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Crew’s jaw clenched, and none of us spoke.
Martin scoffed, his gaze flicking around the foyer, like he expected Hazel to materialize out of thin air, before coming to rest on Crew. He slowly arched a brow. “And you brought her home?” A bitter, cruel smirk twisted his mouth. “Do I need to remind you that you need to apply for the right to obtain your own omega? She should be at a designation center right now.”
“She was promised to me prior to the new laws,” Crew growled, his tone more animal than man as he barely held his alpha side in check. “It was one of the reasons we moved so quickly. Hazel is my intended omega. Do I need to remind you how alpha claims work?”
Martin bared his teeth. “I’m well fucking aware of pack law. Seems awfully convenient that you just happened upon this pretty little omega and she just happened to be the one you say you claimed years ago.”
I sucked in a breath, hoping Martin didn’t start jabbing holes into Crew’s plan. At best, Crew’s claim on Hazel was flimsy, and it could be challenged if alphas like Martin pressed the issue.
Martin had never liked Crew or our team. It probably had everything to do with the fact that Crew refused to fall in line like a dutiful little soldier. That, and our pack had made our stance on omega reforms pretty damn clear: we thought the new laws were dehumanizing and detrimental to packs.
Kellan was a loose cannon, and Crew would never be a ‘yes man.’ He was too honorable, had too many morals. We were all aware that Martin looked down at all betas in the bureau, including Jude.
That left me as the one who often had to soothe Martin’s ruffled feathers. I’d grown up in a pack of diplomats and learned to play the game at a young age.
Stepping forward, I pushed a warm smile onto my lips to get control of this situation before it spiraled into chaos. “Sir, we’re aware that our actions put the mission in jeopardy. I hope you know that was never our intent, but we all know how crucial omegas are to society, now more than ever.”
Martin turned to me. “Then you know there are other packs, packs that have been waiting years for an omega. My own son’s pack has been waiting for months.”
His months had nothing on the years other packs often had to wait, relying on designation services to let them know when a potential omega was available to be mated. But Martin had enough political clout to have his son’s pack fast-tracked in the approval process.
If pressed, designation services would claim they were the most stable and ready of all the packs in the system across the country, but everyone in this room knew stable translated to dollar amounts.
Thousands of packs were registered and waiting for an available omega. Most of them would never have the chance to bring one into their pack, demand overwhelmingly exceeding supply. There simply weren’t enough omegas for alphas.
Which made Hazel being here a delicate situation. Because if a man like Martin decided to force the issue, he could make trouble.
And that wouldn’t do.
“You’re absolutely right,” I said with a grim nod. “How is Carter?”
Martin’s chest puffed up the way it always did when attention shifted to his oldest son. “He’s on track to be the youngest governor in the state of Montana.”
I made a mental note to move our pack out of Montana before that could happen. I’d met Carter Martin at a few events over the last few years. The alpha was a sadistic, entitled fuck who believed he was owed an omega and that betas were put on this earth to serve alphas. The rest of his pack wasn’t much better.
“Fantastic.” I smiled.
Martin eyed me before his gaze jerked to Crew and then back to me. “You know, Coulson, it still surprises me that you never started a pack of your own.”
Kellan growled, but Crew froze up. I refused to take the bait, knowing Martin’s angle well. We’d played this game before. He was using my personal surname instead of the legal pack surname to get under our skin. It was an insult to Crew, and he fucking knew it.
Martin, like my parents, didn’t understand that I had no desire to be a pack, or team, leader. I had zero desire to shoulder the responsibilities Crew did.
“Carter has even mentioned that his pack was considering adding another alpha.” Martin dropped that piece of information like it was something I’d ever consider.
“I’m quite happy here, sir,” I replied.
His gaze hardened. “Ah, yes. Well, I suppose it’s for the best. With Carter’s political aspirations and your… entanglement, you’d likely not match well with my son’s pack.”
It took everything in me not to show a sliver of emotion, but I knew men like Martin, Carter, and my fathers looked down on my relationship with Jude.
It was perfectly acceptable to fuck a beta in private, but having a relationship with one, especially a man, was somehow a mark against me as an alpha.
“We apologize for not consulting you prior to breaking protocol and infiltrating the APA, but we made a decision that I stand behind,” Crew spoke up, taking over for me and giving me a second to get myself under control.
Was I able to tamp down my emotions to a sociopathic level when necessary?
Absolutely.
