Chapter Twenty-One

**Myra**

After her cuddle moment with Sloan, Myra couldn’t shake the feeling that she should be doing more to help Sloan, one way or another. Once returning to the couches with Sian and Bryn, she’d half-listened to their conversation as she tried to formulate her own plan of action.

“Myra darling? What did Sloan say to you?” Sian asked, pulling Myra away from her thoughts.

Myra shook her head to clear it before replying. “Pardon, what did you say?”

“My son must have said something that is now troubling you, so what was it?”

“It’s the attacks… he’s been worried about their frequency, but this invasion of the house has only increased his concern,” Myra said, looking at her mother-in-claiming. She listened and nodded her head, encouraging Myra to continue. “I want to help… but he doesn’t want to expose me to that,” Myra confessed.

“Ahh… to be newly mated… and completely naïve.” Sian chuckled.

“I’m sorry?!” Myra gasped, startled by Sian’s comment and her anxiety began to climb.

“Not you, hunny… Sloan,” She said, placing a comforting hand on Myra’s knee. “His father was the same way. He thought I was too innocent and too naïve to bear the responsibilities associated with ‘dangerous’ pack business… man was he wrong.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“If this story includes sex, count me out,” Bryn exclaimed, stopping her mother before she even started to speak.

“*God, I agree with Bryn on this.*” Myra thought, smiling politely at Sian.

“Get your head out of the gutter, child!!” Sian said, whacking Bryn in the face with a throw pillow, causing Myra to laugh out loud. “Besides, it’s a long, almost drawn-out story. I wouldn’t go into too much detail. But let’s just say when I first met Theo, I wasn’t originally a member of this pack. There was almost a war for the territory we have now because of that factoid.”

The look on Bryn’s face caused Myra to snort. Her eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of her eye sockets, and her jaw hung open. “Wait, what?!”

“Oh, there are lots of things your father and I have never told you, kids…” Sian smiled lovingly at Bryn. “One of them is how we met, our friendship before our claiming and how we had to learn to depend on each other when it came to Pack duties.”

“How did you achieve that?” Myra questioned, genuinely intrigued to learn about her new family alongside her sister-in-claiming.

“Trial and error… by the time Theo had claimed me, he still saw me as a timid, innocent who needed his constant protection. It took one event to help change his whole outlook, and he realized that I was stronger than I looked.” Sian explained with a shrug.

“A freaking Amazon, this woman,” Theo announced from the Common Room entryway, causing them all to look up at him.

“Do you also need a break from all the gory details of the rogue attacks?” Sian asked teasingly, “Like your son, do you need a hug too?”

“Don’t tempt me, woman.” He growled, and she smirked at him.

However, the atmosphere in the room shifted, and Myra felt like she was voyeuring on their intimate exchange. Looking at Theo, Myra saw where Sloan got his possessive and dominant nature from,

“Eww…” Bryn exclaimed, picking up her phone and glanced at the screen. Myra stilled, patting her pockets, searching for her own mobile. “Well, I am out of here… meeting Pearl in ten minutes.”

“About that…” Theo interrupted.

“Huh?” Bryn inquired, then frowned. “Seriously?!”

“It’s too dangerous for you girls to be alone… so, your choices are simple, a five-creature security team at all times or you stay home.” He said in a strict-fatherly tone.

Myra decided now was a good time to make a polite exit while father and daughter battled it out. She glanced at Leanne and gestured to the door, indicating that she intended to leave. Both of them inched their way out of the room, just as Bryn began arguing about being a grown woman and needed to explore the world.

“I’m just heading back to the bedroom. If there’s something else you wish to do, you can attend to them.” Myra stated as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“The Alpha wouldn’t be happy with that. I’m under strict instructions to stay with you.” Leanne replied, shrugging offhandedly.

“Oh… Well, I don’t want you to be standing outside all day; you can help me set up a space in the bedroom for my school supplies then.” Myra smiled brightly, pushing open the door, but she noticed a strange emotion flashed across Leanne’s face before she schooled her expression. When she stayed quiet, Myra decided not to press it. Instead, she looked about the room.

“*This is quite a masculine room.*” Myra thought as her eyes roamed over the different pieces of furniture. The king-size, four-poster bed took up one wall, while a massive leather couch sat in front of a space-saving bookshelf was on the other side; on the third wall, there was a pair of French barn doors that lead to the closet and bathroom area. But it was the final concluding piece to the room that Myra simply loved. The glass-paned wall surrounding the balcony doors and provided a breath-taking view of the backyard and sea cliffs.

“*If I moved a table over there,*” Myra thought, visualizing a table next to the balcony doors, but she was interrupted by Leanne clearing her throat to get her attention.

