He sounded almost… sad.
And I knew. Behind all that bravado, the control, the threats, Vinny was scared.
Skye and Violet weren’t his first omegas. Just the only ones still here.
“Are you still thinking of Xandra?” I asked softly.
He nodded and my stomach twisted.
He’d met her when they were just kids, got her pregnant at eighteen, then lost her–and his son–thanks to his brother Tony.
I never met her. But I’d heard the stories. Seen the photos. Especially the ones hidden on his laptop.
“I couldn’t protect her,” he said, running his hand along Violet’s back. She stirred, wrinkling her nose. “Violet could’ve died yesterday, and she won’t even let me mark her. How the fuck am I supposed to protect her if I can’t mark her?”
Losing an omega was enough to kill most alphas.
Somehow, Vinny lived.
Sure, he lost his mind for a while. But since taking on a pack of his own, he was getting better. From the outside, at least. I couldn’t feel anything wrong through the bond.
I figured he just needed someone to protect.
The rest of us–Serena, Skye, me–we didn’t need him like that.
We came from the kind of places that teach you early to read a room, keep your mouth shut, and carry something sharp.
But Violet?
She was different.
I couldn’t picture her hurting a fly.
“She let Serena mark her, right?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he said. “During sex.”
Interesting. Violet bit Skye and me during sex—playful, hungry. But never Serena.
Serena was gentle. She probably guided her away from the instinct.
Vinny though? I wasn’t sure.
Had they ever even had sex outside her heat?
“Boss,” I said. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“When’s the last time you and Violet had sex?”
He choked. “Excuse me?”
“You know. When’s the last time you drowned the slippery otter?”
“Oh my God, saying it like that does NOT make it any clearer.” Vinny flushed dark. “Obviously we’ve fucked. I mean—” he gestured toward Violet’s bump, “—look at her.”
“So just the once?” I asked, unimpressed.