16. Sabs
SIXTEEN
Sabs
I gently pry Drax’s hand from my shoulder, my heart hammering against my ribs. The atmosphere is teeming with possessive alpha pheromones that I don’t know how to handle.
Behind Adler, Luca and Orin watch on. Orin narrows his eyes at me. His scent is strongest of all—his spicy rum smell turning smoky, like burning coals.
“I warned you, Drax,” Orin glares at Drax. “One of the unspoken rules of being an alpha is to respect a bond. Nothing else in our world is so sacred.”
Adler steps forward, shoulders squared, looking like he wants to rip Drax’s throat out. “Step away from my mate. Right now.”
“This is my fault.” My voice trembles. “It’s not Drax’s fault. I instigated it. I—”
Orin’s eyes close as he draws in a breath, seemingly in agitation. “You told her.”
“She had to know,” Drax insists.
“Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Adler roars. “Because if he doesn’t get away from her right now, I’ll…”
Orin steps in front of Adler, creating a barrier between them.
“Why don’t you stand over here with me, Sabs?” Luca shoots me a sad smile, beckoning me over. “A newly bonded alpha’s emotions can be unpredictable at best.”
Sensing that Drax and Adler are in a standoff, I move over to Luca, my fluffy socks almost causing me to skid on the hard floor as I go. All the while, Drax and Adler don’t move, eyes locked on one another.
“You just couldn’t wait to get your hands on her, could you?” Adler’s nostrils flare. “As soon as I left the room, you were ready to jump in. She’s not yours, Drax!”
“She’ll never be yours either. Bonded or not,” Drax hisses. “You don’t know her like I do. Your bonding was an accident because you lost control! What Sabs and I have is real, and I didn’t even have to bond with her to get her to want me.”
Adler’s cheeks flush, but something else comes through our bond connection. Hurt? Pain? The feeling of not being good enough? Whatever it is, it makes my stomach roll with guilt. I’m stuck in an impossible situation. One way or the other, whatever I do will upset someone.
“Enough, Drax,” Orin warns.
Adler’s body shakes in fury. “You need to get the fuck out of our house.”
After what Drax told me about his late presentation, I now fully understand why he needs to be here. I don’t want to deny him the support he needs at a time like this. I’ve already messed with his head enough. “No!” I find my voice again. “Drax stays.”
Although I’m primarily doing it for him, just the thought of being away from him forms a deep ache in my chest.
“Drax leaving is probably for the best, Sabs,” Luca sighs, not aggressive or forceful, staying level-headed. “You and Adler should be focusing on your bond right now.”
“I don’t care how things usually work.” I plant my hands on my hips, refusing to back down. “Drax stays, or I go too.”
“You’d go with him?” Adler goldfishes at me. “But you can’t. We’re bonded.”
“Well, I’ll set up a tent in the garden, then.
That should be close enough to avoid going through bonding sickness again, right?
” I’m not budging on this one. “Drax didn’t start this.
I’m the one who kissed him.” At the sight of Drax’s lips quirking into a smug smirk, I glower at him.
“Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.
” My tone softens as I approach Adler. “Drax needs to be around a pack right now. Orin promised to help him.”
“You kissed him?” Adler’s ire turns to anguish. The fight seems to leave his body as his limbs go limp.
Out of everything I said, that had to be the part he focused on.
“I…” I look at the floor. “It just happened.”
“Kissing aside, Sabs is right,” Orin says. “Drax should stay.”
“W-what?” Adler looks at Orin like he can’t believe his pack leader’s words. “Didn’t you hear what happened? He kissed my newly bonded mate! What kind of alpha does that?”
“Wait!” I step back. “You knew that Drax is an alpha?”
Adler looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “From the way he’s been causing a stink around here, he’s made his status pretty damn obvious,” he snarls. “An alpha should know better than to stake claim on a bonded mate. That goes against all of our instincts and everything we’ve been taught!”
Exasperated, Orin runs a hand through his thick hair.
“Now is probably the time to talk about why I asked Drax to stay with us.” Orin’s gaze strays to Drax, the two of them appearing to be communicating without saying a word.
Drax’s eyes are pleading as Orin shakes his head.
“Under the circumstances, my pack has to know.”
Drax opens his mouth to argue then seems to have second thoughts, snapping it closed again.
“Drax only presented as an alpha a month ago,” Orin explains. “That’s why I asked him to stay with us.”
