10. Sam
Chapter 10
T hings are not fine!
I wake up to the most amazing snuggles. I don’t even remember falling asleep. I feel a tug and then Teddy jerks in my arms. Kelly’s sitting up in front of him, and he’s looking up at her. Both of their eyes are sleepy and dazed, slowly waking up to the sound of Jake barking downstairs. Soon the brain fog clears enough that I’m swinging my leg over the side of the bed to go let him out for a bathroom break. I don’t register that he sounds actually aggressive until I hear yelling and someone pounding on my front door.
Kelly scrambles to put her clothes back on while I pull on my jeans from earlier, I don’t even know where the hell my underwear went, and I just hope like hell I don’t zip up anything important trying to get downstairs. Kelly’s rushing out the door while Teddy’s still trying to find the basketball shorts I loaned him earlier, and I’m torn between helping my omega and chasing after my beta. I don’t think Jake would cause any problems, but he does love to jump, and I don’t want him to get overly excited and knock her down again. Regardless, the choice is out of my hands when Teddy waves me after her, looking annoyed.
I hurry down the steps, noticing that Jake finally stopped barking, but the knocking and yelling are getting louder. To my surprise and relief, Jake is standing sideways between Kelly and the door, a low aggressive snarl ripping from his chest.
His side is against her, pressing her away from the door as he watches it like he is going to shred whoever tries to come through. I joke that he’s not much of a guard dog, but maybe it just needs to be the right person. He looks at me when I get to the bottom of the stairs, his tail wags a few times before he turns his watchful glare back to the door.
“Police, open up!” More banging on my front door, and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. I run my hand down Jake’s back, over Kelly’s fingers where she’s holding him, and head to the door.
“I’m opening the door, hold on.” I prefer to give a warning, just in case. I don’t know why the hell they’re here, but with all the noise they were making, they must think they have a good reason. I undo the deadbolt and door lock and stick my head out. I don’t want to open it all the way due to how Jake is acting, but I also don’t want to leave them waiting while I put him away.
Two police officers are standing on my porch, both alphas. One I know, Paul Miller. We were in the same graduating class in high school. Nice enough guy, we were never friends, but he has a pleasant oak-y scent that makes me think of whiskey barrels. He’s one of the few people in this town I could have seen forming a pack with, if I hadn’t been so busy chasing Joseph around.
I don’t know his partner, he seems a bit younger, but I don’t recognize him, which is strange. In this town everybody knows everybody. So, it’s just something I wonder briefly about, more so when he unclips the taser on his belt. His astringent fake lemon smell automatically makes me think of furniture polish.
Miller tosses him a bit of a glare before turning to me. “Hey, Sam. Sorry for the craziness, but we need to talk to you for a minute. Can we come inside?”
I look back at Jake, who’s still staring intently at the door before I answer. “Yeah, officers…just…you freaked Jake out, lemme get him put away before I let you in, ok. He’s usually really friendly, but all the yellin’ and hammerin’ on the door seem to have made him a bit possessive.”
I don’t mention that it might be the fact that he’s guarding Kelly that put him in a protective mood, but they’ll probably figure that out soon enough. I close the door and turn around, but Kelly already has a hand on Jake’s collar. His tail wags happily, a big doggy grin on his face as he follows her towards the bathroom she used earlier.
Jake stops for a minute, turning slightly to watch Teddy come down the stairs. Then turns back and trots happily after Kelly when she snaps her fingers and points to the bathroom door. I sure as hell didn’t teach him that, or at least, he never learned it when I tried taking him to obedience classes. I hear her telling him what a good dog he is and see her reach through the door, to give him an ear scratch before she asks him to be a good boy and closes the door. Teddy waits for her at the bottom of the stairs, and they’re standing there holding hands when I get the front door open again, both officers walk into my home. Miller is polite, nodding at me, and nodding at Teddy and Kelly before taking a seat on the couch. I’m sure he’s curious about Teddy, like I said, everyone knows everyone else in town.
The new guy though, his head swivels around trying to take in everything at once. His name tag says Ross, and I don’t really care for officer Ross, right outta the gate. He’s being an ass, as he marches over to Kelly and gets into her personal space, trying to scent her. “Ma’am, are you here against your will? We were called out on suspicion of an abducted omega.” Officer Ross is showing no concern for her personal boundaries, and I’m sure if she was an omega she would be freaking the fuck out right now.
I turn my hard glare at Miller. “Can you do something about your partner there before I have to kick him out of my goddamned house? You’re welcome to stay, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have, but this is ridiculous.” I don’t mention that Teddy looks ready to flip his shit now that Kelly is backed up behind him, trying to get away from the overly aggressive officer asshole.
“Ross! Get’cher ass over here and sit down now, you’re acting like a rabid dog, and I don’t doubt that Miss Kelly— who is a beta —will be happy to get the chief involved if you keep it up. Hell, Sam here works at the fire station. This is a check-in, not a fuckin’ arrest.”
