22. Sloan
T en minutes.
I leave these two eejits alone with our omega for ten fucking minutes and I return to horror. Just goes to show no amount of good breeding and formal education can fix stupid.
The heart-shattering sound Ivy made as she tried to tear her way from my packmates’ arms will remain imprinted in my memory for all time. To know we did something to bring such a sound into the world broke something vital inside me—like I failed her.
Fuck’s sake, I’ve waited so long to show her I can be everything and more for her. Despite our differences, I’m someone to be counted on. As this pack’s prime alpha, I should have known better than to leave, even if it was to collect things with our scents. Ivy is an omega nearing her heat—she needs all her mates close by in case she requires comfort or relief.
I had hoped the first time she saw her nest would have gone much less… traumatically . But, as it seems with this pack, nothing ever goes to plan.
Still, I refuse to accept defeat this early on. Every pack has its growing pains and Ivy is being exposed to sensitive information we’ve known for ages now. Not just about the scent match, but soon she’ll learn the truth about her entire way of life, and what will happen if we can’t convince her to be our bonded omega.
We have much to discuss with her and so little time before decisions must be made—our tight timeline further accelerated by her upcoming heat. Though I would never force her, I don’t see any reality where Ivy would willingly choose to suffer over being with her scent-matched alphas.
This rushing is much less than my mate deserves. If it were up to me, I would court her for months, spoiling her every single day and showing the entire kingdom how deeply my devotion runs. Sadly, our situation is too precarious to allow for grand gestures, and some level of discretion will need to be in effect until Cillian feels it’s time to tell the court of this new era.
We can’t force this change upon the nobility, but it’s my hope they will follow their beloved king’s lead in his mission to protect omegas.
Bringing this new way of life to court also means common folk and nobility will inevitably need to integrate into packs together. There simply aren’t enough noble alphas for each omega. My ma has four herself, and I’ve known some to have five, even six mates. This, in my opinion, will be the most difficult feat, but this horrid cycle won’t be broken any other way.
All that said, we need to first manage our own predicament before tackling every issue Cillian’s arsehole father left in his lap. At this moment, the only thing I care about is what these two knotheads said or did to make our omega a weeping, frightened mess.
“One of you fools had better tell me what happened,” I growl, clutching my omega tight and rocking her in my lap. Her scent is slowly shifting from burnt sugar back to her delicious apple cake aroma.
“I don’t know what happened,” Cillian babbles. “We were having a cuddle while Ivy was asleep. Next thing I know she’s crying and screaming.”
My mate whimpers then, rubbing her nose against my throat, marking me and taking my scent with her in return. If my heart could sing, it would be belting out ballads right now. No truer pride exists than having my omega mate find solace in my alpha signature.
She’s yet to say anything, and I don’t blame her. The poor thing is in shock after such an intense couple of days. And by now, being this close to the three of us, she must know we’re all her matches. I’m sure that’s quite a truth to endure, given her station and limited understanding of our natures.
“Well, something happened. Isn’t that right?” I ask Ivy in as soothing a tone I can manage. No need for my perfect mate to think she’s done anything wrong.
She nods, making sure not to look either of these first-rate arseholes in the face.
“Why don’t you tell your alpha, hmm? Let him make it all better for you.”
Silence. But Oran’s looking mighty guilty over there with his perpetual sad-sack frown. Fuck’s sake. I can only imagine how far this outburst has set his mind back.
If it were up to me, I’d lock him and Ivy in a room until they fuck and claim each other. Maybe then the bastard will see how much she craves him. Desperate measures, I suppose—I’ll keep the thought in my back pocket if it comes down to it.
“Oran, care to chime in?”
He sighs. He has his pleading eyes trained on our mate, waiting for her attention, but she doesn’t see it. She’s got her face shoved against me, shielding herself from these pricks.
“Cillian and I were talking about…you know…what to say when Ivy woke up.”
More pathetic whimpering from my sweet omega. I loathe the sound—it should be a crime punishable by death for anyone who causes it.
“Liars.” Her whisper is so soft, so distraught .
“Who’s a liar, petal?”
“I never meant to—” Cillian cuts in, but Ivy’s not having it. Her hands slide into my hair, tugging as she maneuvers in my arms. Her soft thighs part against my waist, her back now to my packmates. A clear sign she means to shut them out.
In any other circumstance I would be salivating at having my mate climb me with such vigor. But her heart is hurting and I’m going to fucking mend it if it’s the last thing I do.
“Get out,” I bark, pointing at my packmates.
It’s obvious to me Ivy isn’t ready to speak to them. Better they spend the night outside the nest and figure out a way to fix this mess.
In the meantime, I have plans to get our sweet mate out of her head and plant her feet in the idea of pack living.
Time to show why I’m the prime of this pack.
