Chapter 20
“I told you so,” Cameo said smugly, lifting a fork to inspect for water spots.
"Told me what, exactly?" I asked, only half listening as I set the cutting board into the dishwasher with a sigh.
I knew it was a mistake to indulge him when he was like this, but with Eva in the house I didn’t want to risk damaging his good mood.
Cameo wasn’t the easiest person to get along with at the best of times, and since she was already feeling on edge with the recent vandalism to her car…
I guess I didn’t want things to get worse.
The alpha’s returning laugh was laced with the special brand of condescension I'd only accept from Cameo. I couldn't imagine how I'd react if one of my staff tried the tone he used with me in the middle of service.
Oh, yeah I could.
It would result in a complaint to the labor board, if not the cops when I lobbed a scalding hot pan in their direction. But, Cameo was pack, and as close to a brother as I'd ever had. There were some quirks you tolerated for family that you sure as fuck wouldn’t for anyone else.
"That Eva would agree to my offer, obviously," he continued, buffing the tines of the fork with a microfiber cloth until he was happy enough with the shine to place it on the table.
He repeated the motion several times, another quirk of the alpha's that was part of him as much as the tattoos inked into his skin.
Repeated movements, running thoughts, even stumbled words on a bad day.
It was just… Cameo.
He was fine, as far as managing his condition was concerned.
But… It was still complicated. The lasting impact might seem small now, with the relatively controlled environment that the alpha spent the bulk of his time in.
But, not for the first time, I wondered what it would look like when the baby arrived.
How he would handle the disruptions in his schedule and the additional stimulation of nonstop crying.
If I had to put money on it? Not well.
But Cameo was insistent that this was the next step for our family, and once he made a decision there was little outside of an act of god that’d change the alpha’s mind.
This was Cameo’s world, we were all just afforded the privilege of living in it.
"Right," I said tightly, keeping my concerns tucked closely to my chest. It wouldn't serve either of us to argue with Eva in the house.
She was only just getting to know us, and it was a bigger pain than I wanted to admit that it was easier to let him have his way. At least if it wasn’t going to hurt anyone.
Besides, if Cameo’s smugness was meant to be taken as fact, she was considering our pack’s offer.
A baby. A family… and then what?
In theory, it was attractive. Of course I could see why a young woman in her position might be interested in a lump sum being deposited into her bank account. But the lure of multiple zeroes wasn't the same thing as spending nine months acting as an incubator to a group of strangers.
Not quite strangers, I reminded myself. She's friends with Indi, and getting to know Joon.
At least that's what it seemed like, the pair of my packmates squabbling over the girl like a favorite toy on the playground.
I understood the draw.
In the mirror maze, I'd been the first to find her. It'd been me that she'd perfumed and panted for long before the rest of my pack arrived, and I wouldn’t be quick to forget it, but I wouldn’t let it force my hand either. At the end of the day, she was just a woman.
And I’d seen more than enough women come and go through my pack not to get too excited. Especially after last time.
"I knew we'd find someone, Marcus," Cameo said, pulling me from my thoughts and back to the task at hand, setting the table. “Really, I’d always had her in mind. It’s like it was fate.”
“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself,” I hedged, moving through with some plates to help Cameo round off the place settings.
Our pack tended to gravitate towards the informal dining experience offered by the breakfast nook off the main kitchen, but when it came to family dinner, the dining room table was non-negotiable.
Maybe it was my experience in restaurants, but I'd always had a soft spot for a well-laid tablescape. I set a plate, lovely, vintage European china with black filigree that’d belonged to Cameo’s great aunt, at each seat.
The flowers of the day, a selection made by Joon in a riot of pink that had no business being so bright, contrasted well enough with the black-on-black embroidered table cloth, a selection of Indigo's.
The floral design of the lace was subtle, difficult to make out in the purposefully low light of the dining room.
We were, above all else, not a 'big light' pack. Something that'd been declared by Indigo for as long as I'd lived with them. Though, if I was honest, it didn't make much of a difference to me. I kept my spaces preternaturally bright anyway, it was easier to see mistakes that way. Dirt.
Returning to the kitchen, I collected a few more dishes while Cameo continued to beat his current favorite horse to death.
