Page 28 of The Packaged Deal
He looks away. I fancy that it’s because he’s holding back a giggle, but I’m not sure. I take the opportunity to take in the sleek and low-key furnishings. Everything is open, with a massive kitchen to my left and a huge lounge to my right. There’s a corridor past the kitchen and another space leading deeper into the house in front of me. It’s dark and somehow cozy, too.
“Why are you here?” He clears his throat and attempts to look menacing.
“Well, Hazel is my friend,” I say tentatively.
“No, she’s not. You barely know her,” Kandi snaps.
I heave an exasperated sigh. “I know. You’re my friend. Adrian is my friend. But beggars can’t be choosers when they have a mad alpha trying to kill them.” I throw myself down on the other side of Kandi, making sure our thighs are touching. “Sven’s choosing you, you know.”
“He lied about how important this all was; you, Adrian, all of it. And we are not friends.”
“He’s choosing to be with you. And you’re right, we’re not friends. We’re something more,” I insist. I lean my head back and study the ceiling. “How much pain does an alpha need to go through before he decides running is better than staying?” I muse. “Can’t be happy with half a heart. It’s better to gouge it out of your chest and throw it away, right?” I give her a pointed look and lean in, fluttering my lashes.
Why am I helping that idiot man right now? Oh, yeah, he’s mine, and I don’t like seeing this beta cry.
“Stop it!” Kandi hisses. “They lied!”
“Did they lie? It’s more like mutually rejecting each other but unable to stay away. Kinda how it seems to be with the four of us. We don’t want each other, but fate keeps throwing us together. We say awful things, but we can’t stay the hell away.”
I glance to the side to find a line of alphas watching us curiously. My hackles rise as I take in the three dangerous, unknown alpha’s, Angel, and the golden one.
“I’m a beta. I don’t belong in a pack,” Kandi hisses.
Her golden alpha makes a soundless protest.
I narrow my eyes at him and stand up. “You don’t? Funny, I thought you did.” Her eyes widen in shock, then cloud with doubt. “Hazel?” I call out and wander out of the room. Ignoring all the eyes staring at me as I go.
I can feel her gaze on my back all the way out of the room. It’s not until I get around the corner that the pressure vanishes. They are the only eyes I care about.
I didn’t realise it until this exact minute. Now that I’m walking away, hips swinging, all the attitude I’ve cultivated gives me a confidence I don’t need to pretend. I know what my plan is.
I’m going to fight for my pack. I’m not done yet. Why would I give in so easily?
None of them want to be together. So I’ll just make them want it. How hard can it be? I’m easy to love. Kinda. They will just learn to find me irresistible.
So I’ll make them see that happiness only exists with the four of us together. Four? I turn back, hoping to catch a glimpse, but I can’t see her. My instincts hum when I think about her. I want her, and my instincts are good. It’s the only thing I've learned to trust in this world.
I want the beta, too.
Call me greedy, but she’s mine, too. As soon as I decide that, the tension in my chest eases.
Hazel gestures to me, and I cross to stand beside her. A male omega walks into the room and leans against Hazel. I look him up and down and sniff. His hair is this beautiful rainbow of streaks of blue with white tips.
“What?” he barks with a sullen snarl.
“Your hair is fucking exceptional,” I grumble and turn away from him, taking in the stone floors and portraits on the walls. The paintings are also incredible.
He laughs. “I’ll introduce you to my hairdresser.”
I make a happy sound and turn back as several black boxes come to life on Hazel’s tablet. I recognise Onyx and her omega Dylan, who is looking like he’ll kill anyone who gets close to her. Now that I've seen the twins again, I can safely say they look nothing alike. Silver’s features have more symmetry, her lashes are longer, her eyes bluer. Onyx isn’t guarded and doesn’t have pain in her eyes. Nothing alike. I thought omegas were meant to be happy and charming.
My gaze slides to find another male omega who is smiling. He lights up the room, with dark hair and brown eyes, he’s lithe but not in a weird way, like he’s proportioned well. Beside him sits, oh, my, the infamous Scarlet Waring. Even through a tablet, her alpha strength is formidable. She has black hair and compelling green eyes, and even from here I want to lower mine and submit to her. Finally, a single woman appears on the last screen. She’s got ginger hair with an odd white streak and fierce gold-green eyes.
“Who’s this? Don’t tell me you got another one?” the omega with Scarlet teases. “You are a greedy, greedy woman, Hazel Montford, collecting omegas the way some people collect alphas.”
“Shut up, Barren,” Hazel snorts a laugh. “Everyone, this is Jade. She needs help. Jade, this is Barren Knight, his alpha, Scarlet. Missy has the carrot-coloured hair and the awful sense of humour. And you know Onyx and Dylan. Wait, aren’t you meant to be in the nest?”
“Yeah, we escaped. We’re on limited time,” Dylan whispers gruffly. “If anyone rats us out, I’m going to make your alphas suffer!”