Appetite for an Alpha (Omega Quadrant #4)

Chapter 1

1

A few years later…

T he afternoon before Wilder and Avery’s wedding, Brett laid the final piece of silverware on the single, long trestle table before scanning it, meticulously checking for anything set at wrong angles. He nudged the edge of a knife to line it properly with the rest and checked that each plate was the same distance from the edge of the table, tweaking here and there as he moved from setting to setting. Estimating the space for the floral arrangements, he hoped everything would fit accordingly.

Stepping outside the open-sided tent, he checked the table from a small distance to ensure even spacing and was pleased with what he saw. A proud smile crossed his lips. Wilder and Avery’s new backyard was the perfect location for the small, intimate dinner party to follow their mating ceremony. It had come equipped with a once-beloved rose garden that had been wildly overgrown when Wilder had first purchased the house. The alpha had amassed an entire team to cut, trim, and weed it back to life, and the results were stunning.

Massive rose bushes almost as tall as him were filled with large, scented blooms of every color even though autumn had officially begun. It was the perfect time for an outdoor celebration, hovering between the two seasons when it was still warm, but not uncomfortably so. The night might prove a bit chilly, but wine, dancing, and laughter would warm them just fine—though he had a light jacket in the back of his car for just in case.

He lifted his face to the sun and allowed it to warm him a few seconds and then returned to the table for one last scan. As soon as he clutched the back of a chair, the fine hairs at the base of Brett’s neck rose, alerting him he wasn’t alone. Goose bumps skittered over his skin seconds before a man spoke behind him.

“It’s a bit early to set the table, isn’t it?”

The alpha’s deep baritone sent a shiver down Brett’s spine. He didn’t turn immediately. He needed a few seconds to steel himself and temper his emotions. “I’m helping Avery get ready as well as standing up for him, so this was the latest I could do it,” he said, his back still turned.

“You knew I had staff coming to set and serve,” Pierce murmured.

“As if I’d let just anyone set this table,” Brett muttered.

Avery’s day needed to be perfect, and Brett was damned sure going to do his best to make it just that. Leaving the table for someone else to do—someone who might not care as much as he did—wasn’t going to happen. When he finally did slowly spin around to face Pierce, he smothered the ache one look caused. “I wanted to set the table.”

Pierce’s gaze raked over him. It wasn’t the usual devious peek he’d caught Pierce taking before, but a bolder perusal Brett hadn’t expected nor prepared himself for. The alpha’s open admiration left him breathless and tingly all over—and at a loss for words.

Brett was never at a loss for words.

He attempted to not return the favor, but— fuck —he was used to seeing Pierce in those expensive, tailored suits, somehow wending that big body gracefully through the dining room at Lambeau’s—not wearing a too-tight black short-sleeve t-shirt that showed off massive, muscled arms and almost-as-tight jeans that highlighted an even more impressive bulge. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Brett lifted his gaze and aimed his focus above the shoulders. He refused to look down again.

Pierce surveyed the table, shoving a hand through his short, salt-and-pepper hair before scratching his trim beard of the same shade. When he turned his gaze back, with those gorgeous golden-amber eyes and a hint of a smile, Brett’s stomach twisted painfully.

Brett averted his gaze and focused on the table again. He searched for anything to fix—all while knowing full well it was perfect, as is. It was safer to pretend he was working than it was to ogle the alpha he couldn’t have. “What’re you doing here so early? The ceremony doesn’t begin for another few hours.”

“I was coming to set the table.”

Pierce crossed his massive, muscled arms, sending tendrils of heat through Brett. He’d known Pierce was a big guy under those suits, and he’d often joked the alpha’s tailor hadn’t left much to the imagination with the snug fits, but he’d been absolutely wrong on that count. Pierce was a wall of solid muscle.

How would it feel to be held up against that wall?

Heat warmed Brett’s cheeks. How dare there be one more thing the alpha had in the plus column. No matter how the math added up, it would never amount to them being together. “I assumed you were simply a guest tonight. I didn’t anticipate you coming to work the event yourself.”

“You know there’s no way I’d let Abe’s—” Pierce paused, sighing with exasperation. “Avery’s mating reception come and go without ensuring everything was done to my standards. I stopped in to check in with our sous chef and his team and planned to set the table while I was here.” He sighed again. “How long’s it going to take for me to stop calling him Abe?”

“I fuck up on occasion, too. Just correct and move on.” Brett met Pierce’s gaze for a few seconds before dragging it away. Staring at the alpha’s raw, sexy magnetism was like looking at the sun. Too much and he’d go blind. “Since the table’s done, I guess you can head home and get ready.”

Go home. Please. I’m barely hanging on here.