“A full month?” I’m beyond surprised, my eyes bulging. “You had plenty of time to tell me. You should have told me sooner!”
Drax buries his hands in his pockets. “I…” His Adam’s apple bobs. “I wanted to be sure.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that!” Adler huffs. “Look at him! He looks like an alpha! How did nobody know?”
Drax winces. We all—including Drax and his family—assumed that he’d present as an alpha, like his father and grandfather before him, which made his designation as a beta even more shocking.
While Drax always maintained that he was happy to be a beta, I always got the feeling that he carried some lingering insecurity underneath it all.
“He designated as a beta.” I raise my chin in defiance. “He didn’t have any alpha pheromones or have a…” The thought of his massive, but very much knotless, cock causes me to perfume, making it very clear to everyone else in the room what I’m thinking of.
“I’ve heard enough!” Adler throws up his arms. “I still don’t understand why a late-presenting alpha is our problem, Orin. We’re not a fucking charity! Why do you have to be the one to help? You’re his boss, not a doctor.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.” Orin tips his head back, rubbing his forehead “I think that Drax is part of our pack.”
The entire room seems to draw a sharp intake of breath. “What?!”
Luca rubs his chin, muttering under his breath, “You know, I had a feeling…”
“I was hoping that we wouldn’t have the conversation like this, that it would be a natural transition, but now that we’re here, we may as well get everything out in the open,” Orin continues. “Do you remember how I was able to stop you from breaking that guy’s nose in Club Knotty, Drax?”
“Great!” Adler’s cheeks are so red, he looks like a powder keg ready to explode. “And he’s violent too!”
“I… I’ve had less control of my urges lately.” Drax fidgets with the hem of his tee. “And he disrespected Sabs. I couldn’t listen to him talk about her like that.”
“Maybe you and Drax have common ground after all,” Luca snickers.
“You didn’t need to do that on my account, Drax,” I chime in. Being the only omega in my program, I’ve got thick skin. “You know I don’t care what other people say.”
“We’re getting off topic,” Orin snaps.
“I still don’t get what any of this has to do with your pack.” Drax’s brows furrow. “You said that I listened to you because you were my boss, causing my rational brain to kick in or something?”
“You had enough to deal with without me adding on another layer of complication,” Orin replies, hands clasped in front of him.
“My priority was calming you down, but I did use my alpha bark on you that night. While some alpha barks are more powerful—like Rook’s, for example—for an alpha bark to work like mine did with you signaled one thing.
That you were part of my pack. I felt it then and do now. ”
“But I thought packs were chosen?” Drax’s tone is much calmer now, confusion crimping his forehead. “That’s why some people go to those pack matching camps, so they can choose.”
“That’s how it works most of the time, but not always,” Luca explains.
“Packs being governed on a biological level is rarely discussed openly in the alpha community. Alphas are usually so fixated on having control over their own lives that they don’t like to think outside of that.
However, with some packs, biology does play a role.
Some alphas are drawn together to be a pack on a pheromone-level, similar to how scent matches work for alphas and omegas. ”
“Whoa,” I gasp. “How haven’t I heard of that?”
“It’s extremely rare, even rarer than a late-presenting alpha, but it happens.
” Orin’s tone is blunt. “And I think you’re meant to be one of us, Drax.
Ultimately, the decision lies with you. Unlike a scent match connection, you can choose to ignore it, and there won’t be any negative effects, but I can’t turn you away as a pack leader until you’ve made that decision for yourself. ”
“I…” Drax runs a hand over his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t me and Luca get a say in this?” Adler holds out his palms. “A new pack member isn’t something you just decide!”
“I’m your leader, Adler.” Orin’s authoritative rumble has all three guys hanging their heads.
“I always have the final say. But,” his voice softens a little, as if he caught himself, “considering what’s happening here, it appears that Sabs and Drax have a connection.
If you don’t want to lose your bonded mate, then it would be in your best interests to accept Drax into our pack. If he wants to join us.”
Adler’s chest heaves, like he’s been through a round in the boxing ring. “Is that what you want, Sabs?” His blue eyes meet mine. “Do you want Drax to be in our pack?”
“I…” This is all so much to take in. While my omega instincts are screaming hell yes, I don’t know how this will affect the dynamics of the group. First, Adler and I accidentally bonded, turning everyone’s lives upside down. Now this?