I knew I was touch-starved. My omega thrived every time someone held my hand or hugged me. Even Kieran had picked up on it. But it seemed like it got worse every day, which I couldn’t make sense of.
A loud knock on the door startled me enough that I dropped the cup I was washing into the water, accidentally splashing myself. It continued, downright thunderous in the quiet afternoon.
“Geez, do they have to be so rough?” I muttered, grabbing a dish towel and drying myself off.
Raised voices carried in from the entryway, angry alpha pheromones leaking into the kitchen already. My heart pounded as I moved closer.
“And then I get a call saying my son has been banned for a week! You have nothing to say about that? You’re miraculously just silent?”
“Yes,” Cade said, voice even. “I’m an adult and don’t need to explain every aspect of my life to you.”
“You’ve embarrassed me, Cade Oliver Briggs. Not only that, you’ve embarrassed the company and our family name. I put all my backing behind you, and this is how you repay me?!”
Their angry scents were now so overwhelming, to the point bile rose in my throat.
“I never asked for your backing,” Cade said, his voice harder now. How he was keeping his cool was a mystery. I was barely holding on.
A loud crack echoed, like a fist hitting something.
There was a sharp intake of breath that I recognized as Cade’s, and I was moving before I even realized it, fury burning through me. My omega had her teeth bared before I even pushed open the door.
It smacked against the wall as I rushed through, the crack gaining their attention.
“Who the hell are you to come in here yelling at him like that?” I growled, squaring off with an alpha easily twice my size. “And if you hit him, you better fucking hope he doesn’t press charges. That’s assault and there’s a witness.”
“This is no matter for an omega,” Cade’s dad snapped, mouth twisting into a sneer.
Cade tried to pull me out of harm’s way, but I wasn’t having it. I stood my ground, shoulders squared. Even my fingers were curled into claws, ready to fight back if he stepped any closer to my mate.
“Did he hit you, Cade?” I didn’t turn to look at him, simply glared at his father as I waited for him to answer.
“No, princess,” Cade said calmly. “He didn’t. And he will be fixing the wall with his own money.”
“Like hell I will,” the man thundered like an angry toddler. He was so different from Cade, outside of their shared blue eyes. I had a feeling this exact argument was why the alpha was so quiet.
When we didn’t back down, he crossed his hands and shot another verbal barb. “You have time this week anyway, right?”
I let out a growl that rumbled through me. My omega was already on edge, and she had decided the guys were hers. She was ready to go to war for her alpha.
“Last time I checked, Cade is a full-grown alpha. What he does with his time is irrelevant in this case. You put your hand through our wall, and you will fix it, or expect a bill from the fucking team,” I shot back. “Also, consider this your last visit.”
“Who the fuck are you to decide how I talk to anyone?” he challenged.
I crossed my arms, tilting my head. “My name is Lana Flynn. Ring any bells?”
He opened his mouth to argue, then recognition dawned on his face.
“There it is,” I said coldly. “If Ieverhear you talking to one of the Wardens like this, let alone your own son, again, everyone will know your name. And I promise I have far more pull than you think. Your money means nothing here. I’m not only the daughter of some of the most influential people in hockey, I’m also connected to several members of the AHA board.”
He started to open his mouth, but another growl ripped from my throat, deep and guttural. His final warning.
“Now apologize for coming in here and being an asshole, and then promptly leave. Your opinion isn’t needed, nor is your presence.”
His skin turned an angry red, veins bulging in his neck. His hands flexed at his sides. He wanted to hurt me.
He wasn’t used to people standing up to him, especially omegas. I could tell that from his reaction.
The pack filled the room behind me, ready to grab me at a moment’s notice. Honestly, I was shocked they hadn’t already.