Cillian is a phenomenal king and Oran is a truly invaluable advisor to him, but right now they’re fucking up and I can’t stand for it. They need to trust me to take care of our omega tonight. In the morning we can come together to do better by her.
“Sloan, no. I won’t just—” The king’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. After spending the night with our Ivy, it must kill him to be separated from her. But that’s too bad. Part of being a pack is realizing our individual needs come behind the good of our omega. She is our center, our foundation—the very heart of us.
“Respectfully, Cillian, you both need to fuck right off. Take the night. Get your heads on straight. I’ll stay in the nest with our omega and tomorrow we can talk this through.”
Oran hasn’t said anything, and I know the wheels are turning in his head. On the inside, he’s busy putting up walls, reminding himself he’s not wanted, not worthy—whatever other shite his pa put in there.
Tomorrow I’ll talk with him, but he’s got to get past some of this on his own. If he doesn’t believe himself worthy of Ivy, he’ll always be too afraid of showing her his heart—and that would be a fucking shame. Oran, for all his grumpy obstinance, is the most loyal, caring alpha I’ve ever known.
Cillian and I wanted him in our pack for a reason—not only that we share a Fate-blessed mate. But with his unwavering support, he lends us the strength to accomplish anything. Oran plays such an important part in this group.
Ivy will see it too.
“Go!” I snarl when they still don’t move.
Fucking eejits . The longer they stay, the longer Ivy remains a shell of herself.
Too fucking slowly, my packmates rise from the bed.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” Cillian tries again. His tone is distant, devoid of anything but despair. Our omega only clutches me tighter in response.
I hate that he’s hurting; truly I do. I’ve always thought of Cillian as my little brother. His pure heart is so apparent to everyone who knows him. He’s never allowed himself selfish pleasures, not until he scented Ivy. Even then, he tried to deny himself for what he regarded as a noble cause.
All this is due to him wanting her to experience the scent match as we did. Cillian didn’t want to overwhelm her with the news before she could scent us as proof of our claims. I didn’t agree. But I’m not a royal. I trusted he knew what ideas Ivy was raised with and how she would feel more than I ever could.
It seems we made the wrong choice, after all.
Oran is silent as he approaches us. He reaches out a hand to touch Ivy’s hair, but pulls back at the last second.
Typical Oran, denying himself happiness.
“Tomorrow,” I say to every member of my pack—Ivy included. Regardless of what’s happened to hurt her heart, we haven’t any time to waste. Her heat could be here in the morning for all we know, and I don’t want her suffering.
I can’t bear the thought of her falling ill because we aren’t meeting her needs while she’s in her most vulnerable state. Together the three of us can make it so good for her.
She simply needs to give us the chance.
My packmates leave the nest at long last, and I’m left with my precious petal clinging to me for dear life.
“It’s all right,” I whisper, rubbing a hand down her back to soothe her.
She sighs, a final steadying breath to fortify her. “Did they go?”
“Aye, they did. Are you all right now?”
My omega scoffs, a little haughty and indignant. “That depends.”
Slowly, she settles her sweet little arse in my lap and pulls away from my neck to look up at me. Goddess —even with tear-stained cheeks she’s a vision. A rare, heart-stopping beauty and all mine to cherish.
Taking the hand that’s not wrapped around her waist, I gently wipe away the last of her fallen tears. Despite her tone, Ivy’s soft gaze mirrors the same awe I feel over this blessed connection of ours. Though we’ve only spoken once before, it’s clear she feels this pull between us just as I do.
“Depends on what , petal?” The quirk of my lip is a natural response to her sharp tongue. One day soon, she’ll feel the loving consequences for all her sass.
“On your answers to my questions.”
I arch a brow. Apparently I’m not exempt from my omega’s ire, but at least she’s giving me a chance to speak with her. “You have questions for me ? Or perhaps you meant my fairy friend again?”
She furrows her brow, crossing her arms beneath her perfect fucking tits—a clear sign of her exasperation—but I’m transfixed. I’d love nothing more than to pin her to this mattress and get my mouth all over them. Make her come apart so I can taste her pleasure from between her thighs straight after.
Fuck’s sake, why does everything about her drive me wild? This is a serious moment, but Ivy is a veritable goddess—my scent-matched mate—and I’ve yet to even kiss her. After enduring the torture of waiting for her touches, I feel it’s only natural I’m this eager for her.
Undeterred by my teasing, she presses on. “I’ll know if you lie to me. So unless you want to be like them, I’d tell the truth.”
I nod, readying to divulge whatever she wants to know. “I won’t lie to you.”
Unimpressed, she rolls her eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
Feisty girl, she’s going to keep me on my toes. I can’t wait to show her how unshakable I am in loving her—how worthy I am of her trust.
If that means being interrogated, so be it.