36. The Other Omega
Chapter thirty-six
The Other Omega
“He’s late.” Liam tugs at his sleeve. “Where the hell is he?”
I shrug without looking up. Beside me, Lauren chops up a clove of garlic into miniscule pieces without raising her head. At this stage, only a microscope could pick them up.
She uses the side of her knife to slide them my way without saying anything. I scoop them up and toss them into the pot. “Tied up, probably. Don’t worry about it.”
There’s a great deal of satisfaction in parroting his own words back to him.
“Jonas!” Liam bellows. “Hurry up, will you?”
The air shifts behind us as he leans in to look at the sauce. “What’s that?”
“The rosemary jus.” I yank a few pieces from the herb pot and toss them in without bothering to count. “To go with the lamb.”
“That’s good.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Why don’t you go and change, Ro? That navy dress would be good.”
I glance down at my apron-covered blouse. I thought my jeans were fine for dinner. “I have to change?”
“Please.” It sounds like it comes through gritted teeth. “I told you, my dad has high standards.”
Like someone else I know.
“What about me?” Lauren flashes me a quick, inscrutable look.
“Perfect.”
I mutter unintelligibly into my jus. “Fine. Can you watch the sauce?”
I yank off my apron without waiting for her response and stomp into the hall. Jonas appears, playing with his tie. “Ro, can you fix this?”
He eyes me as I straighten the dark green silk and smooth his shirt collar. “There.”
Look at me, playing tradwife. Or packwife, I suppose.
How very 1950’s. I should offer him a bourbon and a cigar. I’m starting to feel like my life is the Twilight Zone. Maybe this is all a simulation.
“Thanks.” He looks me up and down. “You’re not wearing that, right?”
For fucks’ sake.
I slam the door to my nest in his face without saying a word.
Liam scans me when I stumble out, navy dress and pumps in place. “Nice pearls.”
“Thanks.” I smile sweetly, fingering them. They’re replicas from a costume party. “I thought they added the right touch to the role.”
He’s clearly not sure whether I’m hiding a barb in there somewhere but doesn’t push it. I keep the smile on my face as Lauren and I set the large dining table we never use opposite the island with eight marble placemats.
“So,” Lauren murmurs as she sets a pristine white napkin down beside a plate. I didn’t know we owned linen napkins. Or a dining set, truthfully. “Maybe we should talk?”
Maybe I should apologize. “I don’t think now is a great time.”
“Guess not.” She folds cutlery into the napkin, adjusting it. “Not when we have a royal visit.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. She sounds like she’s looking forward to this as much as I am.
“Right!” Liam calls. “They’re in the garage. I’ll head down and meet them.”
He points at me before stepping into the elevator. “Behave.”
“I resent that implication.” I fold my arms. “I’m the height of politeness.”
Even Jonas looks nervous as we wait. He plays with his hair in the hall mirror, moving a single strand around his forehead until all I want is to snip it off to see his reaction. Lauren and I watch like it’s a televised game.
She looks mildly nauseated.
When the elevator sounds, it’s a relief. The three of us form a weird sort of receiving line as Liam steps out, his face turned back toward the group that steps out after him.
The alpha that leads them is… huge. He drowns out even Liam’s bulk. His salt and pepper hair and goatee and tan suit does nothing to dampen the intimidation. “Hell of a trek to get up here. Couldn’t do that every time I wanted to step through my front door.”
The deep, booming words make me drop my eyes instinctively.
Jesus. The dominance falling off him is enough to make me want to hide away in my nest. Swallowing, I force my chin up as Liam introduces him to Jonas.
“Great to meet you, son.” His dad shakes Jonas’s hand, looking like he crushes it. “Heard a lot of good things. Seen ‘em on the ice, too. Good clean edges you’ve got there.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.” Jonas preens.
I wait for someone to introduce the two omegas that follow behind him, but nobody does. Liam draws his dad toward Lauren. “This is Lauren, my scent match.”
“Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” My lips twist in disgust, and I focus on keeping my face straight as he moves on to me without saying anything else. “And you must be Rosie. John Kessler.”
“Hi.” I stick out my hand, forcing a smile. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
He doesn’t take my hand. In fact, he observes it as if it’s a stinging insect, and I slowly pull it back. “Heard a lot about you, too.”
“Good things, naturally.” I laugh, but he doesn’t.
Or… not. John draws forward the omega closest to him, wrapping a bear paw around her hand. “This is Liam’s mother, Julia.”
Julia is a tall, slim omega with straight brown hair, Liam’s grey eyes and a tooth smile straight out of a toothpaste commercial. “Rosie! Lovely to meet you.”
At least she takes my hand. She scans my dress approvingly, and I straighten. “You too, Mrs. Kessler.”
