I hated liars, and that definitely wasn’t Austin.

“A pack is governed by two people. An alpha and an omega.”

I’d read enough paranormal romance to know about the alpha, but the omega?

That was new to me.

Of course, paranormal romances weren’t the Bible. They weren’t like myths and legends stuck together. Hell, my people’s stories were remembered through song. Thousands of years of history all passed down through speech.

“Aren’t omegas weak?”

Ethan’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “If you’d met the last omega, you’d know that wasn’t true. Not that she was perfect, because she wasn’t, but there are different strengths, Sabina. Not all require brute force.”

I blinked at that, appreciating that he knew the difference. A man like him? Built the way he was? Yeah, I hadn’t mentioned how stacked he was. He made the Witcher look like he’d been dieting. These boys certainly ate their spinach. I’d never seen wrists so big in my life, and they were so damn tactile too. They never minded if I touched them, never minded how close I got to them, burrowing into places I had no real right to, invading their personal space in a way that, if the tides were turned, I’m not sure I’d be happy about…

Or maybe time would tell where that was concerned.

“You’re right. Strength does come in different forms.” Wasn’t I walking proof of that? I’d been crippled by my nervous system, watched my childhood sweetheart and our son being torn from me and pressed into Kali Sara’s arms, and was hunted by my family for having besmirched their honor… Yet, here I was.

Still in one piece.

“The omega doesn’t rule with fists,” Eli agreed softly, his eyes gentle as they looked me over. His gaze was like a caress. It was like I could feel him touching me, dammit. Like he was nuzzling into me, and I him.

It was as though we’d known each other for a lifetime, and we hadn’t. I’d have remembered a man like this, because he was unforgettable.

Hell, they all were.

Licking my lips, I whispered, “But the alpha rules that way, doesn’t he?”

Eli’s nose crinkled. “I wouldn’t say so. Mostly, I ride a desk.” He added, “That’s what Ethan and Austin are for.”

“We’re the hammers and tongs,” Austin said dryly. “And we’re loathed for it too.”

I tipped my chin to the side at his explanation, mostly because it was a weird way of phrasing it, but also because he had the strangest intonation to his words.

It wasn’t just bitter, but there was a faint confusion, a hurt, and the misunderstanding of a small child who couldn’t comprehend why the world worked as cruelly as it did.

That one remark made me wish I didn’t stink and made me wish I had the right to crawl over to him, curl up on his lap, and make him feel better.

But I didn’t have that right.

Did I?

My throat felt tight as I whispered, “So, what does the omega do if you three handle the business side of things?”

“Emotions. The pack’s wellbeing. Inside and out. We’re nothing without someone to protect us physically, and someone to safeguard us emotionally.” Eli’s smile was uneasy. “The pack is reigned over by the alpha and omega and they are united.”

There was a sudden depth to his voice, an intensity that hadn’t been there before, and it helped me see between the lines. “Romantically?” I hazarded a guess.

He dropped his chin. “Yes. They’re mated. But alphas, though we’re powerful, aren’t as powerful as the omega, who is a conduit for the Mother herself. Our goddess,” he explained. “It is through her that the omega is given the power to ease the pack’s worries, to stabilize them.”

“Control them sometimes,” Ethan muttered, and when Eli didn’t correct him, I knew Ethan was right, even if he did sound like he was grumbling.

“Just like with anything, the leaders can be stronger than another pack’s leaders, weaker than another’s. But always, always, the omega is more powerful than the alpha, sometimes to the extent where she needs more mates.”

My stomach churned at that. It didn’t take a mind reader to figure out where he was going. In all the time I’d been dozing in front of the fire like a replete Goldilocks who’d crawled into her stolen bed for a week-long nap, they’d never once mentioned this. Not really, at any rate.

I only knew that his mother had been the omega. That was it. And it fit. But…nothing else did.

“You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?” I queried warily, as I remembered them saying something on the morning after my attack, something about omegas needing to be grounded.

Something about only natural wolves being omegas…

So what did that mean?

I sure as hell wasn’t natural. And I probably had the scars on my throat to prove it.

“You’re an anomaly,” Austin said gently. He reached over and grabbed my hand so he could fold our palms together. The second our skin touched, I closed my eyes and absorbed the delight of having him hold me in that way. So simple, yet such a resonating connection, that I felt it in my bones.

“Why am I?” I rasped.

“Because you’re the omega and you’re not a natural.”

My eyes popped open. “I’m not—”

“You are. The alpha is only ever mated to the omega. That’s how it works,” Ethan stated, and there was a resolve in his words that made me believe. That refused to let me argue with him.

Ethan didn’t say things for the sake of it. He was quiet, if anything. Saying fewer words and imbuing each one with power.

“I-I’m not powerful.”

“You might not think you are, Sabina,” Eli drawled slowly, “but apparently, the Mother wouldn’t agree with you.”

Four

Ethan

“What are they doing here?”

My lips twisted into a snarl of satisfaction. I knew it was churlish, knew it was petty too, and I tried to be neither where the council was concerned because it was a waste of damn time, but I had to admit to being satisfied to hear Brandon’s, the beta, and Conrad’s, the council head, discontent at our presence.

Eli rocked back in his seat like he didn’t have a care in the world. Knowing him, he didn’t. I knew what concerned him rarely concerned the council, and vice versa.

Honestly, I was surprised he hadn’t changed the council since he’d taken over from his father, but in a way, Eli was respectful, and I figured that was why he’d kept the same assholes on, hadn’t brought in fresh meat to rejuvenate these lofty chambers in honor of his father’s memory.

Everyone knew Merinda had suffered since her mate’s death, and everyone had been on tenterhooks around her.

I had to wonder if, now, after her passing, Eli would shake things up further.

Dear Mother, I hoped so.

Anything to see that prick, Conrad, get his just deserts.

“All will be revealed once the council is in session,” Eli said softly, eying Brandon with a matching discontent that came from his lack of appreciation at being questioned.