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Crew cleared his throat, but didn’t look apologetic in the least. “We did. For all intents and purposes, we’re your alphas. Your pack. We’d have a right to any and all medical information.”
“But you aren’t,” I pointed out, looking each man in the eye. “I get that you’re doing this to help me, and you think we might be scent matches?—”
“We are,” Kellan cut in with a rough growl that made my tummy flip-flop.
Rhett leaned forward, catching my eye. “We’re not trying to spy on your private medical records, dove, but we are concerned about your health and well-being.”
I could understand that, so I blew out a hard breath. “Maybe we should set some ground rules? Or figure out the best way to untangle this mess before it goes much further?”
“There’s nothing to untangle,” Kellan rebutted, his eyes cold. “You’re our omega.”
Was there a part of me that absolutely loved being called theirs? Absolutely.
But there was another part of me that trembled—and not in a good way—at being owned by another alpha. At being controlled and dominated, even if the omega in me craved belonging and the pack they were offering.
“Hey,” Jude murmured, catching my attention, “it’s not like that.” He shot Kellan a glare before pushing himself up and out of Rhett’s arms to face me on the couch. “We don’t want to control your every move, Hazel. We’re not like the APA or the High Alpha. We have zero desire to have a docile little omega bowing to our every whim.”
“He’s right, love,” Rhett added. “We’ve discussed adding an omega to our pack before, and never once was domestic slave on the list of attributes we’d consider. We want a partner. An equal.”
I glanced down at my lap. “I can’t be an equal when all I currently am is a mess.” I shook my head. “I don’t even know what to do next. My hormones are all over the place. It’s like I’m completely out of control, and there’s no end in sight.”
“We can only imagine how difficult that is,” Crew conceded, “but that’s why now, more than ever, we need to be on the same page, little one.”
I looked up, feeling the shift in the air as Crew’s voice dipped into a darker register that made my senses tingle. “What’s wrong?”
Crew’s mouth flattened. “Dr. Labine reported your presence at the hospital, and that you’ve been admitted. Omega Services will be here first thing in the morning for an evaluation.”
“What does that mean?” I asked in a small voice.
His dark blue eyes locked on me. “It means we need to convince them that we’re a pack, or they’re going to take you to a state-run omega facility that will help you find the perfect pack.”
27
Hazel
I shuddered, a chill rippling down my spine with force, as I considered Crew’s announcement. What would happen if I didn’t convince them that this was my pack? What happened if?—
“Fucking hell,” Kellan muttered, getting up and stomping around the small coffee table. Without a word, he plucked me out of my seat and sat back down with me on his lap. “Take a breath, sugar.” He nuzzled the side of my neck, and I focused on inhaling slowly, dragging his scent into my lungs.
I caught my breath with a spluttering gasp as I leaned into Kellan’s strength. I wasn’t exactly a small woman, even by malnourished omega standards, but Kellan was massive and made me feel delicate and petite. Like nothing could hurt me when he was around.
A frown wrinkled my brow as I looked at Crew. “How do I convince them? I mean, I thought omegas were supposed to have a say in how they chose their pack or alpha.”
Crew grimaced, a flash of pure rage glinting in his icy blue orbs for a heartbeat. “It used to be that way, but all of that went out the window when President Anders was elected two years ago.”
I knew that name. “Jefferson Anders? The senator from New York whose omega died in a car accident while she was pregnant?”
“You remember that?” Jude asked.
I nodded. “It was huge news. I mean, I was only fourteen, but I remember the media coverage being intense.”
Crew gave a grim sort of nod. “He remarried shortly after you… After you disappeared. But he blamed lax omega regulations for her death. And it wasn’t just that. In his mind, every omega who died or disappeared was the result of omegas being allowed too much freedom.”
I tucked my chin to my chest, like I could actually hide from the truth.
“He built a platform on omega reforms and started pushing them through as soon as he was elected,” Crew added.
“And people just let that happen?” I choked out, stunned.
