The Omega's Heart (Wilde Creek Four) by R.E. Butler Read Free Book Online

Paula
said if I get good enough, she’ll let me work there a few days a
week making pies for their customers.”
    “Sounds like a good idea. You could open a
bakery.” He thought she made excellent baked goods. He was more a
main dish cooker. His baking skills involved opening cans of
cinnamon rolls and placing them on cookie sheets.
    “Oh sure,” she snorted, “let me run to the
bank and make a withdrawal of a few hundred grand.”
    He chuckled. “Are the alphas out of their
room yet?”
    “I am. Brynn’s napping. What’s up?” Acksel
asked, striding into the kitchen.
    “I’m not feeling that great. I thought I’d
just head home and leave Adam to handle the dinner stuff.”
    Acksel’s brow rose. “Are you ill? I thought
you didn’t get sick.”
    It was true. Even though he couldn’t shift,
he still had all the bonuses of being a shifter, including the
inability to catch human illnesses like the common cold. He didn’t
want to outright lie, but the thought of standing around all night
and watching everyone hunt when he couldn’t was just not sitting
right.
    “I’m just feeling off ,” he answered,
careful to maintain respectful eye contact with his alpha.
    Acksel eyed him for a long moment and then
said, “As long as Adam doesn’t mind carrying the workload.”
    “I’ll be here, Alpha Acksel. If he needs help
I’ll step in,” Kammie offered.
    Jeremiah smiled at her in thanks. There were
certainly plenty of other omegas in the pack that Jeremiah could
call and ask to take his place, but Brynn was particular about who
was actually inside their home and that meant he couldn’t ask just
anyone.
    Acksel opened the fridge, grabbed a bottled
water and a covered plate, and headed into the family room.
Jeremiah felt Kammie’s eyes on his back and he turned to face
her.
    Her voice was low enough that it wouldn’t
carry into the other room. “Are you leaving? Is this the first
step?”
    “Step?”
    “Well, you can’t just take off, right? I mean
you have to really leave , like be banished, and that means
you have to talk to the big dog.” Her head nodded toward where
Acksel was. “Are you trying to distance yourself from your duties
first?”
    “No, I’m not planning that right now. I don’t
know where I’m going to go. I haven’t started packing or scouted
any areas to live yet.”
    Her pretty brown eyes gazed up at him. “You
don’t have to go. Maybe you’ll find your mate soon and then you’ll
have a good reason to stay.”
    He snorted. “That’s a nice thought, Kam, but
if it hasn’t happened yet, what makes you think it will anytime
soon?”
    “I don’t know, Jer. Maybe I read too many
romance novels, or maybe I like you and I want you to stick
around.”
    “I like you too, Kam.”
    She smiled sadly. “We’re not mates,
though.”
    It would be easier if they were, maybe. She
didn’t seem to care that he couldn’t shift. In the long run,
though, it didn’t matter. She’d stated it simply enough — they
weren’t mates.
    “Maybe I won’t actually get a mate since I
can’t shift. I might just have to find someone the old-fashioned
way.”
    “Internet dating?” she quipped.
    He tweaked her side and she giggled, hopping
out of reach.
    “You deserve a really strong male anyway,
Kammie.”
    She glanced at his chest with an arched brow.
“You’re really strong.”
    He snorted and leaned down, brushing a kiss
to her cheek. “You’re sweet. I might be strong in my human form,
but I’m at a disadvantage against a shifting wolf. A she-wolf needs
to know that her mate can protect her in both forms. I’m only half
a man.”
    Her sad smile returned and she squeezed his
bicep with her small hand. “Someday we’ll both find mates who don’t
think our faults make us non-mating material. I promise.”
    He liked her enthusiasm, but he didn’t
believe her. Still, he wasn’t going to rain on her parade. Kammie
had some issues with the scars on her body, left by her