“When she says yes, a bond with Joon won’t be far behind,” the alpha said smugly. “You know he hates being jealous. I give it a couple of weeks before he comes crawling begging for a bite.”
I hummed non-committally, placing a large, sloped dish of caprese on the table and a bread basket, taking the time to look over my work. Family style meals always felt a little lazy, and, had I known that our new omega was joining us I probably would've opted for something a bit more elegant.
Not our omega, I reminded myself sternly.
Maybe I was spending too much time with Cameo and his delusion.
Or, maybe I was just looking for an excuse to show off.
Okay, that much was obvious. But what was an alpha supposed to do when it came to pretty little omegas with too much to say? Just… leave it alone?
I didn't only mean Eva either, Joon's preferences meant something to me too.
A thought that I wished I could deny, but as I looked over my work—a traditionally Italian spread that'd become a bit of a staple since we'd moved far enough from Cameo's family that he couldn't regularly make his Nonna's family dinners—it was impossible to pretend that the addition of a plate of lovely, golden brown eggplant parmesans were anything but a placation of Joon's whims.
Even if it was a little insulting that he didn't trust me to cook anything else.
It was supposed to be a simple meal this week, but seeing Eva again… it made me feel like I needed to put in a little extra effort. Which, of course, meant we’d ended up with more food than was reasonable for five packs, not just my own.
I continued to move plates from the island to the table, sighing. “Why don’t you use that mouth of yours for something useful and call everyone up for dinner?”
Cameo huffed, turning his nose up at me—ever the most princely of our pack while also being the most crude. “I’m always doing something useful,” he huffed, disappearing into the hall to call down the stairs, “Dinner!”
The alpha returned, taking his seat at the table just as I moved to do the same, footsteps pounding after him up the steps.
Indi appeared through the doorway first, offering a little salute as they took their usual seat.
Then came Joon, who was throwing some popcorn into his mouth with a loud crunch. All that remained in the bowl, which he sat on the end of the table before taking his seat, were the unpopped kernels. “Hello, alphas,” he said cheerfully, leaning for a quick kiss from Cameo as he settled.
I couldn’t help but suck my teeth. Both because he’d been snacking before dinner again, but also because he’d had the poor manners to leave his empty snackbowl on my beautiful dinner table instead of taking it through to the kitchen.
In my entire life, I’d never come into contact with anyone that’d managed to get under my skin the way this omega did.
At least I’d thought so. That was until Eva’s perfect, pink pigtails bounced into view, the omega hesitating as she spotted us all waiting for her at the table.
“Feels a bit like being called to the principal’s office,” she said with an anxious giggle.
“Want me to discipline you with a ruler for being tardy?” Cameo asked, without missing a beat.
Strawberries and matcha hit me like a wave, the scrape of my chair more aggressive than I intended as I forced myself up, offering Eva my seat beside Cameo.
“If no one else is going to have basic manners,” I said with a stern look around the room, resigned to taking the next seat down. “I guess I must.”
I’d been so surprised to see her earlier, I hadn’t really paid her the attention that she deserved. But now? I took my time as she brushed past me to settle into the chair with a mumbled thank you, her skirt riding up against her thighs.
Perhaps my favorite thing on a woman. A short skirt was about as close to a free pass to my cock as you could get, and—like most alphas—my heart wasn’t far off from there.
I nudged her chair in, regaining my own seat with a sidelong look towards Eva that, arguably, was staring. Staring that she absolutely caught me doing.
Shit.
I averted my eyes quickly, trying to come up with a way to look busy that wasn’t totally obvious when Joon mumbled unintelligibly at me from across the table.
“What?” I snapped, my voice coming out rougher and more irritated than I intended.
“Will you pass me that?” Joon asked, their eyes on the plate of eggplant parmesan and hand outstretched.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my tone evening out as I used a finger on the lip of the serving dish to edge it just that much further away. “What was that?”
Joon sighed loudly. “Pass the eggplant parm, please.”
I smirked, gearing up to ask Joon whom he would like to pass him the plate—getting to hear the little omega call me alpha just too tempting, when Indi stood to pick up the plate and hand it to him, ruining the game.
Softie, I complained internally.