Chapter 55
It’s not like she’s not cute. And she smells good…
Ok, I can admit that to myself if nobody else is around.
But omegas just smell nice. It’s a fact of biology.
They’re made to entice alphas with pretty faces and soft bodies and delicious scents, but I refuse to fall for biology’s bullshit.
Fool me once, shame on you. I won’t do it again!
Now I have to keep Spence from falling for her, or at least be available when she breaks his heart to help pick up the damned pieces.
Fuck. Maybe it won’t be so bad. He’s smarter than it seems…He won’t get sucked in.
No, that’s stupid. I saw him this weekend; he was already a goner when she fell asleep on him.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Maybe she’ll decide to stay and won’t break the poor guy?
Yeah, right, omegas are duplicitous as fuck, you can’t trust them.
Ok, well, Teddy’s ok, but he’s a guy. Bro-code and all that.
Fuck, that sounds stupid even to me.
I need to pull my head out of my ass. Not every omega is going to be like Melody.
Leaning against the door to the nest, I take in all the work Spencer has done.
I got home before either of them today since he works late at the gym and Paul is finally back on a normal rotation.
I could try to make dinner or just order something to pick up.
Maybe meet up with Spencer at the diner after his shift so that he doesn’t feel like this is about the nest. It’s not, not exactly.
He was working on it before he met her, so it’s related but not exactly.
Pulling out my phone, I send him a quick text to ask when he gets off so I can take him out for dinner.
Maybe a burger will soften the discussion we need to have.
Also, if I’m going to open up old wounds and explain my concerns to him, I’m gonna need a fucking banana split…
or copious amounts of caffeine, and since it’s almost six, I should stick to the ice cream.
It’s only a couple of minutes later when my butt vibrates that he’s messaged me back.
He should be off in twenty minutes, but will ask his bosses to drop his bike at the house tonight or have me bring him back to get it after we eat.
It’s not super convenient, but we can work with that.
Ten minutes later, I’m headed out towards the edge of town to the gym to get him.
It’s only a couple minutes’ drive, but if that beta bitch who’s been harassing him came back, I want to be there to back her the fuck off.
While they said they revoked her membership, I don’t know if he would be able to tell her off if she decides to accost him in the parking lot.
I pull into the staff parking spaces and head inside to retrieve Spencer.
He’s sitting behind the desk, looking chagrined, and my protective instincts flare.
Yes, we need to talk, but if someone has been giving the big guy shit, it’s my job to protect him.
A feminine laugh erupts from the office, and the big guy winces slightly.
Oh, what the hell did that omega do to him?
I hurry around the counter and station myself between the administration door and my packmate, ready to tell her off if it comes to that, but the big beta comes sauntering over from the changing room and slaps his hand down on Spencer’s shoulder before I can say anything.
“You ready to rock, Spence? I got your bike in the van so we can follow you over there. Hey, Al!” He waves at me.
My eyes shift between him, the sound of the laughing omega, and my embarrassed friend. What the fuck did I miss?
A moment later, she comes out of the office.
She’s wearing a pair of spandex shorts that leave practically nothing to the imagination and a tight tank top that shows off her muscular arms and shoulders.
She doesn’t look as soft as most omegas; her body has more contour and angles than usual for their designation.
Her almost boyish haircut and slight frame don’t detract from her beauty, the sharper angles adding character and depth—making her big brown eyes stand out even more.
The smile she gives Spencer and me when she sees me is equally infectious and unnerving, and I hope like hell she’s not looking for a place to stick the knife.
Her voice has a slightly husky quality that takes me by surprise when I realize it’s directed at me.
“Hey, Teach! Moose said you were taking him to dinner, and we wanted to join you if that’s ok.
I can cover it, since I screwed up his afternoon by first having a crying jag and then crashing out on him.
But he’s a sweetie and just let me rest. I guess my body’s still not used to the time zone change or something.
I feel kind of wacky lately.” She looks hopefully at me before continuing on.
“We’ll be happy to put his bike in the van and drop it off at your place, too.
