Chapter Eleven
Booker
Booker, driven out of the office, gave Pam an absent smile as he walked past. His bear was scenting the corridors for Frey, who had left fifteen minutes earlier, looking dreadful. He’d been off all morning and Booker’s bear was antsy enough to get him going in search of the fox. They’d been keeping watch since he’d returned from the doctor, looking like he’d been crying and trying to hide it. Nothing made sense. Nothing.
Up to now, he had resisted searching for information from his brothers. Gossiping might not work in Booker’s favor if his brothers got wind about his growing affection for Frey. He’d considered he might have to seek Jupiter out to clarify exactly what he and Frey had together. Only, the outcome of bashing his brother's teeth down his throat at actually confirming a fling wasn’t something he relished explaining to everyone else .
At the sound of voices on the other side of the coffee lounge door, Booker paused. Realizing one was Frey’s made Booker grin, so he raised his hand to the wood, about to push it open when Ziggy’s voice stopped him dead.
“So what you’re saying now is that you need help with your heat?”
Booker shook his head at the meaning behind Ziggy’s question. What the fuck was this?
“I do and I don’t wanna…” Frey answered in a tone of voice that was thick with emotion.
What. Was. This. About?
“I could help. I’m sure we could figure it out between us,” Ziggy offered.
Booker’s eyes narrowed on the door, imagining ripping the head off the snake for daring to make such an offer.
“You’d do that… for me?” Frey’s reply sent Booker’s heart into a tailspin, driving his blood pressure so high his head felt like it might explode.
“Frey, I like you a lot. It could be fun, and we can get inventive. We can do a google search to find things for omegas to use on each other. There has to be some, they have everything else on the internet these days.”
Say no.
Say no.
“I’d like that… and thank you.”
Motherfucker!
Booker drew his hand back from the door like it had burned him, refusing to believe his own ears until Ziggy answered, “My pleasure. ”
Quite positive he had smoke coming out the top of his head, he breathed hard as he held back his bear and spun around to charge off down the corridor, away from the couple. The fact that he was considering killing Ziggy with his bare hands was actually a little frightening! He needed someone to talk some fucking sense into him and soon, or else he might receive a life sentence for murder.
Large fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, he stomped angrily down the hallway in the direction of the stairs. Confined in a small metal box wasn’t a chance he was going to take if someone decided they were going to get in the elevator with him. Booker knew himself, knew his limits, and he had gotten pushed right to the edge of them by a fucking flirty fox.
Yeah, murder wasn’t a big ask right now.
He climbed the stairs three at a time, his long legs eating them up in no time. He didn’t even debate about whether it was sensible to go and talk to Silas—rage about the injustice—when he could and had stopped him from doing something rash when life got kicked off balance. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, he needed someone to get him back on an even keel, and fast.
At Silas’s office door, his secretary gave him an alarmed stare when she looked up. He never gave her a chance to speak. “Is he in?”
“Yes—”
He didn’t wait for her to say anything more and barged straight into Silas’s office, coming to a halt at the sight of Wilder sitting next to Silas with an iPad, tapping at the screen.
Silas’s eyes narrowed on him and his brows arched up. “Whatsup?”
“Wilder, get out,” Booker growled impatiently, ready to burst a blood vessel.
Wilder, the cute raccoon who Booker was usually polite with, gave him a wide-eyed stare at his demand.
“If you wouldn’t mind leaving us, Wilder? We can finish up later.” Silas didn’t look away from Booker as he frowned.
“Erm… yeah… okay… but there’s a deadline of five pm to submit the electronic application if we want to secure the date we want for that venue,” Wilder stuttered, getting up as he gathered two notepads off Silas’s large, messy desk. He clutched them to his chest like a barrier as he moved around the desk and skirted past Booker.
“It’s fine, I’ll do it.”
Booker didn’t sit, he couldn’t. He was so restless he paced to the window, waiting for Wilder to leave, doing his best to contain a fury he really had no business feeling.
“If you’re sure.”
“Yes, go for now and maybe catch up with Ziggy? Ask where he filed the paperwork for Cresta.”
At the mere mention of the snake shifter, Booker snarled ominously, swinging back around. His bear pushed him to shift and hunt the fucker down for daring to…
“Wilder, leave now!” Silas was out of his seat and across the room before Wilder had the common sense to hightail it out of the office. “Breathe Booker, come on. ”
Silas placed his hands on Booker’s forearms, squeezing, then releasing. He repeated the move as he lowered his voice to a soothing tone. “Slow your breathing, that’s it. Match mine.”
