"Absolutely," I agreed. "You hear that, Alpha? Our omega loves babies."
"I really do!" she blurted out excitedly, oblivious to the fact I was trying to get across to James that our omega was not like the beta we had tried to bring into our family. She liked children. If I was a betting man, I'd guess she wanted them. It was written in her DNA, after all.
"Do you want children?" I blurted out, ignoring the throb from where James kicked me.
A slow smile formed as she looked at her lap. "I come from a large family."
"That didn't answer his question," James stated, as if he too was invested in this conversation.
"I always thought I'd have a family like that. Quiet is nice, but there is something to be said about having the noise of children and the chatter of adults to break the silence."
"Thought? But not now?" Bran questioned as he readied the table.
"Well, this is my second placement."
"So?"
"I don't get a third." Her fingers wrung together. "My former unit thought I could conform to their lifestyle and was disappointed when I didn't beg for the riches they could give. My current unit is disappointed that I exist at all. When I leave here, I will no longer be offered the chance to have a family, only succumbed to whatever the world wishes to take from me."
"And you think the world will be harsh to you?" James asked.
"Alpha, I'm not delusional in what the world does to unmated omegas."
He nodded twice before pointing to the food, effectively ending the conversation. "Eat up, omega."
CHAPTER
SIX
JAMES
The fact that Leo and Bran managed to sleep at all with an omega down the hall was baffling to me. Her scent, fates, it was so strong, and she wasn't even in heat. I'd fear what would happen if she had been. But lucky for us, she was in fact on suppressants. A conclusion I came to while poking around in her toiletry bag she left in the bathroom.
I tossed and turned the whole night, barely getting a wink of sleep, and just when I had finally lulled myself into a fitful slumber, chatter and ruckus in the kitchen tore me to consciousness. I knew that sound. Knew the voices. Knew the shitshow that was about to become my life.
"Fuck," I groaned loudly, as I pulled a pillow and smothered it over my face.
Bran stirred, his body stretching before he paused mid movement. "Is that..."
"Don't say their names," Leo moaned. "If we don't say their names, maybe they'll go away."
I flung my arm out, hitting Leo's chest as a sudden realization smacked into me. I bolted upwards, searching for a pair of sweatpants. "They can't be here."
"They are," Bran huffed, defeated.
"The omega," I growled.
"Shit," Bran and Leo cursed in unison as they both jumped up.
Shit was an understatement. Our mothers, singularly, were each a force. Together, the three of them were like being hit by a stage five hurricane with no anchor. If they saw that we had an omega in the house, we'd be done for. They'd get their hopes up, start planning babies and family trips and...
I couldn't let myself think about how much a part of me craved to do so too. I wouldn't. She was not our omega. Not our mistake. She was the Industries's, and I couldn't in good faith keep her, even if I wanted to. Which I didn't. I didn't want to keep the omega, especially after last night. Bran and Leo would get too attached and then they would get their hearts broken.
We nearly broke down the bedroom door trying to get to the kitchen so we could shoo our mothers away before they saw the omega. Each of our steps were borderline running as we raced toward the kitchen, but it was for nothing. We were too late. Sitting at the kitchen table, with coffee mugs in hand, were each of our mothers, surrounding Sophia.
"James," my mother called when I froze in the entry, feeling chest pains from the panic the image caused. "Don't just stand there."
"Mother," I swallowed back bile. "What are you doing here?"
