Chapter 42
CHAPTER 42
Issa
I t had been over a month since my asshole former alpha tracked me down and showed up at the club. Over a month since Amir and I had been on lockdown, only allowed to leave with armed guards.
Over a month of fighting the feeling I’d lived with my whole life, the feeling that my life was no longer mine.
Once again, my every move was being dictated by an alpha.
Not that my alphas were doing it out of spite or a need to control me.
It felt more as though Antonio was once again in control of my life, my actions, my choices since he was the reason I was back to being unemployed, back to sitting at home while waiting for my alphas to return.
At least I had my omega here with me every day. And neither of us had grown tired of the other’s company yet. And he couldn’ t hide it if he had grown bored with me since I could literally feel his every emotion in my chest.
Since that day at the nail salon, we’d gone back twice more simply to change the designs. It felt frivolous but amazing at the same time. And every time the two of us came back with something new on our fingers or toes, Ax would go crazy and demand he nibble on my toes like a damn foot fetishist.
Not that I was complaining. It tickled, but oddly sent heat coursing through my body.
Oh, who was I kidding? Everything my pack did made me hot. It was like their scents alone were the best kind of aphrodisiac. Their grumbled words, their growls, and their purrs were like a vibrator to my clit.
I was a woman lost to my guys and madly in love with all four of them.
“I don’t feel like sitting around the house all day again,” I pouted as the alphas drank their coffee.
Amir was busy making pancakes…in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs that showcased his tight, muscular ass and outlined his beautiful cock. I sighed internally as I fought the urge to play with him all day instead of leaving the house.
But we could always make love when we got home. Or in a dressing room as we’d done in the past.
“Abdel and Oscar are already outside so let them know where you want to go then let one of us know where you’re heading and when you get back home,” Enzo said before lifting his mug to his lips.
I sighed and dropped my chin on my arms folded on top of the table. “I hate Antonio.”
My life had become a total fairy tale before he’d reappeared. Sure, I still dealt with PTSD, but my nightmares had become few and far between with my pack cuddling me in the pack bed every night.
I’d had a job. Was making friends. Had a pack who didn’t solely dote on our omega, but treated me like a princess, as well. It drove me a little crazy that all four of my guys were more protective of me than our rare designation of an omega .
But I understood it.
Amir wasn’t small by any stretch of the imagination. And he hadn’t hesitated to jump into the brawl at the club to protect our alphas while I’d cowered by the bar.
But really, what the hell could I have done short of getting in the way or distracting my pack? I would have never forgiven myself if they’d been hurt because they were more worried about protecting me than themselves.
“Bain’s been keeping me updated. His people might have found your former beta,” Enzo announced, yanking me out of my inner turmoil.
My head popped up. “They found Carlos? Where? Is he okay? Did he find a new pack?”
I hadn’t really had anything against Carlos other than the fact I hadn’t chosen him. But he’d never been cruel to me. The only thing I felt mildly resentful about was that he’d left me alone with Antonio.
A growl rumbled from Ax.
Turning a frown on him, I shook my head. “I can literally feel that possessive rush, alpha. I don’t want Carlos. But it’s nice to know he’s not dead.”
“He has a new pack with an omega and two alphas. He’s about an hour away. Bain’s sending someone to chat with him, see if he’s had any contact with Antonio or if he might be aware of anywhere that shit stain might be hiding,” Enzo said, completely ignoring the banter between Ax and me. “I know you’re tired of hearing it, but this is –”
“Temporary. Yeah.”
I knew I sounded bitchy. I sounded bitchy in my own head. But it was so hard to continue pretending to be happy when my life was once again being controlled by that… shit stain . Enzo had called it right.
My pack lead tilted his head and rested his forearms on the table. “Do you two want to come to the club tonight?”
I popped up so fast I was pretty sure I strained a muscle. “Seriously?”
He held up a hand. “Let me make a few phone calls and ask if Bain or Ghazi can send a few more guards to keep an eye on the room before you get your hopes up. But if we have enough backup…you two can come hang out, do some dancing, watch Ax strip.”
“For fuck’s sake–”
“ I do not strip ,” the four of us said in unison, repeating the same words we’d heard a dozen times.
Amir and I erupted into giggles while Ax smirked and shook his head.
“Fucking brats.”
“Is this too much?” I asked Amir, turning side to side in the mirror.
Ax, Cyrus, and Enzo had left for work on their motorcycles a few hours ago. Now, Amir and I were getting all gussied up for our first night at the club since Antonio had shown his stupid face.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, sprawled on my bed the way Ax used to before I’d accepted the fact he and my other two alphas wanted me for more than a roommate.
Smiling at him in the mirror, I tugged on the top of the dress in an attempt to cover more of my cleavage.
“Oh, hell no. Leave those girls on display.”
