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She shifts in her seat and then stops herself, lifting eyes that seem gold, green, and brown all at once. I sense her tension as she gathers her argument. I should cut her off, end this here, but I’m curious to hear what she thinks she can offer us.
“Will you hear me out?” She lifts her chin and brushes her hair behind her ears. I notice there is a small patch of white hair breaking up the expanse of the ginger. A flaw in her perfection? Or just another odd addition?
“Sure. Entertain us.” I steeple my fingers and cut my eyes to the left, silently warning the man approaching to wait. He stops and backs off, his eyes cut to the floor like a good beta. I can smell the sour notes of his fear from here.
“Someone told me you do favours.” She hedges.
“Mmm, for money.” I murmur, “Something tells me you don’t have any of that.”
Her eyes harden. “For other things sometimes, too, or so they say.”
I exhale roughly, disliking where this conversation is going. “Rarely.”
“But there’s a chance.” She leans forward, and that ridiculous scrap of glitter slides, flashing an expanse of the top of her breast. Milky, unblemished skin that begs for bites.
“Depends on the situation.” I grate out, fighting for control.
Her hands clench into fists on the table, her knuckles turning white. Now I’m really curious about what’s made her so desperate. Well, more desperate than normal.
“Tell us or leave, Missy. I don’t have all day.”
She straightens her shoulders and looks at Lukas. “I’m an omega.” She drops the bomb, and her shoulders tense, curling like she’s preparing to be struck.
I stare at her, my mouth completely bone dry. Of all the things she could have said, that wasn’t even on the short list. An omega… that scent. Of course, she’s a damn omega. Possessiveness roars to the front, and it’s all I can do not to reach out and pull her across the table and into my lap.
Lukas makes a growling, rasping noise. “And?”
I’m stunned he can dismiss it. I can barely think.Knot and bite. My mind roars. I swallow hard and force my mind into perfect blankness.
Her cheeks turn pink, and finally, she looks down. “I can’t join their packs. I can’t. Not for money. Not for things. I need time.”
Join packs that aren’t mine? I’ll murder every alpha in this city.
Desperation doesn’t suit her. Fear doesn’t suit her. I want to soothe it away and scare her so badly she runs from me, far away from where I can be tempted.
“So you want suppressants? They are expensive. High demand.” I say calmly. And I’m grateful my voice doesn’t shake.
She shakes her head.
“That’s a bandaid, besides they already know. It’s too late for suppressants. The moment my heat hits, or worst case, before, I’ll be snatched up off the street and mated to the first pack that finds me. Whether I want to or not. You know that’s how it works, down here. People go missing all the time.” Her voice is low and breaks with the fear she can’t quite hide. She glances around and licks her lips before she sits back, her face transforming into a blank mask.
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest, watching her. She’s not wrong, people go missing too often in this poor district of Silver City. Her words are a genuine prospect, a reality many have experienced. But I will not help her with her words. She came here with a plan, with an idea, and she’s going to have to spell it out.
“By all means, Miss Clark, lay it on me.”
Seb shifts, and I glance at him. His light gray eyes send a thousand warnings. I ignore them all. Seb and his bleeding heart need to rescue every damn foolish thing to come across our paths. He is not in charge tonight.
She inhales and exhales, taking the time to think, to prepare her speech. I admire that. “My family is broke. You’re right, I don’t have anything I can give you in that sense.”
“So, what are you proposing?” Lukas almost hisses. He leans forward, halfway across the table, his fury is wafting off him. I’m surprised she’s still here, most people run when Lukas looks at them the way he’s staring at her. That gaze promises all kinds of pain. I’ve seen him give that look to someone and leap across three booths to kick the living shit out of the guy staring him down. I’ve seen that gaze before he goes cold and disappears for hours or days. I’ve watched while Seb has struggled to hold him back. It’s a look of such deep rage that I’m not sure anything will ever take it away.
She glances at Seb, then Lukas, and finally looks at me. “A favour for a favour. I help you, you help me.”
“And what do you propose to do for me?” I ask, sending all the innuendo at her. Letting her see just how much of a prick I can be.
She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t look away, there’s no virgin blush or wavering of her willpower. My respect kicks up a little, just a little.
“You have a problem with omegas and betas trying to get into your pack.”
