Chapter 22
“So…” I broached the subject, since Nathan had yet to divulge his plan despite us driving somewhere. “What are we doing today?”
“Laser tag,” Nathan announced.
Oh, good. Only my own personal nightmare.
“Are you serious?” Jude asked.
“Of course I am. What better way for us to bond than to pretend to be brothers in arms?”
“Shit.” Leo laughed. “I haven’t done laser tag since I was a kid and I was fucking terrible at it.”
“Well, lucky for you, you have a laser tag regional champion on your team now.”
Jude blinked. “Competitive laser tag exists?”
“I’m pretty sure competitive everything exists in some capacity,” Nathan replied.
“I’ve never done laser tag before,” I said tentatively.
“Shocker.” Nathan chuckled. “You’ll be fine. It’s not like paintball, where getting shot will actually hurt.”
Part of me was tempted to get snarky and ask about the presumed legion of optometrists who might argue otherwise. I was reasonably certain children with lasers couldn’t be trusted not to shine it in each other’s eyes. I stayed quiet instead.
Developing camaraderie between all of us was an important part of building a stable pack for Madison.
If this was how they wanted to do it, well, then I would submit to the experiment.
For now, anyway. Maybe once they had exhausted themselves sprinting around, we could indulge in some good food and discuss the future.
Nerves shot through me as Nathan parked outside the laser tag building. We followed him in and he got our team registered and outfitted, and then we were thrust onto the course.
My heart pounded so loudly in my ears, I could barely think.
Nathan yanked me behind a pillar as a stream of red light swept past us through the hazy air. “You can’t stand out in the open like that. We should get to some high ground.”
Our fearless leader went first, Leo and Jude making sure I didn’t get left behind. It was strangely impressive to watch Nathan take out the competition—even though many of them were only teenagers—to give us a few seconds to rush to safety.
Far more adults than I expected were scattered throughout. Was this a thing grown people enjoyed? A silly question when it seemed like Nathan was in his glory.
I raised my laser gun on instinct, firing wildly, shocked when the gun rumbled to let me know I had made contact with the person trying to take Nathan out from above.
“Nice save, man.” Nathan beamed at me and waved us forward.
Elation shot through me.
I’d helped.
Okay, maybe I could understand how this would be fun. Jude and Leo covered Nathan from the side while I kept watch on those above.
The gear on my back rumbled. That meant I had been shot, didn’t it? Jude swung around, taking aim on the person who had hit me, Leo dragging me into cover.
“Am I out?”
“We get a few shots grace,” Nathan explained. “No fun for the kiddos if you’re out on a first shot.”
Thank goodness for that. It wouldn’t have been much of a bonding experience with the three of them running around out here and me waiting for them to get eliminated.
Bit by bit, we worked our way onto higher ground, finding what appeared to be a bachelor party and claiming their vantage point for ourselves.
My heart still pounded, but the anxiety had transitioned to delight. Envious as I was that the others seemed to fall into a unit so easily, I couldn’t help but feel included when they cheered for me or clapped me on the back for saving one of them.
It was almost enough to make me wish I had played this as a child. I wouldn’t have had a team then, though. I had my suspicions that the team was what made the difference, at least for me. Doing this alone would’ve been an exercise in how stressed I could make myself.
Nathan tugged me down, protecting me from a wayward shot, and took out the person aiming for me.
“Having fun?” he asked breathlessly.
“Surprisingly, yes.”
Nathan grinned and yanked me into a one-armed hug. “I knew we’d convert you. Duck and cover, boys.”
A torrent of teenagers flooded down the raised walkway and we sprinted from our position, Leo getting knocked out of the running first. He raised his gun and arms into the air. “I’m out.”
That hardly seemed fair. I dipped around him and took out two of the teens, their chorus of laments letting me know I’d been successful.
“Nice shot.”
I soaked up Nathan’s praise like a sponge. I wasn’t particularly good at this, but I liked to believe I wasn’t so hopeless that I was miserable to play with.
The remains of the bachelor party took me out, the lights on my gear turning dark.
Jude cursed a moment later, the same happening to him. Nathan narrowed his eyes behind his protective goggles and leapt behind a pillar before our assailant got him, too.
Hopped up on adrenaline, I laid my hand on Nathan’s arm as we navigated our way to the exit. “Avenge us.”
All three of my pack burst out laughing.
“Were you a theater kid?” Leo asked.
“I may have been on stage a time or two. I think I brought a particular nobility to Sky Masterson.”
Jude laughed. “I feel like I’m revealing myself as a nerd if I know that’s from Guys and Dolls.”
“I think we all know I’m still a theater kid.” Leo grinned. “I get to do that every night.”
We watched Nathan eliminate the rest of the bachelor party before someone who looked about ten years old was finally the end of him.
He joined us, eyes bright, his smile shining. “I guess I’m a little rusty. Another round?”
“I think my heart needs some time to rest, but I wouldn’t be opposed to doing this again in the future.”
