Maisie
Lain left an hour ago. The plan is to meet at Greer’s for dinner.
It’s a little unnerving how easy this all is. Talking with men, Alpha men at that, has never been something that has come naturally to me, neither has intimacy. But with Lain and Greer, I feel safe, confident, and special.
As I walk down the stairs, I hear a low-toned argument and I know I shouldn’t snoop, but I also don’t want them to think that I’m eavesdropping.
“Nan, it’s time to sell the place,” a deep voice that I’m now all too familiar with says. I roll my eyes.
At least I know he’s not just a pain in the ass with me.
“Ack. Mind your own,” Effie says back, and I have to hide a laugh behind my hand.
“You and Grandda should enjoy your retirement years, not barely scrapping by trying to make this place work.”
“I’d mind your tone, lad. This is me and your Grandda’s dream. We love having company, taking care of people. I won’t sell this place and I absolutely will not let some hard-headed bairn tell me what to do.”
Callum sighs heavily as his heavy footsteps clomp in the opposite direction, the backdoor slamming in his wake.
I’d hoped that Effie wouldn’t be in the foyer, but as I take the last step, there she is.
“Sorry if you heard any of that, dear. Don’t mind him,” she says, a pinch in her brow.
I clear my throat, and I know I’m overstepping, but I don’t have a job and maybe if I could use some of my knowledge for good, it would make me feel better.
“You know, Effie, my whole job is marketing. I could possibly help you with this place,” I say.
She waves a hand at me. “You’re so busy as is, I couldn’t ask that of ya.”
“I’d really like to. Things at work…well, they’re unbearably slow.”
“I don’t have the budget to pay for something like that.”
“Oh, I would do it for absolutely free. Do you have any social media accounts I could look at?” I ask, and Effie blinks at me.
“Or are you on any third party sites?” When she still looks confused by what I’m saying, I give her a small smile.
“Starting from the ground up is the best way to do a marketing campaign, anyway.”
“This place has been our life’s work. I’m not ready to let it go. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated. I’ll make those scones you like so much tomorrow.”
“You know I’d do just about anything for your scones,” I say as different ideas roll through my head.
If she isn’t on any third party sites, just putting her on those alone should drum up some business. Maybe I could combine marketing with Lain and Greer, some sort of all in package. I’m nearly on autopilot as I walk to the tavern, nearly stepping in three different puddles.
When I get to Greer’s, I’m almost too excited. I need to make her some pages right away. I’m on my phone, making a Heather Beag account when freckled forearms wrap around me.
I inhale deeply and…no…I’m imagining scents again. I shake my head and tilt my head back giving him a smile.
“I’ve been here for five minutes. You were busy on your phone. What are you working on?” he asks.
“Helping Effie with her marketing,” I say and I swear Greer squeezes me even tighter.
“Hungry?”
“As long as you don’t think it’ll be poisoned,” I reply and he huffs.
“I had a talk with him. If he gives you any more issues, you come to me and I’ll deal with it.”
I spin in the stool, and now he’s bracketing me with his arms as he grips the bar.
“I don’t want to get in between you two.”
“The only thing getting in the way between me and Callum is Callum himself. Now, what would you like, and I’ll make sure it’s made with love.”
I grin at him, grabbing his T-shirt and he leans down and gives me a kiss.
“And here I thought I had a chance,” an old man says, and I realize Alan has taken a place next to me.
“Oh, I don’t know, Alan. I’m an Omega after all,” I say flirtatiously and Greer swats the side of my ass.
Yeah, we’re going to have to explore more of that later.
It isn’t something I ever considered before, but with Greer, I think I’d feel comfortable figuring out if spanking is something I’m into.
“Behave,” he tells me, heading back behind bar.
“I’m never behaved,” I tell Alan, who gives me a grin. He’s missing a handful of teeth, one of them is plated in gold; he’s honestly precious.
“Ah, as you should be. If the pack is looking for another, I’ll kindly put my hat in the ring,” Alan proclaims, just as Lain grabs the stool on the opposite side of me.
“I just had a really disturbing visual put in my head,” Lain says, kissing the side of my face. “Missed you.”
“It’s been an hour.”
“Aye, an hour too long,” Lain says, pressing another kiss against my temple. “What are you working on?”
“Some socials for Effie. I didn’t realize the B&B was struggling. I mean, now that I know she does no advertising and has no social media, it makes sense, but I figure I have some free time might as well help her while I can.”
