Alphas usually took longer to be ready to pack up than omegas.
Carlos held my hand as we walked back to our villa, the snow still falling lightly, making everything feel magical. Yep, this was so much better than being introduced to business alphaholes by my fathers.
But if I didn’t show interest in someone soon, my grandfather might want to use me for an alliance. My fathers might dare not arrange a marriage for me. But my grandparents on my mother’s side?
That was another story entirely.
One I wanted to avoid at all costs.
We do not put mafia men in our vaginas, because ultimately their loyalty is to The Family, not their family. Women? Maybe. But the men? Never. Especially alphas.My mother taught me that. She’d intentionally sought an overseas marriage with my business mogul fathers because she wanted a match that her family would find acceptable, but was not part ofThe Family Business, as she called it. She encouraged me to do the same.
Saoirse agreed. We’d added other people to the list, like male assassins, bartenders, members of the military, therapists, finance bros, podcasters, politicians, exes, and people whose names started withJ.
Would my mother have liked Carlos? Probably. He was kind, made me happy, and was supportive. I’d already decided that she would have loved Saoirse, because Saoirsealwayshad my back.
“Hot shower, then I’ll make something warm for us to drink? We could put on a movie? We could also use the hot tub?” he offered.
“First option.” Warmth enveloped me as we entered the villa. I wanted to cuddle with Carlos under a pile of cozy blankets.
“Perfect.” Carlos kissed me.
I went upstairs and texted Saoirse that we were at the villa. My father also texted me.
Dad
You made it to Switzerland? Be safe. You’ll be back on the 27th?
Me
Yes. Love you. Don’t worry, I’m fine.
Dad
It’s not you I worry about. It’s everyone else.
Yep. Sure. And that’s why he’d had a very expensive company surveil me throughout my time at the academy. I’d made them after about a week, but knew if I didn’t play along I’d get worse. Saoirse had one pinned to the wall the moment we’d left the bar together.
Dad
Do you have New Year's plans?
Me
Yes, I do.
Since Carlos wanted me to go to his game on New Years Eve and meet all his friends at a party, I should get a cute new outfit.
Hmmm. What did one wear to a hockey game when your boyfriend was playing? A quick search on my phone told me that I either went super cute or wore his jersey–while being perfectly accessorized. Oooh, I liked that idea. Carlos absolutely had fans and I wanted every one of them to know that he belonged to me.
My group chat with my assassin friends, aka the omega assassinbrunch society, was also buzzing. There were lots of pictures of people getting ready for the holidays.
Timotheé
Bitch, have fun. Bring me back BroKen?
Timotheé, Timmy, was from Paris, which he never let us forget, and an omega specializing in seduction and close-contact jobs. Like all of us in that friend group, he was part of the Order of the Black Dahlia. But he also worked for the Company, like Saoirse.
The Company was like Interpol, but make it assassins, while the Order was a high-level professional society that could also get you work. I hadn’t seen him much. He’d been really busy.
