6. Melanie
Melanie
K ai didn’t need to clear his throat for me to know he was behind us. Ever since I’d touched him with my aura by accident, I could tell where he was, no matter how far apart we were in the room. As if there was this invisible string that connected us, and I was tracking him.
There was something in me that had to know he was close. Even with Sin holding me, I was still jumpy when I couldn’t see Kai, like I’d go feral if he left. And it wasn’t the bite—it was the lack of it.
Sin helped. As long as I stayed with him, the scents and auras didn’t overwhelm me. Even when I saw Kai and Lily laughing and chatting with another omega and a stab of jealousy hit me straight through the heart, just leaning into Sin helped me breathe.
I tried to focus on the three alphas in front of us, who were busy networking with Sin. He’d brought me away from the thick clouds of auras and scents to the edge of the ballroom, and it was easier to think out here.
Well, slightly easier. Because the way Sin caressed me set off all kinds of fireworks inside me. I wished Kai hadn’t designed the dress with an open back, as Sin lazily traced circles over the bumps of my spine with his thumb.
The soft cotton of his glove and his smooth strokes nearly had me purring. It was the perfect distraction, though it also made me want to curl into him and rub myself all over his body to claim him.
Which wasn’t why I was here. I couldn’t give in to my omega instincts so easily, but Sin’s presence was addictive.
I had to stay alert because Zania might try something else.
I was drenched in hyacinth and the scents of her alphas, and it wasn’t going away, no matter how much I covered myself in Sin.
When he asked why I smelled of her, I said I bumped into her by accident, but I could tell he didn’t believe me. I wouldn’t have believed my lame excuse either.
Zania had returned to the party like nothing happened, and I felt her presence heavy on me whenever I got too comfortable.
Sin was the best shield I had. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake like at the last party, where all three of them left me alone.
My heart dropped as the omega Kai was so focused on wrapped her hand around his arm and he gave her the same smirk he always gave me when he teased me.
But he was happily chatting with her as he led her towards us.
Sin quickly excused us from the three alphas as she and Kai approached.
Sin released me, stepping to the omega’s side, sweeping his fingers over her shoulder with a gentle sigh.
Kai kept a careful watch on me, but I couldn’t drag my gaze from Sin’s face. He looked at her so kindly that even more jealousy churned in me. I shouldn’t have the luxury of feeling like this when I’d just been scared for my life, but my omega instincts wouldn’t stay quiet.
“Are you managing?” Sin asked the omega, and she looked up at him.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, placing her hand on his. “But I won’t stay much longer.”
“Understood.” Sin nodded. Some silent agreement passed between them that stirred up even darker emotions in me.
I still needed to find space to ask Kai more questions about my omega instincts. Because I couldn’t control the way my body went stiff and the possessiveness which took hold of me. Fire heated me as I watched them, churning inside, telling me to grab Sin and pull him towards me.
Sin was too absorbed in the omega, but Kai caught sight of my reaction, and a grin spread across his lips as he shuffled even nearer to her. He knew what he was doing, and all the understanding I had for him was wiped away as he leaned in close to her.
“Well, pretty girl, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
Sin placed his arm around her shoulders as she adjusted a silver bracelet that hung over her long white gloves.
“Melanie, please meet my sister.” He signalled for me to step forward. “This is Camille.”
It clicked instantly the moment he said it. Their features were so similar there was no way they weren’t related. But it didn’t make me relax. Mainly because Kai was monitoring me intensely, and I was sure he was going to erupt.
She smiled shakily as she held out the same hand. It was as if I was a cat approaching a baby animal. I don’t know what I’d done, but she looked at me like I was going to devour her. And it was like Sin was protecting her from me.
“Thank you for coming,” she said nervously.
“You’re welcome?” I said it like a question because I had no idea why she was thanking me.
I avoided her open gaze. I didn’t even know how I was supposed to face her when I was drenched in her brother’s scent.
It was normal for omegas to be covered in their pack’s scents, but they rarely had to struggle to control their slick.
Even by packed-up omega standards, my scent was thick.
