Page 45 of Pack’s Prize
“Fucking…” Michael groaned under his breath from beside me at the kitchen island where we were sitting, waiting for her. “I had thought my cock might be ready for a break after her heat, but…”
My own exhausted cock agreed, stiffening so fast it hurt at the sight of her.
The dress was red, a deep, bold shade that made her dark hair and eyes pop against her creamy skin, and so low cut I thought she couldn’t possibly be wearing a bra. Her cleavage was deep enough I wanted to drown in it. Then there were her legs: the skirt was short and fitted, with a small flounce around the hem that moved while she walked, drawing my eyes to her hips, her thighs, her slim ankles.
The overall effect was sinful. Ava was sex personified in a pair of tall stiletto heels with soles that matched the color of the dress.
“Thankfuckshe didn’t wear that to the gallery opening,” he continued, and it was my turn to groan. It was hard enough to imagine taking her to a restaurant like this, when all I wanted to do was tie her to the bed and ravish her, sore appendages be damned. Wearing that, while she had been so close to heat… my cock pulsed, fully erect now. The walk to the car and from car to restaurant would be a challenge if it stayed like this.
She smirked, noticing us looking at her.
“How’s this for keeping up appearances?”
And… Well, that was the issue, wasn’t it?
My cock was definitely, one hundred percent all in on Ava.
But so was my heart.
I had thought I would have more time. To acclimate to the thought of her leaving. To, maybe, convince her not to go. To tell Michael and Theo all the things I had kept buried inside: Idowant an omega in my life, but I won’t be able to settle for any other omega, not now that I’ve seen just how good it could be. Michael had wanted a perfect omega, and Theo had found one, and I had been the one who had fallen. If she left…
I’d have to go with her.
If she’d even have me.
What omega would want an alpha like me?my subconscious whispered.
I would worry about that later. Tonight, I thought, as I helped Ava down from the car and into the restaurant, sitting beside her just as we had that first night–the night we’d kissed, the night I had first been so scared of what she would think of me, the way I lived with the other alphas–tonight I would enjoy what might be our last dinner as a pack.
“You look beautiful,” Michael whispered, sitting on Ava’s other side.
“Elias chose well,” she said, glancing at me from beneath those long, long lashes.
“It was Theo who bought it,” I said, but I couldn’t help it if I were sitting a bit straighter, a bit prouder.
“I like that about you three,” Ava said, then took a bite of steak, chewing thoughtfully. “I like that you are so quick to compliment each other.”
“I would say thank you, but we’re even quicker to insult each other,” Theo deflected.
“You say that, but I haven’t seen it,” she said, and I realized she was right.
“I think that’s you, actually,” I said. “I think since you’ve been here…” How could I express it? “It’s easier.”
“Imagine that, a pack that gets along better with an omega to center it,” Michael said, and I was opening my mouth to agree when I noticed his expression wasn’t one of playfulness. He stabbed at a sautéed mushroom on his plate. I kept my mouth shut.
“That’s not fair.” Ava, at least, wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “I know you all work hard at this. At your relationship. At maintaining your pack’s balance. It’s impressive.” She paused for a long moment.
My gut twisted, guilt settling heavy in my stomach alongside the red wine we were drinking, the steak. What would she think if she knew I had been thinking of leaving it all behind for her?
“I’ll miss it.”
Theo fumbled his fork, the metal clinking against the heavy porcelain of his plate, and the sound knocked loose a desperate thought in my brain.
I had to tell her.
Not tonight. Maybe not even tomorrow. But soon.
CHAPTERFORTY-FIVE