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So while the cleaners hauled everything out of the nest and down to the parking garage, I got on the tablet Ethan left for me, happily adding way too much to a cart from Nests, Heats and Beyond, and scrolling through Pinterest for ideas.
It would be better if I could go to the store and feel all the textures and see things in person, but I know I can’t leave the penthouse, not without one of my pack with me. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t even let me go with Chuck, the bodyguard they left in the apartment to keep me safe from Trish and her squad of cleaners.
Which is fine. If they get back early enough, maybe we can all go together. The omega in me really likes that idea, likes the thought of them trailing behind me, helping me discover what I like, finding things they like, and submitting them for my approval.
I may be an omega, but I still want them to like my nest, too. We’ll be spending a lot of time together in there, so I want them to feel comfortable. They’ll like anything you do, my omega assures me, because it’s your nest and they will just be grateful to be invited inside.
She’s right, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling anxious.
I must broadcast that feeling through both of my bonds, because Swift and Luca both send back reassurances to me, even without knowing what exactly the problem is.
My head shoots up from where I’m looking, perusing pictures of a navy blue nest with murals of galaxies painted on the walls when a loud thump sounds from downstairs. Frowning, I set the tablet on Maddox’s bed and slip out into the hall, tilting my head to listen.
“Chuck?” I call, but there’s no answer. Another thump has me moving on bare feet down the hall until I’m at the top of the stairs. “Claudia?”
A shiver of knowing that something isn’t right hits me. But I’m safe here. I know I am. No one can get in without being added to the penthouse security system. Chuck was really only here to keep me safe from the cleaners, so it’s possible he’s gone down to one of the other floors now that they’ve gone.
I know a lot of the members of the Falcone organization live in the building, too. Maybe he went home.
But there’s still… this feeling that I’m not alone up here.
Maybe Claudia didn’t leave?
I snort at the thought. Of course she hasn’t left. That woman is stubborn with a capital ‘S’. She’s probably in all of my mates’ rooms scenting up everything she can get her grubby little hands on, as if that will make them want her. The only thing it will do is make us have a shit ton of laundry to do.
Still, I backtrack and peek into each of the bedrooms, inhaling deeply to check the scents. But I only find my mates and my scent in the air. The nest is empty, a blank slate ready for me to fill, and I feel a giddy little thrill at the thought.
But I need to focus now and find Claudia, make sure she actually leaves the penthouse. I don’t want to think about what the pack will do if they come back and find her here. Maddox was clear he wants her gone.
I make my way downstairs, pausing in the middle of the open space.
“Claudia?” I call out, knowing she’s near because the scent of her cherry pie perfume is still strong. I hate that she’s here, that she’s in the same space as my pack.
Mine, the omega in me snarls fiercely.
That’s right, I agree easily. Mine.
God, it feels good to finally accept it. Not just accept, but embrace. The Falcone pack is mine. I open the bond between Luca and me, and send him a wave of love, just because I can. He’s quick to send it back my way.
“I thought we could talk,” I say to the nearly empty apartment. “We need to work this out.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” her voice comes from behind me, making me spin to face her. She’s leaning against the wall of the hallway that leads to Maddox’s office, arms folded over her chest, fingernails biting into the skin of her upper arms. The look of pure hatred on her face has me shivering.
“You stole my pack from me,” she snarls. “Tricked them into thinking some second-rate beta is an omega and got one of them to bite you. It’s pathetic, really, how desperate you are. Thank god it’s only one of them. The pack will be just fine without Luca. You and he can run off into the sunset together for all I care. Take Ethan with you. I have no use for a beta. But the rest of the Falcone pack is mine.”
The vitriol spilling from her mouth is shocking. The venom with which she spits the words, the glint in her eye. I resist the urge to look at the cameras I know are hidden all over the apartment. I get the unpleasant sensation that this is going to go south fast. With that thought in mind, I open my bonds with Luca and Swift, and send them a sliver of my worry and concern.
I shake my head. “If Luca left the pack, the bonds would break and the scent match would, too. They wouldn’t be yours anymore.” They aren’t yours now.
She sniffs and pushes away from the wall. “They’d be mine in all the ways that matter.” A small smile curls over her lips. “If you don’t want to take Luca and go, I’ll tell you what will happen.” She smiles winningly at me, sweetly almost. “I’ll get rid of you myself. I’ve worked too goddamn hard, given up too much for you to take them from me. The pain and the suffering I went through to become this, the perfect omega, is not something I bore lightly. I did it knowing that I would be rewarded with a pack one day, a powerful one. One that could care for me in the way that I’ve become accustomed. One that would bring my father pride and endless amounts of wealth.”
A small smile curls her lips. “Of course, I couldn’t have imagined it would be the Falcone pack, but here we are. They are mine, Sadie. If you don’t give them to me, I will take them, just as I’ve taken every other thing in my fucking life.”
I blink at her. Slowly, her words clicking into place. “You were a beta,” I say on a breath. “You were a beta, and you knew you were going to stay a beta.” I running eyes over her body. “Plastic surgery to make yourself look like an omega. Medications and blood transfusions to make you smell like an omega. Like me. But you don’t have any of the omega instincts, do you?”
Her grin only grows as I figure it out.
All this time I’d been sure, so fucking sure, that I was the fake. But it was her all along.
