I barely whispered the word, but Cress jerked like she’d been slapped. She grabbed several tissues briskly, one, two, three, and then blew her nose as discreetly as she could before straightening up.
“Don’t bring Kent into this,” she said, staring down the room with a glare far braver than her expression suggested. “If he’s idiot enough to be swayed by this sort of thing, then he’s not the man for me.”
“Cress, I’m sorry,” I said.
“Stop apologising. Would I have advised you to mark Tristan in a club full of strangers? As your lawyer, definitely not, but, Kit…” She smiled, fucking hell, she smiled, though her bloody heart was breaking. “You did it, darling!” Then she looked resolutely at Tristan. ?
?Welcome to the family, Tris. It feels like just a formality at this point, but…I’m sure it wasn’t.”
God, I loved my sister right then. Her pain and her pleasure were all out there on display, clawing at my omega senses until I broke away from the others and stumbled into her arms.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be,” she assured me, but that was ruined by the tears. I felt them, hot and salty, on my skin as she held me closer. “What kind of wanker watches my sister’s sex tape and then gets his daddy to ring mine?”
“Cress…”
I clutched her tighter, unable to work out what else to do.
“It’s fine,” she insisted. “Alphas are such bloody hard work. Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. It’s made me rethink things. Maybe I just want a nice solid beta husband who looks at me like I hung the moon, rather than down his nose because I can’t take his knot.”
“Cressida, this is not a topic for conversation for right now,” Dad snarled.
That fucking bastard. I looked over my sister’s shoulder at the man and glared with everything I had.
“You took Tristan as a mate?” He snorted, his face transforming into this grotesque mask of snide amusement. “And how is that possible? You’re an omega.”
“Take a look,” Tristan said, pulling down his shirt.
“That has to have been left by James,” Dad insisted. “If you’re just trying to hide—”
“I’m fairly sure you can see the whole thing on the video you’ve described,” James cut in quietly. “You can see the moment Kit makes Tristan her mate. I feel privileged to have been one of the people present for this, but it doesn’t change anything beyond what I had already planned, Grandmother. I knew they loved each other before I approached them.” He walked over, Tris at his side, coming to stand by me. “I just wanted to find out if I could be a part of that love.”
I pulled away from Cress reluctantly, but shows of force were the only things respected in this family. I took my place beside James, he taking both mine and Tris’ hands.
“So you’re determined,” Greta said, her tone a weird combination of resignation, regret, and love. It hurt and warmed you all at the same time. “Well, if this is the way it is to be, then we must adjust.”
“Tristan will need to be set up in a place of his own,” Dad insisted. “Protected, of course, but not associated with Kit or James. People have had similar setups before.”
Had they? My fingers tightened around James’ as I considered that idea. Slipping out the back of whatever palatial property we ended up in, going down to the pool house to—
“No,” James said, without consultation, because he didn’t need it.
“Well, you can hardly announce what this is to the bloody world,” Dad said with a vague gesture in our direction. “I know bloody Ratcliffe and his harem are all the rage but—”
“They already have,” Grandpa said. “The world knows or will know. Perhaps it will only be those in our social circle, but they will know. Paying the money keeps it out of the papers, but…” His sigh was long and pronounced. “This ship has sailed, Richard. Whatever plans you had must be adjusted. Protesting just makes you look like a fool.”
“Then if this is the reality we face, we must face it head-on.” Greta’s chin lifted, a determined fire burning in her eyes. “It’s not as if we Chadwicks are a stranger to claims of eccentricity. This will be yours, James. You must protect the omegas with your life, darling, because you will need to forge a path in our world, as well as the more tolerant artistic circles you mix in. Attend the season with your two omegas in tow. Be seen, be impervious to the gossip, be such a striking picture, people will start to question their own relationship arrangements, maybe feel that this is perhaps the new world order. If you don’t…”
Her eyes slid to Cressida, who stared mutinously at the tissue box in response.
“We have omegas, betas, and alphas in our family who are also considering taking mates, just as members of Kit’s family are. If this is to work, if everyone is to get what they need, you will need to find your place so that the others can find theirs.”
Shit, no fucking pressure or anything.
“Fine, but I want any details you have about the video sent to me as a priority,” James replied. “And the omegas will be with me today.”
“What? No, Kit needs—”