I really going to be enough for you?”
“Enough?” A small smile graces his lips.
“I’ll never get enough of you, Faye. I’ll always want more.
” He strokes my cheek tenderly. “You’re everything to me.
You, our pack, our future. That’s all that matters.
It’s not enough, it’s everything. And this house?
This is the first step of the rest of our lives.
Don’t let my father ruin this moment. He’s already taken enough from me. ”
I see his gray eyes flash with pain, weighed down by years of toxicity.
Cole overcame a past where he was made to feel that he wasn’t ever good enough, dealing with lofty expectations, and impossible to meet demands.
I can’t even fathom the tough memories of all that he endured.
Even though we’re not bonded, I feel his agony so acutely.
“He won’t take anything else from you,” I proclaim. “You’re a strong alpha but an even better man. A better man than he’ll ever be.”
“And I’ll keep trying to be better.” He pulls me into his arms. “For you. For us. For our family.”
Our lips meet, and he both literally and figuratively sweeps me off my feet, carrying me back into our new home and shutting the door behind us.
I wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes me against the wall.
His kiss is urgent, fevered, packed with longing and desire to prove how much he cares, even though he doesn’t have to.
As his knot pulses against my core, I inhale the sweet spot behind his ear, drowning in the aroma of his deep arousal. My lips skim down his neck, my teeth lightly grazing his skin and sending a shiver of longing through me. His knot swells against me as he squeezes my ass, holding me close.
“Fuck, little omega,” he murmurs. “You make it so hard not to claim you.”
“Then do it.” I nip his neck without breaking the skin, letting him know how badly I want this. “Claim me.”
He lifts his head, eyes bouncing between mine. “Are you sure?”
He defended me in front of his father and put everything on the line for his family. I don’t want to wait any longer.
“Yes.” I lace my fingers behind his neck, pulling him in for a kiss that I hope shows how strongly I feel for him. “Make me yours, alpha.”
“Fuck,” he groans, carrying me to the kitchen where he sets me onto the counter. “Are you comfortable?”