Bryce’s POV

I stare at my mother in disbelief. Does she really expect Erica to work as an Omega in the household? She is the daughter of a former Beta. My eyes flicker between my mother and Erica, who is trying her best to carry herself like the Beta heir that she is.

Offering my mother nothing but a few short answers, Erica gets up and leaves the dining room with her head held high. It is clear that she isn’t going to let the mistakes of her parents bring her down. I had to respect that. As one of the children of the most powerful pack in North America, it is hard not to live in the shadow of my parents' accomplishments and mistakes.

Once Erica is out of the room, I look around the table at my brothers, and I can tell that they are just as conflicted as I am about having Erica work as an Omega in our household as we are, but none of us are willing to speak up against our mother. Not even our father has uttered a word since Erica left the room.

“If no one else is going to say it, I will,” Ashley pipes up. “But that was fucked up.”

“Language, Young Lady,” our mother hisses at her.

Ashley is the only cousin that we have. She will turn eighteen in about a year and will be able to find her mate. It is suspected that her mate will be high ranking, so she is here to learn how to be a ‘proper Luna’ from my mother.

So far, the lessons have been less than helpful to her. Ashley is crass and about as unladylike as they come.

“No,” Ashley stands up and throws her napkin over her plate. “Are you trying to break that poor girl? Her whole family has been banished from the West Pack, her parents are missing, and now you are forcing her to be an Omega? No, this is a fucked up situation.”

It seems that Ashley has said the words that my brothers and I are all thinking, because we each have a smile on our faces.

“That is enough from you,” my mother spits at her. “You are excused from dinner.”

“Good,” Ashley yells back at her. “If this is what being a Luna is all about, I think I would rather be mated to an Omega.”

Without another word to any of us, Ashley storms out of the dining room, slamming the door aggressively behind her.

My brother and I pick at our food before Ace’s voice comes through the mind link.

‘Triplet meeting after dinner,’ is all he says.

Chris and I both nod in return before we all excuse ourselves from the table. Chris and I make our way to Ace’s room while he stays behind to speak with our parents.

“I don’t like it,” Chris says with a low growl. “I mean... I don’t like Erica being here, but I don’t think we should be treating her poorly.”

“Especially now that she is a full-grown woman,” I add. Chris looks at me with his eyebrows knitted together. “Come on, Bro,” I laugh. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed her. Since we saw her two years ago, she has turned into a fine ass woman.”

Chris grunts in response. “We are meant to stay away from her,” he reminds me.

“You can stay away from her all you want,” I say, rubbing my hands together. “But I have other plans.”

Ever since we picked up Erica from the airport, I have been imagining what she would look like without her clothes on. Just thinking about the way that her ass fits in her jeans is almost too much for me to think about. Not to mention the way her breasts strained against the t-shirt she was wearing to dinner. I plan on finally finding out what she tastes like this summer, and not even my mother can stand in my way.

“Do your plans take into account that she hates us?” Ace says from his doorway.

“No one can resist me,” I say as I wiggle my eyebrows up and down.

“We are all going to stay away from her,” Ace says as he walks into his bedroom. “I have just gotten done speaking with mother and father, and her rank within this pack is an Omega. Father seems a little resistant to the fact, but Mother will not be swayed.”

“Since when does that matter?” I spat back at him. “We have all slept with our fair share of Omegas.”

“She is off limits,” Ace growls at me, and he looks like he is ready to attack. “It is what is best for this pack and our family.”

Once again, Chris only grunts in agreement, but I don’t understand what the harm is. “How so?” I question Ace.

“She is technically a rogue. We cannot be seen with a rogue.” Ace points out, and I guess he has a point.

“Fine,” I grumble. “She is off limits.”

Ace straightens his shoulders and stands a little taller. “So we are all in agreement. We treat Erica no differently than we have in the past.”

I can’t help but smile. At least we can still have a little bit of fun. I remember digging through her luggage two years ago and spreading her bras and panties all over the pack house. Was it immature? Probably. But was it incredibly hot going through her personal things and touching her most intimate objects? Hell yes it was, and I can’t wait to see her running around the pack house without a bra on because she cannot find hers.

“What are you smiling about?” Ace asks me suspiciously.

“I am just thinking about how hot she will be working in the pack house without her bras and panties. Who wants to distract her while I go and find her things?” I look at my brothers, and we all share a sly smile.