Chapter 19
Nik
It’s hard to fight my possessive instincts.
I know that pack bonding is fairly common, and it’s not unusual for an omega to bond to multiple males—or females, or both—but for years, Mags was essentially mine.
When she was hiding her true nature from the twins, I had her all to myself.
I can’t deny the bond, though, and that bond showed me pretty clearly that those two make her happy, too.
So, here we are: all four of us, tangled up on the mattresses in my room.
Before we fell asleep, it was a bit awkward. None of us males wanted to cuddle with the other men, but there’s only so much Mags to go around. Sleeping people toss and turn, though, and when I wake up, I’ve got Kip curled against one side, Mags on the other, and Kaden sprawled across our legs.
It feels right.
Since I’m the first one awake, I take the opportunity to gently stroke Mags’s hair while she sleeps.
The bond has definitely changed her. Before, she would never have stayed. She was the type to fuck and run. Now? Now is the second time she’s stayed after she finished. I don’t know what the morning will bring, but I’m grateful for this small miracle.
Kaden stirs next, and he stretches before rolling off us into an empty spot on the nest, by Mags’s back. He rubs her hip while I focus on her hair.
“What happens next?” he asks quietly. “Will we still grift, or do you think Mags will go straight?”
A smile tugs at my lips at the humorous thought of Mags living an honest life. “We’re stuck with a grifter, but that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to be stuck with any other omega, and I don’t mind the betas I’m stuck with, either.”
Kaden casts a dubious glance over Mags’s shoulder. “This doesn’t mean that you and me and Kip have to … you know … does it?”
My laugh is so loud it wakes Kip. “No. Your ass is safe.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Kip grumbles. “Why are we talking about my brother’s ass?”
That generates enough laughter to wake up Mags, who stretches and yawns before opening her eyes. She smiles and half-tackles me in a bear hug. “Thanks again for the nest, Nik. It’s perfect.”
“It sucks,” I say, kissing her forehead, “but you’ll make it perfect.”
“Speaking of making things, I need breakfast.” Just like that, she’s up and navigating the spread of bodies in the nest to get to the door. “Could you make something? I need to pee.”
Guess that’s my cue to get up.
While I fix some scrambled eggs and bacon, Mags sits at the kitchen table, scrolling on her phone. Kip and Kaden sit on either side of her, giving Mags the biggest puppy-dog eyes I’ve ever seen in my life.
I almost spill the eggs serving them when Mags raises her arms in triumph with a loud whoop! of success.
“What the fuck is that about?” I ask as I struggle to salvage breakfast.
“We’re good to go for the next job,” she beams, tapping away at her phone. “I just found a loophole.”
It’s too early for this. “What loophole?”
“To the bonding thing. It says right here in this article: Though bonding solely to betas is rare, alpha-beta bonds and omegaless packs are entirely natural and valid. We can still operate as a heat helper pack.”
I should’ve known it wouldn’t be long before she was back at it. “Mags, I love you, but I am not sleeping with anyone else ever again. I can’t fulfill that part of the contract. I won’t do it.”
She shakes her head and gestures with her phone. “No, of course not. But there are records of heat helper beta packs that employ an alpha security guard to protect the omega in question. We just need to bill you as a guard.”
Kip frowns. “I thought all the vetting you did for our next cons were for families that needed an alpha breeder. We’ll have to start all over, won’t we?”
Mags dismisses the question with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be fine. I have a backup list of rich bitches anyway. I’ll go through that list until I find the right mark, and we’ll be back to work in no time.”
I should’ve known Mags had a contingency plan.
“Wait, did you know you’d bond to Nik eventually?” Kaden asks.
“No. But come on … He’s an attractive alpha. There was a chance he’d bond to someone else, and I had to have a backup plan for if he bonded to another omega.”
“And what if I didn’t want to grift anymore after bonding to this fictional other omega?”
“Sure, you would have. We always do everything together. We’re a family.” A twinge of hurt shoots through the mate bond. “Didn’t you think we were a family?”
That’s playing dirty. “Mags, you’re delusional if you think I would have continued to con people if I had settled down with a mate. The only reason I’m even considering this insanity is that I love you. I’m bonded to you, and nothing’s changing that.”
“So, it’s a moot point. Good.” She gets up and attempts to leave the kitchen. “Hold right there. I’ve got some spreadsheets to show you.”
Oh, God, if she has a slideshow presentation ready, I’m going to lose it.
Mags has a slideshow.
And graphs. Charts. Flowsheets. This woman has planned what she calls The Alpha Guard Con for years, keeping it secret until I became bonded.
“And what’s this asterisk for?”
We’ve been pouring over the plan for hours, and I just noticed some suspiciously small print.
“Oh, that. I annotated down here: Nik’s omega stays home and does omega shit.”
I grin playfully and tap the line on the screen. “So, you’ll be staying safe at home now?”
She blinks and looks at me like I just grew a second head.
“Of course not. I’m still playing beta. These cons only work as well as they do because you guys have a female with you.
Can you imagine trying to get some hoity-toity family to trust you without me there?
Please. You’d be kicked to the curb every time. ”
So much for that hope. I guess I’ll be doing double duty here, guarding the omega marks and my own mate. “Fine. But you’re taking precautions. Locking up your meds, taking them as directed. I don’t want any more surprises.”
Kip and Kaden flash identical, confused glances. “As directed?”
“She’s supposed to have a real heat at least once a year. That’s why her doses aren’t lasting long enough.”
Their confusion turns to anger, and they glare at Mags. “Seriously?”
“I’m fine. It’s fine.” She turns back to her laptop and peers at the screen.
“Now, let’s see … The Billingsly family has two alpha sons and a full contingent of guards already, so they’re out.
Hm … The Langleys? They don’t have any sons at all, two omega daughters, and it looks like the omegas’ heats have synced up. We can do a twofer.”
I can tell that there’s no deterring her. She’s set in her ways, and she doesn’t seem to understand the higher stakes now that her status as an omega might come out again. All it would take is one missed dose, one slip of the tongue, one little flub, and her grifts would all come crashing down.
“Fine. The Langley family it is.” I push back from the table and grab a beer out of the fridge. “I’m going to watch TV. Come get me when the parents need to talk to me.”
Mags frowns. “You’re not going to rehearse the script?”
“Nah. I’ll wing it.”
I don’t give her a chance to bite back. I love Mags dearly, but she’s a handful. I need a break from the scheming. Time to immerse myself in carefully scripted fiction of a different sort.