Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Beck
Fucking Brian.
I knew he had our best interests at heart when it came to completing our pack by adding an omega, but the thing was, I felt like we were already complete without one. We’d been doing just fine for almost a decade without an omega, so why change things now?
Entering back into the room with all of the omegas just made my insides twist with an overwhelming need to protect. The last thing I needed to be thinking about was whether an omega was safe or if they needed me.
And that was exactly what omegas did. They sucked the life right out of an alpha and a pack. They made our instincts rule over us instead of us running the show.
Brian elbowed me and then nodded his chin toward Kara. “Try to be nice.”
I hated taking direction from him, but when it came to our Alphaball career, he was the best one for the job. We’d been fortunate to snag him about a year ago when his old team retired from the game.
Kara’s eyes lit up as I approached, and I smiled, despite wanting to head straight for the door.
She was a beautiful woman with the most striking blue eyes I’d ever seen, curly brown hair that fell over the front of her shoulders and brushed her breasts, and she had a body any alpha would be happy to sink into.
But there was something missing as I took her hand in mine and gave it a solid shake. I should feel something, shouldn’t I?
Although there were a lot of scents in the room, I could pick up a hint of chocolate as she brushed her hair back. I could only imagine what her full-on perfume smelled like.
Brian was right next to me and cleared his throat to get Kara’s attention. “Beckett is the head of the pack, and we were just discussing our intent to put you at the top of our match list.”
Her lips parted the tiniest amount as she took a sharp inhale of air. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. I will take that into consideration when listing my matches.”
Brian winked at her and then turned to me. “We need to get going. Our plane is waiting.”
Kara’s shoulders dropped, and she bit her lip. “It was really nice to meet you, Beckett. We all appreciate you-”
“What’s up, sis?” The almost identical replica of Kara came up beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulder.
They would have been identical if she had her hair curled and had any semblance of manners. She narrowed her eyes at me and Brian and looked us up and down in disgust.
Kara said her sister’s name under her breath in warning, but I didn’t catch it over the noise in the room. Her smile was tight as she pried her sister’s arm off her shoulders. “Forgive her. She was rooting for the other team.”
“Oh, really?” I couldn’t stop from smirking because the sister was practically foaming at the mouth. “Sounds like someone likes their alphas weak.”
“No, I just don’t like my alphas with shrimp-sized dicks,” she spat with a venom that made me think this was more than just an Alphaball thing.
Kara gasped. “Kayla!”
Something about this chick was riling me up, and I stepped forward, ready to stare her down and make her whimper.
Brian grabbed the sleeve of my shirt to stop me. “It’s time to go.”
“It was nice to meet you, Kara. I can see why you’ve been selected as Omega of the Year.” I stepped back and then looked at Kayla with a sneer. “But there can only be one Omega of the Year, am I right?”
Anger and hurt flashed in Kayla’s eyes before she stood up straighter. “You’re an asshole.”
I threw my head back and laughed, drawing the attention of quite a few omegas around us. I’d never had an omega call me a name before. This chick had balls.
If we did end up matching with her sister, holidays were bound to be a shit show.
After the meet and greet that left me more than a little irritable, we headed to the airport to go home.
We were no strangers to the attention of others, but something about being in a room packed with omegas made me antsy.
It was like my alpha instincts had kicked into overdrive, despite not being hit full-on with any perfume.
Thank fuck for the invention of perfume blockers.
We boarded our private plane and took our seats around the small conference table. Just because we were professional Alphaball players, didn’t mean we could neglect our other businesses that brought in ten times the amount our athletic prowess earned us.
Brian gave us a nod as he walked past us with his cellphone to his ear and sat in the back of the plane. He wasn’t an official member of our pack—there was no way in hell I’d bite him in, no matter how good of a beta he was—but he ran the Alphaball side of things for us.
Apparently, now he was handling all things omega, including going through the profiles, filling out our Omega Match paperwork, and showing us where to sign.