“Oh, please.” She flutters her hand. “Call me Julia.”
My smile feels easier as I look at the other omega. “Hi.”
She’s smaller than Julia. Curvier in a pretty cream floral wrap dress, with dark hair pinned back in neat curls and brown eyes that study my shoes intently.
“Our other omega.” John Kessler waves his hand in her direction and turns to Liam. “Get us a drink, son, will you? I feel like we’ve traveled for days to get here.”
They brush past us, Jonas following. Lauren hesitates before Liam calls her name. I stay where I am, bemused.
“Hi,” I say again when she doesn’t move. “You know, other omega is a bit of a mouthful.”
Her mouth lifts at the corners. “Erin.”
“Erin,” I repeat, looking behind me to the kitchen. “Well, it’s good to meet you too. Can I get you a drink? Do you like wine? We’ve got plenty.”
“Erin.”
I flinch, finding myself pressed against the wall. Erin walks past while I’m still fighting to breathe, my hand reaching for my racing heart. I peel myself away and turn slowly, watching her approach Liam’s dad where he talks to Liam.
Liam’s mom is talking to Lauren, but I notice her hand gripping the counter tightly enough to whiten her knuckles. Jonas looks over at me, his face paler.
What… the fuck?
“Rosie.” I pull my eyes from them. Liam stands in front of me. His smile is strained. “Could you pour the drinks? Dad likes a sav. There’s a bottle in the bucket.”
Autopilot sets in as I move around the counter. Liam’s dad takes his wine without a thank-you, he and Jonas deep in discussion about hockey, and I turn to Erin. “What would you like?”
She looks at John instead of answering. I wait until he turns, barely acknowledging Erin at all. “She’ll have a merlot. Small glass.”
“Mighty deep voice you have there, Erin,” I rally after a few seconds of awkward silence. John only turns back to Jonas, dismissing me entirely.
But my chest grows tight and hot as Erin drops her eyes. Swallowing, I pour her a glass—a large glass—and hang back as Liam leads them over to the table.
“What the hell is that about?” Lauren’s arm brushes mine, her whisper barely reaching me. “You ever seen anything like it?”
I don’t answer her. I’m not sure I can.
“Lauren?” Liam calls. “You sit here next to me. Ro, you’ll be over there, opposite Erin. Carter’s running late at the rink. He sends his apologies, says he’ll get here as soon as he can.”
I have my doubts that Carter’s said anything of the sort. I lift my phone from the counter and send him a quick message.
SOS. Dinner is weird. Come home?
Burying myself gratefully in dinner prep, I avoid the table for as long as I can. The only voice I can hear belongs to John, with an occasional murmur from Liam or Jonas. My eyes lift regularly, taking in the silence from the other three people sitting there.
Liam’s mom has a smile on her face, her head tilted as she listens to her alpha, for all intents and purposes looking like an adoring partner.
But it’s Erin I can’t stop watching. She keeps her eyes down on her empty plate, not engaging at all. When I can’t avoid it anymore, I start carrying the serving dishes through, leaning past Lauren to set the steaming racks of lamb down in their silver platter. “Hope everyone’s hungry.”
“You work at the rink?” John addresses Lauren without acknowledging me, again. “Not for long, I assume.”
“Why would you assume that?” Lauren seizes her glass and takes a deep gulp of wine. “It’s my job.”
“Only one job for an omega.” John’s hand wraps around the back of Julia’s neck, and she smiles in an eerily robotic way. “In the home. Traditional is the best way for a pack, I tell you. These new ideas come in, causing all sorts of problems.”
“Like independent thinking?” I suck on my cheek, drawing back slowly at the ice in Lauren’s tone. “I have no plans to give up work.”
Liam laughs, but there’s an edge to it. “Not sure this is the most exciting dinner conversation. Rosie, you need a hand carrying the dishes?”
“Just look at this one.” John waves his hand at me, and I stiffen. “Seems like she knows her place. Took a while to get there though, eh, son? So I’ve heard.”
He smirks over at the silent omega beside him. “Erin was the same. Needed a good dose of discipline to get her in line, but we got there in the end.”
His chuckle rakes over every instinct I have, and every one of them is screaming. My hands curl around the back of Lauren’s chair. “I work at the rink too.”
“For now.” He turns to Jonas. “Now, then. That Laker’s game a few weeks back. Talk me through that second period, son. Somethin’ going on with Reynolds? He was all over the place.”
Jonas shifts awkwardly in his place, eyeing me. I don’t move. “Not for now. I have no plans to leave my job.”
“Neither do I.” Lauren smiles, but there’s nothing friendly in it. “Every pack works differently, I suppose.”
And some packs work… very differently. She pushes her seat back. “I’ll help you.”