Page 31 of Traded

I yank my hair free of Jonas’s hands and scrabble off his lap, getting to my feet and backing away from them. “No.”

Absolutely not. To sharemypack? My space? Myhome? My nails dig into my wrist again, scratching until the sharp sting dampens the panic building. “That’s…they don’t work.”

Everybody knows that. Two omegas are a bonfire waiting to happen. A tinder bundle waiting for an inevitable flame. Bile builds. “My whole life would be a dominance battle!”

“Don’t dismiss it yet.” Liam taps his knuckles against the arm of the couch, watching. All of them are watching, even Miles. “I can make this work, Rosie. Don’t believe everything you read in the press. You know that better than most people.”

Now, I get it. Why he’s leading this, when it should be Carter. “The NOC will never agree to this.”

The guidelines are strict. And there might be packs that fly under the radar—like Liam’s family—but not us. I seize that thread of hope. “We’re too public. They won’t let this happen.”

Miles coughs. “Only if they find out.”

Liam glares at him. “They have to know. But not until we have things under control. We’ll work this through as a pack. And then, when things are…settled. Before playoffs. We’ll let them know, apply for an ECO.”

“What’s that?”

“Extenuating Circumstances Order.” Liam stands. I barely hold my ground as he approaches, ducking his head until we’re close to level. “I can keep ustogether, Ro. None of us want you to go. If we can prove we’re making things work, they’ll grant the order. Nobody likes seeing an omega without a pack.”

My throat is tight. “She’llnever agree to this.”

No omega would. To find your scent matches, and then have to share them? To walk into another omega’s territory and try to carve out a space? Who would agree to that?

“She already did.” Carter finally gets my attention. He scans every part of my face, taking it in. “We worked it out today. It was the only choice we offered. That was my condition.”

Lauren… agreed? Tothis?

I cup my throat, backing up until my spine collides with the window. I let the cool glass press into Carter’s sweatshirt. “And what if I don’t agree?”

Liam stays where he is. Carter is the one who stands. I plaster myself to the glass as he approaches, turning my head away. He takes my cheeks in his. “Look at me.”

My eyes lift.

“Then we leave,” he whispers. “You and me, Ro.”

A rasping noise comes from my throat.

Our pack…splits.“You would leave?”

His expression softens, but I can see the pain behind it. “No me without you, remember?”

“We don’t want that to happen, Rosie.” Miles stands, pulling his jacket together and buttoning it. “Especially with the season getting underway.”

The final, elusive piece of the jigsaw clicks into place.

Carter would choose me. And Liam and Jonas—they would choose her. Their scent match.

If I leave now, if Carter comes with me, then our pack fractures.

But so do the Titans.

A fractured pack would be carnage on the ice. Their season, their playoff hopes, their chances of lifting the Cup, everything they’ve worked for would be decimated. They are the heart of the team. And that heart would be broken.

I swallow. “You could say no to the match.”

I step out from Carter, feeling his hand brush mine. I approach Liam instead, my tone close to pleading as I twist between him and Jonas, appealing to them both. “Youcould. It happens.”

I feel selfish for voicing it. Jonas is gentle. “You know what happens if we do that. To do that to her without even trying… it’s cruel.”