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“Why is that?”
Arlo shrugs. “Because she needed a knot.”
“And that’s all I am to you? A knot?”
“Of course not, Reese. You’re—” He stops and runs his hand through his hair, pulling out the bun that had held it in place.
“I’m what?” I ask gruffly.
“You’re everything to me, ok?” Arlo snaps.
I’m too shocked by this to respond. Instead I just stand there, looking at Arlo—the man I’ve hated for years. “Everything?”
“Yeah, everything. All I thought about. All I ever fucking wanted. Don’t act like you didn’t know. I was obsessed with you, even back when we were kids.”
“I had no idea.” And I really didn’t. When we were kids, I was too busy trying not to get myself killed to worry about romance. Even if I had been looking for love, I wouldn’t have looked twice at my friend’s kid brother. What a fool I was.
I watch as he swallows hard, his Adam’s apple working in his throat. I reach out and grab the back of his neck, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Arlo,” I rasp.
He breathes out a shaky breath. “Reese.”
I press my lips to his and pull him close, pushing my tongue into his mouth, reminding him that he belongs to me. He moans against me, his arms wrapping around me as he kisses me back with every bit of his soul.
And that’s when Derek bursts through the door. I can see Haven standing behind him, her eyes wide, and her mouth shaped in a perfect O of surprise. She’s wearing my tee-shirt, the hem hanging over her mid-thighs, and her hair is mussed from my hands and the movement of her head against the pillow when I was inside her. She follows Derek into the kitchen, lingering behind him as he starts to rage at us.
“Are you fucking kidding me with this?” Derek shouts, his expression turning incredulous as he stares at Arlo. He sniffs closer, and I growl a warning. “Shut up,” Derek snaps at me. He turns back to Arlo. “Is that you? You’ve been hiding the fact that you’re an omega,andyou’re fucking the feral? You’re an idiot. You knew the rules.”
“Derek…” Haven starts.
“Don’t bother,” Derek snarls without looking at her. “I’m putting an end to all of this right now. Arlo, you’re fired, go pack your shit.”
Arlo opens his mouth to protest, but Derek interrupts him. “One word out of you and you’ll be blacklisted. I’ll tell everyone what you are. No more work for you in this town. You got it?”
Arlo nods once, his eyes finding mine for an instant before he turns to Haven. He goes to take her hand in his, but Derek barks, “Go.”
Arlo’s shoulders shake as he tries to resist, but Haven whispers, “It’s all right, go. Don’t let him blacklist you.” She pats his hand and smiles. As Arlo leaves the room, Derek turns to me.
“Feral, I’m disappointed in you. You knew the rules, no fucking with the production team. I should have known you couldn’t keep your cock in your pants. This is unbelievable. What a fucking pain in the ass. Pack your shit, you’re out too. I’m going to move Haven to the mansion.”
“What?” Haven stammers, “Derek, I… I—”
“Whatever you want to say, don’t bother,” Derek snaps without looking at her. “It’s in your contract that if we want you at the mansion, you go to the mansion. No arguments. Besides, if you can get both of these assholes to fuck you, maybe you’re worthy of meeting the high-quality packs, after all.” He smirks at his own joke, and my hands clench into fists at my sides. He looks back over his shoulder at me. “As for you, I’m sending some people over here to kick you and your boy omega out. I’ll be out front when you’re ready, Haven. Don’t leave anything behind. You won’t be coming back.”
With that, he storms out of the kitchen, leaving Haven and I to stare at each other. Her red hair spills over the shoulders of my shirt, and she hugs it tight to her chest. She’s incredible. She really does deserve to meet a “high-quality” pack, as Derek called it.
…And that’s when I realize, I have to let her go. If Haven goes to the mansion, she’ll have a good chance of finding a solid pack; one that can take care of her. Arlo will be better off without me too. Maybe he can blame me for his fucking around and get his job back. After all, a feral alpha with two omegas? Of course I was going to seduce them; it wasn’t really their fault.
The alpha instinct in my chest howls in protest, telling me to grab them and hold on for dear life, but I shove it down, mercilessly. If I really care about them, then I’ll let them go; let them make better lives for themselves. This is the right thing to do. There’s no way around it—together, there’s no future for us. I’ll only hold both of them back.
“Let’s tell him no,” Haven says, her brow creased with worry as she steps toward me. “We can go talk to Arlo together. We can tell him what we talked about. How we need him with us. We can make a united stand against Derek, appeal to the network. Maybe we can all go to the mansion. Or maybe they’ll just let us leave. I’ll sign whatever they want. I’ll even work off the debt...”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “This is for the best.”
Haven blinks at me, those big beautiful blue eyes staring deep into my soul. “What do you mean?” she asks softly. God, I want to comfort her. I want to grab her hand and pull into Arlo’s room. I could hold them both close and promise them I’ll protect them; that nothing will happen to them. That they’re mine.
But they aren’t. And they never will be. They can’t be.