“You do know that there’s an office for the Omega near the Den.”

“Sloan tells me nothing!” Myra rolled her eyes. “However, I prefer the sanctuary of the bedroom… a small desk with a comfortable chair, looking out at that view would be perfect.”

“I understand... I will speak to the staff immediately,” Leanne replied, pulling out her phone.

While she chatted with pack members, Myra reached out for her phone next to the bed. Of course, there were missed calls and messages from both Megan and Myrielle, either individually or in their group chat. Both wanted details about her night, though Megan wanted dirtier details than Myrielle. Myra wickedly smiled as she conference called them and patiently waited for the call to connect.

“She’s alive!!” Megan cheered once the call had connected.

“Hi sis.” Myrielle greeted.

“Yes, I am alive… hi girls.”

“It’s quarter to two in the afternoon… Sloan must have tired you out if you slept in this late.”

Myra rolled her eyes before answering. “I have been awake for a while now... there’s been a bit of a situation here.”

Megan, being Megan, didn’t listen to her and continued talking like Myra didn’t speak. “Did you use the gift I left for you? You know you can use your egg on Sloan as well?”

As one, both Myra and Myrielle sighed heavily, and they waited for Megan to stop talking. Once she did, Myrielle spoke up. “Megan, not everything is sex-related,” She snapped at her, “Myra, what happened?”

“Just for her information, there are no problems in the sex department. However, the rogues who attacked me came for Elizabeth last night.”

“Really? Good riddance to bad rubbish.” Megan squealed.

“Not exactly,” Myra muttered, cutting off Megan’s delight.

“What do you mean *not exactly*?”

“Wait? How did they get into the house? Are you okay?” Myrielle asked.

“They got in during the ceremony last night. In and out, in under thirty minutes.”

“Are. You. Alright?” Myrielle repeated slowly.

“Well, I wouldn’t be talking to you if I wasn’t; but we did lose two rookies who were guarding Elizabeth,” Myra explained, and the bedroom door opened up. She silently acknowledged the different pack members who started moving in and out of the room, fulfilling her request.

“Elizabitch is in cahoots with the rogues?” Megan gasped, no longer sounding delighted by the news.

“Maybe… we don’t really know.”

“So, I’m guessing Sloan has gone ape-shit and ordered a presidential size security team to accompany you at all the times?” Myrielle teased.

“We haven’t crossed that possible bridge… as yet. But I am still on medical leave this week. The problem would be next week when I return to work.” She said, “*I’m not sure how Sloan will take that notion.*”

“Myra, you are mated to a powerful Alpha. You don’t need to work, like ever!” Myrielle gushed.

But Megan interrupted her. “I’m all for Myra getting herself a nice, beefy sugar wolf… but she still needs her independence.”

Myra listened to the two bicker with each other about her situation, but it never occurred to her that becoming Omega would mean giving up herself. She needed to sit down and talk to Sloan; though, recent events have shown that their discussions tend to end in lovemaking.

“Myra, are you still there?” Myrielle’s voice cut through her racing thoughts.

“I am… everything has happened so quickly that there are aspects of my life I never considered would be greatly affected by Sloan’s position,” Myra confessed.

“Go talk to him.” Megan encouraged. She sounded a bit distracted and was trying to end the call.

Myrielle made a strange sound before stating, “Not so fast, Meg-pie… mind telling us what happened last night?”

“Huh? Something happened?” Myra quizzed gleefully.

Suddenly, there was silence over the phone as none of them spoke. The seconds ticked by, and Myra feared that the call had dropped, but she could still hear their breathing and Megan’s rapidly increasing heart rate.

“Megan Louisa Alexander?” Myra teased, hoping to get a rise out of her.

“Not-nothing hap-happened.” She stuttered.

“Myrielle?”

“Benji and I were organizing ourselves to leave since the baby needed her rest… but I couldn’t find Miss Megan. I looked around the gardens, but nothing. So, I had to follow her scent, and I found her. But she wasn’t alone.” Myrielle explained.

“She wasn’t.” Myra teased.

“She was with Declan… by the pool. Let’s just say I didn’t realize there were two Claiming ceremonies happening last night.”

By the end of Myrielle’s explanation, Myra’s cheeks were burning from smiling too big. “What!”

“Would you look at that? I forgot I was boiling rice…”

“You don’t...” Myra started to say, but there was a distinctive click as Megan disconnected her end of the call. “… cook… wuss!”

“She’s such a baby… she’s perfectly comfortable telling us all about her other conquests… but with Declan, she just clams up.”

“I think she really likes him.”