“So our alphas will get all growly and possessive?” I asked with an eye roll.
“Yeah.” That one word sounded more like duh with that tone of voice. “Think of all the fun we’ll have when we get home tonight.”
With my hands still on the strap, I tugged the top back down. “Good point.”
I’d chosen a dress I hadn’t had a chance to wear yet. I tended to wear jeans or a reasonable skirt when I worked as a server, but tonight was about having fun with my omega and, hopefully, my alphas if they had time, as well.
We had both gone all out, although Amir had had to put in a lot less work. His mane of curls took him the most time. I’d curled my long hair and left it in big waves down my back, then smoked out my eyes before slipping on some blood red lipstick.
All that was left was jewelry and my heels. I opted for a simple chain with a single diamond and a pair of solitaire earrings. “Is the necklace too much?”
Amir’s eyes jumped to mine and a solacious smile stretched across his beautiful tan skin.
“Focus, omega,” I teased, sliding my feet into a pair of strappy black four-inch heels. “Is this too much for the club?”
“You sure you don’t want to stay home tonight?” He wasn’t asking because he was concerned about us being in public. Why would he be when there would be six damn armed guards along with the usual bouncers and security keeping their eyes on us.
No. He wanted to rip the dress off me and stay between my thighs for the rest of the night.
“Save all that energy for when we get home.” A wry smile kicked up one corner of my mouth. “Or at least until we sneak into one of our alpha’s offices again.”
Amir rolled from the end of the bed and extended his elbow, escorting me from my room and downstairs where Abdel waited by the door.
“Ready?” Abdel asked. His constant scowl deepened when he caught my appearance, but he quickly averted his eyes.
“You don’t like my dress?” I asked when I was close enough.
“Not if it will cause your alphas to act foolish.”
Amir winked at me as I laughed, and we followed him through the front door and to the waiting SUV. Oscar was already behind the wheel with another SUV in front of his.
I thought six armed guards was a bit of an overkill for the two of us. Even if Antonio showed up, no way did he have the balls to try anything again, not after seeing how viciously my pack would fight for me.
The ride to the club was as uneventful as I’d assumed it would be. And a crowd was beginning to form a line to the front door. If I’d been working tonight, I would have made a killing in tips. I always did on the weekends, and Saturday nights tended to be the best.
“Omega Rivera. Beta Rivera,” the bouncer greeted us as our entourage escorted us in like we were royalty being surrounded by freaking secret service or something.
Did royalty have secret service? And why the hell was that the question that was now stuck in my head?
Oh shit. I was anxious. Scared. I was worried my mere presence would cause my pack drama. Again.
It felt like from the moment I’d met my alphas, I’d brought them nothing but chaos. They’d never complained about it or me, had never begrudged the way we’d met or the fact there had been two incidents because I was working there. But I felt guilty, nonetheless.
“There they are,” Aryn called from the bar as we approached. “Missed you, girl. I was wondering if you were ever going to show your face again.”
I stepped up onto the foot bar along the front and leaned forward, turning my cheek for a kiss and nuzzle from the female alpha and the first friend I’d made since escaping Antonio. Well, the first friend outside my pack.
“Missed you. I want to come back to work but…”
Aryn waved her hand in the air. “Girl, I get it. I wouldn’t want you two out in public without a few bad asses watching over you, either.” She glanced up at Abdel who was within touching distance, his back to me while he faced the crowd. “How the hell did they find so many hot alphas to guard you two?”
“I think a few of them are packless if you want some intros,” Amir offered.
She scoffed. “My pack is more than a handful.”
That answered the question I’d had when I’d first met her. I’d wondered whether or not she had a pack at home waiting for her. She was so sweet and protective, she absolutely deserved as much love and happiness as possible.
“What can I get you two?”
“Hey! We’ve been waiting,” a male beta said to my right .
Aryn turned a scowl on him. “And you’re going to wait some more. Keep it up and you’ll wait all fucking night.”
When she turned back to me, her smile was back, and humor danced in her eyes.
“Dirty martini,” I said.
“Shots,” Amir said.
“We can’t just drink shots all night. Order a big boy drink so our alphas don’t get all pissy when we act like drunken fools,” I teased him, curling into his side when he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Fine. Draft beer. Dealer’s choice.”
Aryn shook her head. “You know it’s dangerous to let a bartender choose your drinks, right?”
“Eh. I trust you.”
“You’re lucky you’re mated to my bosses,” she teased before getting to work filling our orders.
The place was filling quickly, the music thumping through my chest like a second heartbeat. I could feel my alphas’ concern through the bond, but I could also feel their love. Amir was there, a bright ray of excitement and sunshine as he moved around to my back, wrapping one arm across my chest as he swayed his hips against my ass and encouraged me to move with him before we even hit the dancefloor.