Officer Ross looks between Teddy, Kelly, and Miller, confusion clear on his face. “I hate to contradict you, Paul…er…Miller, but she doesn’t smell much like a beta. You sure?”
The low rumbling growl that rips from Teddy seems to surprise everyone, as Kelly’s arms slip around his chest from behind. Officer Ross steps back, his hand going back to his belt, and then Jake is slamming against the bathroom door, barking like crazy again.
Fuck my life.
“Alright, you’ve seen inside my house, let's all step outside before Jake destroys it now. Thanks.” Miller stands up, shaking his head as Ross backs towards the door. Teddy turns around, picking Kelly up and carrying her after us.
As we all exit the house, I hear her call out, “It’s ok, Jake, my good boy, we’ll be right back, just calm down.” The frantic thuds against the door quiet but I hear a low howl as we all step outside.
“Now that you’ve come and disrupted the peace, what the hell's going on, Paul?” I glare at the police officers. I don’t have a problem with them normally, but his partner is just pissing me off. I’m not a pleasant person when I wake up anyway, but this shit takes the cake.
“Sorry about that, Sam.” Miller glares at his partner again. “Joseph called the station earlier. Brice is frantic, he hasn’t seen his cousin since Pack Asher’s ceremony earlier today, and he said that they left the community center with you. I don’t know if this is some kinda family argument or something, but we had to come out and check. Is anybody else in the house other than you three?”
Kelly is still in Teddy’s arms when I look over. She’s stroking his face and hair, whispering quietly to him as he stands there, visibly shaking. I turn back to Miller, rubbing my hand down my face. “No, it’s just us three. Kelly you already know, and this is Teddy, Brice’s cousin, and my omega.” Miller looks a bit startled, and Ross’s mouth flops open as he gapes at Teddy.
I want to kick the little fuck right off my goddamned porch for making my omega uncomfortable. Instead, I try to explain. “We met earlier today, he had to borrow a shirt to go to the bonding ceremony, since he didn’t have any dress clothes when he came to visit. He was uncomfortable and upset and Kelly and I were trying to talk to him and help him calm down. Joseph came over and made a big scene, and Teddy publicly claimed both of us before dragging me out. Kelly followed us. He didn’t want to go back to their pack house, so I told him he could stay here for as long as he wanted. We came home, had lunch, and talked about relationship stuff. As soon as the court house opens up on Monday I’m going down to file the necessary paperwork to officially become a pack. Is there anything else?”
This last bit is going to be news to both Kelly and Teddy. While I don’t want to rush either one of them, as far as I’m concerned, they’re both already mine. Plus, I want to make sure that shit like this fucking circus happening on my front porch doesn’t happen again. Miller is nodding to himself, as Ross continues to stare at Teddy like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
Fuck man, take a picture, it’ll last longer.
A low snarl rips from my chest, startling everyone. Apparently, my inner alpha doesn’t like the idea of some random asshole taking a picture of his pack.
Fair enough.
Miller looks deep in thought for a few minutes before turning to Teddy and Kelly. “Miss Kelly, can you please step over here alone?” She strokes Teddy’s jaw again and he sets her down gently so she can join us. Unfortunately, that means as soon as she gets close, Ross opens his mouth again. “See sir, she sure doesn’t smell like a beta.” Kelly comes to stand next to me, reaching out to take my hand, and my chest swells with happiness that she’s claiming me back.
Miller openly glares at his partner now. “Of course not, when packs are close…physically, their scents often transfer from one to another. Especially with betas, who don’t have much to start with. No offense ma’am.” He nods to Kelly at the last bit before turning and walking over to Teddy. He talks to him quietly, confirming my story, and asking if Teddy feels safe, if he needs assistance, and assuring him that they are there to help if he needs anything. I want to growl at having other alphas so close to my unbonded mate, but I understand the legal requirements involved. And honestly, I would appreciate it if an omega was being held against their wishes. But as it is, I’m just frustrated.
Miller talks to Teddy quietly for a few minutes before he comes back over to Kelly and me. “I’m really sorry about all this, Sam. The situation sounds…complicated. Still, I’m happy for you, and you Miss Kelly.” He nods again to Kelly. “We’ll file the report as a false claim and if Joseph calls again, we’ll talk to him. I appreciate your patience.” He nods to me one last time before snagging Ross’s arm—the idiot is still staring at Teddy, gaping like a fish—and leads him back to their patrol car.
Kelly slips free from my hand and goes back to Teddy, rubbing her face against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. I give one final wave to the patrol car before leading my pack back inside.
I immediately go to let Jake out. He hangs his head, looking sheepish and doing his full body wag up to Kelly, circling around her before leaning heavily against her with a huff. I look into the bathroom and see he shredded the shower curtain and chewed up the toilet paper. I can’t really blame him, since he was trapped in the bathroom and upset. I just hope this doesn’t result in a trip to the vet to have his stomach pumped…again. Damned dog will eat anything that gets near his mouth.