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“Consider yourself lucky, little brat.” Wilder sneers, staring at me as if he would like nothing more than to wring my neck. “If the decision was mine—”
Enzo silences him by smacking him upside the head. He looks so incredibly sexy doing so. I nearly ask him to do it again. Who knew watching him humiliate the guy who freaked me the fuck out would be such a turn on?
Silence falls through the room, and I tilt my head up and catch Enzo staring at me with his eyebrow cocked. Arsenio and Desmond also drink me in, and Wilder looks like he’s about to have a coronary, the thick vein in his neck bunching and cording with his flexing.
Enzo leans closer to Arsenio, a flirtatious smirk softening his features. “She liked that,” he whispers, but not so quietly that I can’t hear. He wants me to know he knows.
Desmond whips his head back and forth and stands up, carrying me with him away from the bed. “I’m pretty fucking sure we all liked that, but it doesn’t mean anything. Let’s get this all out in the open, make some decisions—” Looking at me, Desmond meets my gaze. “That work for everyone. I’m over your guys’ power-pissing match. We need to get things straightened out before shit catches up with us.”
It takes everything in me not to argue, but I know better. If I continue to do so, I’ll just prolong this misery, and I want to be left alone again. I want Wilder to storm off and sulk somewhere else. Mostly, I want answers. I will demand them. This has gone on long enough, my emotions constantly fluctuating as if they’re on a rollercoaster with unexpected freefalls around every corner.
“You mean Wilder’s pissing match. The rest of us are good.” Enzo waits at the small sitting area, the loveseat and recliner not big enough to accommodate all of us.
“Enough. I mean it.” Desmond glowers at each of his brothers. “We’re moving past this. Now.”
“Fucking finally,” Wilder mutters.
Arsenio smacks him on the back of the head. “Blame yourself.”
I exhale a long, soft breath, trying to relax even with the lingering annoyance between everyone.
“For fucking real.” Holding his arms out, Enzo wiggles his fingers at me. “Come here, baby. You can sit with me. We have some catching up to do, and I brought something you might like.”
Enzo reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a bag, shaking it at me. His smile widens as he tugs a chocolate chip cookie out and waves it. Is he serious? Carrying around cookies in his pocket as a snack for me? He makes it extremely hard to remember my place in this world as an unbonded omega. No man has ever been so thoughtful. It almost hurts me just thinking about it.
“You know, since you ignored me before and my brother had the pleasure of giving you the cupcakes that I spent forever watching the chef bake,” Enzo adds. He takes a bite of the cookie and hums. “These took twice as long. So good.”
Damn him.
“You can’t bribe her, brother.” Desmond sets me on my feet, motioning me to the loveseat. “We all agreed.”
“Um, yes, he can.” I hold out my hand to Enzo, my stomach screaming for the chance to taste his offering.
Tipping his head back, Enzo roars a laugh, picks me up by my waist, and spins me around to sit on his lap as he slouches in the recliner. He puts out the footrest, and I laugh, falling into his chest.
“Cookies, now,” I demand, squirming to reach for the bag, setting off Enzo’s body in the process. “Please. I’m so hungry.”
“How could I resist that sweet, sassy mouth?” Enzo dangles the bag in front of me.
I expect him to feed me, but one look at his three brothers declares something like that won’t happen. At least not here and now. Arsenio got away with it because we were alone. It’s obvious things have changed a bit, and I’m about to find out by how much.
I avoid the silent stares of everyone, shoving one cookie after another into my mouth until it becomes nearly impossible to chew. Maybe this is me unintentionally trying to choke myself to evade the impending conversation. I know that they managed to find information about my past—even if it’s out of context and misreported—but they have no reason to believe anything else otherwise. It was enough to set Wilder off. If a murder-suicide didn’t, I’d probably be more concerned about it. I just...ugh. Bringing up my past opens wounds I’ve managed to bandage and ignore.
I slow down eating before I run out of my saving grace in the form of the best cookies I’ve ever had in my life. “Are you all just going to watch me eat? You wanted to talk, so talk.” Am I rude? Who cares. They’ve kept me locked in a bathroom. All I did was get caught and landed in a situation out of my control.
Wilder straightens his back. “Let’s start with who the fuck—”
Desmond smacks Wilder on the back of the head. “I’m sorry, Kinsey. I know this whole situation sucks, and all you want to do is leave...but we’ve all agreed it would be in everyone’s best interest, including yours, if you stay. We can’t exactly have you on our staff for obvious reasons—”
“Because you couldn’t mind your business, you’re now a part of ours. I’m sure you don’t want to land in some breeder house or club like the bitch of Dark Alley intended, so we’ve decided to grant you mercy as long as you care for our little sister.” Wilder spits out the words in a hurry like he can’t stand his brother speaking over him.
What? I hear his words, but my brain refuses to process them. I minded my damn business. They’ve all declared none of this was my fault, yet Wilder still wants to put some of the blame on me.
My mouth twists in fury, my eyes capturing his. I can’t control my emotions. He’s such a dick. “Are you kidding me? Mercy? Mercy? Fuck you and your mercy, Wilder. Your little sister has obviously manifested as an omega. She doesn’t need a caretaker. I know how things work. You can’t expect me to believe you don’t have some pack lined up for her.” I wave my hand around, motioning at the room. “I don’t know exactly who you all are, but you obviously have power and ties to the Pack Regime. You’re strong enough to have the resources to screw up Madame Tamsin’s business without a care. So don’t give me this bullshit about you showing me mercy.”
“Damn, sugar. Yell at my brother some more. His douche ass deserves it. Even he knows that.” Arsenio leans forward, reaching over the small table, silently asking for me to touch his hand. I wonder if I should. It’s the subtle things like a simple touch that can leave his fragrance on me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous that I was currently sitting on Enzo’s lap. Especially after I touched him how I did. How I let him touch me. How we kissed.
Ah fuck. I need to get that out of my head right now. I don’t need to get all horny while I’m trying to stand up for myself.
