Page 29 of Omega Ruined

"There's one more thing," I said quietly. "I don't slick anymore."

"Not even when you're turned on?" Dean looked surprised. "I could have sworn I smelled arousal…"

"I was turned on," I admitted, my face heating. "But no slick. I'm always dry as a bone now." Maybe these guys would be kinder than my old pack. "Just, when you do knot me, can we please use lube?"

Vale's face darkened. "Did someone NOT use lube?" he rasped out, on the edge of feral again.

I shrugged, not wanting to send him over the edge again. "It's fine, as long as you do."

"Fuck." Zephyr stood up and started to pace the room. "Of course we'll use lube, but we're also not doing fuck all until you say we can. Right, Kienan?"

Kienan sighed. "Right. But we are on a deadline, at least with Vale."

"And I said I'm fine," Vale reminded him. "Just because she's an omega and our scentmatch doesn't mean she owes us anything, Kie."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Kienan took a deep breath. "So, courting?"

"I was assigned to my pack when I presented at sixteen," I told them. "I don't even know what courting is supposed to involve."

"Oh my god, you're trying to make them feral!" Kienan groaned as both Vale and Dean growled simultaneously. "Fine. We're courting you. I'm going to step back and let the two feral alphas do that first, provided they don't tear each other apart in jealousy."

"I'm not jealous," Vale pointed out. "Dean's the one with a problem."

"Oh, fuck off. Just because you like to taunt me," Dean snapped.

"We could court her together," Vale suggested, but Dean snarled at him.

"I think you better do this separately," I said tiredly. "You'll end up killing each other at this rate."

"She's not sleeping in your room again," Dean told Vale.

"Actually, she'll sleep in my room," Zephyr announced. "I bunk with Dean most nights anyway and that means you can have your own space, Olivia."

"That works for me." Suddenly, I realized I was actually entertaining the idea of staying and being courted by these alphas. The only one who made me uneasy still was Kienan. He was too pushy, too harsh, and he didn't respect me enough. If I was sticking around, that was going to change.

Chapter seventeen

Losing Control

"Can I talk to you alone?"

I turned from the bread I was kneading to see Olivia standing in the kitchen doorway, looking ridiculously small in the oversized clothing I'd bought her. She needed something that fit, and soon. Maybe that could be one of the courting gifts.

"Everyone's in their rooms now," I pointed out, gesturing to a stool on the other side of the island. "What do you need?"

"I want to talk to you about your expectations." She scrambled up onto the stool. When she was situated, she took a deep breath and raised those wary eyes to mine. "I like your alphas."

"And me?" I could guess where this was going.

"I think you like them too. And you want what's best for them, which is what you should do as pack leader," she said hesitantly.

"But?" I slammed the bread down on the counter and she jumped, a squeak escaping.

"Maybe… we can talk another time."

As she went to slip off the stool, I leaned over the counter and gripped her chin with a floury hand. "No, you came in here to say something, say it."

"I-I don't like how you treat me."