Chapter 19
Revea
This man is… wow.
The epitome of an alpha. If there’s an alpha diagram out there, it’ll be him. His body, his face, his hair.
My god.
I try not to focus on it too much. I mean, there’s a lot of him to look at.
He’s taller than all the men in his pack, broader too, and those eyes.
A grey that shines almost silver in the sun.
I’ve noticed the odd scars poking up from under the neck of his compression shirt, over his biceps, the silvery skin just adding to his alpha dominance.
But his hair.
When a man is confident enough to know he can rock longer hair, it does something to me.
The silky black strands hit his shoulders, thick enough that half is swept back into a perfect bun I just know he threw up in seconds. Bet he didn’t even look in the mirror.
This is not good.
I had an inkling he might turn up today, because I already know Sylvan, meaning when he says something, he’s not joking, and it’s happening. Which is why I put on my lucky boots.
Thank god, because this man is tall. And his shoulders are broad, and… goddamn, I didn’t think this pack could be any more attractive. Then in comes a mega-alpha with the hair of my dreams.
Hair I’m about to touch.
That was his question, a haircut, and I agreed without even thinking about the repercussions. Like how a haircut requires touching. Lots of touching.
My inner turmoil continues as I lead Kaiden to one of the furthest chairs on the salon floor. He sits, his large frame barely fitting, because these chairs were made mainly for women. Omegas, betas, not this man.
I know for a fact that not one of my aprons will clasp around his neck. I’ll just have to try my best not to get any hair on him or touch him any more than I have to.
Ugh, why did I say yes?
No. This is fine. That’s enough Slutty Revea. Professional Revea needs to step up. Now.
“I don’t know what your packmates have told you about me,” I begin, gently unloosening his bun and slipping the black tie over my wrist for safekeeping, “but I’ve mentioned, quite a few times, that I’m very focused on my business currently…”
My words trail off as I meet his gaze in the mirror, the corner of his mouth kicking up into a devilish smirk that has my fingers frozen in his soft hair.
“Do I get the five-year plan speech too?” he says.
I cough out a laugh, raising my brows in disbelief, shaking away my frozen state as my fingers run through his hair.
This man has gorgeous hair.
It’s not just thick, but silky, shiny, and so smooth. I can’t see a single split end. I’d love to use him as a model.
Wait. What were we talking about?
I pause, letting my brain catch up. Oh, the fact I’m far too busy to be getting involved with a bunch of ridiculously hot alphas who have my omega rolling around like a bitch in heat.
I square my shoulders, settling my gaze with his again.
“Listen, pack alpha.” I put on my sternest voice. “They’re your pack, so I need you to make it clear that I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me. But I’m not looking for alphas, not right now.”
With that, I start finger-combing his hair, spraying it with a fine mist of water.
“My pack isn’t good enough for you?”
“What? No!” I gasp, unable to hold it back.
But his expression remains composed as he watches me in the mirror.
“That’s not it at all. I just… I’m putting all my time into this place, I don’t have room for anything else—”
“When’s your next heat?”
I almost drop the spray bottle. “I’m sorry?”
“You can’t avoid your heat, and you’ll need a pack. I’m offering my pack to see you through it.”
My mouth is wide open. Jaw practically unhinged.
I scoff, shake my head, but no words come out.
“Luc and Val have never liked the same woman. Now, I’m almost barking at them every day to stop them coming here.”
I try to ignore the flip my stomach does at that.
“Sylvan has stopped following a routine he’s had for eight years after meeting you once.”
My mouth slowly closes.
“And you’re the first omega I’ve met in years who can keep eye contact with me.”
Our eyes connect in the mirror. “I have alpha brothers.”
He smiles at me, and that is… holy shit. He’s deadly when he smiles, a predator daring me closer.
“It’s more than that,” he murmurs, voice deeper, “and you know it.”
I’m shaking my head while sectioning his hair. “Thank you for the… offer. But I don’t need an alpha, never mind a whole pack, for my heat. I manage just fine on my own.”
“Omega,” he rumbles out, and my eyes snap to his again. “How many heats have you gone through without an alpha?”
I narrow my gaze, gritting my jaw. “That is absolutely none of your business, alpha.”
We stare at each other, holding the silence, because I am not backing down.
Eventually, he does, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes. “Sorry, you’re right.”
I nod, but he hasn’t finished.
“But, and I’m not trying to mansplain heats to you, we both know they get worse each cycle without alphas.” He pauses, but the second I look up, he adds, “Without a knot.”