How the hell was he going to make it through the ceremony and the reception if it had gotten to a point that he couldn’t handle a simple conversation? Work was a different matter. Pierce and he were always busy and there was little overlap. Brett avoided talking to the man as much as possible, and Pierce seemed to do the same with him. Lines were drawn, though Brett was struggling more and more to stay contained within them.

Avery’s ceremony was a blurring of those lines.

Their personal and professional lives were colliding, and it left Brett feeling uneasy. Landmines were everywhere. One wrong move and their carefully crafted walls might shatter.

Instead of leaving, Pierce walked closer and stopped beside him. Close enough that the delightful mixture of alpha pheromones, bodywash, shampoo, and whatever else that Pierce used filled Brett’s nose. Pierce always smelled too fucking good, but for some reason, he smelled even better in that moment. Maybe it was the fresh air, or the roses clustered around them, but all Brett knew was he wanted to cuddle close and press his nose against Pierce’s neck—and maybe just live there the rest of his life. He dragged in a deep breath, filling his lungs with Pierce.

His stomach twisted painfully. Brett’s knuckles turned white on the back of the closest chair as he breathed through it—which didn’t seem to help much.

Pierce reached for a place setting.

“Don’t touch anything.”

Pierce’s hand froze inches from the corner of one fork—before he continued on and straightened it slightly. He turned to eye Brett, his brow furrowed. “Are you suggesting that I can’t set a table?”

“No,” Brett murmured. He held Pierce’s heated gaze, desire pulsing in his veins. “I just… this is…” Brett paused, sighing. “Avery’s been through a lot over the last couple of years. I want his day to be perfect. I can’t control everything, but this is one piece I can. I can make sure the table where he’ll sit and celebrate with his friends and family will be beautiful.”

Pierce didn’t respond for a few seconds, just held Brett’s stare. The alpha’s gaze softened… and Brett both loved— and hated— the gentleness of it. A hint of a smile appeared seconds later, and he wondered if Pierce was laughing at him. That thought made his stomach hurt even more.

Pierce’s eyes twinkled. “And here I thought you only really gave a shit about yourself.”

He is laughing at me. Brett narrowed his eyes. “You’re only half right. I only care about me… and Avery. Everyone else can fuck off. Including you, Pierce Lambeau.”

Pierce’s jaw tightened before he sighed. “I suppose I asked for that, didn’t I?”

“Oh, you absolutely did.” Brett zhuzhed the folded linen napkin at the place setting in front of him and continued around the table, his back to Pierce to hide his hurt feelings.

Again, he silently willed Pierce to leave him alone, but it wasn’t his lucky day. He could feel boreholes in his back caused by the alpha’s focused gaze. He sensed Pierce wanted to say something, but the uncomfortable silence yawned between them.

Finally breaking the quiet a couple of minutes later, Pierce asked, “I thought Avery requested pale blue napkins?”

“He changed it to pale peach.” Brett waved his hand toward the massive rose bushes closest to the tent. Several had budded over earlier in the week, filled with promise for even more. They’d erupted the day before, revealing a stunning blend of soft shades in peach, yellow, coral, and pink. “When he noticed all of those about to bloom, he switched colors. I took care of calling it in.”

Brett turned, watching Pierce eye the gorgeous, fragrant blossoms, longing making his mouth go dry. For five long years, he’d worked for the alpha. For nearly just as long, he’d had a massive hard-on for the man, though he’d been loath to admit it to himself. Over the last year, that lusty crush had evolved into something bordering on obsession.

Which he kept in check. There was a laundry list of reasons why he and Pierce weren’t right for one another, but there was one glaring one that sat at the head of the list, and it would always be the only one that mattered.

Pierce was an alpha and he was a beta.

It wasn’t out of the question for an alpha and a beta to share a few fun nights together. More than once, he’d considered giving that a try with Pierce to scratch their itch—but he didn’t want to invite that kind of drama, nor did he want to lose his job.

He also sensed he’d want more than a short, wild ride in the alpha’s bed and that scared the shit out of him. In Brett’s world, men were easily interchangeable and typically bored him after a week or two. He’d never had a broken heart, though it was claimed that he’d left a trail of them behind him. How any man could get that twisted up after a short, little fling, he didn’t know, but that was on them , not him.

Pierce might even bore him after a week or two, too—but something told him that wouldn’t be the case. The second Pierce walked into a room, Brett knew it, even if he couldn’t see the alpha. His skin tightened and an odd sense of awareness filled him when they were near. Was it simply a matter of wanting something he couldn’t have? Possibly. It’s the excuse he gave himself, though deep down he sensed it was more than that.

Things couldn’t be more between them, though.

