Chapter 5
5
BENJAMIN
Just when I started to like the ridiculous alpha, he vanished on me. Yes, I'd told him to run from the security guard, but he didn't have to look so damn happy about getting away from me and my stinky sweater. After all Connor's hard work, I almost threw it in the garbage.
I didn't know if I believed his story at all. The thief story, coupled with the unlikely tale about shifting into an animal, all seemed too far-fetched. Nothing like this ever happened to me.
The alleged thief changed his version quickly when the security guard heard my side. I'd avoided the words, "shift," and "wolf," completely, but she sniffed my disgusting sweater and turned on the thief. "If I see you in here again trying to steal omegas' clothes, I will have the police haul you out of here in handcuffs."
She tossed my shirt in the sink and ran cold water over it again. "Someone shifted to save this shirt?" She turned to me. "I'll find you a plastic bag. You're going to want to keep this."
I disagreed, but I followed her to the security kiosk anyway. She put my cashmere sweater in a resealable bag and handed it back to me as though it were precious. "You're so lucky," she said. "I've worked here fifteen years, waiting and hoping my fated mate would fly through the busiest airport in the United States so we can finally meet and be together."
More fated mates talk? Who was this lady? "Good luck," I stammered as I shoved the bagged sweater into my carry-on.
Things proceeded from bad to worse when I reboarded the plane. Someone new occupied my seat and refused to budge.
"This is my seat, ma'am." I barely got the last word out before a sneeze caught me unaware. I ducked behind my elbow and sneezed two more times.
"Oh, dear." The same flight attendant from before took my other elbow and pulled me toward the coach seats. "Your first-class seat was double-booked. I'm so sorry. If you'd stayed on the plane, you might have had a better chance of keeping it, since it's first come, first serve in these situations. Now that she's sitting there, I can't force her to leave. You know how it is."
I did know how it was. As an omega, I was constantly making room for other people, even if it left no room for me. When that alpha got back on the plane, I would ring his neck.
The flight attendant handed me Connor's fanny pack and jacket, which had been under his first-class seat. "Your friend isn't back yet, and his seat's filled, too."
Fuck that fucking fuck. "Fine," I said aloud through clenched teeth. "I'll head back to 23 D."
Why did Connor have to sit across the aisle from me in 23 C? And why did he have to look so goddamn handsome while doing it? I wanted to hate every inch of his bulky body, but something about him turned me on. I imagined him shoving me up against the side of the plane and pinning me in place.
What was wrong with me? Was I having an allergy attack, or had I contracted a brain-eating virus?
I pulled out my book, intent on ignoring him. I was just getting to the good part when my eyelids drooped closed.
I dreamed I fell asleep in a church. I'd only ever been in a church twice in my life—once for a wedding, and once for a funeral—so that was strange by itself.
What was weirder, someone wiped at my runny nose. In the dream, it was my dad, while pops glared at us both for disturbing the ceremony, whichever it was.
"Dad, stop."
"Hmm … do I like being called Dad?"
I bolted awake, accidentally punching myself in the nose while trying to push him away.
Him. Connor. Again.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" I shouted. Something sounded off about the way my voice echoed inside the rounded chamber. Then I noticed the empty seats around us.
"We're the last ones on the plane," he confirmed. "I thought you might want to clean up a bit before we disembarked."
Only he would say words like "disembarked."
"You are not my dad," I said.
"Good. I don't think I'm into that."
My face felt hot as I realized what he was saying. Daddy kink was definitely not my thing, but Connor taking care of me was kinda hot.
Not hot. Wrong message sent to my cock. Abort!
I'd missed our entire descent into Denver, thank goodness. I hated flying into Mile High City. The mountains made for a steep dive, and my ears always popped two or three times. This time, my ears didn't hurt at all, but my brain felt muzzy, the way it usually did after I took allergy, cold, or sinus medication.
"How long was I out?"
"Since you drank your complimentary drink." Come to think of it, that was the last thing I remembered. "I slipped you some Benadryl."
I turned my head toward him and studied him for a few seconds. Typical alpha male. He was so pretty, yet so clueless. "You can't just go around giving people drugs without telling them!"
I was shouting again, something I rarely did. I was complacent, quiet, brooding Benjamin. I did not yell at hot almost-strangers on empty airplanes.
"Fuck!" I glanced around us. "How long have we been sitting here? We need to make our connecting flight!"
"No, we don't," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"I already checked the app. It's canceled."
That couldn't be true. I pulled my phone out of my breast pocket and took it off airplane mode, only for it to light up with several notifications at once.
Canceled. Our flight was canceled.
"I need to get home tonight," I whined.
"I thought you might say that. I hired a private jet."
I blinked up at him. "You have a private jet?"
"It's not mine," he hastily corrected. "A friend of a friend, you could say. He's the only person I know who's crazy enough to fly in this weather."
The weather. I'd completely forgotten the storm system in the west. It must have worsened over Denver while we were in the air.
