James’s [POV]
Harper’s smart.
But she’s also in denial. It’s a lovely technique. It’s one of my favorite coping mechanisms.
My brothers and I have used it a lot, and it’s a skill we’ve mastered.
So, I recognize the cloudiness in the lovely Omega’s eyes as she refuses to process reality.
“How,” she states. It isn’t a question, merely a word she spits out.
She won’t look at us.
C’mon Princess, look up at me, you’ll know it’s true.
Some part of her had to know.
She had to.
The warning signs of Heat were all there.
And how convenient it was that we were just discussing this when she walked in with Beau.
Beau, who smells like her, has her honeyed scent all over him.
Beau now dares to look sheepish.
Charlotte takes over the conversation, and I’m grateful. My smart mouth would just make things worse, I’m sure.
“Your sickness, Harper,” she says, as my girl continues looking at nothing. “Those are signs of Heat. Michael lied to you. I’m so sorry. I meant to have this conversation privately, but-”
Harper’s head snaps and her eyes meet mine, her expression is furious. “You knew,” she snarls, taking a step back.
“Harper” Grey tries, but she flattens herself against the wall, holding her hands out.
“You knew?!” she shrieks, her voice cracking. Her eyes fill with tears as she turns her attention to Beau, shaking her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Beau doesn’t have the answer.
But I do. At least, one that will suffice for now.
And I can take her rage if she doesn’t like it.
“Would you have believed us?” I ask her quietly. “Your identification card says Beta. How could we convince you otherwise?”
She shakes her head. “God. I go from liar to another, right?” she laughs bitterly, wiping away tears that spill down her face. “You could have told me. Any of you.”
Beau looks like he’s about to cry right along with her.
And if she wants to talk about liars…
She doesn’t want to go down that road with me.
Thankfully, Grey speaks up before I say something that will cause all hell to break loose.
“You were traumatized when you came here. Dropping that on you, without proof, would have made it worse, Harper.”
Thank fuck my brother can be the voice of reason for us.
But Harper turns her fury to him. “Is that why you offered me this job?” she hisses, her fists clenched. “Because I’m an Omega? Because of what I could offer you?”
Charlotte glances at me worriedly, and it takes all my self-control to not erupt.
“No,” Beau insists, his voice hoarse. “Never. I don’t care if you were an Omega, Beta, or even an Alpha Harper, you have a gift with the garden. We all want you here. I would have kissed you tonight regardless of who you were. I wanted you to stay, even if we were never involved at all. Just to be near you.”
I sigh. Beau’s always been the hopeless romantic. He practically has hearts in his eyes, even when Harper looks like she wants to murder him.
But Harper’s breathing steadies, and I feel a stab of jealousy at how easily she trusts and believes him.
Her guard is still up, though.
“Can you smell me?” she asks quietly. “Like…how an Omega smells?”
“Yes,” I answer. “But it was muted the first day. Almost not there at all.”
It was fainter than I had ever smelled her, which meant there were many too many suppressants in her blood.
“We think Michael was overdosing you on suppressants,” Grey adds, spitting her asshole ex’s name. “That he took advantage of your memory loss and tried to convince you that you were a Beta.”
“That’s why you’ve been so sick,” Beau adds, shifting uncomfortably.
She looks like her world is shattering in front of her. She presses herself back against the wall, her eyes shiny with tears.
“What if I’m mated?” she asks quietly. “I could have Alphas, my pack somewhere, and they don’t know…”
I meet Grey’s gaze, his eyes are pained.
He can’t do it. He can’t tell her.
Fuck it.
“You would have a soured scent, Princess,” I say. “You wouldn’t be so appealing if you were claimed already.”
“And we wouldn’t do that,” Beau adds softly. “It wouldn’t be right. You’re not mated, Harper. I swear.”
She’s shaking, and I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms and shake right along with her.
This whole situation is fucked up.
But if this is the only way I can have her, I’ll take it. Even if she looks at me with betrayal for the rest of her life, I’ll gladly take her hatred.
It’s not like she can leave now, anyway.
Her Heat is inevitable.
“I can’t do this,” she whispers. “It’s too much.”
Suddenly, she runs past all of us and towards the stairs.
I follow, instantly.
“James!” Grey snaps, but I chase her as she takes the stairs two at a time, frantically racing up the three stories to her room.
I stop her in the hallway, gripping her arm.
“Get off me!” she shrieks, but I crowd her space, pushing her against the wall. Her pupils dilate at my scent, and my head swims with her essence.
It’s a dangerous game we’re playing, but it’s necessary.
She doesn’t get to run away from her problems.
Again.
Her eyes are furious as she regards me, struggling in my grip. “Let me go,” she pants.
Never.
“No,” I growl.
I crowd her space until our hips are touching. The warmth of her body sends my Alpha into a spiral, and I’m seconds from losing control and letting my emotions get the best of me.
“I’ll hit you,” she hisses.
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, sweetheart,” I purr. “That would only keep me by your side forever.”
She growls, the sound so delicious it makes my cock twitch. “You’re a psychopath. And a liar.”
I place both palms against the wall on either side of her, caging her in. “I am not a liar.” I don’t bother to correct her on the other accusation. “If anyone is the liar here, it’s you, my little Omega.”
“James!” Grey roars from us down the hall. “Enough. Drop it.”
Her beautiful features are twisted in confusion, her eyes wide with disbelief. But I step away from her and she quickly turns and opens her unlocked door, slamming it in my face.
But not before Wilson scurries in with her, weaving between our legs.
I’ve never been so jealous of a damn cat.
Grey’s right.
I should have kept my mouth shut.
“That was stupid,” he growls, as I roll my eyes at him. “What do you think that accomplished? It’s only going to push her away.”
I scoff. “At least I tried to do something, unlike your attempt at being an emotional-less statue. You should try feeling things sometimes. It can be fun, occasionally.”
I’m being shitty, I know, but I’m still shaking from the aftermath of our encounter.
I want to strangle Harper. I want to throttle her. I want to scream in her face and somehow get through to her and make her understand.
But Grey keeps his cards close, and his way of coping is shutting down.
Beau’s way is letting guilt consume him and grovel at her feet.
Neither is great.
Sighing, I follow Grey back downstairs and into the front room, where Charlotte cries quietly.
“It shouldn’t have happened like that,” she says, as Beau wraps a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“A lot of things shouldn’t have happened the way they did,” I mutter, and Grey sighs.
“Yeah, well. We can’t change it now. Her Heat is coming either way.”
We all knew this would happen. Being around us would trigger it, but we weren’t sure how soon.
“She may not want us here,” Beau adds, his face pained. “She might want to go through it alone.”
“And that’s her choice,” Grey confirms. “But we need to stay around just in case.”
I chuckle. Like any of us could leave, anyway. Our inner Alphas are already attuned to her and leaving would be physically painful.
“Do you need me to cancel next week’s reservations as well?” Charlotte asks.
Harper doesn’t need to know that we canceled all of them for this week the night she showed up.
Grey nods. “Yes. And…we’ll provide…supplies, for you to give her.”
“She might not even know what to expect,” Charlotte laments. “If she believed she was a Beta, and her memories are gone.”
A growl rises in my chest, and Charlotte eyes me wearily. “I’m sorry, James,” she says softly. “I’m sorry to all of you.”
“It is what it is,” I choke out.
All I know is that if she tries to leave us…
I can’t be responsible for my actions.