While a romp in the sack was acceptable, a long-term relationship between an alpha and a beta was frowned upon in Alexandria—not that Brett gave a shit about social norms or pissing people off. He was more concerned with the fact he’d never live up to an alpha’s expectations. He would never go into heat. He would never offer the man a child. He would never provide all the things an omega could.

Brett refused to live a life where he was found lacking. He’d grown up feeling less than. He wouldn’t suffer the disrespect another second.

“Abraham really is mating up, hmm?” Pierce asked. He immediately cringed. “Avery. Fuck.”

Brett had met “Abraham” their first week at the College of Waltyn & Marris and immediately connected with who he’d thought was another beta. They’d become fast friends. “Abe” had been the only person to see past his bullshit and call him out on it. To truly see him and not the mask he wore for the rest of the world . For a while, he’d thought himself in love with the man, but looking back, he sensed it was simply being seen for the first time and the comfort of their steady, easy friendship.

It wasn’t until close to graduation that he’d learned that Abraham was actually Avery , an omega who’d faked being a beta to illegally enroll in the university. Avery had lied to everyone—including him—for four years. It had stung that Avery hadn’t trusted him, but he’d learned to come to terms with it. Avery had supposedly wanted to protect him via plausible deniability.

He would’ve rather known.

Sadly, around the same time, the wrong person had also learned the truth and Avery had landed in prison because of it. That incarceration had been the catalyst for an Omega Rights Movement that was still being argued over dinner tables and the provincial government’s offices—and likely would for years to come.

Between prison, protests, a new alpha, time spent in house arrest, an impending mating, and a baby due any moment, Avery’s last year and a half had been an emotional roller-coaster ride. His hands were overfilled and there didn’t seem to be much room left for Brett—but such was life. The ebb and flow was to be expected, only Brett feared for their future. They weren’t the same people anymore. He would never truly understand the choices Avery had made or what he’d experienced. In time, he worried their worlds would continue to drift apart.

Avery would soon have a new family and a new life while Brett would continue to be the fuckup beta who couldn’t do anything right.

Pierce inched closer. He tilted his head and eyed Brett.

Brett lifted a brow.

Pierce narrowed his eyes.

“What?” Brett asked, defensive.

“This is a happy day… so why do you look miserable?”

Another ‘fuck you’ was on Brett’s lips, but something held it back. He forced a smile instead. “It is a happy day.”

“Tell your face that,” Pierce teased.

Brett clenched his jaw and fought back a wave of emotion. “Back off.”

Pierce frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Brett…”

Brett noticed worry in Pierce’s expression, and he swiftly sensed a pull within. Untethered… floating in a sea of sadness without a life jacket. Words spilled from his lips before he could stop them. “What if Avery’s going to move on with his life and forget about me?” Brett scoffed. “Why wouldn’t he? He’s got this amazing alpha, a child on the way, and a brand-new life ahead of him. I’m nothing but trouble. A reminder of what he had to endure to get here.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Brett regretted them and desperately needed to reel them back in. It was too late. He lifted his gaze to Pierce’s and saw nothing but pity in the alpha’s eyes.

Pity, he could not stomach.

He burst out in laughter to cover his moment of vulnerability, bent over and slapped his knees. He made a show of his false humor and when it faded, he grinned up at Pierce. “Is that what you expected me to say? Come on, now… I don’t care about anyone but me, remember?”

“And Avery,” Pierce added.

Brett’s smile slipped a little.

“Anyone in your position would worry about him drifting away. I know you two are close.”

“Oh, boo-hoo,” Brett said, ignoring the stab to his heart from Pierce’s too-close-to-the-mark comments.

Pierce frowned. “It’s totally normal to worry. To wonder if there will still be room left for you after all these massive changes in his life.”

Bingo! But the fuck if he was owning up to that. “If there’s no room, I simply make some. Or I find myself a new best friend.”

“Brett,” Pierce murmured. “You don’t have to pretend like you’re not concerned. I can see you are.”

“Don’t,” Brett warned. He lifted his hand and aimed his forefinger at Pierce. “You don’t know me. You don’t get to talk like you do.”

“You’re right. I don’t know you… because you don’t let people in to get to know you.” Pierce’s nose wrinkled. “Except Avery. The problem is… that might backfire if Avery’s got his hands too full to deal with your messes from now on.”

“My messes?” He’d been walking the straight and narrow for over a year. Would he ever get any credit for how hard he’d worked? Nope. Brett dragged that expletive he’d held back. “Fuck you, Pierce.” He spun toward the back of the house. He’d go as far as he could to get away from Pierce Lambeau—which wasn’t far considering he couldn’t leave.

Pierce had other ideas, though. He snagged a wrist and spun Brett around. “You’re allowed to push my buttons, but I can’t push yours? That’s no fair.”

