Chapter 31
Class was way harder than I expected it to be, but also a ton of fun.
Farrah and Scarlett navigated everyone, correcting grips and answering questions.
They were both so beautiful. Farrah had long dark hair that fell like silk against sun-kissed skin, while Scarlett was all blonde curls and bright smiles.
I watched in awe as they took a few simple moves they had taught us and transitioned them into gravity-defying demonstrations. It would probably be a long time before I could flip myself upside down like that, but I was excited to start the process and get to be as strong as them.
Farrah paused to give Nathan a correction so he could hold the pose better and I held in a growl. I had never considered myself a territorial omega, but apparently, Farrah touching Nathan brought that out in me.
I dropped down and crossed the distance between us. Farrah instantly knew what was up, taking a step away.
I stopped short, instantly guilty and apologetic. “I’m sorry. I’m probably giving you dagger eyes and I really don’t mean to.”
“It’s cool. Can’t control our instincts, no matter how much we might want to.” Farrah’s smile was sympathetic, her dark eyes watching me like she could suss out every insecurity I possessed. “Whatever makes you most comfortable, we can work with that.”
I chewed my lip. “I need to get better about it.”
Nathan caught my gaze. “I don’t imagine it makes a difference to your instincts, but my interests are exclusively restricted to the pack.”
It might not have helped my instincts, but it did give me some fuel to push them back.
“I’m also not interested in stepping on anyone’s toes,” Farrah told me. “Scarlett isn’t either. This is a safe space for you to explore what we do, not a place for the staff to pick up dates.”
My muscles held me frozen in place until Farrah tentatively opened her arms. I slotted myself into them, instantly relaxing into her muted strawberry scent. I didn’t get nearly enough contact with other omegas, and I’d forgotten how nice it was.
“Deep breath,” she demonstrated and I mimicked it. “Strawberry is friend, not competition.”
Being this close to her reset the instinctual switch. Strawberry was friend. We purred away in each other’s arms like that while Scarlett guided everyone to practice more of their fireman spins.
“Better?” Farrah asked gently.
“Much,” I replied. “How did you know how to fix that?”
“A lot of omegas work at Les Bijoux. You have to figure out ways around it when people have feelings, especially if they start dating your show partners. Touching is pretty obligated when they’re catching you out of the air,” she said with an easy laugh. “Ready to get back to practice?”
“I think so.”
She let me go and I returned to the pole, feeling much steadier.
Doing a slow glide down the pole to spread my knees at the bottom was just as sexy as every piece of media I’d ever seen with a pole dancer in it.
Nathan hammed it up, getting a laugh out of me when he winked at the bottom.
I had always thought pole was beautiful, but I’d never considered how outrageously strong you needed to be to make the moves look effortless.
We finished off the class with Farrah giving us another demonstration. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her, blown away by what she was capable of now that I knew how difficult it was.
I wasn’t rethinking my career to be a pole dancer instead of a designer, but I had a whole new appreciation for performers.
Farrah approached me at the end of class. “How are you feeling? Do you think you’ll continue on?”
“I’d love to. I promise I’ll be better.”
“You’re doing fine,” she promised. “I’m assuming things are new? Scent match?”
“Yes to both.”
“Yeah, you’re definitely doing fine. Instincts get extra wonky when you have those factors. Give yourself a little grace.” She grinned. “You could’ve tackled me and you didn’t, so props to you for restraint.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thanks?”
“I’m serious. I’ve seen that happen here, so I’m grateful it didn’t come to that.”
I didn’t want to take the risk of reacting like that.
I needed to be chill and the best way I could get more comfortable with Farrah in proximity would be to spend time with her, to teach my instincts how to behave.
The words left my mouth before I could think twice about them. “Do you want to come to lunch with us?”
She blinked, glancing at Nathan first, and when he smiled and shrugged, she turned back to me. “I could do lunch. Scarlett has a date, so you’re stuck with just me.”
“Oh nooo.” I laughed. “Stuck with a super cool omega? However will I cope?”
Farrah beamed. “You’re gonna boost my ego. Where should we go for lunch? My cousin owns the most amazing Persian restaurant and would give us free appetizers.”
“That sounds incredible!”
“What’s the address?” Nathan asked. “Our packmates are meeting us for lunch so I need to tell them where to go.”
“You’ll like them,” I added quickly. “Jude runs the Vegas Best of Nests, Leo’s running Night of Knights, and Alve runs the Omega Housing Initiative.”
“Oh, cool. I’ve seen Alve on the news and some of the girls here are on the list for the new building.”
She passed along the restaurant information to Nathan, who sent the address to our pack, and then we followed her car to a snazzy little Persian place.
It was cute as hell inside, with black tile floors, black and gold damask wallpaper, and sparkling lights overhead.
Alve was there when we arrived and I slipped immediately into his arms so I could huff his scent.
I saw Jude and Leo parking, so we waited for them, my pack cocooning me while Farrah looked on longingly.
