Chapter 2
I slid a black round-necked t-shirt on before stepping out of my room into the hall. The voices of the rest of my pack drifted up to me from downstairs, the anxious energy in the house palpable.
I could practically feel the excitement thrumming in my veins as I made my way downstairs.
It’d been a while since we’d all been out together.
Marcus’ work schedule at the restaurant was always a challenge on weekends, and lately I’d been travelling what felt like weekly for investor meetings and product reviews.
Plus, Indigo’s new boyfriend was taking up the bulk of their time, making it impossible to solidify plans.
They’d even taken to rescheduling our pre-set times to hang out, like our Monday night movie and Wednesday gaming sessions in favour of spending more time with him. It was… frustrating.
Still, I was happy for them, or something like it. As long as I’d known Indi, they’d wanted to be packed up with an omega at the center of their universe. But… The change in our carefully crafted routine was draining. And I felt the loss of our time together like a physical blow.
Even if I did like Joon, he was cute—okay, fine, he was hot and smelled like a fucking candy apple that I wanted to sink my teeth directly into—and sweet, with interests that at least peripherally matched the relative freakshow that left our house looking more like an oddities museum than a typical bachelor pad.
Was that a positive? Based on the cringes that usually followed a potential hookup or date, checking out my etymology collection or Indi’s dolls, I had to assume yes.
Joon didn’t seem to mind the small army of artfully pinned butterflies against the breakfast nook wall directly behind his turned back as he sat on a stool at the kitchen island, picking at a plate of carefully prepared charcuterie from Marcus.
He smiled as I entered the room, offering a little wave and a muffled “Hi,” through a mouthful of cracker and cheese.
I offered a stiff smile and a wave, breezing past to grab a beer out of the fridge.
It wasn’t that I wanted to keep my distance. I just… Didn’t quite know how to connect with him.
Not in the way he wanted, at least. The way an alpha was supposed to interact with an omega they wanted to court.
What the fuck did I know about convincing someone that I was the alpha for them?
I was more likely to say something rude by accident and fuck things up for Indigo.
He also showed very little interest in the two of us.
Joon was never outwardly unkind… well, he did have an attitude.
But besides that, he just seemed uninterested in actually packing up.
But that was all going to change tonight.
The Omega’s Lust Halloween Trick or Treat Packtacular was exactly what our pack needed, an opportunity to meet on neutral territory in a place designed to cater to even the most illicit desires lurking behind our painted smiles and overly careful courting.
It’d been a long time since I’d made it out—the Packtacular was a charity event, the funds going towards covering care for omegas who otherwise couldn’t afford the facilities fees.
They rented out an amusement park for the night, hired a pile of entertainers and security, and let members run wild for a door fee that would make a cheaper alpha blush.
I’d be travelling a lot more for work this year after my business partner, Charlie, packed up with his beta and their pretty little omega, and wanted to spend more time at home. But with the bulk of this project officially behind us, it was time for some well-deserved rest.
And for me, that meant doing what I did best: drinking and fucking cute omegas.
The costume party element of the atmosphere was something that we still needed to discuss, my wardrobe of black on black clothes failing to provide much in the way of inspiration, but my concern was eliminated as quickly as it appeared at the sight of the three white masks sat atop the counter in a tidy row.
“Was that your idea?” I asked Joon, nodding at the masks as I used the edge of the counter to pop the cap off my bottle with a hiss.
He blushed, tan skin going magenta as he looked away from me. “N-no, that was Indi.”
Surprise, surprise.
Indigo wasn’t as big a fan of classic horror films as Marcus, but they were a close second.
They’d even made their career by playing a horror-based game for an audience on Streamverse, quickly rising to the top of the horror category thanks to their skill and–as much as it pained me to admit it since they were a goofy, annoying idiot–charm.
Like they’d sensed I was nearly about to pay them a compliment, even internally, Indigo breezed back into the room, sighing as they looked me over.
“We really gotta stop doing this,” they teased, motioning to their all black outfit, though his was a cropped long sleeve, with pants that were a bit baggier than mine.
Joon laughed at the tired old joke Indi made damn near every day, and I was reminded again that I was leaps and bounds behind them in building a relationship with the omega.
I picked up a mask with little crescent moons for eyes decorated with bloody tears, waving it at my packmate. “What are we supposed to be?”
Indigo shrugged, not so subtly flexing for Joon as they leaned over to snap up a piece of cheese, greyscale tattoos shifting along their darkly pigmented skin. “Hot, mostly. Joon likes masks.”
Ah, that explained the blushing.
The omega groaned, shoving Indi’s shoulder playfully. “Shut up, I said one time—”
“—that you wanted to be nailed by Ghostface, mhm.” Indigo interrupted with a flash of their white smile.
“That I thought he was kind of hot—” he said, indignantly, voice rising.
I took a swig from my beer, barely containing a teasing smirk. “So, what… You want us to chase you in the masks? First one who catches you gets to have their way with you?”
