Page 80 of Lilacs and Leather
I nod before shifting in my seat. I tuck one leg under me, bending the other to my chest and wrapping my arm around it. I sit quietly for a minute while Rhett and Mateo share a look, speaking without words. Mateo nods, and Rhett takes another drink before turning to me.
“Seth Douglas is our omega,” he starts.
I blink, my heart squeezing in my chest. “‘Is’? Present tense?” I ask slowly.
“Not for lack of trying,” Mateo says and laughs darkly.
“I don’t understand,” I mutter, looking back at Rhett.
“I told you I’d once been involved with another omega’s heat. It was Seth’s,” Rhett says.
“Why haven’t I met him?” I try to keep the shaking from my voice.
“Because he’s a manipulative asshole and isn’t part of this pack, regardless of the bite marks on his skin,” Mateo spits before downing the rest of his bourbon.
My mouth pulls down in a frown. “I’m missing something. You say he’s your omega, but he’s not part of the pack?”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let me start over,” Rhett says, speaking quickly with a shake of his head.
I settle back, willing my heart rate to slow. I owe them the benefit of the doubt. Rhett had given me that much when I told him my sorry tale. I wipe any expression off my face and nod for Rhett to continue. He gives me a searching look before letting out a long sigh.
“We met Seth around the same time as Lucas. We’d just opened The Valencia and were hiring staff for the restaurant. Luc obviously caught my attention, between his impressive resume, and his… other attractive qualities. Seth applied for a bartending position.”
“Bartending is a weird job for an omega,” I mutter.
Most omegas I’ve met prefer something a bit more controlled than a bar for employment. Introverted or extroverted really didn’t matter, because it comes down to risk management. It could be dangerous to mix alphas and alcohol in the best of situations, and being in a position where you can’t easily escape unwanted attention is usually enough to deter omegas.
Mateo snorts. “That should have been our first red flag.”
“He was really affable, almost hypnotic for an omega, and honestly, if he’d been content with bartending, we wouldn’t have had a problem. But his ambition to move up the hierarchy was clear, and only got worse once he caught sight of Lex and Mateo,” Rhett continues, looking into his glass as he swirls it.
“That’s a very generous way of putting it, Rhett. He basically used a combination of his pheromones and charisma to turn himself into the omega of our dreams. He lied over and over, spinning this tragic story of an omega who’d tried and tried to find a pack, but to no avail. And Lex and I bought it hook, line, and sinker,” Mateo spits, knuckles white on his glass.
I swallow my snarl, my fingers gripping my leg hard. It’s within an omega’s power to use their natural allure to bring in alphas, but I have always considered it distasteful and dishonest to do it, not to mention dangerous. There were stories of omegas who would reel in an alpha, only to find out too late that they’d bitten off more than they could chew. I’d never heard of a male omega doing it, but I suppose evil comes in all shapes and sizes.
“Lucas and I obviously hit it off right away, and Seth tried to pull his act on me, but was quick to back off. Lucas saw right through the bullshit and staked his claim on me. Lucas was a natural fit for the pack: driven, talented, loyal. We really tried with Seth, but it was impossible to keep up with the changing rules and moving goalposts. After a while, we just grew comfortable with him existing with the pack, but not aspartof the pack. I think Seth felt threatened by Lucas and how taken we all were with him, and I have my suspicions that he overheard a discussion I had with Luc about the potential for a bond. So, Seth pulled his trump card. He stopped taking his suppressants and went into a full-blown heat,” Rhett says, ending in a low growl.
“It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through. One day, we came home and the suite we were staying in stunk to high heaven of omega pheromones. I’d never felt so out of control, and it’s a small wonder we didn’t kill each other,” Mateo picks up, pouring himself another healthy glass and then downing half of it in one pull.
“What do you mean, kill each other?” I question, heart skipping a beat.
“He caught all of us unaware, and it triggered mine and Mateo’s rut. One of the side effects of Lex’s birth control is that it prevents her from going into a full rutting frenzy, but even she was ready to draw blood. It was basically a street fight to get to him and stake our claim. We are very lucky that Lucas was there to prevent any serious damage,” Rhett explains.
I nod, feeling the blood drain from my face even as my stomach twists. I might have been raised with twisted ideas of what it means to be an omega, but intentionally triggering not one, but three, alpha ruts isn’t something I’d ever consider doing.
“Once the dust settled, and we came out of it, the damage was done. Seth was bonded,” Rhett says, voice a low rumble.
“With who?” I rasp, my mouth suddenly very sour.
“He claimed all of us at the time, but me and Lex are the only ones who’ve ever felt the bond.” Mateo sighs.
“I’ve never felt anything, and based on testing, we’ve confirmed that I have no bond with Seth Douglas,” Rhett interjects.
“Can you feel him now?” I whisper, a chill crawling over my skin.
Mateo shakes his head. “We found a drug, similar to heat suppressants, that limits the effects of the bond. It blocks the emotional manipulation and location sensing primarily, but it keeps us from feeling the pull to be near him, too. They usually give it to omegas escaping abusive alphas, but we were able to petition the court to allow us to take it while we work out a settlement,” Mateo drones, looking at the tabletop with no small amount of heat.
“Why can’t you just reject the bond? Even if he’s still pining after you, if you disavow him…” I trail off, voice dying as Mateo shakes his head again.