Brett attempted to pull his hand away, but Pierce’s iron grip wasn’t giving an inch.

They were too close. Brett’s heart thundered in his ears.

Pierce moved even closer. “You push and you push, but as soon as someone pushes back, you act like you’re the injured party. You don’t get to run away when things get too hot.”

A tremor raced through Brett. He averted his gaze, afraid he might slip up and say something else he didn’t mean to say. “I’m supposed to be upstairs right now.” It wasn’t a lie. He was due to help Avery prepare and finish getting ready himself.

Pierce glared down at him, silent.

Brett dragged in a breath—and again all he scented was Pierce. Cologne? Fresh, clean alpha body. There was a faint aroma of peppermint. Toothpaste, perhaps? I wonder if it tastes as good as it smells. His gaze went to Pierce’s lips, slightly concealed by the dark, trimmed beard and mustache speckled with gray. How much would the hairs tickle if he lifted on his toes to get a taste?

If only he was holding me the way I want him to hold me, I could.

Brett’s gaze lifted from those lips and moved to Pierce’s deep, amber eyes. The man might be silent, but those eyes spoke volumes. They had for years. He sensed Pierce wanted him almost as much as he wanted the alpha.

He’d also sensed Pierce hated wanting him—though he saw no signs of that in Pierce’s face for once.

Brett’s stomach clenched hard. He yanked his hand away and took two steps back, refusing to double over from the pain. Had he been alone, he would’ve done just that. The cramps had started a few months before—mild and occurring at random—but they’d been coming more and more often in recent weeks, and for some reason, usually when Pierce was nearby. He didn’t understand why it heightened with Pierce’s presence, only that it did. Maybe he tensed his body more. What he did know was that he needed distance. Brett spun and continued toward the house, his abdomen still tight. Without turning back, he called over his shoulder, “There’s spots left on the table for the floral centerpieces Avery and I made last night—and there’s freshly- cut peach roses in the kitchen that need to be added before they go out. Don’t fuck it up.”

“You’re still my date tonight, right?”

Brett paused before slowly turning to Pierce. “I thought that was a joke?”

“No joke. I don’t have a plus one. You said you didn’t either.” Pierce glanced at the place settings before returning to capture his stare. “I don’t know most of these people. I’d like to have someone I know to talk to— besides the staff.”

Brett forced a big, fake smile, the cramps already starting to fade with a bit of space. “Well, technically, I am staff, too.”

“You know what I mean,” Pierce said. “I said yes before I learned it was going to be an intimate dinner with mostly family. I barely know anyone outside of you and Avery—and he’s going to be focused on his alpha tonight, as would be expected.”

Brett smiled to himself, enjoying seeing a less-than-cool Pierce. He’d never seen his boss outside of the restaurant. Inside Lambeau’s, Pierce was self-assured and always in charge. He made running the place look easy, but that was his domain and had been for decades. Having to socialize with a bunch of strangers apparently wasn’t in Pierce’s wheelhouse.

“You meet strangers every night at the restaurant,” Brett murmured. “And you charm them with ease.”

“It’s work. I have a reason to be there and having those interactions,” Pierce said. “Outside those walls… it’s different. I’m just not much of a social animal.”

Brett instinctively moved a few steps closer, a smile crossing his lips. He stopped inches from Pierce and looked up, grinning madly. The chance to see a crack in Pierce’s perfect armor was more tempting than the spasms were painful, apparently. “Are you nervous about tonight?”

One of Pierce’s brows rose. “If I didn’t feel the need to be here to check on service, I’d send my regards.”

“You really need a life outside the restaurant, Pierce,” Brett said. “It’ll do you good to spend a little time away. Lambeau’s will be fine for a night without you, you know?”

A broad smile quickly spread across Pierce’s face. “Oh, I know it’ll be okay. You’ll be here and not there.”

Brett growled, pushed past Pierce, and stalked toward the table. He found his place card and Pierce’s—and then moved the alpha to the opposite end of the table and the farthest away from him as possible. He spun back and glared at the man. “Pretend I’m a stranger tonight.”

He stormed back toward the house, pausing beside the alpha briefly to offer an evil smile before continuing. Brett was inches from making his grand exit when Pierce called out, “You might try to act like you don’t know me, but we both know you can’t.”

Brett grumbled under his breath. He spun to face the man again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The heat in Pierce’s eyes was all the explanation needed.

Brett’s stomach cramped again. He raced inside as soon as he noticed a look of concern on Pierce’s face. As soon as he was inside the kitchen with the door closed between them, he could breathe a little easier. The only problem was the restaurant’s sous chef, Maurice, and two of the line cooks were there, giving him the stink eye.