Aryn slid our drinks over, then slapped my hand when I tried to hand her some cash from my clutch. “Put that away!” she admonished before winking and walking down to the row to the waiting patrons.
I’d make sure Enzo forced my tip on her later.
But now? I wanted to have some fun and pretend I didn’t have a past, pretend Antonio didn’t exist, pretend I’d grown up as a normal beta and was out with my omega for a night on the town like a regular pack.
“Hey,” Cyrus said, hurrying over to us and pressing a kiss to my lips then moving to do the same to Amir. “Stay close to the guards. Let them know if there are any problems. Alert them immediately if you so much as catch a whiff of Antonio’s scent.”
“I know. We’ll be fine. ”
He raised one brow at me, then glanced over my shoulder before winking down at me and moving into the crowd.
I wasn’t sure whether he was looking at Amir or checking in with one of our guards, but I wasn’t worried about tonight. Now that Antonio knew I was no longer an easy target, that not only did I have a pack who would burn the world for me but that I was no longer the same broken and subservient beta he’d tried to break, there was no chance in hell he would make another appearance here.
He was a typical bully. He wouldn’t attempt anything knowing my alphas were here, knowing so many sets of eyes were on me, knowing that he couldn’t win. People like him went for soft targets, they threw sucker punches and attacked from the shadows.
“Dance or people watch for a while?” Amir asked, his glass of beer in one hand as he settled the other on my lower back.
I lifted my martini glass to my lips and downed it in two swallows before turning and setting the empty glass on the bar. “I’m ready to dance.”
As Amir held up his glass to get Aryn’s attention before setting it on the bar for her to put away until we returned, Abdel turned and looked at me over his shoulder. “Alpha Enzo told me to tell you to slow down.”
My brows puckered before I looked around. I couldn’t see him so he must have watched me through one of the cameras. I had no idea which one he was watching, so I looked at the closest one and stuck out my tongue.
For the first time since I’d met Abdel, the corners of his lips twitched in what could almost be considered a smile.
“We’re going to dance. Join us.”
“I don’t dance, but I’ll be out there with you,” he said, his serious expression back in place.
Of course, he didn’t dance. Even if he was an expert at breakdancing, he wouldn’t do anything that might divert his attention from any threat that might be in the crowd.
I wondered how Amir and I looked to the crowd as our little entourage followed us through the throng of people and kept a barrier between us and anyone who might get too close.
No point in dwelling on that. I couldn’t control the situation, nor could I control other people’s opinions.
Amir’s hands landed on my hips and dragged me closer until we were pressed as close as we could be with our clothes still on. His erection pressed against my stomach.
I smiled up at him. I swore my omega was always ready for a little play, always ready to make love to me no matter where we were or what we were doing.
As promised, Abdel stood sentry without so much as swaying to the beat. We’d taken a place close enough to the stage to see Ax dance without hindering our view of the others. Sure, Ax tended to steal a majority of our attention, but the others were so damn talented, and I’d gotten to know a few of them fairly well during my time serving tables here. They were sweet and respectful, and a few of them were actively seeking either a pack or an omega.
I glanced at Abdel, over my shoulder at Oscar, then to the men flanking the floor like a group of…bodyguards. Because that’s exactly what they were. I couldn’t help but wonder if the people giving them a wide berth and watching from the corner of their eye knew how much firepower was in the club.
Were my two regular guards single? I could always play matchmaker and try to set them up with one or more of the dancers. And a few of the dancers were betas so all the better.
Ax and his male dance review put on an amazing show as usual. Amir was pulled on stage this time for some extra attention from Ax and his crew – much to the delight of the crowd – and I danced with my omega until sweat trickled down my back and between my boobs.
The two of us did enough shots to earn ourselves a healthy buzz before Enzo announced it was time for us to head back to the pack house when he caught us trying to sneak away from our guards to replay the first time we met in Cyrus’s office.
“That was so much fun,” I slurred, leaning heavily against Amir’s shoulder as Oscar drove us home .
“I’m surprised you remember much,” Oscar muttered from the driver’s seat.
“Hey! I’m not that drunk,” I whined.
Amir huffed a laugh. “You’re pretty toasty, beautiful.”
I turned my head to look up into his face and giggled when it took my eyes a second to focus on only one Amir instead of the double that my alcohol hazed vision tried to show me.
“Okay. I’m a little drunk.” I held up my hand, putting my forefinger and thumb an inch apart.
So I was a lot drunk. And tired. And my feet ached.
But I didn’t regret a single moment of the night. For the first time since that disaster of a night, I didn’t feel as though I was suffocating, as though my world had once again been turned on its head by an asshole alpha.
The smile on my face stayed there even when my eyes fell closed, when the door opened beside me, and when I was hoisted into strong arms and carried inside while being cocooned by the sweetest perfume in the world.