I didn’t get the impression it was for my pack in particular, just how excited they were to see me.
I stuck close to Alve and Leo as Farrah greeted the staff in Persian on our way to a corner booth. The whole place was packed, but this one sat empty with a little sign in what I assumed to be Persian as well, though I couldn’t read it.
“Family booth,” Farrah explained. “They keep it open for Razi’s pack and kids when they visit, or me, but I don’t take up quite as much room.”
She sat across from us but we had space to spread out with how generous the booth was. We let her order what she thought was best and sipped our waters while we waited for food.
“You’re brave going out and about in the world with a fresh bond,” Farrah said gently. “I’d want to be tucked away in my nest if I were you.”
“That would be the ideal,” I agreed, “but the world doesn’t stop turning.
Alve’s business partner is on early parental leave, and Leo is in charge of Night of Knights while the owners are on parental leave as well, so we’ve had to adapt and skip a portion of the traditional omega leave.
I don’t mind that much. We figured out how I can still spend all day with both of them for work. ”
“I love that. Sometimes you have to get creative.” Farrah nodded and turned briefly to Alve. “You’re doing great work with the OHI. I know a few people living in your buildings already and they have nothing but good things to say.”
Alve flushed. “I’m glad to hear it. We strive to do our best for the omegas.”
“Oh my god! Madison?” The shrill chirpy voice echoed through the restaurant, one of my former clients trotting over to us, her shrewd gaze taking in the table occupants.
“Uh, hi, Jenna.”
“I guess it’s true, then?”
“You guess what’s true?”
“That you left Tyler for someone else. He told everyone you’ve been stepping out on him. I suppose I can report back to the girls that he wasn’t lying.”
I bristled. “I was not stepping out on him.”
“Why are you sitting between alphas with fresh bond marks, then?”
“That’s not really any of your business. I didn’t cheat on Tyler, he kicked me out. Whatever he’s telling you is a lie.”
Jenna pursed her lips. “So you haven’t been ignoring his calls then? I saw him call you and you never answered. You’re claiming he was lying about that?”
“But he didn’t call me. I haven’t heard from him.”
Nathan shrank in his seat next to me.
Jenna tilted her head, clearly trying to suss me out. “You threw away a good thing. Not everyone is that stupid. Anyway, I’ll see you later.” Jenna trotted off to the host station to ask for a pick-up order for Tyler.
Ice water poured down my spine.
“Was that bitch sleeping with your man?” Farrah asked, staring after Jenna.
“Sure fucking sounds like it,” Nathan replied on my behalf.
A torrent of clashing emotions twisted my stomach. Had Tyler accused me of cheating because he’d been doing that? But Jenna had a pack…why would she…
“Why are you looking so guilty?” Jude asked Nathan.
“I might be the reason Madison didn’t know he called.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, turning to him.
“I blocked his ass on your phone. You should really have a more secure passcode that’s not your address.”
“You blocked him?”
“He left you on the side of the road.” Nathan raised his hands in surrender.
“I did what I thought was necessary, and I wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to psychologically torture you with whatever fucked up shit he was going to say.
He doesn’t get to stay in communication with you after pulling that shit. ”
A hysterical laugh bubbled up from my chest. “You should’ve told me, but I won’t deny that was a smart move. I’ve seen the way he reams people out, and I’ve been way too fragile to be on the receiving end.”
“I’m going to need this story,” Farrah announced.
I gave her every fucked up detail that had led from Tyler literally dumping me to the brisk formation of my new pack.
She was slack-jawed by the time I finished. “Holy shit. Well, it sounds like you upgraded.”
Our server arrived with a tray full of appetizers, and Farrah named each of them for us, explaining their contents.
Tabbouleh, or parsley salad; zeytoon parvardeh, or olive tapenade; kashk-e bademjon, or eggplant dip; and mast-o-khiar, or yogurt and cucumber dip; all served with fresh pitas and vegetables for dipping.
My first bite was heaven. “Do you know what’s dumb that I just realized?”
“Hmm?” Alve adjusted so he could look at me better.
“Tyler never wanted to try new foods with me. The furthest he’d go was Mexican food, which, while extremely delicious, isn’t exactly novel when you live in the southwest. Now he’s ordering Persian food with Jenna? That’s fucking bullshit.”
“You’re fucking right it is,” Nathan agreed. “Pack, take note, on top of taking our girl on trips, we need to make sure she has culinary adventures while she’s at home.”
I laughed. “Alve and Leo have already done that.”
I zoned out a little as Nathan got the pack into a discussion of everything they needed to arrange so I could try tons of new things.
How had I allowed my existence to become so small with Tyler?
It had never been that he didn’t want to do those things, he just didn’t want to do them with me.
Even though I didn’t want him anymore, that knowledge still stung. I had never been good enough for him.
But for my pack?
Tyler hadn’t appreciated me, but they did, and right now, that was all that mattered.