34. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Xane
She’s an Omega, just like Trick assumed when he heard her name. Sapphire Faris.
The prescription pill bottle for suppressants told me two things. The obvious being that she’s out in the world trying to live like a Beta. That alone is explosive information in the wrong hands.
It’s strange that she lied about her name. It could be another layer of protection, but I don’t know why she wouldn’t change her family name as well as her first.
Scarlett Faris. It sounds warmer, and sexier than the name she’s using.
Maybe that’s why she changed it. I don’t know, and I shouldn’t be thinking about it.
Whatever the reason, she can’t be pleased about being trapped here with us.
Being stranded on an island with a pack of Alphas must be her worst nightmare.
Yet, she isn’t acting like she’s worried.
I guess it’s possible she’s that good at pretending if she’s spent her adult life hiding the side of herself that makes her rare and special, but something about that makes me uneasy.
Nothing about this situation I’ve landed us in is comfortable.
I should admit everything right now and get us to the resort, where we’re supposed to be.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kian murmurs, catching my attention.
I frown at him. “We need to end this, now.”
He blinks at me, and I realize he wasn’t talking to me.
He was lost in his own thoughts, it seems, so he was probably thinking about her.
Doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind. I can’t let this go on as if it’s outside of my control.
Kian sits up straighter, and puts his beer into the sand, next to hers.
“What did you just say?” he asks, starting to frown.
“You heard me. This needs to end, and it needs to end now.”
Relief floods through me, almost as if saying the words was enough to release my guilt.
I know I need to follow through, and I think Kian can see that.
He’s staring at me, horror in his bright eyes.
“You’re not serious,” he starts, cursing under his breath when I nod. “You’re serious? No. Wait. How … What happened?”
I let out a soft sigh. I should have known it wouldn’t be easy to get him to accept my decision.
“Am I missing something?” Riley asks, raising an eyebrow when I glance past Kian to where he’s standing, one foot back against a tree, beer bottle in hand. He gives me a suspicious look. “Because it feels like I’m missing something.”
Kian shakes his head at me vehemently.
He doesn’t want me to undo all the plans he spent weeks making.
Even if it wasn’t written all over his face, I would know that.
Too bad he didn’t include us all in those plans in the first place.
If he did, none of this would have happened.
Because no one would have agreed to it.
Not Riley, not Trick, not Scarlett.
They didn’t agree to any of this.
That’s why it feels so wrong.
I can’t lie to my pack.
And I can’t lie to that woman.
The Omega.
Christ.
Right, she’s also an Omega.
This couldn’t get any worse.
The crushed expression Kian’s wearing tells me he knows I’ve made up my mind.
He doesn’t need to be happy about it, but I’m still the lead Alpha of this pack, so he knows it’s my decision to make.
“Yeah,” I mutter, looking back at Riley. “We need to talk.”
“So, talk,” Riley prompts, before downing the last of the beer in his bottle.
He tosses it down onto the sand and looks back at me, waiting.
Kian groans, putting his head in his hands and leaning forward.
I hesitate, but only because I don’t want to do something that might give away Scarlett’s big secret. There’s no need to tell him that Kian thinks that woman is our true mate.
We’re getting out of here, so it’s not going to matter.
Chances are, we’ll never see her again.
We weren’t even supposed to meet her.
Kian orchestrated all of this, and I got caught up in his enthusiasm.
That’s over now and I need to take charge of my part in this mistake.
All that really means is I need to get us out of here.
That’s enough to correct everything.
So, I clear my throat. “The jet’s fine. It’s in working order. We can be back in the air this afternoon.”
He doesn’t look impressed. “I already told you. I’m not getting back in that fucking death trap.”
Right. Yeah. That’s what he told me when I caught up to him earlier.
Before I even said a word, he told me he wouldn’t be getting back into the jet.
It’s the answer I should have expected.
I glance at Kian and find him grinning.
“Aw. That’s too bad. Guess we’ll just have to stick around for a little longer.”
“Not helpful,” I mutter.
He shrugs and Riley taps him on the side of the head, mussing up his hair.
“Beer,” Riley demands.
“You don’t understand …” I start, wondering if it’s even worth trying.
“No. You don’t understand. I’m not setting one single foot back inside that tin-can today, tomorrow, next week, never. Fuck that. I’d rather jump in the fucking ocean and take my chances with the sharks and the stingrays.”
He only stops staring at me when Kian presses a beer into his hand.
He uncaps it and drops the cap into his pocket.
“Never,” he mutters, giving me one last dark look before he starts to drink.
He moves away and leans back against another tree, stony expression facing the water.
I know he’s pissed off that he woke up during the bumpy landing, and it’s not going to make him feel any better if I admit it was a controlled “crash”.
There’s no talking to him right now at all. He won’t listen.
That’s crystal clear.
I sit back down across from Kian with a weary sigh.
He’s smiling like he just won the lottery.
It really doesn’t make me feel any better.
“What kind of sandwiches are there?” I ask him.
He starts rhyming off the contents of the cooler like he has it all memorised.
I pick something that sounds good. I might as well eat lunch.
It looks like we’re gonna be here for a while no matter what I tell anyone.