Page 1 of The Gift
READER CONSIDERATION
Aword of warning… if you’re looking for alphas that shift into wolves, then perhaps jump into one of my other series.
This book is set in another realm entirely. And while there are designations such as alphas, betas and omegas, these characters are not animals. Sure, they growl and hiss at times, and act a lot like their furry counterparts, but in these pages they remain human.
Other things to keep an eye out for that are very much a part of the omegaverse world are the influence of scents and smells. Along with physical changes in both male and female alphas and omegas, including heightened mating instincts, slick, heat cycles and the ability to knot. And when all this comes together properly, it’s perfectly sinful and generally hot as fuck.
Bailey, our main character, has whole heartedly adopted the why choose way of life—not limiting who she loves or how many people that includes.
Recommended 18+ due to mature language, adult situations, sensitive content, and spice, including men being together. There are suggested off page mentions of physical, mental, and sexual abuse, memory manipulation, human experimentation, death, violence, and described on page sexual trauma. Other issues to be mindful of are the sudden appearance of repressed memories of the traumas which rear up and strike in unconnected situations. Some people will not like how the trauma is not dealt with but our FMC does things her way. And right or wrong, how a person deals is up to them.
Chapter 32 is a particularly rough awakening of memories; I’ll mark it as a reminder in the book also. All activities with the pack and the FMC are always consensual.
Your mental wellbeing is worth more than any book, so please consider if this book is right for you before continuing.
Lastly, I’m an Australian writer. There may be a crossover of words, spelling and language. Once again I have made the very deliberate decision to use the wordcome, in certain scenes.
There are twenty-four notable character strengths any person can possess. And that’s not me making shit up. Those numbers are based on the information shared in a majority of self-help books and websites. Sure, they might use different names for the key words, but essentially the main traits ofstrengthinclude wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, transcendence, and temperance.
And on a good day, I’d say my alpha is the embodiment of well over half of those. Add in his physicality and the man is a certified, solid unit. He can also be stubborn and obstinate, resolved in his determination to be the only one to carry the weight of what we do on his shoulders. Which I totally understand. I don’t like it, none of us do, but I get it.
Today is not a good day.
And it’s not because we’ve been arguing or yelling. In some ways, it’s worse. The current stilted tension is due to the heavy burden on Henley’s shoulders.
It mars his face; you can see the pinch of tension on his lips, and his mood is—putting it politely—fucked. Which is cool, because living in a house with three other alphas, things often get a little loud. It’s also amplified because one of us in our wisdom suggested we adopt the lets-talk-shit-through way of living. The flip side is we know each other better than I know myself some days.
Henley understands the ethos of having a pack; a connected group of like-minded individuals who live, laugh, and love together, but sometimes he gets so caught up in ensuring we don’t have to carry the heavy shit.
“You good, man?” I ask, moving closer. And look, there’s a lot of caution in the way I approach him. I probably wouldn’t have if I knew he hadn’t spent the last few hours working off some of his aggression at the gym. My reticence is not based on fear; our alpha has the discipline of a drill sergeant.
Henley doesn’t say a word and the only way I know he hears me is by the way his lips draw into a tight line.
“Hen, you’ve got to give yourself a break,” Koda says. His concern is as evident as mine. But Koda is not a toucher, not much of a talker either. I suspect him being an alpha gives him a greater insight into the machinations of Henley’s brain, or it might be because Koda feels it too.
“You know I can’t,” Henley says sharply, but there’s also undertones of regret in his voice. He stalls the conversation, taking a massive swig of his beer before sitting down on the edge of the sectional next to Ashton.
Everything about our alpha is withdrawn and brittle, and it can only mean one thing.
Both Henley and Ashton stare off vacantly, and although the silence feels as heavy as the responsibility they carry, it’s okay for us to sit quietly and have a beer. We’ve been together long enough to know when to wait, and when to push.
“I got the file earlier. I take it it’s a match,” I ask gingerly. My hesitation is my worry that he’s pushing himself too hard. Henley’s been fracturing at the seams for a while, and I thought he was starting to make amends with his own personal demons.
“As sure as we can be at this stage,” he says, his deep blue eyes holding mine.
There was a time I would have argued our involvement until we were one thousand percent sure, but to date we haven’t been wrong.
Itfeelsfucking wrong.
To do what we consider right, we’ll lie where we have to, cheat the system. The regret that comes from knowing that we’re about to overturn someone’s life is heavy.
And there is a valid reason for us to feel this way. Or perhaps it would be better said, there are thousands of reasons why we’re doing what we’re doing. Not that any of them make this easier.
Our alpha takes another sip of his beer, his eyes locked on the dancing flames of the open fire. Over the top of the lingering smell of smoke and the freshly cut wood burning in the fire, I pick up stirrings of Ashton’s fresh earthy overtones, it mixes perfectly with the more industrial overtones of Koda. But Henley’s remains sour, tart like the first apples of the season.
He clears his throat, and while Ashton and Koda both watch the fire, I turn to watch him.
“This one is going to be a lot harder. She’s a fucking survivor and has been doing it in front of our eyes.”