As I gathered my coat and bag, I took another covetous look at Connor's stuffed wolf toy. I wondered if he would sell it to me. My shopping options were dwindling by the minute. I'd already checked all the shopping malls from San Diego to South LA. It would take me a full day to search the rest, and I doubted I would have any luck. The toy my nephew wanted was sold out everywhere.
While it wasn't an interactive robot dog, the wolf toy was cute. I hoped it would tide Jeffrey over until the Wonderdog 3000 I'd bought online months ago finally arrived.
"Are you coming?" Connor asked. "The guy won't wait forever."
Connor wasn't so bad when he wasn't trying to shove a tissue up my nose. I didn't like taking Benadryl, it was true, but I felt a million times better now that we were off the plane and I was no longer experiencing an allergic reaction to someone's fragrance.
My growling stomach echoed through the vacant sky bridge, even over the sound of my rolling suitcase.
"Want to eat at the deli before we go?" he asked.
"You're the one who said your friend wouldn't wait."
"I'll text him and tell him to meet us. I've never seen him turn down a meal."
Connor's smile was reassuring, but I hated meeting new people, especially when I couldn't fall back on my work title to protect myself from over-assertive alphas.
Connor was the least assertive alpha I'd met, when he wasn't trying to drug me or wipe my damn nose. I … tolerated him better than most. I was getting used to his presence along this weird journey home from New York. I liked walking behind a big alpha who knew where he was going. He let me drag my own suitcase this time, but he looked back occasionally to make sure I was still following him, like an insecure puppy confirming his owner was holding the leash.
Did he say he turned into a wolf, or had that been part of my weird allergy dream? He gave off Golden Retriever vibes.
At the deli counter, Connor insisted on paying for my sandwich, chips, and bottled water. He got a pack of three gourmet chocolate chip cookies along with his meal, and we sat at a table near the front.
I thought we'd sat here to watch for his friend, but he seemed more interested in watching me. Every time I looked up, he stared back at me with an intense smile. He hadn't even taken a bite of his sandwich yet.
"You should eat," I said.
"I can eat on the plane." His smile showed even more teeth. He looked like he could have devoured me. Maybe he was a wolf in Golden Retriever clothing, after all.
I was about to ask how the wolf thing worked when a man even larger than Connor stumbled into the deli. Connor hopped up from his seat and gave the big man a hug. "Hey, Shen. How's it going?"
"Never thought I would see you again," the big man said. "Didn't you get fired?"
"Does everyone know about that?" Connor ducked his head.
"Fired?" I asked. "So, you don't work for a cryptocurrency operation?" That was a relief, honestly. My parents owned a savings and loan headquartered in San Clemente with several branches throughout California. They believed in the power of the almighty dollar, not whatever the fuck cryptocurrency was.
Why did it matter what my parents would think of Connor? It wasn't like they would ever meet him.
"He was waiting to tell me in Phoenix," Connor said. "I need to get Ben," he pointed, and I grimaced at the shortening of my name, "home to Orange County before I can settle up with Hank in Phoenix. Can you get us there?"
"Sure," Shen said. "If it makes you feel any better, I always liked you more. Hank's a dick."
Connor sighed. "Yeah. I tried to ignore it, but he really is."
I clapped my hands. "Okay, let's get Shen some food so we can hit the road, er, air."
Shen grinned. "Where did you find this little firecracker?"
"New York." Connor returned his smiling gaze to me, and I felt like I was under a microscope. "He's my mate."
I frowned. "You keep saying that."
"Mate?" Shen clapped Connor on the back so hard he grimaced. "Congratulations! I think I've got some cigars in the cockpit."
"That's for babies," I said, "not …" I hoped he didn't mean mate like married. I'd sworn off marriage since I was a child, but that hadn't stopped my parents from inviting random alphas to our family dinner every Sunday.
"Already pregnant, too?" Shen slapped me on the back, and I careened into an empty table, catching myself with both hands. "We'll smoke two cigars!"
Shen stepped up to the counter, and Connor turned to me with an apologetic grin.
"I'll explain once we're in the air," he said.
"Does this have to do with you being a wolf?"
He nodded and handed me a wet wipe. "For your hands. That table doesn't look very clean."
It was covered with crumbs. I thanked him and used the wet wipe on my hands before wiping the table surface free of debris.
Connor tucked the little container of wipes back into his fanny pack before handing the cashier his credit card to cover Shen's meal. Then, we returned to our table and Shen pulled up a chair.
The big guy and I ate in silence while Connor continued to stare at me like I was a pinup model and he was memorizing every detail of my body. I was grateful the table wasn't see-through, but then I wondered if it mattered. If he was a wolf, did he have their senses, too?
Shen scarfed down his sandwich and chips faster than I'd ever seen anyone eat, and I had three alpha siblings. In less than five minutes flat, he'd tossed his wrappers in the trash and stood by the table, waiting for me. I tucked my remaining half-sandwich into the front pouch of my suitcase and followed Shen and Connor out into the airport.
