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Calder bends over and sniffs the vial he’s in the middle of labeling. Then he shrugs. Fucking shrugs.

“It smells good, but not lose-control-of-my-fangs-good. When’s the last time you two fed?”

“It must be because of the magic in her veins.” I push out of my seat and yank Vae out of his. We need to get back. Get away from the Omega before our baser instincts take over.

Caelan’s fangs have dropped as well, but unlike Vae and me, he seems to have some kind of control over himself. Enough to hand his Mate over to the only predator in the room who won’t sink his fangs into her perfect, porcelain skin.

Soren wraps his arms around his Omega as Caelan furiously ushers them out of the room, away from the three of us.

Soren doesn’t waste any time getting her away. The last thing I see before the door slams shut behind them is Idril’s bright blue eyes filled with bewilderment.

I’ll have to avoid this room for the next few days. Even without her blood physically present, I’m still struggling. For the first time in decades, I… want.

I want to fight. I want to fuck. I want to do both at once.

But not with just anyone.

With her. Idril. The innocent little Omega with the big blue eyes and the stubborn set to her jaw that I thought I hated, but am starting to realize I actually admire. The female we all thought was human, but has blood that shimmers and smells so fucking perfect it brings immortal vampire Alphas to their knees.

After a few deep breaths, I feel like I’ve gained enough control to open my eyes.

I wish I hadn’t.

Caelan’s leaning against the door, arms folded and a look of fury on his face.

Godsdamnit.

“Caelan—”

“Save it,” he snaps. “I’m not interested in your excuses or explanations. I’m not here to have a fucking pow-wow like the good old days. The only reason I haven’t left is because I wanted to be sure you both were back under control first.”

“You think we’d go after Idril?” Vae’s voice is barely more than a whisper, each word dripping in pain.

Caelan’s eyes darken further. “Do I think you’d purposely do or say something to abuse an innocent, traumatized Omega? Yes. Yes, I fucking do.”

His words are like a punch to the gut. My soul physically aches. And for the first time, I truly wonder how the fuck we’re going to fix this. Because the way Caelan’s looking at us now…

He hates us.

“I know we fucked up,” Vae murmurs, eyes filling with tears. “I’m not going to make excuses.”

I reach out and place a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. The helpless look he sends me makes me feel more out of control than I have in a long time.

My entire fucking life is spiraling out of control, and I’m fucking powerless to stop it.

And I have no one to blame but myself.

Out of nowhere, Calder reappears, medical bag slung over his shoulder.

“Where—”

“Balcony,” Calder answers, cutting Vaelenor off. “Wanted to give you assholes time to compose yourselves. It was embarrassing. For you.”

Caelan raises a brow. “But not for me?”

“You’re her Mate. You’re supposed to act like a starved jackalope when you get a whiff of your Omega’s blood.”

That earns Calder a smirk, which is more than anyone else has managed to pull from my broody Packmate in the last couple of days.