And I didn’t miss the way she sniffed the air around me before her eyes fastened on the spot Caspian had licked earlier.
Camille’s face crumbled as she traced the curve of my collarbone to the centre of my chest.
I furrowed my brow. There was a strange sensation growing in me, an uncomfortable knot winding in my chest, which tightened every second.
I gasped, whipping my hand back as the knot twisted into a sharp pain.
I stared at her in shock and I shook my hand as if I’d been stung.
But she just blinked at me, like she was confused why I’d reacted like that.
Pins and needles raced up my arm, and I didn’t miss how Sin eased her away from me, like I was the one that hurt her.
“I helped plan the party,” she said heavily, as if nothing had passed between us. “It’s one of the few pleasures I have in life,” she sighed.
My lips parted in surprise at the sudden dramatic line. Kai chuckled as Camille slammed a door on the conversation. Was I meant to ask what she could and couldn’t do? Was I supposed to move the conversation on like I didn’t hear it?
Sin’s and Camille’s stares beat into me, as if I was being tested, and I had to respond properly or fail. It was Sin’s sister, Kai and Caspian’s sister-in-law. And she was obviously precious to them. If I messed up here, maybe our deal would be revealed.
So why did none of them tell me about this?
“Excuse me,” Sin said suddenly with alarm. “But Lord Langlee has arrived. I have to tend to this.”
Sin didn’t give me a glance as he quickly strode off, and I felt the distance between us more than I wanted to. If I was a needy omega, I might have given in to the desire to run after him to make him look at me so I could see I mattered.
Kai smirked as he released Camille, stepped in close to me, the warmth of his body pressing against mine.
“Careful, Brandy, your true colours are showing,” he whispered, his breath tickling the shell of my ear. He nudged me with his nose before his teeth grazed the shell, and I winced. He drew back, a dark look on his face.
I sucked in a harsh breath as his thumb tested against my tender ear, and I had to force myself not to pull away like he might tear at it, too.
“Why the fuck does this look so swollen?” he growled. “Am I going to have to cut a bitch for touching you?”
I almost whimpered as the fiery need which always hummed inside me flared, and heat rolled through my core.
“It’s nothing,” I repeated. I didn’t know what consequences there would be if I told him. “I’m just allergic. It’ll stop soon.”
“I hate it when you lie to me. It makes me want to do nasty things to you.”
I had to grip onto his arm as I held back the building pressure of my perfume that pushed at me, threatening to release.
“Kai,” my voice stuttered. “There’s people around.”
His brows arched. “I wasn’t sure you cared about shit like that, considering how easy you’ve been in the past.”
He held my gaze, tension humming between us. From the way he smirked, I was sure he could scent how I really felt.
“Well then, have fun,” he said before gliding off to follow Sin, leaving me and Camille alone together.
My nipples hardened, my heart picked up, and I squeezed my thighs together, praying she couldn’t smell how hot I was just from Kai’s growl.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. But she went first.
“You look, um… close,” she said, wringing her hands in front of her.
“Well, I’m their mate. Of course we’re close. It would be strange if we weren’t.” From the way Kai and Sin acted, it was better to keep up the pretense.
“Of course. Yes… That makes sense.” Camille blinked up at me again with innocent, pure sky blue eyes and a shaky smile.
My brow furrowed again as another strange feeling took me over. It clenched my heart, but this time the sensation spread throughout my whole body.
My instincts were telling me I had to wrap my arms around her and keep her safe.
I had to protect her, take care of her, give her absolutely anything she wanted.
It pulsed through me like some kind of command I couldn’t escape.
My newly born omega instincts were waking up with a passion and I had to stay with her and make sure she was safe.
There was danger everywhere. I’d attack anyone who touched her without a second thought, even Sin.
I choked out a breath as I caught myself. I couldn’t understand what was happening. A minute ago I was struggling not to jump away from her, so what changed?
Her gaze had grown hard, and I’d have sworn she was doing something to me. My mind swirled, and I couldn’t concentrate enough to ask her when pain beat solidly with my heart. All I could feel was this cloying need to protect her forever.