“Ever thought you would see the day when Megan willingly settle down into a monogamous relationship?”

“Nope,” Myra laughed. “How’s my baby?”

“She’s in a breast milk-induced coma… so, I’m getting some financial accounts done for dad.”

“You nerd… happy working.”

“Bye love.”

“Love you too, hun.” Myra smiled as she ended the call. The house staff were putting the finishing touches to her workspace. “Thank you, everyone. I truly appreciate it.”

They all nodded and quickly exited the room. During the brief silence, Myra fired off a text message to Megan.

Text Message [Myra]: You cannot hide forever!! We will have to talk at some point.”

Not waiting for a reply, Myra pocketed her phone and went to find Sloan. Her conversation with the girls has brought up some lingering issues, and they needed to settle them before her medical leave was up. Before she could formulate a plan, her stomach growled, reminding her that her breakfast was cut short.

“Umm, Leanne? Can you show me where the kitchens are?”

“Sure… it’s this way.” She tilted her head towards the stairwell and walked down to a new unexplored part of the house. Leanne pushed on the double doors, and Myra gasped.

“*Eye-gasm!*” She thought, gazing about the massive area, practically drooling as her eyes fell on every shiny piece of kitchen equipment. “*Double wall ovens… a restaurant size refrigerator… a nine-burner gas stove? Oh my gosh. That’s the biggest kitchen island I have ever seen. So much space and storage. I can move into this room and die happily.*”

It took Myra a moment to realize that she was busy lusting over the kitchen space and didn’t acknowledge the staff who had stopped what they were going to stare at her.

“My apologies… hello everyone.”

“Omega.” They all echoed and slightly nodded their heads, but she could see the unease her presence has caused in the kitchen.

“Please… call me Myra. Umm, I just wanted to make a couple of sandwiches for Sloan and myself.”

“I can do that for you, Omega.” A young maid spoke up. Myra smiled at her enthusiasm, then arched her eyebrows and smirked at the girl. “Sorry… Myra.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t mind doing it myself… I just need bread, lunch meat, mayo, mustard, lettuce and tomatoes.” She listed. Different staff members cleared a spot on the island and layout out the ingredients for her. “Oh, and a knife… thank you.”

She washed her hands first before she set about her task. She then sliced the bread and placed it in the toaster. Once they were lightly toasted, she spread mayo on one side and mustard on the other. She picked up the tomato and sliced it, then laid it and lettuce leaves on the bread.

She looked up and smiled as the staff were still staring at her. “Please, do continue with whatever you were doing.”

“We are prepping for dinner.”

“Oh… and, what’s the plan for dinner, umm?” Myra left the statement hanging for the girl to pick up on her meaning.

“Stacy, ma’am. Tonight is Italian, so Lasagne… Stone oven pizzas, Rigatoni Ragu and Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.” The girl said proudly as different members slowly returned to their previous activities.

“That sounds delicious.” Myra smiled, placing sliced turkey and chicken on the bread. She finished preparing the sandwiches by adding some potato chips, thanks to Stacy’s quick thinking. She paired the sandwiches on five plates, placing eight pieces for the men and four for herself and Leanne.

“We have some fresh lemonade, and Stacy and Jack can help with the delivery.” An elderly staff member instructed.

“Thank you… Mister?”

“Arthur, Omega Myra.”

“Myra is just fine… and thank you for the offer. I can’t wait for dinner.” Myra finished, and he blushed. He then indicated to the staff members to help her. “Thank you, everyone.”

With Leanne and the two kitchen-staffers in tow, they headed towards the Den. She knocked and waited to be permitted entrance. She could hear movement on the inside, and someone approached the door.

“Yeah… Oh hey, Myra.” Declan greeted.

Myra giggled at the genuine look of shock on his face. “You boys have been at it all day… it’s time for a break.” She announced, marching past him. Sloan was typing away on his computer, and Tristan was looking over different pieces of paper.

“Is that my wonderful sister-in-claiming who bears yummy gifts?”

“Not for you.” She teased Tristan, patting him on the cheek as she continued walking over to Sloan, “You can place the items on the table by Tristan.” She instructed, and they nodded, placing the plates and glasses full of lemonade on the table. “Thank you, Stacy and Jack.” They bowed and left the room.

“Well, this is a welcomed distraction,” Sloan smirked.

Myra teased him by pretending to lean in for a kiss, but at the last moment, she stood up and looked over at Leanne, who was about to exit the room. “Leanne, there’s a plate here for you too… please stay and dine with us.”

The look of pure shock on her face was priceless, and Myra smiled brightly. She turned to Sloan, who was glaring at her. “Let’s eat.”