After dinner, George, Dawn, Zina, Owen, Cornelia, and James worked together to clean up the table and kitchen, and then they went to George's study.
No matter how much George trusted Omegas working in his villa, he didn't want anyone to know more than necessary.
George sat in his leather chair behind the executive desk and Dawn settled on his lap. His arms snaked around Dawn's waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder.
James sat on the sofa chair and Cornelia squeezed next to him sideways so that her legs rested over James' thighs. James put his hands on Cornelia's knees, his thumbs moved to caress her gently and she leaned on him completely.
Owen and Zina were on the sofa and Owen realized that there was a distance between them. Should he get close to Zina, or pull her toward him? What if she hates it? He really didn't know what to do.
Zina felt the same awkwardness as Owen, and those two couples cuddling didn't make her situation more comfortable.
Owen jolted when he felt something warm on his hand. It was Zina's fingers, silently asking to be held. Owen slowly moved his hand, and Zina's palm slid over his until their fingers interlaced naturally.
Owen stared at their connected hands, the invisible sparks of their bond danced there, making him tingly all over. He slowly raised his gaze to meet Zina's blue eyes smiling at him. He really wanted to kiss her and somehow... he knew that she wanted the same.
George cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, bursting Owen's and Zina's lovey-dovey bubble and reminding them that they had important matters to discuss.
George narrated what happened in Alpha Edward's study.
As expected, Dawn and Zina were concerned about the potential consequences. Both females attended many parties, but now they had mates and they will be mismatched and potentially preyed upon. The worst thing was that the culture of the Red Moon pack dictated how Omegas don't retaliate. It was not something Zina and Dawn wanted to go through.
"What should we do?" Dawn asked while her eyes moved from George to James.
Zina and Owen were confused to see that George was looking at James also.
Zina was aware that the youngster was mated to Cornelia, and that he had a positive relationship with Alpha Damon, but nothing beyond that. As for Owen, he knew that James was the young Alpha of the Red Moon pack, and that was mostly it; the rest were Owen's assumptions based on Alpha Edward's reputation which was not good.
"You should go to the event," James said to Dawn and Zina.
"Can't we avoid it?" Dawn asked.
James shook his head. "Women are one of the top three things my father takes notice of. If you don't show up, he will seek Lieutenant Owen at what point he needs to have a very good explanation as to why you didn't come." James looked at Owen. "No matter what explanation you give him, the fact is that two Omegas didn't show up when explicitly asked for them. You will be punished."
Owen had to ask. "Punished? How?"
James shrugged. "It will depend on my father's mood. Demotion. Dungeon. He might make an example of you."
Zina sucked in a sharp breath. "That bad?"
"My father will see that as Lieutenant Owen rebelling against Alpha orders. What does Alpha Damon do with traitors?"
Zina's hold on Owen's hand tightened. Sure, traitors don't have a good ending, but Alpha Damon doesn't classify as treason when a woman misses a party.
"What if we leave the pack?" Owen asked.
James was surprised by this question. "You want to flee? Disown the pack? What do you think my father will do when he realizes you ghosted him? He might think that you were attacked, kidnapped, or that you ran away. In any of those cases, he will look for an explanation."
Owen couldn't believe this. "Are you saying that the only way out of this is if I attend the party with someone else's mate and pretend that she is mine? What about my mate? Should I stand on the side and watch other males breathe down her neck?"
James raised his hand, indicating to Owen to calm down. "It will be a big party with a lot of people. My father won't do anything despicable in front of guests." He turned to Cornelia. "Especially not guests from the Midnight Guardians pack."
Cornelia understood where James was going with this. "You want me to keep an eye on them?" She turned to Dawn and Zina. "We can take turns. Talia, Mindy, and Sandy will also be there. If we notify Kalina and Tatiana, I'm sure they will cooperate as well."
Since Maya and Caden were staying in the Dark Howlers pack to protect it in case rogues attack, Mindy was the next in line to go as Luna Talia's aide, and she would come with Gideon who was not happy to go, but he couldn't leave Mindy to go on her own either. As for Sandy, she will come with Tyler, as Alpha Natalia's Gammas. Normally, Meg and Kai would accompany Talia from the Midnight Guardians pack, but Meg was pregnant, and Talia didn't want to expose her to potential risks.
George liked James' plan. "With females staying in groups, no one will dare to act out of line."
Owen was still not pacified but he saw that Zina relaxed a bit, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn't want to be a worrywart.
"Don't forget that Nora will come in the afternoon to help your mates get ready for the party," James said before asking, "Are we done here?" He was eager to go with Cornelia to their room.
George had a question, "Is there something we should know about tomorrow's event?"
James shrugged. "You are one of the guys in charge of security. You probably know more than I do."
James didn't care about his birthday celebration. Cornelia will attend as a special advisor to Alpha Natalia, and James will look for every opportunity to stick to his mate. Other than that, nothing else mattered.
Before leaving, James gestured toward Owen and spoke to George. "I suggest you don't leave him out of your sight." James reached into his pant pocket and threw a small bottle at George. "You should feed him this. One pill will prevent him from using the pack-link for twenty-four hours."
George nodded in understanding. If Owen can't use pack-link, he can't betray them sneakily. James really thought of everything.
Once James and Cornelia left the study, Zina shifted in her seat. "It seems it's time for sleep."
Zina was worried about the upcoming party, but that was far in the future because she had a full day until then and her mate was right next to her, holding her hand, handsome, edible, and smelling of honey. How could she focus on anything other than Owen?
"Where will you sleep?" Dawn asked.
Before Zina could respond, George spoke, "How about you girls talk outside? I want a word with Owen in private."
Dawn was happy to hear George suggest this. Dawn wanted to tell many things to Zina, but she didn't want to embarrass Zina in front of her mate who was visibly confused with everything that happened in the last few hours.
Owen didn't like that Zina left his visual range and George frowning at him didn't make things better.