Shen led us outside, and then to what I recognized as short-term parking. "Where are we going?" I asked, already shivering. My coat was meant to withstand California cold snaps, not full-blown winter storms.
"The jet's parked at Centennial. It's about forty minutes away. Sit tight and we'll get you home tonight."
It was already almost midnight and would be morning by the time I got home, but I didn't want to argue semantics with our pilot.
I slipped into the back seat, leaving Connor up front with his friend. The airport had been warm enough, if you didn't walk too close to the windows, but the back seat of Shen's Jeep Cherokee felt like a solid brick of ice beneath me. It felt even colder when I flopped over on my side and tried to sleep.
I couldn't have been asleep for more than five minutes when I woke in Connor's arms. I blinked up at the brightly lit rounded ceiling of a white metal pole building. I should have panicked. I hated being carried around, but Connor felt so different from other alphas, especially my careless brothers who banged my head into everything when they carried me like this. Connor cradled my head to his broad chest.
Now that I was awake, I wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled myself up.
He laughed when I sniffed behind his ear. "That tickles."
He smelled divine, like salted caramel. I wanted to lick him to see if the smell translated to taste.
Instead, I twisted in his arms, gripping his neck and sliding down the front of his body until I could drop to the floor.
"I would have let you down," he said. "All you had to do was ask."
I rubbed up against him again, feeling the slight bulge all that front-to-front contact had given him. "Next time, ask me if you can pick me up," I huffed. "I don't remember being awake enough to give consent."
"You weren't." He looked chagrined. "I didn't want you to get cold outside, so I brought you with me."
I was going soft for this guy. I wanted to find fault with his logic, but I couldn't. "Thank you. But ask next time."
He nodded. "Anything for you, Ben."
I heard Shen tinkering with something behind me, so I turned to experience the ugliest eyesore I'd ever seen in my life. I didn't know what to expect from a private jet. This one looked more like a cargo plane, if it was only big enough to carry a few crates of chickens and a life raft.
"How old is this plane?"
"It's an antique!" Shen said.
"That's not the compliment you think it is," I said under my breath. I didn't want to hurt Connor's feelings, but he looked pained anyway. Wolf hearing, I guessed.
Shen only laughed. "It'll be fine. We'll have you up in the air in ten minutes. Just gotta lube the landing gear first. Had to stop her Fred Flintstone style last time."
"Haha." Connor's laugh sounded forced. "He means the airport had to use chocks to slow him down."
"No, I don't. I mean … Oh. Human. Right. Chocks. Yep."
I didn't know what Shen was trying to hide from me, but he was the worst liar I'd ever met. Even worse than Brian "All the first-class seats were full so we got you a seat in coach instead" Avery. There would be no first class on this flight. No coach, either. I'd be surprised if we weren't sitting on the floor in a pile of feathers.
"Make yourselves at home." Shen motioned to the open cockpit door. "Your little human will have to sit on your lap."
That was the second time he'd called me human, as though he wasn't one.
"Are wolf shifters not human?" I whispered to Connor.
"We're human, yes, but we're shifters," Connor said. "In my old pack, there was a legend that humans evolved from wolves, but they don't remember how to shift."
"You think I'm a wolf who doesn't shift?" I crossed my arms over my chest and glared up at him.
"I think you're the most delightful human omega I've ever met," he said. "And my wolf thinks you're my fated mate."
I resisted rolling my eyes at him. "I don't believe in fate. I also don't believe in marriage."
His face crumpled like I'd struck him. He turned on his heel and made his way up the ramp to the cockpit.
I followed, instantly remorseful. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but he deserved the truth.
"You don't understand," I said to his back. "My parents wanted me to go into the family business. They run SoCal Community Bank. They wanted me to marry someone in finance and have tons of babies while my husband took my place at work."
"Your husband will run a bank one day?"
"No. I have three older siblings who will split bank ownership with me." I sighed. "But not if I'm married. Then, my share goes to my alpha husband while I'm stuck home with the kids."
"Not my omega." Connor sank into the copilot's seat and gazed up at me. "I want to be the one at home with the kids."
"What?" I stood in the narrow aisle between the two seats, hands on my hips, glaring down at his intent gaze and cautious smile. "No alpha in the history of my family has ever wanted to be a househusband."
"Well, I do." He pulled me down to sit sideways across his knees. "I've always wanted that. It's one reason why I was kicked out of my pack."
"They kicked you out of your wolf pack?" I slid my arms around his thick neck again and flattened myself to his chest for a quick hug. "I'm sorry."
"It was a long time ago," he said. "I've done all right on my own, but I've been looking for my mate. For you."
I leaned back and slid my hands back to my lap, not wanting to give him the wrong idea. I wasn't mate material.
"I guess it's lucky that I don't have to go back to Phoenix, now. I can go home with you."
Oh, no. He already had the wrong idea.