“What’s wrong, kid? Scared I’ll take your Omega?” He looked me up and down. “Don’t need it now. Got my own. Pureblood at that. You can keep your mutt.”
His words were like tiny knives in my heart, confirming everything I’d ever thought about the Manix and Maxton. I clung embarrassingly to Corvin’s back, and I felt his muscles bunch like he wanted to hit the older Alpha, but he wouldn’t leave me defenseless.
Cooper, apparently, had no such qualms. His fist came out of nowhere, and then he pummeled the Alpha. Blood sprayed, but the other Alpha was no weakling either. He soon rolled on top of Cooper, landing his own blows, the crunch of bone telling me that they weren’t pulling their punches.
A huge Manix waded into the fight, grabbing Wilkie by his too long hair and dragging him off Cooper. Another Alpha, with hair as blond as Cooper’s, grabbed him up and put him on his feet, keeping one restraining hand around his bicep.
“What the fuck is going on?” the big Alpha holding Wilkie growled, and I could feel his power against my skin. He was strong, and scary as hell.
“None of your fucking business, Huxley,” Wilkie snarled. “Let me go before I tear you to shreds.”
The big Alpha just laughed. “In your dreams, dickhead.” He let him go with a shove, making Wilkie stumble. “Get the fuck out of here before I lose my control and give you the ass-kicking you so desperately need.”
Wilkie spat at the guy’s feet and strode off. He didn’t seem to have any Pack with him, and I wondered if he was a bachelor Manix. Though he’d said something about an Omega, so he must have a Pack.
I stepped out from behind Corvin’s broad back, running to Cooper. “Are you okay?”
I rubbed at his bloodied cheeks. It was smearing the crimson liquid but I wanted to see if he had anything that required stitches. He hissed when I ran my fingers over his nose, which was now sitting at the wrong angle.
“Your nose is broken. We should realign it.” I placed my fingers at the very top of his nose, right between the eyes, then molded my palms down the sides, holding it snugly between my hands. “You’re going to want to take a deep breath. This will hurt, but it will hurt more trying to do it once it swells.” I ran my hands as straight as I could down his nose toward his chin, and he hissed in pain as it crunched back into place. I stepped away, looking at my work. It was straight, but already starting to swell so I wouldn’t know if it was crooked until it went back down again. By then, it would be too late, but hey, I tried.
A woman with a toddler bustled over, waving tissues at me. Oh, actually they were wet wipes.
“Man, what I would have given to accidentally put the boot into Wilkie’s ribs,” she sighed. She passed the child to the big blond Alpha, who snuggled her close to his chest. The woman looked between Corvin and Cooper. “You guys okay?” They nodded. “Well then, there's no excuse not to introduce me to your friend.”
Cooper’s sigh was a higher pitch than normal. “Kitten, this is my cousin Finlo, and his Packmates Gatlin and Naja. Also, Naja’s little sister, Luisa. They are part of the Huxley-Grey Pack.”
I looked around the group, at the smiling face of Finlo and the equally welcoming expression of Naja. Gatlin frowned. “You’re one of the new Omegas?”
I nodded, and Naja flushed a deep red. “My bad.”
Doc had told me that it had been Naja’s heat that set off the chain reaction. I gave her a tight smile. “Not your fault.”
Corvin gathered me back into his arms protectively, and Finlo raised an eyebrow. “Friend of yours, Corvin?”
“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.
“And where did you come from, little Omega? Down south?” He used the same endearment as Wilkie, but this time, it didn’t give me the creeps. There was something to be said about tone and body language, and while this guy was huge and scary, he wasn’t threatening. Gatlin was still frowning, but he wasn’t leering like Wilkie. He seemed worried and perplexed, but not in a weird way. He looked at me like I was a puzzle.
So I answered, but I thought it through first, ensuring I had the right English words, and didn’t embarrass Corvin and Cooper. “I was raised by Lorso in the woods on the north-western border.”
Gatlin tilted his head. “You have an accent.”
Well, so much for that. “Didn’t learn English until I was thirteen,” I told him that in the bastardized Latin Lorso had taught me, making the blond one laugh.
“She’s speaking Latin. Holy fucking shit. Lorso was real. That's insane.”
Naja threw him an exasperated look. “Don’t swear in front of Luisa, Fin.” She leaned closer to Gatlin. “Who the fuck is Lorso?” she whispered, and a giggle passed my lips.
“An urban legend.” He looked between us. “Come for dinner one day soon. Bring Darius and Beckett too. I’d like to know more.”
With that, he bundled them away, even though Naja rolled her eyes. “See you soon. Call me if you need anything. I’m sure you have questions.”
Questions about being an Omega. Doc had been reassuring but he didn’t really know much; it was all theoretical. The closest I had was Darius, since he was also an Omega, but it still wasn’t the same.
I gave Naja—the reason I was in this situation in the first place—a relieved look. “Thank you. I’d like that.”
Corvin pushed me toward the ATV. “Home now.” Yeah, he’d reached the end of his patience, and honestly, I’d had my fill too. That was enough people for one day.