“Fuck, yeah.”
A loud gasp sounded next to us. “You said a bad word!”
We all turned to a little boy, probably no more than eight or nine.
“Oh, f—”
I clapped my hand over Nathan’s mouth to avoid a repeat offense.
We hustled to return our gear and get out of there, my spirit light.
“Lunch?” I offered. “My treat.”
“Fancy or fast?” Nathan asked.
“I’ll let you all decide that.”
“Matinee at Night of Knights!” Jude swung his arm around Leo’s shoulders.
“We’re not doing matinees right now,” Leo explained. “Too many knights off work for it to be feasible.”
“You should train us up.” Nathan slung his arm on top of Jude’s. “We could be knights.”
Leo laughed. “Have you ridden a horse before?”
“Nope.”
“There are still restaurants in the hotel. If you want to meet the horses, we could definitely do that.”
I’d been hoping for something restful after the chaos of laser tag, and while I respected the majesty of horses, I was still keenly aware that they could kick me into next week.
Jude blessedly saw the hesitation on my face. “We’ll come to one of the shows and meet the horses then. Let’s get some food and chill.”
Maybe we actually could work as a pack.
“I’m down for that.” Nathan nodded. “Book us in for a show at some point. We can cheer on our pack horse hottie.”
Leo choked on a laugh. “Our what?”
“Hottie”—Nathan gestured to Leo, then to the rest of us—“pack, on horseback.” He popped his curled hands out in front of him and trotted in place like he was riding an imaginary horse.
That didn’t improve Leo’s prospects for not choking again. “You’re ridiculous.”
Nathan shrugged. “I call it like I see it. Our pack is stacked.”
We ended up at a burger place, two giant baskets of fries between us.
I wasn’t used to such raucous conversation while eating, but it was more enjoyable than I had anticipated.
Technically, I just wasn’t used to it with men, since the vast majority of the men I had contact with were business associates.
My sisters were chatty. Family meals felt like I couldn’t even get through a bite without multiple conversations happening at once.
It had been quite some time since I’d experienced the volume of my sisters, so I didn’t mind it so much from my pack while they talked and laughed.
I contributed when they prodded me to do so, but I liked absorbing the tidbits of information they dropped.
Nathan told us about when he had almost abducted his sister because his mother had convinced him her pack was holding her hostage.
His love for Ava was obvious, and it made me respect him that much more.
Jude had a horde of sisters, and being the oldest had driven him into a protective role, leading him to a lifetime career at Best of Nests.
Leo had a shockingly small family by comparison, being the only son of two betas.
We came to the conclusion there must’ve been some recessive genes floating down the line from alphas past. They were equally attentive when I told them about my own family, which led to the words falling easily from my tongue.
“Do you think it’s weird I had a nest before I had an omega?”
“Nah,” Nathan said around a mouthful of fries. “Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
“That’s some big Boy Scout energy.” Leo grinned and took a sip of his drink.
“If Madison thinks it’s cool, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” Jude said. “The jury could go either way on thoughtful or weird, but I think we all know you’d fall on the thoughtful end of the spectrum. That’s just the vibe you have.”
Relief warmed me through.
“Do you think we can make her happy?” It was a question I had asked myself a hundred times already, but I was curious as to what their answers might be.
“I think anything is an improvement over what she had before,” Jude said carefully. “But yeah. I’ve known Maddie a long time and I can see she’s settling in. It’ll take her some time to get used to everyone, but I would say the odds are pretty good.”
“So, when are you going to tell her that you’re her scent match too?” Nathan asked and Jude looked like he’d been clocked upside the head.
“You’re her scent match? Why haven’t you told her already?” I couldn’t fathom a reason he would want to keep it secret.
“I’m nervous she’ll be mad at me.”
“Why would she be mad at you?” Leo asked.
“Because I was scared to say anything at the start. Things are different with me compared to the rest of you, and I didn’t want her to be with me just because of the match. And then she kind of sprang sex on me. I should’ve told her before that, but now it feels awkward to bring it up.”
I blinked at him, absorbing his statement. “Is it common for betas to scent match?”
Jude shrugged, holding his drink with both hands and keeping his gaze low.
“I think it’s clear to all of us how much you mean to Madison,” I said slowly, setting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “If she’s upset, I can’t imagine she would be so for long. You owe her honesty.”
“We could go get your blockers neutralized,” Leo suggested. “You’re on them for work, right?”
Jude nodded.
“Only if you’re cool with it, obviously,” Leo added, “but if we got them neutralized and got you a shorter acting dose, then it’ll all be out in the open.”
Jude groaned, dropping his face into his hands. I stroked a hand down his back in what I hoped was a soothing manner.
“Okay, but if she hates me, you all have to take me out for a beer.”
“She won’t hate you, but yes.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Drinks will be on me.”
If we were going to be a pack, we had to do this right, no matter how terrifying next steps might be.