I feel like an ass for being such an inconvenience. ”
Behind me, the beta grumbles quietly to himself, and a low rumbling growl actually comes from my friend.
What the hell was that? He never growls.
Is he upset that she asked, or because he thinks I might deny her request?
I’m tempted to, because I need to talk to the big lug, but it would help him out immensely for them to bring his bike—that and apparently Greg already put it in their van.
Not that I’ll let them pay for dinner, but I can still appreciate their effort.
“Oh, thank you. That’s a very kind offer.
I would be happy to have you help with his bike.
Nadine is our primary car at the moment, and I still need to get a bike rack for the poor girl. ”
The omega and beta exchange a confused look before they turn to Spencer and his ears blush.
His voice is barely a whisper. “Nadine is Al’s old Volkswagen Beetle.
She’s a bit dated, but she holds a lot of stuff.
She brought him here from—” I cut him off with a hand on his shoulder.
Whether they’re my enemies or not, they don’t need to know my life story at the moment.
If I’m not going to be getting into painful subjects with my packmate today, I would rather not think about the past.
Still, they’re both staring at me now, so I wave my hand around.
“When I moved here, Nadine had all my worldly possessions; I’m rather attached to the old girl.
Also, she actually has headroom for Spencer, so that’s a plus.
” My voice is more abrupt than I intend, but I don’t know these two well enough to bother with pleasantries, so they’ll just have to deal with me being brisk.
“Anyway, yes, I’m taking Spencer out to dinner since I don’t really cook, and Paul won’t be home until late…
Later if anything happens at work. Not that it does often, but it’s difficult to be consistent with police hours. ”
They both nod along, and I squeeze the hand still on Spencer’s shoulder to encourage him to stand and then head towards the door.
My voice is quiet as I ask if he remembered to clock out and if he needs to bring any laundry home from his locker.
I might not be thrilled with his current infatuation, but I don’t want to embarrass the man either.
I don’t know if I feel the same sibling affection for him that Paul does, but he’s important to me, nonetheless.
He nods along in answer, not showing any indication of frustration or annoyance with my questions, though he does pause a couple of times to think seriously before his head bobs.
By the time we reach the car, Sarah and Greg are already in their minivan and parked beside me.
They both wave as we get in and buckle up.
Even if it’s only a couple of miles, safety is imperative.
Sarah is watching closely, probably unsure how exactly someone Spencer’s size folds himself into Nadine.
It’s an interesting thing, to be sure—in all fairness, I thought he was going to get stuck the first few times, but maybe he does yoga as well as lifting and cardio because he’s surprisingly flexible.
He puts his leg into the passenger floorboard, and the car settles noticeably as he kind of leans, folds, and collapses all at the same time, finally pulling his other leg in and closing the door.
It’s kind of like watching those sped-up films of seeds sprouting, but played in reverse.
Biting back my sigh of frustration, I attempt to keep my voice relaxed as I settle in the driver’s seat.
“I had hoped to talk to you about some personal stuff today, Spencer. I can’t really do that around strangers.
I know you didn’t know, but…well…Fuck. The nest looks really nice.
” His shoulders rise defensively and then slump in quick succession.
“I’m not upset with you, I’m just…frustrated.
There’s a reason I’m not fond of the idea of having an omega, and it has nothing to do with Sarah.
I just don’t want you to think I’m not being fair here, but I’d like to talk to you about it when we get home.
” He looks like a turtle now, trying to withdraw into his shell, but he doesn’t have enough of a neck for that to be plausible, so he’s just kind of retracted backwards into Nadine’s seat, and it looks terribly uncomfortable.
“I didn’t tell you that so you’d feel bad.
Listen. I just…you and Paul, you mean a lot to me.
And while I haven’t lied about anything, I may not have told you the entire story about how I ended up in Mississippi.
” His head whips in my direction, and he gives me a kicked puppy look.
Why did I bring this up now? Yes, frustration, but I should have just kept my fucking mouth shut until we got home. Now he’s gonna be on edge, and I feel like an asshole for putting him there.
Thank you Alistair.
Open mouth, insert foot.