The Omega Clause

Chapter 1

Aspen

The venue shimmered under the soft lights overhead, crystal strands hanging from the chandelier catching every gleam. Ivory and black draped the room in an elegant contrast, the colors of our wedding woven through every detail.

And there, at the center of it all, was an archway wrapped in white roses. The place where I’d be promising myself to my pack in just a few short hours.

It was the kind of wedding setup you’d see splashed across Pack & Co.’s cover, and I should’ve been glowing with happiness.

Instead, I was freaking out.

My vows were missing.

The envelope I’d kept them in, the one I’d tucked into the dressing room mirror, was gone. I’d even gone as far as crawling under the vanity and looking behind it to no avail.

“Don’t panic,” Sadie had said when I asked, batting her lashes as she smoothed down her black dress and looked anywhere but at me. “Maybe you misplaced them?”

Her eyes had flicked, just once, toward her best friend standing off to the side. The same girl I refused to invite but Sadie had ignored me and my pack simply told me to suck it up and not to ruin our day.

I was always the one who had to bite her tongue and today, of all days, I shouldn’t have had to.

I swear every issue in our relationship boiled back to one person…

Darcy.

I liked to consider myself a nice person. But, Darcy? I hated her.

She wanted my pack more than anything and neither one of them were shy about trying to make that happen. The desperate omega flirted with them right in front of me, going as far as pushing me out of the way while they did nothing to stop it.

They always had an excuse. ‘It wasn’t like that’ was their favorite excuse. They’d known her forever since she was Sadie’s best friend, so they assumed it was just something siblings would do. The two were inseparable since preschool, so she was always around.

Unfortunately her infatuation with the alpha and betas that were mine, was anything but platonic.

To make it worse, today was her last chance before we were legally married, and I had a feeling something was coming.

“Shouldn’t you know them by now?” Darcy asked in that sharp tone of hers. The one she reserved for just me.

“Exactly,” Sadie said sweetly. “Crisis averted. Now, maybe you should touch up that makeup while we go check in on the planner.”

Then they were off, leaving me alone with the other bridesmaids who gave me a sympathetic smile then got to work on their own touch-ups.

With a sigh I sat down on the vanity seat and adjusted my hair again. It was pointless. The team had made sure everything was perfect until Sadie got involved.

My dark hair was laying down in soft curls since I’d refused an updo, and my airbrushed makeup made me look like a stranger.

Tears burned behind my eyes but I blinked them away. I should be grateful for this extravagant wedding but it felt so staged and impersonal. I’d had so little say in it that I felt more like a guest.

How had I let my pack do this to me?

Pushing myself to my feet, I grabbed my phone, slid on my heels, and snuck out of the room. The planners assured me that my pack would be across the building and they were under strict orders to not come over and ruin the dress reveal.

Part of me wondered if they’d even care. I’d barely made it across the hall before Sadie was calling out to me yet again. That was the shortest fifteen minutes of my life.

“There you are, Aspen!” The sugary-sweet voice of my future sister-in-law echoed out.

I bit back a groan and plastered a smile on my face. “Can I help you with something, Sadie?”

“Have you seen Darcy?”

“No. It’s just the bridesmaids in there,” I said, pointing at the bridal suite I’d left. “I thought she was with you.”

“I’ll keep looking. She said she was coming in to get her dress on.”

She let out a huff and turned away, moving into the main room. One of the event staff was walking by, and I stopped her quickly.

“Excuse me,” I said to the petite omega. “Do you know where I can get some fresh air? Somewhere the grooms won’t see me.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile and pointed down the hall.

“Just down there,” she said with a well-practiced smile. “There’s a balcony that doesn’t face their wing.”

“Thanks,” I said quickly before practically running that way.

I pushed open the glass doors and stepped out into the icy air. Winter in Colorado was not for the faint of heart, but I’d lived here my entire life. I was used to it by now. The cold was sharp against my bare arms but it was just the bite I needed to get my nerves under control.

It was quiet out here, and peaceful. Everything my morning wasn’t.

The sprawling grounds of Red Orchard Resort were beautiful, and the building itself was gorgeous.

It was my alpha’s favorite of the ones we toured.

I was outvoted on that one. Generally, what he said, went. The others were quick to agree.

It wasn’t the only compromise in this wedding, either.

Our colors, the bridesmaids, their sister’s input. Hell, my dress was the only thing they couldn’t oversee but they would have freaked out if I’d gone for the dress I truly wanted.

I had to force myself to stop letting my thoughts spiral. Even my head wasn’t a safe space tonight.

With a deep breath, I rested my hands on the banister, staring out at the afternoon sun glinting on the frosty grass before I forced myself to walk back inside.

