Page 40 of The Packaged Deal
Sven sits up straighter. “What do you mean?”
“I mean Trevor Lockier doesn’t exist.”
I reach out and cover Jade’s hand with mine. “We’re not giving up, and we are the best. Sven was military. He trained me. We will find him.”
“He won’t stop,” Jade whispers.
“That’s okay. Neither do we,” Sven growls.
Adrian scratches his chin. “I think I should-”
“You should stay with us. She will need you,” I say over the top of him. “Jade needs you, Alpha. Not Missy or her pack, not anyone else in the company. She needs Sven because he’s the best. She needs me because I’m trained, skilled, and logical, and she needs you because you are a doctor. The only person on the planet or even in this city that she trusts right now is you.”
Adrian frowns and shoves another mouthful of what looks like meatballs into his mouth. But he appears to be choking on it.
“Fine,” Sven agrees. “It has to be here, though. It’s the biggest place. Mine is a fishbowl.”
“That’s because you don’t want a home. You need a place to dump your things,” I snap at him. “Mine is not practical. So, here is perfect.”
“Fantastic,” Adrian murmurs. “There are three bedrooms-”
“Unnecessary, we’re going to-”
“Sleep in the bedroom with both of you,” I say over the top of Sven.
He stares at me like I've groan another head. “That’s-”
“Perfect, I knew you’d agree. With all the windows, we need to protect both Jade and Adrian.”
Sven looks from me to the omega he’s ignoring and swallows hard. I know him well enough to see how hard he’s fighting this. He wants her more than he wants air, but at this point, I think the idiot man would rather starve.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Adrian asks.
“Well, we’ll find out. My heat starts in a week.” Jade drops the bomb, stands up, and walks out of the room.
It takes me until I hear Sven choking to turn away from her. Her heat’s coming. Her heat is coming. It’s hard to swallow. I finally manage to get a look at Sven.
He’s coughing violently, his face red. Adrian is thumping him on the back. The alpha doesn’t look at all surprised by her outburst.
“Did you know?” I ask.
“Well, it’s been five weeks. It was bound to happen at some point,” Adrian says matter-of-factly.
“Can you stop it?” Sven blurts once he recovers from choking.
Adrian and I go still. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Did he really ask that?
“What would you have me do? Drown her in experimental suppressants? Or perhaps we should find a pack to take care of her.”
Sven shudders and growls. “No. But this will cross a line. We won’t be able to take it back if we do.”
“I think we’ve already crossed that line, babe,” I snap in my most bitchy tone, but come the fuck on? Can we stop it? Is he for fucking real right now?
Sven pulls a face at me, and I smile easily back, not meaning it in the slightest. I always wondered if Adrian gets jealous of my relationship with Sven. He never shows it, but I check his expression now. He looks thoughtful, but he’s not even paying attention to us. His eyes are on the hallway.
“She must be scared,” he murmurs.
I frown. I could learn to love Adrian, but in the way I love my brother. Well, no, not exactly the same. But my feelings are purely platonic. I do not want to have sex with him, and I know he feels the same. But I can see the growing feelings on his face. He cares deeply for the omega.