Booker had no clue how long they stood facing each other, working to get him under control. It was only when his bear receded enough that he could think without the red haze of fury that he nodded at Silas.
“What was that? Fuck Booker, that was close! Who got you so riled up that you were about to go scaring the natives with your big, hairy butt?” Silas went with humor, but Booker could see nothing funny about his current situation.
“When did other damn omegas offer to fuck omegas during their heat? When?” he ground out angrily.
Silas’s frown was back, his brows touching as he stared at Booker. “I’m lost? Who’s offering to fuck who? And why would that make you and your bear angry?”
Booker stomped around the office. It was the only way to get rid of some of the excess angry energy making his blood boil as he recalled word for fucking word what he’d overheard. “Ziggy and Frey!”
“Stop fucking pacing a minute and explain,” Silas insisted with enough force it registered somewhere that his brother sounded as pissed as he felt, but Booker was too mad to consider why. “What is it with Ziggy and Frey?”
If he’d taken a moment to think, Booker would have questioned why Silas sounded off as he spun to face his brother, but he was too angry at the world and jabbed a finger at Silas. “Ziggy is fucking Frey. ”
Silas visibly paled and staggered back as if Booker had actually punched him. “You’re wrong,” he replied in utter disbelief. This time, Booker registered his brother's weird expression. “Ziggy is no way offering or fucking Frey.” His lips curled into a snarl.
“Little you know!” Booker snapped angrily, spoiling for a fight, rolling his eyes at Silas’s stupidity. “I’ve just heard them talking about it. Frey has his heat soon and Ziggy was talking about going on the internet… googling shit to find ways to make it fucking fun…” he swallowed, feeling as if he’d drunk a cup of sand the way the words tore at his vocal chords. “To fuck Frey.”
The mere thought of the omega touching Frey… using toys to pleasure him left Booker in a cold sweat and his bear ready to tear Ziggy’s head off his shoulders once more.
He was so lost in his head, when Silas came at him and gripped the front of his shirt, fisting it so tightly he could hear ripping, he could only gawp.
What was this shit?
He was the offended one!
Booker looked down, staring aghast when he had no answer to what Silas was up to. They hadn’t had a fight… fuck in forever, not one where they’d laid hands on each other. He brought his hands up to cover Silas’s shaking ones.
“What’s your fucking issue!” he exclaimed, his fury building at the injustice of whatever was bugging Silas that clearly had something to do with Ziggy… or was it Frey ?
Booker was clueless about which it could be, so he tugged hard enough to bruise Silas’s fingers when he didn’t release him.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Silas snarled, right in his face.
“I’ve got fuck all wrong. And if you don’t get your fucking hands off me, you’re gonna see my damn furry ass!”
Silas let go so suddenly Booker staggered back, making him angrier. “What am I missing here?”
“Nothing!”
“Yeah, right?” Booker twisted to the side, digging his fingers into the ripped seam of his shirt. “It sure fucking looks like it,” he scowled, thinking about how he’d look leaving the office and what gossip it would create.
Silas’s angry gaze landed on the torn shirt and a flush of color flooded his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he said, in a stiff, formal tone that was unrecognizable to Booker.
He threw up his arms, deciding he was absolutely done with this day. “Right, whatever. But you better not be fucking interested in Frey!”
Back to stomping, he didn’t even look back at Silas as he swung out of his office, wondering what the fuck had happened to his orderly life. A life that had been near perfect before he’d returned home to this fucking madness.
Omegas fucking other omegas… a violent shudder ran through him. He’d have to figure it out himself, and he would, but there was no way in hell he was going to allow Ziggy to snatch Frey from him and his bear. Hell would freeze over first.
He might not have wanted to be in this situation …
Attracted to the flirty fox, his bear side supplied, none too helpfully.
It’s your fault I just had a fight with Silas, so you can fuck off, too.
No two ways is that snake smooching with our fox. You need to figure your shit out, and fast.
My shit! He growled menacingly and realized a little too late that there were folks coming towards him.
He needed out, now!
Who knew if he’d start blubbering like a damn baby next, the same way Taylin had over mating with Hollis…
He shuddered at the horror of it as he stalked down the stairs.
Fuck work.
Fuck Silas!
In fact, fuck everyone!