Chapter 27 #2
The casual way he says it—like pack bonding is a foregone conclusion rather than a situation that needs extensive discussion—makes my hackles rise.
"Wait a minute."
My voice is sharp enough that everyone's attention snaps to me.
I push back from the table, standing to my full height.
"I didn't agree to any of this."
There's a moment of silence.
Then Cale speaks, voice dry with amusement.
"You're technically outnumbered, Thorne."
I look around the kitchen, meeting each of their eyes in turn.
"Are you all actually fine with this?" The question comes out more vulnerable than I intended. "With permanently bonding to an Omega we barely know? With integrating someone into our pack dynamics that we've spent three years building?"
Cale nods immediately. "Yes. She's mine. I'm not letting her go."
The possessive certainty in his voice makes my chest tight.
Elias's response is calmer but no less definite. "She's my scent match. Walking away isn't an option, and honestly? I don't want it to be. The bond feels right."
Adrian's smile is soft. "I've been waiting for an Omega to complete our pack. Aurora seems perfect, even if the circumstances weren't ideal. So yes, I'm in."
Three to one.
I'm the only one opposing this idea, and the realization makes me feel isolated in ways I haven't experienced since before I formed this pack.
"Fuck." I huff out a breath, running my hand through my hair. "I'm not going to accept this easily."
I rise fully from the table, pacing toward Aurora with aggressive energy I'm not trying to hide.
"We were fine without an Omega," I say, letting my frustration show. "We've been functioning perfectly well for three years. We don't need this complication in our lives or our racing careers."
"You're going to need an Omega to continue racing," Aurora points out, voice maddeningly calm.
She's right, and I hate it.
The new Formula One regulations specifically require professional racing packs to include at least one Omega. Some bullshit about "diversity and inclusion" that's really just the racing commission trying to capitalize on the publicity Auren Vale generated.
Without an Omega, we can't compete.
Can't defend my championship title.
Can't maintain our position as one of the top racing teams in the world.
The reality makes my jaw clench.
"I'm only tolerating the bare minimum," I tell her, getting close enough that I can see the individual flecks of color in her storm-green eyes. "Until we figure this shit out and decide how to actually move forward."
I reach out without thinking, poking her in the chest with my index finger.
Not hard. Not aggressive enough to actually hurt.
Just... claiming space, asserting some kind of dominance in a situation where I feel completely out of control.
We both stare at my finger pressed against her sternum.
The moment stretches, awkward and charged.
Then I move my hand up, pointing at her face instead—still not touching, but close enough that it's clearly a challenge.
"You better be watching your back," I tell her, voice dropping into something darker. "Because I'm not going to let some Omega bring me down. I worked too hard to get where I am."
I feel proud of myself for approximately three seconds.
Until she bites my finger…
Not a gentle nip.
An actual bite, teeth closing around my finger with enough pressure that I feel it, sharp points of pain that make me flinch and jerk my hand back.
"What the fuck?!" The words explode from me. "Why did you do that?"
Aurora shrugs, the gesture infuriatingly casual.
"Well, if you're going to present me your finger like that, you can't expect me to not bite it."
She takes another sip of coffee while I stare at her in disbelief.
A growl rumbles from my chest—low and threatening and completely involuntary.
"You're fucking insane."
Her smile is bright and utterly unrepentant.
"Welcome to having an 'insane' Omega. And if you're going to have access to me, at least try to learn a few quirks about me, partner."
The way she says "partner"—with just enough emphasis to make it clear she's claiming equal status rather than submissive deference—makes something complicated happen in my chest.
Respect, maybe.
Or the beginning of attraction I'm not ready to acknowledge.
She turns to address the others, coffee mug still cradled in her hands.
"I'm going to change, by the way. Then we can head to the garage or back to our lives or whatever. I guess we'll figure this pack stuff out later as we go."
Her eyes land on Elias specifically, and her expression softens.
"We need to name the kitten properly. And I'm keeping your shirt."
Elias's smirk is immediate and pleased.
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Aurora saunters toward the bedroom—actually saunters, hips swaying in ways that draw attention whether she means to or not—leaving me standing in the middle of the kitchen staring after her.
My finger throbs where she bit it.
And despite my frustration, despite my resistance to this entire situation, my traitorous brain decides this is the perfect moment to remind me exactly what her body felt like during the heat.
The way she moved.
The sounds she made.
The feel of being inside her, her heat clenching around me, the taste of her slick on my tongue.
The way she took control even in heat, directing us with surprising clarity about what she needed and how she wanted it.
The way she looked riding me, head thrown back in pleasure, claiming her satisfaction with the same intensity she apparently approaches everything else in her life.
I mentally groan, closing my eyes against the visceral memories.
This is going to be a painful few weeks.
Because Aurora Lane is everything I didn't want in an Omega—challenging, difficult, refusing to submit or defer or make herself small for anyone's comfort.
She bites when threatened, argues when challenged, and apparently has zero compunction about walking around wearing my packmate's shirt like it's the most natural thing in the world.
And despite all of that—maybe even because of all of that—my Alpha instincts are screaming that she's perfect.
That she's exactly what our pack has been missing.
That I'm fighting a losing battle against biology and fate and the simple reality that Aurora Lane has already claimed her place in our pack, whether I'm ready to admit it or not.
Fuck my life.