She huffed. “Can you wait until I send the babysitter home before you come in then? I’d rather the good folk of Lolo didn’t think I was running a fucking brothel out of my rental.”
There was a tense silence, and Raiden huffed. “Of course, Omega. You aren’t a prisoner. We request that you listen to our plea, but then if you wish, we will leave and go back to our home.”
She gave him another narrow-eyed glare, but it vanished nearly immediately. Raiden was very disarming. I had the opposite effect though.
She climbed out over his lap, holding her hand out for her tote bag. I hefted it between the seats to her, and she stomped off toward the front door. We sat in the darkness, not even a street light illuminating the interior of the car.
“She could be calling the cops,” Finlo said.
Gatlin shook his head. “No, I know her type. She won’t call the cops. She might run though.”
The disquiet that ran through the car at the thought was nearly a living thing. “She can run, but I will find her again,” I said confidently, and Ellar snorted.
“Show off.” He frowned. “I don’t know how you’re still walking. Just the faint hints of her heat and I’m choking on air,” he whispered, and I decided to play it tough and pretend I wasn’t ready to fuck the tailpipe of this Mom-Van.
Gatlin made an uncomfortable sound from the front. “No one pressures her. If she kicks us out, we leave. We aren’t our brethren of old. We are better. A willing Omega or no Omega.”
Raiden nodded. “Of course, Alpha. But if Seven can smell her heat now, eventually those with less impressive noses will scent her and come down from the mountains. We both know that not all Packs have our beliefs.”
A low growl rumbled in my chest, and I tried to squash it down out of habit. No one would beat me down for my dominance in this pack, but old habits died hard.
“Then we stay and protect, warn her about what might be coming, and then when her heat is over, we leave. She’ll know the dangers she faces then if she stays here. She’ll probably move on.”
Raiden whined, and Ellar pulled him into his arms. We slid back into silence as the minutes dragged on.
I was beginning to worry that Gatlin was correct about her running when the blue front door opened and a teenage girl walked out, sliding into a beat-up car that whirred like bees caught in a bottle as she sped away. The door opened again, and the Omega was there. She eyed the van like she could set it on fire with her mind, but eventually she lifted her chin, motioning us into the house.
We were stealthy, protecting her reputation as much as possible. Luckily, despite our size, Manix were actually built for stealth. It was what made us such good warriors. Semi-shifting, a light coating of fur slid down our skin, making us blend with the darkness.
We slipped through the Omega’s door like shifting shadows in the night, and she closed it gently behind us.
Finally, she stank of fear. “What the fuck are you guys?”
Finlo looked down at her—hell, she couldn’t be more than five-two—and grinned. “Manix.”
4
Naja
“Manic? Like maniacs?”
Who the fuck had I just invited through my front door, with Luisa in her bed in the next room?
The calming one stepped forward, making a soothing noise. “No, not maniacs. We are a breed of supernatural called Manix. We have all but died out, except for a small colony of us in the mountains.”
I screwed up my face, but it did explain the weird camouflage thing they’d done a minute ago. It was like they’d just disappeared before my eyes. “Never heard of you.”
Ellar gave me a sad smile. “Not many have.”
I kinda felt guilty again for being a bit of a dick to the guy who’d only been polite so far. I chewed my lip as I looked up into his nearly gold eyes. “Naja. My name is Naja.”
The smile he gave me was dazzling, and made my body clench like it was a caress. Every single one of them snapped to attention, their eyes lingering on me like I was prey. I curled my lip in a snarl and they all looked away.
The big one, Finlo I think his name was, dropped his eyes until he was looking at my toes. “Excuse us, Omega. But your scent calls to us.”
I sighed, because they were still carrying on about me being an Omega, and ushered them into the tiny living room. How they’d all fit among the giant pile of clean laundry and the warzone of Luisa’s toys, I didn’t know, but I perched myself on the armchair and let them spread out where they would. One big guy sat on the couch, with another leaning against the door frame. Ellar sat on the floor, his back resting against the couch, and the calming one pressed against the big one’s side. The surly one with a big mouth rested against the wall in the corner, frowning.
“You better tell me your names. I can’t keep calling you ‘scary ass fuckers’ in my brain.”