“Should I have social media?” Lain asks and I turn and blink at him.
“You’re kidding right?”
“Umm…no?”
“But your tours are always pretty full.”
“Brochures, word of mouth, my connection with Greer and all the Inns in the area.”
I stare at his handsome, clean-shaven face.
Before I know it, I’m pulling up his website, which is…
well, it looks like it was made by a seventh grader learning HTML.
I might not know the backend of things, but this is…
something. I look up Greer’s website and I’m relieved.
It looks like he paid someone qualified to make his.
“Do most of your guests book last minute?” I ask him and he nods.
“Would you like more people to book well in advance?”
“That would be nice,” he says.
“I’ll help you too while I’m at it,” I tell him and he wraps his arms around me. Lain might not be needing business in the same way Effie does, but if I can help make things more efficient for him, then it’s just a bonus.
“Do you accept sexual favors as currency?”
I laugh and look over at him. God, he’s so handsome, he’s all sharp features and joy wrapped up in this perfect package.
“It just so happens that I do.”
The bar is a lively crowd. People know my name now, and it doesn’t feel as suffocating as I thought it would. It’s kind of nice to be seen.
Greer feeds us, splitting his time between working behind the bar and flirting with me.
Meanwhile, I come up with a plan for both Effie and Lain, all on my phone.
Their strategies need to be different. The Heather Beag is Highland hospitality, comfort, and staying where the culture is versus a stuffy hotel.
Honestly, I’ve never stayed at a place where I felt more safe and taken care of as an Omega.
Lain is…Lain is magic and I have a feeling I’ll be able to capture that easily on social media, the fact that he’s already doing well takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.
I’m so locked onto my phone that I nearly miss the commotion behind me.
“Fuck,” Greer hisses as a man sits down at a table to the left. I glance over at him. He’s nothing special, but his presence seems to cause the temperature in the room to shift.
“Stay right here, alright?” Lain says as he follows Greer over to the man.
“What are you doing here?” Greer’s voice is stern and pissed off, which I’m not sure I’ve seen him so far.
“Visiting family,” the man says casually, leaning back in his chair like a pompous prick.
“You need to leave.”
“Seriously, refusing service to a paying customer?”
“Get the fuck out of here, Leo,” Greer grates out the words and the man’s eyes glance over to me and he tilts his head before facing Greer.
“Fiona sends her best,” he says, winking at me, before standing up and leaving the tavern.
I turn around to face the bar, and I see Callum with his arms crossed staring at the spot where that man was.
He seems perturbed but not angry per se as Greer rounds the bar and clamps a hand on his shoulder.
The two Alphas share some words I can’t hear before Callum heads back into the kitchen and Greer follows him.
I clear my throat and lean into Lain. “What was that about?”
Lain sighs. “One of Fiona’s scent matches.
Wasn’t bad enough that she dropped us immediately after meeting them, but it had to be Leo.
We grew up with him, Callum and him always hated each other, competitive about every insignificant little thing.
He moved away for university, came back to visit family and he took Fiona with him.
He takes every opportunity to rub it in Callum’s face. ”
“That’s horrible.” I might not like Callum, but no one deserves to be ridiculed like that.
“I’m just glad the whole pack wasn’t here, could have been worse.”
I clear my throat, curiosity getting the best of me. “What about you and Greer? How was the breakup for you?”
He glances around to see where Greer is and leans in so he can whisper it in my ear. His hand on my thigh, squeezing softly.
“If you’re asking if I have any lingering feelings, the answer is no, neither does Greer. Finding an Omega was the next step in building our pack. I have different ideas of what I would want in a pack Omega now.”
I swallow thickly and turn to look at him. He smiles in a way that steals my breath. He doesn’t say anything else, just places a soft kiss against my lips.
When Greer comes out from the back, he glances at the table where the man was, but gives me a quick smile, leaning into the bar top.
His hair is pulled back, a strand loose, tucked behind his ear and it’s hard to not appreciate how beautiful he is along with what type of man he’s proven to be.
We haven’t known each other long, but it’s clear that he’s big on helping his community and friends.
The way he’s there for Lain and Callum is attractive in itself, but he helped me when he didn’t even know me.
This man is all pack Alpha and I’m so desperately drawn to him in a way I’ve never felt possible. I want to please him, make him proud, and on the opposite side of the coin, I want him to take care of me the same way he takes care of the people in this town.
My attraction toward him keeps growing along with these pesky things called feelings I’m not sure how to shake off.