A squawk somewhere between a rubber chicken and an actual chicken left Joon, their dark eyes going wide as Indi choked with laughter.
“I-I-I—”
“Doesn’t sound like a no, Gattino,” I whispered, leaning into the omega’s space for a slow inhale of that caramelised sugar and apple scent—practically salivating at the idea of finding Joon alone and out of breath between a couple of fair games. Mine for the taking.
Mine, in general.
Our eyes met, and the seconds ticked by as the omega’s chest rose and fell with panicked breaths like a scared rabbit. Monolidded eyes swivelling back and forth between Indi and me’s wolfish grins.
Prey caught between two predators.
Marcus returned from his shower, still towelling off his hair, heavy boots clicking over the tiled floor.
Of the three of us, he was the biggest and had the fewest tattoos, leaving lots of untouched, fair skin.
Though Indi and I were covered, Marcus always claimed any shop we went into wasn’t sterile enough, but I didn’t quite buy it.
Joon’s eyes fell to the tall, muscular alpha all the same, almost relieved to be freed from our full attention.
That wouldn’t do.
If he wanted to be with us, he needed to be with us. Dark parts and all.
Usually, I would’ve invited Charlie to come with us, but he was going with his pack, and I didn’t want him to feel pressured to stick with us all night while Marcus and I tried to make a connection with Indy’s pretty little omega boyfriend.
I’d always considered the three of us a pseudo pack of sorts, but no one had ever done anything to make it official beyond moving in together.
But, with a new omega in the mix… things were changing.
And if I didn’t want to lose my make-shift family, I was going to need to get with the program, and quickly.
Problem was… I had no idea how to talk to Joon. Every time I tried, it felt like I always managed to say the wrong thing and piss him off.
Though… Maybe that was just my personality, and not so much a fault of his.
I wasn’t exactly the gentlest alpha alive, my reputation as a bit of a player preceding me in plenty of circles of omegas.
Heat hotels were easier, safer. I didn’t have to think too hard about the impact of my words long term when we were both just there to fuck for a few days and never see each other again.
But this? This I cared about. And that was terrifying.
“Masks?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are we robbing someone?”
“Just Joon of his virginity,” Indi quipped.
“I am not a virgin, and you know that, we’ve already—”
“Aw, come on, princess, let me have a bit of fun, would you?”
“Fun comes later,” Marcus said, opening the laundry room door to toss his towel into a hamper inside. “First, we negotiate. Joon, it's your first time out with the pack… and this setting isn’t exactly typical.”
“You mean that you don’t usually have your first dates at a spooky carnival-themed sex club?” Joon sighed in mock-disappointment. “Damn, and here I thought you were cool…”
“Bold, now that he’s here to protect you,” Indi whispered into the omega’s ear, rewarding us with another heavy dose of Joon’s mouthwatering perfume.
Joon elbowed them in the stomach, making them grunt. Though he always seemed a bit skittish in front of Marcus, he also got bolder in front of him. Marcus, for his part, continued on like they hadn’t spoken at all.
“Is there anything you’d like to be off limits?”
The omega waffled a moment, thinking it over. “No bonding, I don’t… I’m not ready for that.”
“So, bite guards?” I offered. “No problem.”
Joon shot me a small, shy smile, and I grinned back, too wide, too forceful, my chest swelling with pride at the small approval. Though I couldn’t help the slight worrying pang in my chest. Would he ever want to bond with us? With me?
“Agreed, easily,” Marcus said. “Indigo?”
“Absolutely,” they crooned, nipping the omega’s ear. “I want you so desperate for my bite that you beg for it.”
Joon groaned. “You’re making it hard to focus.”
“That’s the point.”
“Enough, Indi.” Marcus snapped, making them pull away.
We didn’t have a leader, per se, but Indi rarely wanted to argue with Marcus… something I was grateful for. I didn’t have the energy to fight with either of them. It was good that Marcus could tug on Indi’s leash once in a while. Keep them in line.
“Anything else?” I asked, smoothing over the awkward pause. “Plenty of strange around tonight…”
Joon’s easy smile disappeared quickly, face turning to a scowl, their shoulders squaring. “Right. Well. Put your dick in whatever, I guess.”
I blinked.
What’d I say?
“Do you mean that?” Marcus asked. “You’re alright with us hooking up with other people?”
“We aren’t bonded.” Joon said, a definite edge to his voice that didn’t match his words. “And I don’t want to be some pack’s pretty kept omega, so… yeah. If you meet someone you want to fuck, then do it.”
“I want to focus on you,” Indi said smoothly, hand smoothing down the omega’s spine. “But if you wanted to share someone…”
The idea brought colour to Joon’s face again.
His thoughts were impossible to follow.
Did he want us to play with other people, or not?
“Okay,” Marcus said, as uncertain as I felt. “Anything else?”
Joon’s dark eyes caught mine, lips twisting into a smirk as he spoke directly to me. “First one to catch me gets to do whatever they want to me. All. Night. Long.”
I swallowed hard.
Game fucking on.