Chapter 40
Rowan
I was fucked within an inch of my life last night. Okay that might be an exaggeration, but I well and truly fucked last night and now my panties are growing damp, and I can feel a small amount of slick gathering. Not like when I had my first heat spike.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around being an Omega. It’s surreal. I wonder what my family would think now. I’m not going to tell them. They didn’t want me as a Beta. They don’t get me as an Omega.
I watch Cole as he takes care of the burnt pancakes. Putting fresh ones on before turning to me with a smile.
“Did you enjoy your evening?”
A blush heats my face. “I did.”
He pulls me into his arms for a hug before dropping a kiss on top of my head. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. We’re pack.”
“Are we?” I ask. With Xavier’s attitude I’m not assuming anything. As if reading my mind Cole says.
“Xav will come around. Give him time. He went through something that colors his view of Omegas. It’s not my story to tell you, or I would.”
I nod my head. I wouldn’t want him to break Xavier’s confidence. Maybe he’ll tell me himself one day.
As I sip my coffee, lost in thought, the shrill ring of my phone startles me. I glance at the caller ID: Mom. Taking a deep breath, I answer.
"Hello?"
"Rowan," my mother's voice is sharp, laced with an edge I know all too well. "I saw the newspaper. Explain yourself."
I frown, confused. "What newspaper?"
"The one with that photograph of you with Laurent Knight and Sébastien Chevalier." Her tone drips with disapproval. "What are you involved in now?"
I tightened my grip on the phone, my mother's sharp tone cutting through me.
"Mom, it's not like that," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Laurent and Sébastien aren't using me. They care about me."
She scoffed. "Care about you? They're Alphas, Rowan. To them, you're just a Beta. Disposable. No pack wants a Beta."
My eyes sting. My mother’s words opening old wounds. Suddenly, the phone is taken from my hands, and Cole has it to his ear.
Cole
"W HO IS THIS?" I DEMAND his voice low and firm.
There is a pause on the other end before her mother responds, her tone flustered. "This is Rowan's mother. Who are you?"
“This is Cole Kingston, head of the Kingston pack.” I reply sharply. "And let me make something clear: Rowan is not 'just a Beta.' She's an incredible woman, and any pack would be lucky to have her. Your attempts to belittle her are not only unfounded, but also deeply hurtful."
A stunned silence follows on the other end of the line. Then my mother's voice returns, laced with indignation. "I don't know who you think you are, but this is a family matter."
“Well, since pack is family, and we’re pack. I am family,” I growl.
Her mother screeches into my ear. "Pack? Family? What kind of cult have you dragged my daughter into?" Her voice rises with each word, a mix of disbelief and anger.
“Since when is a pack a cult? You belong to one.”
“My daughter is a Beta; she'll never be part of a pack.”
‘That’s where you’re wrong. On many levels. Don’t bother calling back. Rowan will have a new phone number today.”
I end the call, walk to the trash compactor and drop Rowan’s phone in after transferring all her data to the cloud. After closing the compactor, I activate hearing the satisfied crunch of the phone. I turn to Rowan.
There’s a myriad of emotions playing across her face.
“Your mother is something.”
Rowan bursts out laughing. “She really is.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shakes her head. “Not really. I’d rather eat, maybe pull my nails out. The latter would be less painful than talking to my mother again.”