“There you are!” a voice boomed around us, cutting through whatever was happening to me.
A gasp tore from me as the pressure eased. The pain in my chest vanished as the room suddenly flooded back in around us, leaving me completely confused.
I had to shake my head to focus on Camille. She jumped as a huge alpha loomed over us, his deep smile crooked as his sneer bounced from me to her.
“Excuse me?” I said, notching my head back to look at him.
He was bigger than Caspian, even more built up, and I instantly wanted to run.
“Is there a problem here?” I asked. Even though I wasn’t suffocating anymore, the protective need still affected me.
Another alpha slid in behind Camille. He was equally beefy, though only a few inches taller than me. He gripped Camille’s upper arm, and the tremble which ran through Camille instantly got my back up.
“No, not in the slightest,” the short alpha said. “We were just looking for our mate.”
My gaze skipped over them before returning to her. There was no way in hell they were her mates. Not when she looked like she would cry from the way he tightened his hand around her arm.
Camille shook under them, and I wondered if she was going to use whatever she had done to me on them. Because it was definitely her, even if I couldn’t tell how she manipulated me. But if it had really been her, why were those two treating her like that? Couldn’t she mess with them as well?
“She doesn’t have any bite marks,” I pointed out, even though I hadn’t seen anything, and the collar of her dress flared under her chin.
It was the same thing Zania had said to me when she first ‘inspected’ my neck. But the difference was my alphas didn’t look like they would break me into tiny pieces if I didn’t do what they wanted. Well, at least now they didn’t.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be biting her soon. She’s just as excited as we are, aren’t you, love?” the tallest alpha asked, leaning down to leer right in her face.
She flinched back from him, but it only sent her into the arms of the short alpha.
The scene looked too familiar. Except when I fell back into Sin in the office, I knew he would catch me.
“Our pack lead wants to talk about the Ceremony, so you can finish your little conversation later and come with us.”
I couldn’t let them take her. I knew instinctively they’d hurt her, just like Zania had done to me.
The short alpha tugged at her, her feet skidding as he dragged her backwards. There was no way she could escape his grasp, and I didn’t stand a chance if I tried to fight them.
She hunched her shoulders up to her ears, her small fists shaking as they sniffed her neck.
“Are you blind?” I snapped, my blood rising. There were strangers at these parties that manhandled me like it was their right since I’d arrived. And I was sure Camille was going to burst into tears if it went on for any longer.
They both paused as I yanked them out of their weird, perverted mating dance, which involved scent marking a terrified omega.
“Excuse me?” the tall one replied in an incredulous tone.
“You heard me. I asked if you were blind. Because if you can’t tell the difference between fear and excitement, I know a good eye doctor who can sort you out.” I folded my arms as I stared him down. This was nothing compared to Zania and her alphas.
It wasn’t only because of whatever Camille had done with her aura that made me want to protect her, or that she was Sin’s sister. She was another person being taken advantage of due to her circumstances.
“Don’t talk to us like that. We aren’t going to follow orders from someone walking around smelling like you. No matter how much those Rislers mark you, you’ll never be good enough for them.”
“And you’ll never be good enough for Camille,” I shot back, ignoring the hurt that stabbed me.
I stood in front of them, drenched in their scents.
My dress was short enough that one flick of the hem and it would fly up to show I wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
And all I needed to do was bend forward and it would fall off my shoulders and show my breasts.
It looked fantastic, but it was obvious what he was implying, and I shouldn’t care.
I came here to challenge Zania, and the way people circled and judged me all night was enough to leave a bad impression. Especially on these two.
The larger one leered over me. “Then how about we take this somewhere more private and we can show you what real alphas can do?”
He suddenly grabbed my wrist. Camille sucked in a harsh breath as the short one gave her a hard yank, nearly toppling her over. I was getting really sick of strangers thinking they could touch me whenever they wanted.
“What do you say?” He smirked, his gaze hovering on the bruise I defiantly wore on my cheek. “Since your mates clearly can’t treat you right.”
A snarl tore from our left, and all four of us jumped as a high laugh I’d come to crave followed it.