My breath catches, fingers tugging on his hair, and his low rumble fills the room.
“Shit, sorry,” I murmur, dropping my gaze.
I try to compose myself, take in a few needed breaths, because the way he said knot, with that sharp ‘T’… it’s still snapping through me.
We’re both quiet as I slip out my shears and start dusting his ends. I’m still getting over the aftershocks of his words. Maybe he’ll stay silent for the rest of the haircut now?
“We’ve never shared an omega.” Our eyes lock again.
Oh my.
Why is my omega thrilled about that? Wouldn’t we want our first time with a pack to be with an experienced one?
I’m trying to school my expression, snipping away quietly while I think of my response, because the more I think about it… the more I like the idea.
My last heat was hard. I was exhausted for weeks after, like it hadn’t properly gotten through my system. That was a hellish time at work.
And the other part… to be the first omega they’ve been with, together? This pack of alphas who could have any omega they wanted, and their pack alpha is offering their first time to me?
“Thank you for… sharing that with me,” I say, trying to sound cool and aloof, not like my heart is pounding out of my chest. “But I think you should know, it would be both our first heats with a pack.”
When I finally meet his eyes again, his jaw looks sharper, his fingers curled around the arms of the chair that seems even tinier now.
“And you might not want that. You might be better with a more experienced omega—”
“We want you,” he rumbles out, those dark grey eyes tracking every piece of me.
Thankfully, he can’t hear my brain, because my omega is squealing.
I’ve been with alphas before, but never more than one. And this isn’t a small pack, it’s four alphas, four large, muscular… wait.
“Just to clarify, if we agreed to this, would you include yourself?”
He chuckles, the tension slowly filtering from him. “Where else would I be, omega?”
Oh no, now he’s naming my designation in a sexy rasp as those eyes twist into molten mercury.
“We’ve just met, you might not, y’know.” I shrug, because I don’t know what I’m saying or how to say it. “Be interested.”
“I’m interested.” His words overlap mine with a soft rumble.
“Oh, right.” I nod, not sure where the hell I go with this now, but every time I catch a glance of him, the air feels a little hotter, my clothes tighter, until I’m blurting out, “I thought maybe you’d just watch? Because there are four of you, and… well, I don’t have that many… y’know. Erm…”
Someone, please, take mercy and kill me now.
“I’m sure I’ll spend some time watching.” His voice has deepened, but I don’t dare look up. “And instructing… leading.”
I nod way too many times. “Okay, good to know. I’m sure we can discuss that another time… if we decide to go ahead.” I think I’ve combed through the same spot over ten times. “But you don’t really know me…”
“We may have just met, Revea, but my men have good instincts. I trust them, and I trust their choices.”
Why is that so hot? Knowing this powerful alpha has that much faith in his pack?
“Right, so because you trust them, you’re willing to jump into bed with an omega you hardly know.”
He shrugs. “Depends on how well the omega cuts my hair.”
I bark out an unexpected laugh, heart falling back into a more regular rhythm as I trim his ends in quick, sharp snaps. “Please, I never give a bad haircut.”
“Looks like I’ll have you in my bed then.”
My mouth drops open in a breathless laugh as my gaze meets his. “Wow,” I gasp.
Then he winks at me, and I decide I need to study each individual strand currently between my fingers.
We soon slip into a natural silence as I work. I haven’t cut a man’s hair for a while, but I fall back into it easily. Sometimes, I’ll style my brothers’, but that’s normally with clippers.
When I section the back of Kaiden’s hair, I notice thick scarring peeping out beneath his shirt and still.
The tip of it reaches the edge of his hairline, and I carefully brush my finger over it.
“What happened here?” I murmur.
“An IED.”
When I look up, his gaze is distant, his jaw tight.
I pull away. “Does it hurt?”
“No.” He nudges his head back, into my fingers. “Keep going.”
I’m not sure I fully believe him, so I’m careful, deciding I won’t use a razor for this part. I take my time with my fingers and shears instead, worried the teeth of the plastic comb might catch him.
“It was a hostage situation,” he begins out of nowhere.
I keep cutting.
“The first operation the four of us took together, everything went to plan, but as we left the site, a hostage ran the opposite way.” The tendon in his neck pulls taut. “Not their fault, they’d been held captive for days, they were afraid, and fear tends to make you run.”
He shifts in the chair, and my fingers skim over the scar. I wait for him to relax before continuing to cut.