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I’m not an omega, though I acted the part for almost twenty-five years. I don’t need to be one, though. I’m not sure if it’s a female alpha thing or if it’s because I’m his fated mate, but I can do something similar for Ryker. I can calm him the same way my mom can soothe the most feral packmate.
Just being in the same room together, I can sense Ryker’s fury ebbing away.
Don’t get me wrong. He’s still majorly pissed. Whatever the other shifter came here to tell him, it’s not good news. But having me near? Walking to his side, supporting him because I’m his mate and that’s my job now? He relaxes a little further.
His hand lands on my shoulder. I send a pulse of love down our bond before I peer up at the other shifter.
No surprise, he refuses to meet my gaze.
That, I decide, is definitely a Ryker’s mate thing.
“Hey, Duke,” I say in greeting, using the nickname I gave him. And maybe I really am fucking terrible because I make sure to put as much honey into my voice as I can as I ask, “How are ya this fine,earlymorning?”
“Um. Could be doing better, I guess.” His brow furrows, obviously confused by how sweet I’m acting. He was there when I used an alpha howl to control him, and he—along with Jace, Dorian, and Bobby promised themselves as my personal guard just the other day—so he knows better than most that I’m all predator. Falling back into the old Omega Gem routine is throwing him for a loop. “Sorry for disturbing you.”
“No apologies necessary. So, tell me: what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
His big head swivels in Ryker’s direction.
Ryker bites back his grin in time. The big shifter has no clue that I was fucking with him, but Ryker knows—and I got him to grin. Just what I was hoping for.
“She’s my mate,” he says to Duke. “Anything you’ll tell your Alpha, you’ll tell her.”
Duke picks up one of his catcher mitt-sized paws, anxiously scratching at the back of his thick neck. “I was just reporting to the Alpha that the pack council put Accalia on emergency lockdown, Miss… uh—”
Poor guy. I might have issues with his real name and insist on using a nickname for him, but he has to know mine. I think the issue is in how ishesupposed to addressme. Back when I first lived with the pack, my new packmates either addressed me as Omega or their Alpha’s intended. Now that they know my true rank, he’s probably struggling because I can’t be the Alpha—Rykeris—and referring to me as his mate just seems… weird to me.
I take pity on him. “Gem. Just Gem is fine. And what’s this about a lockdown?”
“Well, we would’ve come straight to Ryker first, but we didn’t want to disturb him… to disturb you both… unless we were sure.”
Sure about what? No clue, but they had to be since Duke’s here now. Huh. I wonder if they drew short straws or something to figure out who would be the unlucky wolf to interrupt us. Duke definitely looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but here.
And then Ryker snorts angrily, Duke pales beneath his tanned skin, and I decide to stop wondering about that.
Oh, boy. I remember the banging from before and feel even worse for Duke. It takes a lot for Ryker to lose his temper—trust me, I know—but whatever the big shifter came here to tell Ryker about had certainly done it.
Suddenly, I’m beginning to think I should’ve stayed in bed.
But I didn’t, and that doesn’t stop me from asking, “Sure about what?”
Ryker is radiating heat, but his voice is icy cold as he says, “My pack council believes they know who was working with my former Beta. It was one of us, Gemma.”
Of course it was.
Forget calming Ryker. My wolf rouses inside of my chest, pacing back and forth as she decides to feed off of his fury.
I don’t know why I feel so blindsided. Shane made it obvious that, while he ran off to the Western Pack, there was at least one other shifter back East who was loyal to him; as much as none of us wanted to believe it, all signs pointed to it being a wolf in Accalia. At first, it seemed as if Trish had been in on his scheming until she came back with an explanation, begging for another chance. And, as much as it painedmeto admit it, she was telling the truth, both when it came to being duped and when she said she was sorry.
Could she have fooled both me and Ryker?
“You found the second traitor?” At his nod, my hands flex with a chilling crack, my claws shooting out over my fingertips. “Don’t tell me it’s Trish.”
Ryker growls under his breath as Duke looks momentarily confused. “What? No. It’s not Trish.”
“Then who is it?”
Duke gulps, but doesn’t say anything just yet. It’s almost like hecan’t.
