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Isam hesitated, his brown eyes seeking Servas’s. “If you’d asked me this last week, I would’ve immediately said yes. I need you to know that.”
What could have possibly changed in a week that he was now hesitant? It hit Servas. “You’ve met your mates.”
“Mate, singular, and yes, I think so. He doesn’t know, but…” Isam sighed. “I felt a strong signal from my wolf that he’s my mate.”
Servas swallowed. “I’m sure things will work out in that case.” Then something occurred to him. If this was a new development, that had to mean whoever Isam was talking about was new to the pack, right? Because otherwise, wouldn’t he have felt it before? That meant he was talking about the only recent newcomer to the pack. “It’s Mostyn, I assume?”
Isam looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded. “But please don’t say anything. He’s been through a lot, and of course, he’s new to the pack, so he will need some time to recover and find his way. I’m not gonna spring this on him right now for obvious reasons.”
“I understand.” Servas straightened his shoulders. “And I won’t say a word to anyone.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” He studied Servas for a moment longer. “You didn’t have a specific reason to ask me, right? ’Cause I know you asked Adar and Rhene to help you before.”
Fucking hell, was there nothing that stayed secret in this pack? Apparently not. “I did ask them, yes.”
Isam waited. “You didn’t answer my question,” he then kindly said.
Servas sorely regretted asking him. He should’ve never done it, should’ve never opened himself up to this kind of rejection. “Does it even matter at this point?”
He couldn’t keep the hurt out of his voice anymore, but at this point, what did it matter? Isam had figured it out anyway.
Isam stepped a little closer, and where Servas had expected to see pity, he spotted nothing but kindness and warmth. “It could.”
Servas frowned. Why could it matter? “I’m not following.”
“I didn’t say no yet. I hope you noticed that.”
He…what? Servas thought back on Isam’s words. He was right. He’d only stated that if Servas had asked him a week earlier, he would’ve agreed immediately. But he hadn’t said no. “I didn’t…but you also didn’t say yes.”
“No, because a lot depends on your answer to whether you have a specific reason for asking me.” When Servas didn’t immediately answer, Isam put a light hand on his shoulder. The simple touch sent sparks all through Servas’s body. “I know omegas rotate through alphas for their heats to see if they can find a potential match or mate, however you want to put it. There’s no shame in that. But I need to know if I’m simply next on your list or if you had another reason to ask me. I’m not judging either way.”
Easy for him to say that he didn’t judge. He was an alpha. They could do whatever the fuck they wanted and get away with it. Omegas weren’t so lucky. But Servas despised lying, which left him with little choice. “I was hoping that…” Oh, fuck it. He’d just come right out and say it, though he wouldn’t mention the fated-mates thing. That would put way too much pressure on Isam. “I like you. A lot. So I was hoping that if we got the chance to spend some time together, you might experience attraction too.”
He all but held his breath as he awaited Isam’s response. Rejection was now coming for sure, right? But instead, Isam’s mouth curled up in a lazy, sexy smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“W-why?”
“Because we need three people to make this work. Even if Mostyn is on board with him and me, we’d still need a third.”
Yeah, he’d have to do better than that. “Probably because I’m the only single omega in the pack. It’s not like you have a lot of options.”
Isam chuckled. “Fair enough, though you’re not literally the only one.”
“You’ve never shown any interest in me before.”
“You’ve never approached me either.”
Servas frowned. He hadn’t, but that wasn’t the same thing. He’d mentioned it to Palani, hadn’t he? After that, it had been up to Isam. Alphas were supposed to…
Crap. He’d fallen into a traditional thinking pattern. He’d assumed that if Isam was interested, he would’ve taken the initiative, but that wasn’t necessarily true. Being equals meant Servas could’ve said something too.
He raised his chin. “I was scared you’d reject me.”
Isam’s eyes were still kind. “I wouldn’t have, but I can understand that.”
“But regardless, the way you talk about me being the third sounds rather…contrived. It’s very rational. Like I’m just checking another box.”
“I know, but it’s hard not to look at it any other way. We know it’s supposed to be a triad, and the most logical combination is an alpha-beta-omega one.”
