Chapter 11 'Come on, Hunter. We're not getting any calls from the OMS.' Damien squares off with me, his arms folded across his chest. 'This is a way to get us face time with actual omegas that need assistance.' Kieran snorts from his spot in the corner. We're sitting in the living room of the four bedroom house we rent together, deep in the throes of a pack meeting. One that Damien called. He wants us to volunteer as a pack at a heat clinic. 'Oh, fuck off, abominable snowman.' Damien rolls his eyes, and Kieran actually looks offended. I suppose between his size and the platinum blond hair color he keeps, abominable snowman isn't that far off. 'You know what I mean. They need a pack to ease them through heats, and we can provide that service.' 'Why are you so invested in this?' I ask incredulously. I've known Damien nearly my entire life, and when he fixates on something he fixates hard, but why does it need to be this? If these omegas at the clinics were truly looking for packs, they would go to the OMS. 'Sue me for not wanting my dick to fall off from lack of use!' He throws his hands up, giving me an exasperated look. 'That's not everything, Damien, and you know it,' Brody drawls, looking up at him from his seat in the recliner. 'Are you a therapist or a lawyer?' Damien snipes, and my brows shoot up. This is the second time he's snapped in the last five minutes, which is very unlike him. 'I don't need to be a therapist to see what's going on,' Brody says evenly. 'Just say it, our fearless leader and Kieran have too similar of dominance levels and it's stressing you the fuck out.' He shrugs. 'I feel it too sometimes, but my dominance, however weak it is, serves as a sort of buffer.' Damien's lips go tight as Kieran and I exchange a look. 'Is that true, brother?' 'It...' Damien shoots an annoyed look at Brody. 'Yes. Your dominance stifles the air, and an omega will help balance you both out. Getting my dick wet is just a fortunate side effect.' I sigh, running a hand over my face, then turn to Kieran. 'And you're...on board with this?' Kieran shrugs. 'I don't see what it could hurt. Worst case scenario, we help an omega with a need she has, and we can try again later.' How can they talk like this? Like having sex with someone you don't know is just a normal, acceptable thing? I know it is for some people, but...How can they even get it up? If I don't have an emotional connection to the person I'm with, my dick won't get hard for anything. I can't go into a heat clinic and fuck someone I don't know. It's not physically possible for me. I can't tell them that though. They'll think I'm just being difficult, or obstinate. 'I...' Running a hand through my hair, I look around the room at my pack. The way Damien watches with anticipation. Brody, pretending he doesn't care one way or the other. Kieran. Daring me to make the wrong call. 'I can't,' I tell them, and before the protests hit, I continue, 'but you're welcome to. If you meet someone you like and they're open to it, I'll meet them after.' The three of them exchange a look, then nod. 'Alright! Thanks, oh fearless leader.' Damien grins, getting up and clapping my shoulder as he passes. Then Kieran pushes off the wall and heads to his room, and Brody stays in his seat, his eyes never leaving me. 'What?' I finally ask, meeting his eyes. He shrugs. 'I'm good at reading people, detective. It's what I do.' 'Why do you insist on calling me by my title, Brody?' 'Because, I feel ten times more important when I'm talking to a 'detective',' he grins, 'back to my point, I'm good at reading people.' 'It's what I do too,' I raise a brow, 'care to elaborate on your point?' 'Just because you're good at reading people doesn't mean you can't be read, detective. There's something else going on with you.' Fuck. 'If you don't want to confide in me, that's fine,' Brody continues, picking up a book from the coffee table and flipping through it, 'just tell me it's not because you don't want an omega.' My brow furrows. 'Of course I want an omega.' 'Okay.' His nod has a sense of finality to it. 'Good talk.' Then he turns his attention to the book in his hands and I'm left standing there, wondering what the hell just happened. 'You don't want to know anything else?' I ask incredulously. 'Is it something that will hurt our pack? Like an STD or something?' he asks wryly, not looking up from his book. 'What? No!' I nearly shout in surprise. 'Then, no, I'm good. Your issues are your own deal until you decide to share the burden.' ...Share the burden? How the hell am I supposed to do that? 'This isn't something you can help me with.' My words are stiff. 'I guess I'll never know,' Brody says lightly, flipping another page. This guy is getting under my skin so thoroughly, I have no idea what to do with it. There's no way I'm telling him. If I do, he'll tell Kieran and Damien, and I'll be viewed as some impotent loser who can't get it up. I mean, I can, but there has to be some kind of established emotional connection first, which we for sure won't get at a damn heat clinic. But...maybe Brody would understand. Maybe I can invoke some kind of lawyer-client confidentiality agreement...thing. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a heavy breath. 'If I tell you this, it stays between us.' 'Of course-' 'I mean it, Brody,' I tell him, my voice deadly serious as I open my eyes, only to find him staring at me. 'I'm trusting you with this. If you run off and tell Kieran or Damien...' 'Damien doesn't know?' Brody raises a brow, and I can't blame him for being surprised. I've known Damien since we were kids, he knows everything about me. Except this. 'No,' I shake my head. 'I...it's not important why he doesn't know, but he doesn't.' 'I promise this stays between us.' Brody says so seriously it takes me a second to contemplate his words. Okay. Here it goes. 'It's not...' I trail off, rubbing the back of my neck as I take a seat at the end of the couch, next to his chair. 'We're all pretty aware of each others' sexual preferences and habits,' I grimace, thinking of the damn powerpoint presentation and questionnaire Damien had us fill out when we all decided to pack up. 'But what I didn't include is...' I huff a breath, the words harder to get out than expected. 'I physically cannot have sex with someone I don't have an emotional connection to.' Brody's brow furrows. 'Physically? Like...like little detective is not reporting for duty if you don't already know the person?' I roll my eyes. 'Yeah. Exactly. So, can you see why I don't want to show up like that, all limp-dicked?' He frowns. 'And you didn't share this with the class because...?' My cheeks flush. It would have been easy to tell them exactly why I'm against the heat clinic thing. Damien for sure would have been understanding, but Kieran...I don't think he wants to be the head of the pack, and we don't officially have one, but I can tell he's constantly battling with his alpha about it. 'When we were first talking about courting an omega, it didn't matter because it's not like sex would be on the table immediately anyway. I'd have time to form that connection.' 'Okay, but I'm talking about five minutes ago. You know they would have backed off if they knew the real-' He sighs at my grimace. '...Kieran.' There are bound to be growing pains with any newly-formed pack, but most packs are typically formed in the members' late teens to mid-twenties. We've all had too long to get set in our own ways. Too long without having to answer to anyone for our decisions. This goes beyond that. I'm not even sure if Kieran is doing anything on purpose, but it's like his alpha constantly wants to rise up and challenge mine, even if he agrees with my decision. My dominance naturally wants to fight back, hence the reason Damien wants us to find an omega as soon as possible. I hadn't realized it was affecting him so much. 'Alright, alright,' Brody sighs, 'I'll keep my mouth shut. But don't get your panties in a twist if we meet someone at the heat clinic.' I have to agree, I know this. I can't refuse to tell the rest of the pack the truth and get upset at the consequences. 'Yeah, yeah. A Fated Encounter movie summary talks about Emma Brown who is forced by her father Henry to take her sister Bella's place and marry Tommy Anderson to save her business. Unlike the rumor Tommy turns ou...