Building a Pack is Ruff, Part 1 (The Pack Pets Omegaverse #2)

26. Kelly

Chapter 26

T he courthouse took longer than I expected, and I really want to just go home with Teddy and Sam, fix some hot cocoa, and snuggle. They both came inside with me, thankfully, otherwise they might have frozen. What happened to the weather? I knew it was cold, but snow…really? I want to stop and get my car before the weather gets worse. Also see if they want to open tomorrow depending on what happens tonight. The second one I can do over the phone, but if I’m already there, it’s easier to just do it all at once.

Sam looks at me questioningly, and I turn to Teddy. “You gonna be ok to drop me back at work so I can get my car? I wanna get home for warm snuggles, but I also kinda wanna get it so it’s not sitting out in the parking lot in case we get snowed in for a few days.” I don’t plan on getting snowed in, but this weather is nutters. Oh no! “Wait, no, we need to get home now, did you let Jake in before you came to get me?”

Sam smiles at me. “Don’t worry about your slobbery admirer. He’s inside, probably laying on the couch right now where it’s toasty and warm while we’re out here freezing our asses off. I can drop you off at the shop and then we’ll wait to follow you home just in case this shit causes issues. Alright, Sugar?” Teddy nods beside me, he still hasn’t really talked, but he doesn’t look as bad as he did earlier. Sam spent the entire time that we waited in the courthouse purring for us, and while his loud rumble now sounds a little hoarse, he keeps going.

All the bay doors are closed when we get back to the garage, and I worry for a minute that they closed up and left before I could get back. I wouldn’t really blame them. This weather is awful, and the roads are already starting to get slippery. Thankfully the lights are on inside, and as soon as the truck is parked, I jump out and sprint towards the front door. Unfortunately, I don’t run well at the best of times, and the ice on the ground doesn’t help. I only make it a few steps before my feet try to go in opposite directions and I start flailing, until big warm hands wrap around my waist and hold me steady.

Teddy looks down at me. He’s still pale and his eyes are bloodshot, but at least he’s smiling. Still, his rumbly voice doesn’t do a darned thing for my wobbly knees. “I would say we need to stop meeting like this, Little Pixie, but I do enjoy you ending up in my arms.” I feel like this snow should turn to steam before it reaches my skin as a full body blush rolls through me.

Sam comes up behind Teddy, supporting both of us as we make it to the door. I’m so busy watching my feet to keep from sliding again that I don’t notice who all’s inside until I’m trying to open the door without knocking us all over. The warm air rushes across us making my cheeks sting, and I hear Xan’s voice. “Thank fuck you’re back, Kelly, I can’t get this stupid card to go through and I need to get these guys out of here before the weather gets any worse. Plus, I need to get home. Jacks is going crazy with worry, which is making Candice worried. I tried calling to tell him I was fine, but he suggested I just lock these two out of the shop with no car and come home.”

I start to laugh, because, yeah, I can totally imagine Jacks doing that. But it turns into a croaky sound as my brain catches up to what else he said. My eyes snap up, taking in the aggressive blond alpha who followed me out of the store earlier. I really thought they’d be gone by now. Spinning around, I need to get Teddy back to the truck before he gets upset again and keep Sam from maiming these guys for whatever they did to upset our omega earlier.

I shouldn’t be surprised when my feet slide again and I have to grab onto said omega to keep from falling on my butt, but as I look up into his face, he isn’t looking at me. He’s staring across the room at the alpha with the bleached out hair, his pupils yawn wide, and his arms wrap around me and pull me close as I try to steady myself against him. I crane my head back, trying to see more of the alpha, but he seems as engrossed in the stare off as Teddy, his body looks so tense that I can see it vibrating from across the room. Teddy’s voice whispers over the top of my head, and I can barely hear the single word as his breath ghosts through my hair. “Mine.”

Sam

W hat the fucking fuck? I wanted Teddy to stay in the truck, but I can’t blame him for trying to keep Kelly safe. Then I was so focused on keeping my mates upright that I didn’t notice everyone else in the room until Teddy froze up in my arms. Xan is still behind the counter, he’s saying something, but I don’t register what. My focus is solely for these two alphas that might threaten my pack.

The pretty boy by the counter is intensely focused on Kelly, but she doesn’t even notice since she’s looking up at Teddy. His eyes are locked with the bleached out skeleton, and a low possessive snarl rips from me without my permission. The urge to drag both of my packmates back to the truck and take them home is overwhelming. Teddy mumbles something against Kelly’s hair, but I can’t make it out. I do make out the needy whine that slips free next though. And I’m helpless to stop my body from moving to block these two new alphas from my pack.

Teddy peers around me before looking up and meeting my eyes. “I’m sorry, Sam, he’s mine too.” I choke for a second, we just got the pack registered today. It takes a moment for my mind to catch up and register that Teddy said ‘too’, so he isn’t going to leave. But I’m not sure what that means for this new alpha also being his.

I turn my glare on this stranger, but all his focus is on Teddy, and it’s obvious they knew each other before today. The look of longing in the stranger’s eyes as he stares at my omega makes my chest feel like it’s split open.

Kelly lets out a loud squeak and I hear feet rushing across the tile floor then she’s pulled away from my side. The other alpha—fuck, all my attention was focused on my omega. My head snaps around as Teddy reaches for her. She’s been pulled close to this stranger, and my mind spins, unsure if I should stay with Teddy or try to help Kelly. Xan has no such compunctions as he vaults over the counter, tire tool raised, and fury written across his features. “I warned you, asshole.”

Everything stops when the stranger drops to his knees on the floor and wraps his arms around Kelly’s waist. The top of his head is pressed against her stomach, and he just keeps mumbling over and over. “I’m sorry.” I know Kelly told me what happened earlier, but this seems a bit over the top for being an asshole over the phone. Even for trying to track her through the store, it seems excessive.

Kelly looks confused too, but brings her hand over to touch his hair. She’s looking down at him, and I would pay every fucking cent I have in the bank to know what she’s thinking.

At the gentle contact his head tilts back, the look of utter devotion directed at her is something I’ve come to see a lot of lately from Teddy, and fuck, even when I catch sight of myself in the mirror. I can’t even blame Jake for being so obsessed; she seems to draw us all like moths to a flame.

Kelly studies him for a moment as he nuzzles his face into the hand she put on his hair. He’s finally stopped apologizing, but the raspy, “Please,” that he whispers across her palm causes her to shudder and me to see red. It only gets worse when he buries his face against her stomach and inhales deeply, a shudder wracking his body.