Twenty
I fucking knew it.
All these weeks of everyone tiptoeing around her, filling her nest and her wardrobe, cooking her extravagant meals and running the second she so much as had a thought to call them, and I’m the one that finally figured out her angle.
I’m not dumb enough to think everyone will believe me right off the bat, even with all this evidence stacked against her, so I’ll be the one to spend some time with her today.
I’ll just tell everyone it’s so we can get to know each other better, and then I’ll make sure she knows exactly how screwed she is.
I’ve had to listen to her getting hot and heavy with every single member of my pack, had to watch as one by one they bit her, bonding her into a pack that I used to feel safe in, until I became the only hold out, the only one that remembers to think with something other than their dick.
Clement and Jos’ claiming of her was particularly brutal to listen to because they pretty much laid her out on the kitchen island immediately after getting home from Clement’s show last week, not even fucking caring that there should be boundaries in a home they share with so many others.
As soon as it was obvious what was about to happen, I took off, found a bar to drink in, and tried to pretend like I wasn’t desperate for her to look at me and reach for me the way she does the rest of my pack.
I stayed gone for a day or two because I became frantic to correct the life she stole from me, and now I can.
After digging into all the resources I could get my hands on, I finally found evidence to support my gut instinct that she couldn’t be trusted.
Now I just have to finesse the way I let everyone else know, so they don’t ostracize or blame me for what I found.
If I hadn’t already been duped by her bitch of a sister, then maybe I’d have fallen for Fable’s innocent act, but if you don’t adapt, you don’t evolve. So now I’m trying to act chill, trying to give Monet no reason to deny my request of alone time with her out of the house.
“I don’t know, man. Maybe one of us should come with you, make sure you guys don’t accidentally kill each other in public.”
I grunt at Monet, her self-appointed protector.
“Come on, I’m not going to touch a hair on her head.
I’ll be the perfect gentleman.” I add a touch of vulnerability to my mien, begging he’ll fall for it.
I don’t give a shit I’m using our pack connection as a way to get him to give me what I want; he’s the one that broke everything by bonding her first. “I just thought, you know, it would be good for me and Fable to go somewhere neutral. I wanted to get her one of those massive cookies from that tiny place we love next to the park and see if we can get on the same page.”
Monet wraps his arms around me and gives me a deep hug, and I almost feel guilty, but I’m not changing the trajectory of my afternoon. It’s too important for the good of the pack. If I don’t do this for them now, they’ll be stuck with an omega that’s lying to them, just like they were before.
I know the bonds are a done deal, but I’ve heard there are ways of lessening them over time.
“You’re right; sorry for not trusting you.
It’s just, she’s special, right? She’s been so sheltered and it feels scary to turn her out into the world with just you there, because I know you’re not her favorite person.
I want her to be happy. But if you’re doing this to try and fix that, then I won’t stand in your way.
Don’t stay out too long though, okay? I’m making this incredible pasta dish for dinner, and I want to make sure it’s hot when she gets home. ”
“Don’t worry, I won’t keep her too long. Just trying to make sure our pack has its best fighting chance. I’ll probably turn my phone onto silent while we’re there so there’s nothing distracting me, don’t be weird if I don’t text anyone back right away.”
He smiles as he walks me to the door. “She’ll appreciate that. I think the tank on the convertible is full if you want to take it. She’s been eyeing it, waiting for the sun to come out so she can ride in it.”
I nod and grab the keys from the hook by the door, passing over the other keys to vehicles our pack owns for any and every occasion.
We split everything pretty much equally, so I know me holding back from Fable has been causing strife in the pack; hopefully after today, I’ll be able to get everything exactly where it needs to be.
Ideally, with her out of our house and with the alphas she’s been secretly angling for this whole time.
I’ve been scoping out her location all day, waiting for the perfect moment to snag her. Everybody but Clement is around the property somewhere, and I make sure I’m calm as I approach her so none of them think I’m being suspicious. “Hey, Fable, can I borrow you for a bit?”
