But my mind remembered what was at stake. My life. My family. My da.
I turned away with a tortured cry.
“What the fuck is going on here?” someone, maybe Connor, asked.
“That’s my mate,” the sexy bear growled, and it sent shivers all the way down my spine straight to my cock. He started toward me.
No. I could barely think with him in the same room. What would he do to me if he was closer? If he touched me?
Part of my mind thought that idea was perfect, but I forced myself to walk away. “Get him out of here.”
Several of my men jumped forward.
“Keep your hands off my brother,” Vasily said. “We came here to help. On your family’s request, I might add.”
I reached my desk and braced myself on it, panting as if I’d just run a mile.
“Let me go. My name is Misha Novak. Son of Francis Novak. And you are keeping me from my fated mate.”
Something inside me cracked at that declaration. Misha. I knew his name now.
“Get him out,” I croaked again. “Not far. Just. Get him out of the room. I need a minute.”
Patrick stepped in, trying to smooth over the situation with his charm as he ushered the Novaks to another room.
I thought it would be easier with space between me and Misha. I was wrong.
“Rory, if he’s your mate—” Mark started.
I couldn’t handle them looking at me. Seeing me like this. Weak. Needy. Omega. Most of the boys were alphas. My da didn’t discriminate. He always said there was no such thing as omega’s work or alpha’s work. But we were all supposed to control ourselves. And I’d always prided myself on my control. I was always in control.
Except now, when Da needed me the most. All I could think about was hopping on that alpha’s cock. Using his body to satisfy my need and letting my body be used in return.
“Everyone out.” I heard the uncertain shuffling of feet, but no one was moving. “Out, I said!”
They stepped to, then. But Mark lingered. “What do you need?”
“Nothing,” I gasped. But it wasn’t true. What I needed I couldn’t have right now. But I could deal with that.
I stumbled around my desk and collapsed in my chair, pulling the drawers out, tearing through them, destroying my careful order until I found my scent blockers. My hands shook as I tried to open the damn child-safe bottle, and Mark took it from my hands, opening it easily. He tapped two pills into his hand and handed them to me.
“Give me two more,” I said.
“But the bottle says—”
“Two. More.”
Mark hesitated, and I looked him straight in the eyes. I don’t know what he saw there—desperation, need, fury—but he nodded and handed me two more. I swallowed them dry, leaning back in my chair and focusing on controlling my need to go find my mate, to kiss him, to learn everything about him.
“Rory… if you’re going into heat, you should take care of that.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t heat.” I fucking hoped it wasn’t. “This is just… a surprise. It’s stress.”
“And he’s your mate? Misha?”
I didn’t want to admit it. This wasn’t how I’d imagined meeting my true mate, if I was so lucky to have one. I’d imagined it… more private. Without danger and chaos swirling around me. Without responsibilities so large and heavy, they’d give the Titanic a run for her money. But I nodded.
Mark smiled. “That’s a good thing, you know? You should be happy.”
I was. But I shouldn’t be. “How can I feel happy when Da could be dying?”
Mark’s smile fell, and he pursed his lips together. “We’re going to find him.”
We both heard the empty hope in those words.
The medicine was kicking in quickly. I stood and straightened my shirt. “Of course we will. Now, l think I was in the process of whipping these boys into shape. I think it’s time to finish that.”
Mark fell into step behind me, similar to how I’d so easily fallen into step behind Da for all these years. God, I hoped we wouldn’t have to get used to this. Me leading. Mark taking my position. We needed Da. He was the heart of our family. I didn’t know who we were without him.
I didn’t know who I was without him.
2
Misha
It was nearly impossible to fight against the weight of the entire O’Malley clan surging out of the room like a wave. They pushed us into the hallway and through a door on the other side. They stayed outside, with just Patrick, Vas and I in the room, but there were too many of them blocking the path between me and my mate. I looked around for another exit. No windows. Damnit.
This looked like some kind of living room or den. Foxes had dens, right? Well, this one was full of dark leather couches with thick cushions. Perfect for resting your bones after a long day. Or for boning. My brain hungrily latched on to that thought, and I wrestled with it. I couldn’t bone someone who’d kicked me out.
"Misha. Dude. I'm so fuckin' sorry, man. Don't kill me, I had to do what Rory said. And not just because Rory's in charge right now since he's Da's second. Jaysus, I was more afraid of you losing your shit than I was of my brother being upset." Patrick was talking fast like he had to get it all out before I took a swing. “I don’t know what gets into Rory sometimes, but I’m on your side here, Misha. I’m sure he’ll settle down once we find out what happened to Da.”
Vasily must’ve decided he needed to weigh in because he came closer and rested a hand on my shoulder. I jerked my arm to knock his hand the fuck off me. His eyes were full of pity. "I'm sorry your mate turned you away, but we need to stay calm. Rory isn't wrong, Misha. Finding Boss O'Malley is paramount. That’s the important concern at the moment."
My fist swung before I could stop myself, catching Vas in the gut. "Fuck you, Vas. You don't get to tell me about priorities. Maybe ask me where my head's at before you start with that shit, huh?" Fuck. This wasn’t me. I was the joker in the family, not the short fuse. I pinched the bridge of my nose and started pacing around the small office where Patrick had shoved us.
Vas stepped back, trying to stand upright, but still hunching around his stomach a little. "Due to the circumstances, I'll give you that one, dickhead. But only the one. Touch me again and you'll be looking for your teeth." Vas tried to sound tough, but I'd gotten him good and he was winded. His wheezing growl normally would've had me laughing, but not right now. Nope. Not when my head was spinning.
Ugh… I knew I had to make nice since I'd punched him. "Sorry. I reacted before I was done thinking it through. I just... need a minute to process this whole mate thing. It's some crazy shit, yeah? We came here to help find Patrick's da, and then I scented Rory and... fuck it. You know what happened from there."
I mean... damn. A fated mate. Mine. Mate. Yep, I had a mate. A hot one too. And he was from another family, so that was a nice twist. Good thing our fathers were tight. Shit. His father. I didn't blame him at all for not wanting to think about jumping on my cock while his father was missing and presumed dead. But would it have killed him to spare me a smile?