Page 158 of The Rust in Her Hair

The fucker moves so slowly, making my anger rise with each passing second.

He sets the bottle back down, turns the bottle label out, then pushes the stopper down softly.

Fuck, I’d love to break that goddamn bottle over his smug face.

"I spent the weekend reading up on you." Crispin turns, looking right at Adrian. He lifts his glass and takes a small sip. "Adrian Bennett. Structural carpenter, employed with Cruz Construction." His eyes move to me. "Nicolas Cruz. Small business owner and site foreman. And Mackenzie Shaw, all living in one house." His eyes narrow as he cuts them back to Adrian. "Oh, and lets not forget your beta, Owen."

My body jerks toward the asshole, my hands coming up, every muscle in me set on beating that look off his face. But Adrian's arm bands across my chest, stopping me cold.

"No," he whispers, before shooting a look toward the command room behind us. "Everyone will see."

He’s right. Stick to the plan.

My fists shake as I force them down to my sides. I curl them tighter until my nails bite my palms, and my breath finally comes out even and slow.

"Tell me, Bennett." Crispin sets his glass down on the long table between us. "How long did you think you'd get to keep my Lyra before someone came looking for her?"

And Adrian, God love him, glances at me.

It's nothing. A flicker of his eyes, the old reflex of a man checking with his pack alpha before he answers. But Crispin catches it, and I watch him realize it in real time.

"Holy shit." The fucker’s mouth pulls up into a shit-eating grin. "You’re the one in charge of this little gang." His gaze sharpens on me, like he found a hidden treasure. "You're the pack alpha." He pops the P. "You're the one they kneel for."

"Enough," I growl softly, struggling to keep it together. "We didn't drive all the way across the city to listen to you run your mouth. Cut the shit and tell me why we're here."

"You know." Crispin turns back to Adrian, slowly picking up his glass of whiskey. It’s obvious he has no intention of getting to his goddamn point. "Here's what I have never understood about alphas like you." He points at Adrian. "Why would you so willingly fall to your knees for another alpha?" His dark eyes move up and down Adrian’s tall form, but my mate doesn't even blink.

I wish I was that calm right now.

"I guess it makes sense," Crispin keeps running his mouth. "I read the police reports about you. How your father beat the shit out of you. You were a grown man." He makes a face like it’s ridiculous. "Why didn’t you press charges?"

Adrian’s facade finally cracks. His jaw works, and my patience breaks.

"What the fuck do you want?" The words tear out of me so loud they bounce off the glass.

The command floor goes dead quiet behind me. The low hum of a few dozen people drops all at once, and I don’t have to look to know that every set of eyes is looking right at me. But I keep my eyes nailed to Crispin and let them stare at the back of my head.

For half a second Crispin's eyes go wide, caught off guard, the smirk knocked clean off him. Then it climbs back, slower this time and wider, and he looks at me like I've done something that greatly pleases him.

"What a temper." He chuckles. "Do you speak to Lyra that way?"

"Why do you want her?" Adrian finally asks. "There are plenty of other omegas in this damn city. Why her?"

Crispin swirls his whiskey, watching it move, before taking another slow sip. My rage ticks up another notch with every second that passes, but I try like hell not to let it show.

"There's a reason old families guard their bloodlines." Crispin looks between us and I can tell already this is going to be a long fucking explanation. "Strong families want to hand their companies down to an alpha child so they know it’s in good hands. After all, alpha’s fight for their legacy tooth and nail, and no one will be able to take that power away from them." He tips the glass toward me. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the burden of protecting a legacy, but you can take my word for it."

I grit my teeth, struggling not to react.

How the fuck is Adrian holding it together so well?

"But to produce alpha children, you pretty much have to mate with a she-alpha." Crispin talks like he’s sharing an interesting fact. "Because of that, powerful families are filled with alphas, who mate other alphas, looking to keep their bloodlines filled with men and women who can’t be controlled." His dark eyes slide between me and Adrian. "Do you follow me so far?"

Neither one of us answers the asshole. Hell, we don’t even blink.

"I’ll take that as a yes," Crispin smiles, clearly pleased with himself. "The downside to all this alpha mating is that it’s become very hard to find an elegant, well-trained omega. And that’s what I want." He shakes his head, like this has become a real burden for him. "She-alphas have no interest in bowing down to their husbands. But an omega." A wide smile cracks across his face, "Those lovely creatures are wired down to the bone to make their alpha happy."

I've got my jaw clamped tight enough to crack a molar.