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In just a short time, she's already opening up and blossoming like a flower in the sun.
Lexie squeals all of the sudden, making the rest of us startle.
I reach out to her, concern furrowing my brow. "You okay, darling?"
"This is the most amazing hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. It's even better than yours. Sorry." She doesn't sound that sorry. "You should ask for the recipe."
I avoid Hendrix and Ryder's eyes and force my face to remain placid, swallowing the laughter trying to burst out of my mouth. "I'll try, but if it's something that delicious, they probably have some kind of secret ingredient."
She frowns for a second before she brightens. "Maybe we can experiment and try a bunch of hot chocolate until we get it right."
This child. I swear.
I can feel the amusement radiating from the two men, but we all manage to keep it under control, not wanting her to believe we're laughing at her.
"Maybe we can. That sounds pretty fun." I love hot chocolate, though not as much in this still warm month.
"Are others invited to the hot chocolate party?" Hendrix asks. "That sounds like a blast."
Ryder nods. "I want to come too. Your drink smells absolutely delicious, though I think I'd want my lavender hot chocolate to have a smidge of pepper."
Lexie shudders and wrinkles her nose. "Ew. Why would you ruin your chocolate with pepper?"
"I like things a little spicy." Ryder shoots me a smoldering look, so quick and subtle I'm not sure I didn't imagine it.
I squirm a bit in my seat, forcing my breathing to remain steady and even, keeping my pheromones locked down. This isn't the place and I've just met these two. I'm not an omega coming up on a heat, I'm just a beta who hasn't taken anyone into my bed in a very, very long time.
Lexie shakes her head. "I mean, you can try it at the party, but I think you'll be disappointed. That's okay though, we'll have plenty for you to try if you ruin yours."
She’s still young enough she hasn't learned how to pick out the different notes in scents, especially the subtle ones. And pepper usually only comes out in my scent when I'm feeling a strong emotion and my control slips. I know exactly when Ryder got a hit of it.
Ryder inclines his head regally, like he's thanking a queen. "That's very thoughtful of you."
A sharp slice of rage pierces me at the way these two men treat my daughter they barely know and her own biological father couldn't be bothered to ever meet her and neither could the other alpha who was in a relationship with us both. I was just a beta who would probably give birth to another beta. They were still searching for an omega and refused to be trapped by us.
I was such a damn fool back then.
But I wouldn't trade Lexie for anything. She's worth every bit of pain I went through. Sadly, it doesn't stop the cringing shame that plagues me every time I think of it.
Maybe it's time for a palate cleanser, someone or someonesto wipe away the memories of the phantom scent and touch of her father.
I eye Hendrix, unsure why he's so interested in spending time with us when I'd assume he'd be looking for an omega. Maybe he thinks I'd be someone to pass the time with until he finds one. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Are you looking forward to the Foreign Exchange coming to town soon?" I ask.
Ryder is the one who answers, his tone irritated. "Why the hell would we? It makes the town too crowded and alphas from nearby towns come to peacock around, acting like fools."
Hendrix nods. "It's great for Neverwhere and we try to help as many omegas as we can, but it's a rather chaotic time. I prefer the town like this."
I decide to stop playing coy and find out what I need to know. "I assumed you'd like the chance to find an omega for yourself."
Hendrix shakes his head. "Not every alpha is on the hunt for an omega."
I eye him, wanting to believe him, but I don't know how after what I've lived through before. "Aren't they?"
Hendrix's gaze glazes over a little bit "I have a friend here, you met her, Aurora, who studies our biology. She mostly focuses on omega biology, since that's her designation, but she's begun branching out into the other ones. Her specific field of study is nurture vs nature. What is genuine to our biology and what our culture has shaped us into. And a lot of her research has led to her belief that a great amount of omega or alpha shit is nothing but a social construct. She's written a bunch of papers about it and the Omegas for Freedom has used her to fight for change in the government. Reading those really helped me." Hendrix cuts himself off, looking surprisingly uncomfortable.
I'm enthralled with what he's saying though and want to know more. "So, what? You're all more like betas than everyone believes?"
