"I don't want to find my things destroyed."
"I understand." She twisted her fingers together, fidgeting.
"Keep it away from me."
"Persimmon."
"Excuse me?"
She bit her lip before quickly releasing it. Her eyes instantly fell to the floor, and I had to ball my fists at my side to stop myself from reaching over and forcing her eyes on me. "I named the cat Persimmon."
Well damn, even I could admit that was cute. I wouldn't voice it though. "Keep Persimmon away from me."
"I-I'll try, alpha." Fuck, why was she stuttering now?
I softened my voice, trying to take away her fear. "I've got to clean up, but if you'd like to help Bran prepare some meat, I can throw it on the grill."
She nodded, so damn agreeable. "Yes, alpha."
I sighed. "Omega, that was only a suggestion, not an order."
"I-I just want to please you, alpha. If that means helping Bran, then that is what I will do."
"You don't need to please me, omega." But my alpha, well, he disagreed as he chanted all his wants and needs inside me.
Bite her. Claim her. Knot her until she carries our child.
I argued with him nonstop, but he didn't want to listen to reason.
She's not ours. She can't stay. She'll only hurt us.
After a long moment of silence, my alpha hissed,coward, then fell blissfully silent.
The more time in the presence of the omega, the more I had begun to think that maybe, just maybe, he was right. I was a coward. I had my own omega right in front of me, and I was too afraid to reach out and accept the gift that was offered, no matter how she came to be. But she had the power to destroy us, and my unit was already so fragile.
"I want to," she whispered.
Against all my logical thought, I stepped forward, her scent slamming into me so hard that my chest contracted. My finger went to her chin, forcing her eyes to mine as I leaned down, making sure our eyes connected. "Never sacrifice your wants for a unit, omega. If it pleases you, do so. But never pick your actions based on what you think we'd want for you. Okay?"
"Okay."
I stepped back before I did something stupid like kiss her. Fighting the drive to do so was near impossible. Everything about her begged for my body to connect with hers. But I wasn't weak. I was an alpha. And she wasn't ours. I couldn't take advantage of her like that, knowing eventually she would find her own way in life and leave our unit behind.
"Now go find Persimmon, before she gets into trouble. I'll be out in a bit."
She nodded enthusiastically before disappearing in the direction the orange fluff ball had darted to. I watched her go until she disappeared into her room, and when I looked up, Leo was smirking at me. My tone changed into a low menacing rumble. "What?"
"Oh nothing."
"Say it, delta," I ordered.
"It's just that for someone who doesn't want to keep her, you sure are looking at her like she's your salvation." Leo shrugged, then changed the subject, "Anyway, turns out a female orange cat is rare..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Just like our omega."
"Leo," I warned.
"James." I swear I felt my claws starting to surface, urging me to swipe across my delta's smug face. I resisted, barely. "You smell. Go get clean while we get dinner started."
I didn't respond, instead growling my frustration as I stomped down the hall to our bedroom.
