Chapter 21
After dinner, I helped Marcus with the dishes.
Well, I tried to help him with the dishes. Really, I stood there with a dish towel waiting to dry things, but Marcus kept putting them in the drying rack on the opposite side of the sink, leaving me with nothing to do.
Still, it was nice to spend some time with the alpha.
It wasn't that he was particularly quiet; none of the pack were, but he was a little difficult to read. He’d seemed pretty engaged while we negotiated some basic terms for the contract, like the amount that I’d be paid as an advance for signing and then at the end after I delivered—ha ha!
—my end of the bargain. But once we were having dessert and the conversation transitioned naturally to other topics, he’d become steadily more withdrawn.
It wasn't lost on me that technically, he was the alpha who'd brought me into the pack. Even though I'd known Indi first, and even had feelings for them... Marcus was the one who found me in the mirror maze.
Who’d chased me.
Who’d dominated me.
And now that I was considering his pack’s agreement, I couldn’t help but wonder if he would do it again, or if that rough, almost indifferent treatment was reserved for slutty little omega fucktoys that they picked up at Omega’s Lust events.
I wasn’t sure which option was more appealing to me, since they both had their benefits.
Marcus' expression didn't change as he scrubbed away at some stubborn baked-on cheese from a casserole dish; his tone conversational as he kept his eyes on his work. "Are you really going to do it?"
I hummed, studying his profile as I leaned against the white marble countertop, so incredibly out of place in a home that focused so heavily on warm dark wood.
“I'm considering it," I said honestly, fidgeting with the hem of the dishcloth.
"I want to read the contract over myself, and see but. .. you know, why not?"
Marcus dropped the casserole dish into the sink, sloshing water and bubbles up the sides of the sink heavily.
“You’re talking about having a baby like it's getting a drink with a co-worker you don’t like very much,” he said, irritation in his tone.
“This isn’t a fucking game, Eva. And if you aren’t going to take it seriously, don’t bother.
The last thing my pack needs is some omega looking to make a quick buck, taking advantage of Cameo’s whimsy. ”
I blinked, more than a little surprised by the change in the alpha’s demeanor.
Until now, Marcus had always been so… even.
But the look in his mossy green eyes as he stared me down was downright angry, water and soap flecking off his hand to splatter the countertop and floor as he pointed towards me.
“Either be about it or fucking don’t. We don’t need another god damn fence sitter.”
“I think,” I snapped, not taking too kindly to Marcus’ bitchy tone. “That I’m trying to make a pretty big decision about my body, and the rest of my life, and that you are being a bit of an intolerant shithead right now and should ease the fuck up.”
The alpha took a step towards me, anger flashing in his eyes at my tone, but I didn’t care. He didn’t have any right to speak to me like that, especially not while he was hoping that I was going to spend at least the next year with his pack playing incubator for a baby that I’d never see again.
“What’s going on in here?” Indigo asked, their arms crossed over their chest as they leaned in the doorway.
“Nothing,” Marcus muttered, clearing his throat. “I was out of line. I’m sorry, Eva.”
“You should be,” I huffed, looking to Indi. “I think I’m ready to go home now.”
“You sure, dolly?” they asked. “Let me grab my keys.”
Indigo retreated to the front door, and the moment that they were out of sight, Marcus cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I didn’t mean that, I’m just…”
“Worried,” I supplied. Not that it made it okay, but I understood Marcus at least.
This situation, while exciting, was stressful for all of us. But snapping at each other wasn’t going to help anything.
“I will think about it, very seriously,” I promised as Indi returned, standing on tiptoe to kiss the alpha's cheek. “Thanks again for dinner.”
“No problem,” Marcus said, the tips of his ears pink. “It was nice having you.”
“Ready?” Indi asked, holding up my jacket.
I slid my arms inside, letting the alpha do up the front zipper with a little grin. “Yeah, I’m ready. See you, Marcus.”
“Yeah, bye…” the alpha grunted in return as Indigo led me out the back door.
“What an asshole,” I mumbled, taking the porch steps two at a time.
Indigo laughed. “He’s only like that because he likes you. Annoying fucker doesn’t know how to show affection right.”
That felt a lot like excusing boys tugging pigtails on the playground under the guise of having a crush, but he had apologized, and the pasta was so damn good… I let it slide. This time.