I swing the keys around my finger as I approach, nodding my head at Edric, who’s elbows deep in soil, teaching her how to read the roses for signs of illness. Fascinating life we live out here.
“Where you taking her?” he demands, and I realize I’m probably going to have to connive him, too.
Knowing her primary alpha, Monet, has already signed off on the outing, it makes it a bit easier.
“Just had a good chat with Monet, he’s cool with it.
Fable, you want to go get something sweet with me?
Talk a bit? There’s this place that has a new cookie every week, and it’s always some crazy thing they’ve dreamed up in their kitchen. Oh, and they’re the size of your face.”
She stands and dusts herself off, even though she’s managed to not get a single speck of dirt on her. She pulls her garden gloves off daintily and hands them to Edric, whispering something reassuring in his ear before patting his back and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“You get one hour.” Her whole energy changes as she turns her attention to me and strides past me with a swing of her hips. Not that I’m watching. “And we’re taking the red car.”
“Yes ma’am,” I intone, already hating that I’ll have to kowtow to her a little longer.
Edric will be pissed when she leaves, but when he finds out what she’s been planning all along, he’ll thank me and we can go right back to being a strong pack.
Without an omega. Maybe in time I’ll be able to convince everyone to try dating something other than an omega, someone that doesn’t come with so many pre-programmed issues.
“Moon.”
I spin at the sound of my name from Edric only a few steps away. I raise my eyebrows, telling him to continue.
“Don’t be a fucking dick to her, okay? She’s having a rough day, and I think she’s getting closer to her heat. Try to be nice? For me?”
I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out what exactly he sees in her, blocking out every alpha instinct I have because they’re useless at this point in my life. “I won’t be a fucking dick. I won’t even be a small dick.”
“Are you talking about your small dick again? I thought we were getting baked goods?” Fable calls. I don’t even know how she heard me, but she’s not funny.
Edric huffs out a laugh and shakes his head, then goes back to gardening. A clear dismissal.
“Your intelligent wit knows no bounds,” I pan as I open the door for Fable and help her in.
She doesn’t say anything to me at all as I climb into my own side and start the car, doesn’t say anything as I press my foot to the gas lightly and edge out of the driveway, but she does stare at me the whole time, intensely, making me almost sweat.
“You’re hiding something,” she correctly guesses. What superpower is that? Let’s see how strong my denying game is.
I whip my head to her when we get to the first stop sign, channeling innocence. “Excuse me?”
She traces my whole body with her finger in the air, narrowing her eyes further. “You’re up to something. You’re being way too fucking nice to me. What is it? The cookie offer was definitely a trap.”
“Can’t an alpha take an omega out without an ulterior motive?”
“They can, but you? Never. Spill. I’m not going to go crying to the rest of the guys, just want to be prepared for whatever it is you’re setting me up for.
You’re happy, so there must be something awful about to happen to me.
I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it, but I would greatly appreciate the heads up. ”
I give myself a few minutes to collect my thoughts as we drive, trying to pace myself because if I tell her I know everything too early, the timing won’t work out. “There’s a text chain in my phone. Mind texting back that I’m on my way? Wanted to introduce you to some old friends.”
“You don’t have friends. Not outside the pack, anyway,” she scoffs. Again, she’s not even funny.
I take a deep breath and swallow the need to return her energy, because I promised not to be a dick. “Can you please just send the message?”
She huffs out a breath and takes my phone from the middle console, easily navigating to my texting app. For someone who’s never had access to technology until recently, she’s sure picked it up quick. Probably because she’s a fucking liar.
“Done. They said….oh. They’re there already? Who are these guys? And if you fucking lied to me about cookies, I will make myself completely unhinged in front of your friends.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get everything you’ve been promised.”
“That’s not fucking ominous at all.” She turns on the radio and crosses her arms, staring out the window like a petulant child.
Fine, she doesn’t want to talk anymore? Works for me.