11. Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Celeste
“How have you been holding up?” My uncle’s question was sympathetic, although I could tell he was more focused on the company's reputation than my actual welfare. I gripped the phone and closed my eyes, willing myself to make my voice sound calm and in control.
“As well as can be expected, considering I’m in the home of the men who tried to kidnap me.” I managed to say. As far as my uncle knew, I’d had too much champagne the night of the Darlington Ball. I never told him someone actually did take me, and that this mystery person never told me who they were, or how they knew of the plot.
“And you work? Are you able to manage it?” He asked, making me grip the phone even harder.
“It’s not affecting my work. You know nothing will get in the way of that.” I said firmly. It was the truth - I cared about my family’s company more than anyone. Come hell, high water, or scent matches, I’d never let any harm come to the company. But my uncle didn’t need to know about the scent match part. No one could know. It was a weakness that could be exploited by my mortal enemies - who also happened to be my fated mates.
“That’s good to hear. And if it does start to get in the way, I will be able to tell. So will the board.” He added, as if I didn’t know.
“If it ever becomes too much, I’d let you know. But have faith in me, I can handle this.” I assured my uncle. “Also, they plan to work in the office, but will have one pack member home at all times. That will make things a bit more difficult.” I said, glad that I’d gleaned some information from Liam when he’d been in the steam room with me.
“Interesting. I’m sure we can manufacture a way to get them all out. And on your dates, the house is empty, correct? I can hire someone to check it out discreetly.” My uncle offered. I sighed.
“They have cameras outside, although they can probably be disabled. I just don’t know what you’d find. Likely the leaked information wasn’t sent over email.” I admitted. “Give me more time to find out where they keep their data. It might be at their headquarters, but I doubt it. A surprise audit by the designation authorities would turn up any documents showing illegal activity, and correct me if I’m wrong, but blackmail is definitely under that category.” The members of Pack Lockwood were too smart to leave a trail like that. I’d have to search their house more to see if there was anything to be found at all.
“Keep me updated. We need to make progress on this.” My uncle urged. “Anyway, how’s the Britanna account coming along?” My uncle changed the topic toward work, and I was glad for it. I needed my mind off of alphas and scent matches. It was hell being around them. The other day I’d nearly fainted from being so close to Liam in the steam room. Just sitting in an enclosed room with him, with his delicious scent magnified by his sweat - it had almost sent me spiraling.
It was similar to the feeling of an oncoming heat, dealing with the temperature and his alluring body near mine. I’d had to act like I wasn’t fighting my inner desire to touch him with every breath I took of his scent. To pretend his presence wasn’t causing an ache deep inside me, a mad compulsion to see much more than just his chest. I had to practically sit on my hands to keep them from wandering over to his body, tug at those shorts and view him in all his glory.
Ugh. I had to be more careful. Especially since despite his apparent distaste, he wasn’t exactly pushing me away. Somehow we’d inched so close to each other that I could see the pulse of his heartbeat through his neck, the muscular spot where I imagined I’d bite him. Although I’d never, ever do that. A bite with this pack? It would be complete self-destruction.
And it was apparent that every day I stayed here, it would get worse. My hormones ached for me to be near them, urging me to touch, smell, taste every inch of the very men who wished for my demise. I had to wear a mask of indifference every moment I was around them, and it was starting to wear on me.
But I would never let it affect my work. I was great at managing my teams, and most of my work was done via remote meetings. I could do this for the next few months, even with my body aching to be near the men who put me in this awful position.
“I have a meeting soon. I'll keep you updated.” I said to my uncle before we ended the call. I closed my eyes once I had a moment to myself. In this house, I couldn’t even speak freely.
I hadn’t been able to look around the house much at all, however I was finally picking up on their patterns. They would leave for work early in the morning, save for one of them who stayed behind at home, presumably to keep an eye on me. So far I hadn’t seen any internal cameras except for one in the main hallway, pointed at the entrance. There was also one that covered the main hallway to their rooms. I figured that must be where anything important was kept, but I’d need all three of them to be away to get near the area, plus I’d have to figure out how to disable the camera without being caught. The whole thing was so complicated.
Unless… A devious thought formed in my mind. What if I used my omega charm on them to let their guard down? It was the longest shot in the universe, but if I got them to trust me, maybe I could get them to admit their part in the kidnapping. Or at least find out who was leaking information to them. If they stopped seeing me as a rival, stopped hating me, maybe we could make some headway.
One thing that I had on my side was the knowledge that they were my scent matches - if they ever smelled my true perfume, they’d be ravenous animals, obsessed with claiming me. It might work to get my way, but could also end up with me being bitten and then bound to them forever. I wasn’t willing to risk that.
I sighed. It was hard enough stopping myself from giving up and running to them, begging for their knots. I couldn't trust they would control themselves around me once they smelled me. It had been torture every night, catching a whiff of their blended smells as I tried to sleep. I’d had to double up my suppressants just so it didn’t trigger an early heat.
A sharp knock at the door jolted me from my thoughts. I flinched, heart skipping, then quickly grabbed a robe and wrapped it around myself as I rose from the chair. Taking a deep breath through my mouth, I reached for the handle and pulled the door open.
It was Liam. He was fully clothed this time, thankfully, but that didn’t make him one bit less appealing to my omega senses. My immediate impulse was to grab him and pull him to me, to mark him as mine. But I steadied myself and stared up at him. He looked at me with guarded eyes.
“Our first outing is scheduled to be this week.” He said without any hint of what he was thinking. I nodded.
“I’m aware.”
“This Saturday, nine o clock. We’re taking you to Club Instinct. Be ready in the foyer by eight thirty.” I should hate the way he stated it like an order. But something about his tall, demanding presence made my heart skip a beat. I wanted him to order me around more, and more, until I pushed his buttons so badly that we tore each other’s clothes off.
My teeth clenched, but this time, it was more than just my usual irritation. I felt the spark of something within myself, wanting to egg him on, make him feel an ounce of the frustration I was feeling. “You know, I’m not a fan of being bossed around.”
His eyes flickered, his guarded expression slipping just enough to reveal a hint of amusement. “You don’t like being bossed around? Could’ve fooled me, considering you’re doing a pretty good job of following orders these days."
I could have tackled him right then and there. In fact, the image played out in my head, but ended with me on top of him on the floor, ripping his shirt off, kissing him, and riding him in a way that I really needed to stop thinking about.
“Oh, I’ll be there. But don’t expect me to make it easy on you.” I said, tilting my head to the side, letting him get a nice view of my neck. I watched him closely, seeing his pupils get larger before he looked back up at me. An alpha, especially one who didn’t have any omega attention for a while, could never resist looking at an omega’s neck - the ultimate spot for claiming.
His smirk faltered for a split second, but he recovered quickly, leaning in just enough that his scent - warm, woodsy, and infuriatingly calming - wrapped around me “I don’t expect anything except your usual disagreeable self. Now, I can promise you that you’ll get my pack on our best behavior, which is our default. Remember. Eight-thirty.”
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me alone with the sound of my own pounding heart and the realization that Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.