Indi grabbed my door, waiting until I‘d slid into the passenger’s side of their Jeep to shut it behind me, rounding the front of the truck to get in themselves.
“I think I know what will fix your low mood,” they said cheerfully, offering their hand over the centre console.
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I asked, threading my fingers through theirs with a grin.
Privately, I thought that Indi was more than what the doctor ordered when it came to improving my mood, but curiosity had won out anyway.
“A milkshake,” they said triumphantly, flashing me a goofy grin.
Now that they’d mentioned it… Yeah. A milkshake sounded pretty good.
“I’m down.”
“I know just the place, it’s a little out of the way, though. Do you mind?”
“Do I mind having to spend time with you? Please, nooooo, anything but that…” I teased, giving his hand a squeeze.
Indigo smirked. “We don’t have the best track record, okay? I don’t want to mess this up again.”
“You didn’t mess it up before,” I said, shaking my head. “We were just having timing issues, and now…”
“And now?” they echoed hopefully.
“Now,” I stressed. “There’s nothing holding us back. Right?”
“Not a damn thing. The safety chain is totally off. No life jacket.”
“You make dating sound so dangerous.”
“It is kinda dangerous,” they said, pulling out of the driveway and starting off down the darkened street. “I care about you, Eva. I don’t want to fuck up our friendship if this goes south.”
I hummed. Until now, I’d been so wrapped up in the hope of it all that I’d hadn’t considered the very real possibility that this ended with me having their pack's baby and then being politely told, "Thank you, now get out.”
And then where would that leave us?
I shied away from the idea. I hadn’t even gotten to experience what it was like to be with Indi yet, and here I was catastrophizing about our breakup. I just needed to chill.
Seriously.
Indigo chuckled, giving my arm a playful shake. “Let’s talk about something a little less serious, okay? I’m sure you’ve had enough doom and gloom for one day. Besides, this place has like a hundred flavors. You’ll need to start planning now if you don’t want to panic and order something boring.”
“Boring? Like what? Strawberry?”
The look the alpha gave me as we stopped at the red light heated my entire body. “Naw, I don’t think there’s a damn thing boring about strawberry, Eva.” They reached with their free hand to stroke my cheek, and I leaned into the touch. “It might just be my favorite.”
The milkshake place was actually an old-school drive-in burger place.
Indi took us around the drive-through, ordering a root beer milkshake for himself with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, and I chose raspberry cookies and cream. They handed over the cold paper cup, circling back around the building to find a place to stop in the far corner of the parking lot.
“You’re not in a rush to get home, right?” they asked, ripping the paper off a straw and sticking it into my cup before repeating the motion with their own.
“No,” I said, offering them a smile. “I want to hang out… I just needed a break, that’s all.”
Indigo chuckled, leaning their head back against the seat. "Marcus can be a real dickhead, can't he?"
I nodded, narrowly avoiding jutting my lip out in a pout. "I know he's just being protective... But I don't see the point. Obviously, I don't want to hurt you."
"Oh, you're a real sweetheart for that," the alpha teased, chewing on the end of their straw.
"The last time my pack tried to shack up with an omega—not Joon, obviously—it didn't go so hot.
She really did a number on Marcus and Cam.
I know they don't seem like it with all the, you know, being absolute fucking freaks—"
I laughed so hard that I threatened to have a bit of milkshake come out of my nose.
"—and all. But they're pretty traditional guys. I know it's hard for them that Joon doesn't want to be courted the proper way. Without all their rules and routines, they just..."
"Feel out of control?" I offered helpfully, the picture piecing itself together in my mind.
With Marcus, he was so stiff, like if I approached too quickly, he was going to startle like a wild animal.
Cameo was a little less skittish, but only because he had a clear path for what he wanted, his focus interest holding a single note along with his focus.
Give us a baby and be on your way. Joon seemed on board with the plan; at the very least, he wasn't planning on having the baby himself, so that left an opportunity for this conversation in the first place.
And then there was Indi...
I leaned against the door of their Jeep to watch them, finding that they were already doing the same, from their seat, a long arm stretching over the center console to wrap a hand around my thigh.
"Yeah, exactly that." They said softly. "You're damn good at making an alpha feel like they're losing their fucking mind."
"Can I ask you something?" I asked, though I was finding it hard to think about anything with Indigo's warm fingers trailing along my inner thigh.