A few decades ago, Omega Match was created to prevent the major issues that were happening when it came to alpha packs finding and bonding with omegas. Now, instead of a free-for-all that often led to omegas being hurt and packs ripping each other apart, it was streamlined across the country.
When omegas emerge around the age of sixteen, they immediately go to a boarding school to finish out their high school years. From there, they either go to an academy, which is essentially college with courses geared toward omegas, or they enter the matching system.
Alphas can decide whenever they wish to utilize the matching system, as long as they’ve declared themselves as a pack or a solo alpha. Usually, meet and greets are arranged, and then profiles and scent samples are used to decide who would be a good fit.
The computer then makes matches based on how each participant ranks each other. It might seem like a flawed system, but most of the matches work out, with both the packs and omegas happy with the pairing.
As soon as we were in the air, I pulled out my laptop and powered it on, glad I wasn’t dealing with the paperwork involved with Omega Match.
“Our spring campaign starts next Monday, and we have an in-person interview and mini-fashion show scheduled with Good Morning Pack on Tuesday, plus a launch party that evening. We’ll be staying in New York Monday and Tuesday night and flying back to L.A.
on Wednesday for a game and then dinner with the CEO of United Alpha Sports to talk about our brand being the official gear for Alphaball. ”
Rio looked up from his phone with a frown. “If we match with that omega who Brian was going on about, I think she’ll be coming on Monday evening. Shouldn’t we be there to greet her and get her settled in?”
“Where will her nest be? We have that guest room, but I don’t think it’s a good room for that.” Rylan turned and glanced back at Brian and then lowered his voice. “Don’t you think it’s odd he’s pushing this omega thing when we’re well on our way to the playoffs? Why now? Why not during the fall?”
Kane snorted and ran a hand over his face before putting his head back against his seat and shutting his eyes. “Brian does whatever the fuck he wants. Are you really surprised?”
“She won’t need a nest right away. Unmatched omegas are on blockers, and it takes time for them to wear off if they stop them.
She’ll probably talk to us first before she goes off them.
” Rio put his phone on the table in front of us with a webpage pulled up.
“I think we should order a nest starter kit and have it there for her to set up since we don’t have anything already. ”
A growl bubbled in my throat, and all three of my packmates looked at me.
“She’s supposedly the best of the best and went to this academy for what?
Four years? I’m sure she doesn’t need us to help her.
She seemed to have her shit together, unlike her twin.
Besides, those kits cost thousands, and if this chick doesn’t work out, we’re already going to be out money. ”
Kane let out a low whistle without opening his eyes. “We have the money regardless, asshole. I think we should be there when she arrives.”
How many times was I going to get called an asshole in one day?
“I’ll take care of it all.” We’d been so focused talking about the omega, none of us noticed Brian had moved to stand by our seats. “I sent the paperwork to you all to sign. Need I remind you that if this doesn’t work out, the restitution to the omega is one hundred thousand.”
My fists clenched, and I resisted the urge to throw my laptop at his head. “If this doesn’t work out, you’re paying half.”
“I’ll gladly do that, but I know this is going to make your pack the strongest it’s ever been. You met the girl. She’s perfect. This is going to give the pack more networking opportunities as well. She can charm the investors and their omegas.” He grinned as if he was the best beta on the planet.
“You’re forgetting that we have to match with the girl first.” Rio picked up his phone again, probably to order that damn kit. If that was how he wanted to spend his money, then fine.
“Don’t you worry about that. It will happen.” Brian turned and headed back to his seat before I could ask him what he meant by that.
“He’s right, you know.” Kane opened his eyes, meeting mine. “At the very least, it should help mellow your ass out. You’re getting more and more aggressive and irritable. The last thing we need is for you to lose your shit and for us to be put on watch by the World Pack Health Organization.”
“It takes a lot for the WPHO to get involved with a pack.” I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms. “And I am not irritable.”
The fuckers laughed, amusement thrown at me through our pack bond. I growled, glaring at each of them before turning back to my laptop.
What was making me irritable wasn’t not having an omega, it was the idea of having one come in and fuck up everything I’d built from nothing.