Page 77 of The Packaged Deal

“She wasn’t hurt. It looked like they were talking. They seemed harmless. I was on the other side of the room, Sven. Where were you?”

Sven’s jaw is clenched tight, and he shakes his head. “They were disgusting individuals. They should never have gotten so close to her.”

This is adorable. Kandi glances back at me in concern, sees I’m smiling, and frowns. It only takes her a second to figure it out. She winks at me.

“Look, Sven, it wasn’t a big deal!”

“It was a huge deal. She was being treated like crap right under our noses. We can’t allow this to happen ever again.”

“So, what shall we do, check everyone?”

“Yes.”

Kandi gapes. “That’s completely over the top!”

“Our omega got hurt-” Sven stops suddenly. He clears his throat. Stops, chokes. Stops. Splutters. Before finally letting out a very quiet, “Never mind.”

Kandi glances back at me and blows me a kiss.

Adrian’s been watching the exchange with narrowed eyes, but now he folds his arms over his chest and glares at the side of Sven’s head. I briefly wonder what that’s about.

“Sunny thinks we’re a pack.” Adrian throws out like a challenge.

I jerk my eyes to Adrian. So does Sven.

“What?”

“Sunny thinks we’re a pack. In fact, most of everyone thinks we’re a pack.”

“We don’t have bonds. We’re not,” Sven protests.

“Packs don’t have to have bonds,” Adrian growls.

“We are not a pack,” Sven says darkly, his fingers flex on the steering wheel. “We can’t be.”

I look out the window, that familiar despair and humiliation rising again. If he never accepts me, will this relationship with Kandi and Adrian work? Will they allow it to work without him?

“He asked me to be his whore. At the Omega Meet. He wanted to give me a house and set me up. I’d be there for his pack when they needed it until they found an omega they wanted to court.”

Sven drives up our driveway and stops the car.

“Is that what you want?” Sven asks coldly.

“That’s what they told me I deserve,” I spit back at him.

“I don’t care what everyone else thinks. I want to know what you want.”

“You know what I want!” I shout and throw myself out of the car. I pick up the skirt of the dress and stalk towards the house. Sven catches me and spins me around.

“Do you want to be their whore?”

“No!” I shout.

“Good. I’d never let you.”

“Why ask then!”

“Because I want to make sure!”