Just as my hand hit the doorknob, a strange sound made me pause.

A girlish giggle was followed by a rumbling growl. I assumed some of the staff had snuck into the room down the hall. The balcony doors were open wide, they must’ve thought no one could hear them.

To be fair, we couldn’t from our suite. But now that I was out here, I was, apparently, getting a front-row seat.

Biting back a laugh, I started to quietly push open the door to give them privacy when she spoke.

“Oh, Luke... you feel incredible.”

Ice ran through my veins, not from the cold, but from the name.

Surely, Luke was a common name. It couldn’t be my beta. The one I was about to marry in under an hour.

“Yes!” she cried out. “Right there! Don’t stop, Gavin!”

“No.” The word slipped out against the icy wind that whipped my hair around me as my entire world shattered to pieces.

That voice was Darcy’s. And if she had Gavin and Luke... I knew Trent wouldn’t be far behind.

“Present for me, omega,” Trent’s voice rumbled out with a possessive growl.

“What about your wedding?” she simpered, fishing for reassurance that I somehow just knew they’d give her.

“Just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean you won’t still be ours. Isn’t that right, boys?”

There were rumbles of agreement and another round of giggles.

Somehow, I managed to push the door open, swallowing down the tears that threatened to spill free. A wave of numbness washed over me, as if my nerves had completely melted away into a strange nothingness.

Despite my eerie calm, my heart pounded in my chest, my pulse so loud in my ears it was thunderous as I stumbled down the empty hallway.

I didn’t realize where I was going until I started to push open the doors that led to the rest of the venue, getting away from the wedding hall.

Someone said my name, but I ignored them until I was out of the wedding hall and into the main part of the venue. Christmas decorations greeted me, along with the soft sound of seasonal music. The colorful lights and red, green, and gold decor seemed far too cheerful at the moment.

Red Orchard had several events going on at once, the rest holiday parties. Guests were milling in and out of the rented rooms, talking loudly.

My name was called again behind me, and I searched around frantically for a place to hide, anywhere they wouldn’t find me.

I couldn’t face anyone right now. Shame and embarrassment were starting to rise and I was seconds away from a full meltdown.

My gaze landed on a red Santa suit that was poking out of a bag near the tree. I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I knew damn well I couldn’t leave in this sleeveless dress.

“Sorry to whoever’s this is,” I muttered as I snatched the bag and hurried into the women’s restroom nearby.

It took far too long to wiggle myself out of the dress that had taken three people to help me into, the one that never really fit me after my final fitting, as if someone had changed the measurements.

The Santa suit was huge, but the pants had suspenders.

I tightened them as much as I could to hold the pants up and slid my feet into the costume’s faux leather boots.

Next was the coat. It had a sash at the waist, and I tied it as tight as I could before donning the hat.

It wasn’t going to hide my dark hair, but it would have to do for now.

Instead of running out of the building and risking drawing attention, I simply walked, stepping out of the bathroom and heading for the main entrance.

Everybody was too absorbed in their own conversations and navigating the enormous venue for me to worry too much. Not a single person noticed as I continued through the building.

“Aspen!”

Or, maybe they did.

My name was so close that I nearly jumped, but I kept walking. Frantic footsteps echoed behind me, and I recognized the voices, my bridesmaids Victoria and Lacey, along with Sadie.

Maybe she’d seen me leave in a panic. Either way, she couldn’t see me now or this would be over before it started.

I wasn’t going to let anyone talk me into going back in there.

As far as I was concerned, I was single now. They’d made that decision for me and I wouldn’t tolerate being treated like that.

Holiday music spilled out of a room up ahead, mingling with the loud chatter of people. The room was packed, which would make it easy to get lost in the crowd.

This party must’ve been going on for a while, people were talking loudly. Some were singing off-key karaoke to one side, and the booze was flowing at the open bar.

The click of heels caught my attention, and I turned, spotting Sadie stepping into the room and looking around. I was still wearing this ridiculous Santa suit, but I couldn’t let her see my face.

With no other choice, my eyes landed on the closest man. He was wearing a tailored black suit and a dark green tie that made his dark eyes stand out even more.

“Are you single?” I asked him.

“Excuse me?” His features, already sharp, seemed even more intense now.

I swallowed hard. This alpha was very intimidating, the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome.

“I said, are you single?” I repeated quickly.

I don’t know if it was the urgency in my voice or the fact that I practically hissed at him, but he simply quirked an eyebrow and gave a single nod. That was all I needed.

Before I could second-guess myself, I hopped into his lap.

The click of heels was still following me, my name being called out, pushing me to act quickly before she ruined everything.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he questioned, but when Sadie’s furious footsteps drifted closer, I did the only thing I could think of.

I locked my lips to his.