Chapter 11
Leo
Something’s off. It’s early, but the house feels…empty. Kimmie’s scent, which had gotten stronger in the east wing every hour since her arrival, has faded to ghostly traces. I open the door to the guest room and see nothing but a neatly made bed.
She’s gone. Hell.
The morning room is my next stop. Usually, it’s peaceful at this hour on a weekend. Usually, I enjoy watching the sun creep across the Aubusson carpet while savoring the day’s first coffee as my pack brothers filter in and out. But today, tension crackles through the space.
Gabriel stands at the windows, his posture rigid with barely contained fury. A full cup of coffee sits on the windowsill beside him, steam curling into nothing.
Tanner sprawls in his usual chair, but there’s nothing relaxed about his posture.
The mountain of pastry crumbs on his plate suggests he’s been stress eating—something he only does when he’s truly agitated.
Flaky crumbs cover the front of his workout clothes, and his jaw works like he’s chewing on nails instead of croissants.
Elliot has commandeered the far end of the table, his laptop open on the linen tablecloth. His fingers fly across the keyboard with a focus he usually reserves for planning breakthrough research.
“Where’s Kimmie?” I ask, though I have no hope she’s still on the estate.
“Gone.” Gabriel doesn’t turn from the window. His reflection in the glass is thunderous. “Apparently, she consulted with Dr. Hilliard and simply left.”
“Without telling anyone?” Something protective and possessive rises in my chest. “After everything that happened?”
“Harrison.” Gabriel’s voice cracks like a whip. The butler materializes in the doorway as if he’d been waiting just beyond it to be summoned. “Perhaps you’d care to explain again why none of us were informed of Miss Carmichael’s departure?”
Harrison’s habitual composure doesn’t waver, though his scent carries a hint of anxiety. “Miss Carmichael was most insistent I not disturb the pack. She felt she had, and I quote, ‘already imposed enough.’ Dr. Hilliard had cleared her to leave.”
“Insistent.” Gabriel’s smile is brittle. “And of course, the entire household staff bows to the whims of a houseguest over the wishes of their alpha employer?”
“She wasn’t our prisoner,” Tanner cuts in, dusting pastry crumbs from his front, “And you have to admit, she had good reason to want a quick exit.”
The temperature in the room drops several degrees as Gabriel turns toward him. “Meaning?”
“Meaning maybe she wasn’t comfortable here after you groped her.”
I nearly drop the coffee cup I just picked up. Elliot’s head snaps up from his screen so fast I hear his neck crack. “What?”
“It was nothing.” Gabriel’s jaw twitches. “A momentary lapse in judgment.”
“I wouldn’t call a kiss nothing.” Tanner’s grin is predatory. He’s pissed and spoiling for a fight. “Not when it left you pacing your office looking like you wanted to punch something. Or someone.”
Right now, the only person Gabriel looks ready to punch is Tanner.
“You kissed her?” I ask. The delicate Wedgwood cup clicks against its saucer as I set it down with exaggerated care. “When did this happen?”
“After her shower.”
“After her…” Elliot removes his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “What exactly transpired during this shower?”
“Not what you’re implying.” Gabriel runs a hand through his hair, disrupting its perfect styling. “She needed help washing her hair.”
“Naked?” Elliot asks.
Gabriel grits his teeth. “That is customarily how one showers.” The prep school always comes out when he’s confronted. Gabriel makes a concerted effort to relax his face before adding, “She was still feeling weak, and I didn’t want her to fall. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Tanner’s expression suggests Christmas has come early. “Because that’s not how it looked when I saw you afterwards. All wet and bothered.”
“Enough.” Gabriel’s alpha voice reverberates through the room, making the crystal chandelier chime softly. “It doesn’t matter. We have more important matters to discuss. The Partains will be joining us for dinner tonight.”
“The Partains?” Elliot cocks his head to the side as he tries to place the name. “As in Amelia Partain?”
“Yes. Her father indicated she may be receptive to a courtship arrangement.”
“Another omega?” Tanner sits up in his chair. “Christ, Gabriel. Haven’t we done this dance enough? How many more debutantes are you going to parade through here?”
“Amelia is perfectly suitable.” Gabriel straightens his already immaculate cuffs. “Well-bred, accomplished—”
“Boring as watching paint dry?” Tanner asks. “When are you going to admit your perfect omega doesn’t exist? Not for us, anyway.”
Gabriel shrugs and picks up his neglected coffee cup. “Not all of us want to mate a beta with an attitude problem.”
“No?” Tanner gets to his feet in a fighting stance, soles planted, shoulders squared. “Then why did you kiss her?”
The silence stretches between them like a drawn bow. I exchange glances with Elliot, who looks as fascinated as I feel. Our pack rarely argues, but when we do, it’s explosive.
“You know why we need an omega,” Gabriel says finally. “The pack—”
“The pack needs someone real,” Tanner cuts in. “Someone who calls us on our bullshit. Makes us better. Not some society princess who’ll simper and agree with everything we say.”
“An omega is the traditional choice—”
“Fuck tradition. You felt something with Kimmie. We all did.”
“She’s a beta.”
“She’s perfect.”
“She’s impossible!” Gabriel’s composure cracks. “She’s willful and unreasonable and completely unsuitable to—”
“And you want her anyway.” Tanner’s voice drops low. “We all do.”
“Elliot?” Gabriel turns to our most rational brother like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline. “Help me explain why we need a proper omega match.”
Elliot picks up a cloth napkin and uses it to clean the lenses of his glasses. “Actually, I agree with Tanner.”
“What?”
“There’s something about her. You felt it too, or you wouldn’t have kissed her.
” Elliot’s voice is gentle but implacable.
“And before you say it’s impossible because she’s a beta—we all know that’s not a deal breaker.
Mixed designation matings are becoming more common, especially in progressive packs. ”
“And she challenges us,” I add quietly. “When was the last time anyone stood up to you the way she did? Made you question yourself?”
“This is insane.” Gabriel rakes both hands through his hair this time, obliterating the last vestiges of his usual polish. “She doesn’t even like us. She thinks we’re trying to destroy her life.”
“So we prove her wrong.” Tanner’s grin returns. “Show her we can be more than corporate raiders in fancy suits.”
“The Partains are coming to dinner,” Gabriel says with finality. “It would be rude to cancel.”
“Fine.” Tanner heads for the door and pauses with his hand on the knob. “But this conversation isn’t over.”
“No,” I murmur as I watch the muscle jump in Gabriel’s jaw again. “I’d say it’s just beginning.”