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He nods, his lips pursed. “I’m just having trouble reconciling the fact that I don’t trust her with the fact that I am attracted to her.”
“They aren’t mutually exclusive, Thane. That’s fine. You can have conflicting emotions about her.”
“And usually, when we run into these sorts of challenges, Fox is on my side. You know how he hates anything new.”
He really does, and yet Fox has taken to Riley as easily as Miles has. I sigh and add the last of my onion to the soup. “Look, I don’t have any answers for you, unless you want to go upstairs and lie down on a couch while I analyze you and ask you about your dreams and your relationship with your mother. And I know how you love that. But maybe, just maybe, this is something you need to let go of.”
“I know,” he murmurs. “And it’s not just about Riley fitting in with us. My dad called me today.”
Uh oh. Thane’s relationship with his parents is rocky at best. And when he and his dads get into it? Everyone hides.
“What did he want?”
“The usual. Asking me to come work at the clinic. But then he brought up again the fact that our pack still didn’t have an Omega. He makes it sound like a weakness.”
“He’s not exactly wrong,” I venture to say.
He scowls, and I know I’ve hit a sore spot. “There’s a biological reason why Omegas need Alphas, and Alphas need Omegas. We strengthen each other. Without one, no pack is fully complete. It doesn’t mean that you’re weak, or that Fox or Miles or I are. We’re just… incomplete.”
He shakes his head, but I continue on while I’ve still got his attention. “Your parents have been pushing you to get an Omega in your life for a while now. And you know how rare they are these days. Maybe we don’t have the option to be picky. Maybe Riley is the only option we are ever going to get. Besides, I think deep down, you know she’s right for us.”
Footsteps echo through the kitchen, and Miles strides in to join us. He glances at me, his eyes filled with camaraderie. He understands the gravitas of the situation just as much as I do. “So, Thane,” he says as he washes his hands. “I take it you warmed up to our new arrival?” Behind Thane’s back, he makes a lewd gesture at me, and I hold back a laugh.
Thane simply glares at Miles, but Miles lets it roll off him like water on oil. “I’m just teasing. Really, I’m glad you’ve warmed up to Riley.”
“I don’t need to be teased,” he says, handing Miles a pungent block of Gruyere cheese. “I need this sliced up. Quarter-inch cubes, please.”
“Sometimes, I think the only reason you keep us around is to cut up things for you,” I joke, and Thane’s frown turns up.
“You got me,” he says with an insouciant wink. “The whole time, this pack has just been a way for me to be more efficient in the kitchen. Now cut up that baguette, and be quick about it.”
Miles gives me a commiserating look. With him nearby, I feel brave enough to suggest something completely wild. “Thane, what if we had Riley pretend to be our Omega, at least to get your parents to calm down a little?”
Thane grimaces at the idea, but to my surprise, he doesn’t decline it immediately. “That actually might work. At the very least it would shut them up, at least until we find her a pack.”
This time I don’t bristle at the idea of him giving our Riley away. Something tells me he won’t. There’s nothing even remotely convincing in his tone. He sounds more defeated, his lips barely able to form the words ‘find her a pack’ anymore without stumbling.
He nods at me and I school my features. “Good idea, Levi. You think she’d agree?”
“Only one way to find out,” I say, fighting a smile of my own.
Hopefully, if Thane has to act like Riley is his Omega, that will be enough to convince him to keep her forever.
* * *
That night at supper,all five of us sit together at the dining table to share a meal for the first time. Fox is relaxed, as he should be, having had an excellent time with Riley, it seems. Thane is still acting cold and distant, and it seems to be affecting Riley’s mood. She continues to send short little glances to him, her shoulders slumped like a puppy that’s been punished.
“So, Riley,” I start, trying to break up the awkwardness. “Miles told us a little bit about your past, before you moved to the city.”
She jerks her head toward Miles, clearly startled. “You told them?”
Miles looks shocked to be admonished like that, so I quickly add, “It’s just how we are, Riley. Miles didn’t mean anything by telling us. We share everything. It isn’t gossip. The four of us have no secrets from each other.”
“That’s going to take a while to get used to,” she says slowly. “I’m not sure if I like it.”
“I promise, none of us will ever use anything you say against you.” She relaxes a little. “We just want to know you and protect you. Now, can you tell us a little bit about the Alpha that hurt you when you were younger? The one that your parents knew?”
She shudders, stirring her spoon in her soup. “Why, are you going to hunt him down?” She rolls her eyes. It’s good to see her usual sass peeking through since she seemed so down at the beginning of the meal. “I don’t need protection from him. It’s too late for that. Besides, I haven’t seen him in years.”
