Lola & the Millionaires: Part One (Sweet Omegaverse #2)(75)

“Nooo, leave it,” Baby said, eyeing herself in the mirror, lip pouting and revealing the decorative enhancement I’d given to her bonding bite. “I kinda love it, and it’ll either flip Green and Scorch out completely or drive them wild. Either way, I’ll have fun. So…”

I swallowed hard and studied the brush I’d been cleaning as if that could keep Baby from asking too many questions. Bomber was with Bullet and Wes near the door of the studio where the photos were being taken. Rake was inside working with a gorgeous model who had alopecia and let us give her an intricate crown with the highlighter.

“Are you happy?” Baby asked.

I looked up, a little surprised by the question. I’d expected more along the lines of her wanting to know about the pack, about how I was doing near alphas maybe, or even another omega.

“I…am, yeah,” I said, nodding. “It’s a whole process, I guess. It’s more stressful than just shutting out the rest of the world, but…”

“It’s good to be alone when you need to be alone. But I think it’s better to find people you can be happy with,” Baby said, sweet and simple.

I nodded and relaxed, dropping my supplies in my case and shutting it. I leaned onto the counter of the desk, letting my shoulder rest against Baby’s, happy to have hers lean back against me.

“So what’s it like to have sex with an omega?” Baby blurted out.

“Ohmigod, babe. Seriously? You are an omega,” I said, laughing and glancing around us.

“I know, but I don’t get to have sex with like myself, I mean, not like that.” She frowned in thought and then shook her head. “Anyway, tell me. Tell me, or I’ll ask Rake himself.”

“You’ve gotten very uncooperative in your old age,” I muttered. I glanced at the door. Wes wouldn’t hear me, right? Oh well, Baby would never let it go. “So do you…like, come a lot?”

Baby’s eyes lit up and she squealed softly, head nodding wildly.

In for a penny, I thought, taking a breath. Anyway, it was nice to do this with her again. Be weird and gossipy and silly together like we used to. Even if things couldn’t be exactly the way they were before Baby’s heat came in, it was good to get some pieces of my old life back





Twenty-Four





Cyrus





Matthieu and I had barely made it to the family room, and I was planning on breaking off to go and paint, when Rake came racing out of the kitchen, eyes wide.

“Good! You’re finally home. Come on, I’m calling a family meeting,” he said in a breathless rush.

“Rake, I—” Matthieu started.

“It’s important,” Rake called, turning immediately back to the kitchen.

My lips twitched with a smile, in spite of the interruption to my plans. Whatever Rake was excited about, his enthusiasm was usually infectious. I followed my omega to the kitchen, Matthieu at my back with a weary sigh. Things at Designate were tenuous at the moment, now that we’d learned about Wendy’s insurrection, and I suspected Matthieu was carrying the majority of the burden privately rather than alert the board yet.

I blinked as I walked into the kitchen. I’d assumed when Rake said ‘family,’ he meant whoever was on hand. Our pack wasn’t often all home at the same time—let alone in the same country—but it seemed like lately, we’d been more available to one another. Still, it was a shock to see Wes home before nightfall.

“What’s this about?” I whispered to him as I slid up to the counter.

“He’s been keeping us in suspense,” Wes muttered back.

Leo and Caleb were sitting on the stools, Leo’s arm around Caleb’s shoulders, and Matthieu took a spot at the corner. Rake stood across from us, bouncing on his toes and all but glowing in the spotlight of our attention.

“All right, you have us,” Caleb said, amusement twisting his lips. “Now what is this about?”

Rake took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and met each of our eyes before speaking. “I want Lola to be pack.”

My brow furrowed at the words, and I expected to see the same confusion on the other’s faces. Wes was impossible to read, as usual, but I thought I was seeing a glimpse of something like relief on Caleb and Matthieu’s faces. Leo looked equal parts elated and worried.

“Is that even possible for her?” I asked, staring at the others.

“What do you mean?” Rake asked, his smile faltering as he stared at me.

My eyes widened. “Well…she has her…”—Don’t say issues—“aversions to alphas.”

Rake made a sound of dismissal, his hand waving through the air. “That’s just a matter of time, don’t you think? I mean, she likes all of you,” he added with a shrug.

“But if she isn’t bonded,” I tried again.

“She would be accepted,” Matthieu said with a surprising amount of readiness. Our heads all whipped in his direction, and even Rake looked surprised to hear the words. Matthieu blushed but held our gazes. “Our pack has never been conventional. If Lola accepted an offer that came without alpha bonds, why should it make any difference to us?”

Rake sighed and nodded. “Exactly, although I think, with time—”