Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
HAYES
My vixen looks mighty pleased with herself. She also looks tired. When she yawns for the second time since getting into the car, I decide to make a little detour before our planned activity. We have plenty of time before our reservation.
“Where are we going?” she asks as she tracks the world around us. I make a right down a side street before finding street parking only a block away from my favorite coffee shop.
“We’re getting you a coffee so you don’t fall asleep on our date.”
“I won’t fall asleep,” she says, yawning again.
Liam chuckles, climbs out of the back seat, and opens her door. “You won’t after you drink a large latte. Come on.”
I don’t miss Liv’s soft smile as she takes Liam’s offered hand, letting him help her out of the car.
They’re so wrapped up in each other, they don’t even notice that we’re not right behind them as they walk to the coffee shop and we take a moment to watch them together.
Our omega has been working hard. I may not understand half of what she says when she talks animatedly about her research, but I know it’s important to her.
That she’s been pushing herself to find a solution to a problem that has existed for as long as there have been alphas and omegas.
I’m worried that she’s not sleeping enough. Not taking care of herself.
So we’ll take care of her. That’s what a pack is for. Sawyer, Wilder, and I watch our omega draw a laugh out of our beta as Liam opens the door to the coffee shop and motions her inside, following after her.
“She’s good for him,” Sawyer observes. “He seems more confident lately. Happier.”
“We’re all happier,” I reply, frowning a moment later when Liam pushes the door open and exits the coffee shop without Liv.
He shakes his head as he jogs back to us. “Forgot my wallet in the car. Can you unlock it?”
I hit the button and the locks pop. “You left Liv alone?”
“It’s just the coffee shop. She’s fine.” Liam holds his wallet up. “And she won’t be alone for long. Come on.”
Together, our pack strides into the little cafe, the rich smell of coffee beans hitting me first. The sight of our omega surrounded by a familiar pack of dickheads hit me a moment later.
“What the fuck?” Sawyer growls low in his throat. His fists clench at his side as he closes the distance between us and Olivia, the rest of us on his heels.
“Maybe we could be convinced to give you another chance,” I hear one of the dipshits drawl, his finger trailing down my vixen’s arm. She flinches away from him, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.
“Yeah. You may be weird, but shit, I forgot how fuckable these curves are,” another member of Pack Johnson says, loud enough for other customers to glance their way.
Olivia looks mortified. Her face is red with embarrassment and her shoulders are hunched over, her arms wrapped around herself. Her gaze bounces around the cafe, searching for an escape. She spots me, and as relief washes over her face, my heart expands three sizes in my chest.
“Get the fuck away from our omega,” I snarl. I want to beat the shit out of these assholes, but we’re in public, and Pack Johnson has more money than anyone that stupid has a right to have. I’m not dumb enough to think we could get away with teaching them that kind of lesson.
I’d end up in jail and eventually prison for assault. There’s no way I’m leaving Liv, so as much as I want to curb stomp them, I resist.
That stupid pack turns my way. They’re all relatively tall, but they’re soft. Their cushy, privileged lives have made them weak in more ways than one, and I relish the flash of fear that darkens their faces. I’m a big guy, and it’s only right to use that to my advantage in this situation.
Shouldering through them, I tuck my vixen behind my back. When she grasps the fabric of my shirt, I reach back and skim my fingers over her hip to soothe her.
“Your omega?” one of the prissy assholes asks.
“Ours,” Sawyer growls. “And if we ever hear you disrespecting her again, I’ll tie you to a chair and have Wilder tattoo dicks on your foreheads.”
Wilder grins wickedly and does a little finger wave.
“You’re all crazy,” one of them says. “You and the freak deserve each other.”
“What did you just call my omega?” I step forward, my chest brushing against the dead-man walking.
“Hayes.” Liv’s sweet voice is quiet in my ear as she grabs my arm and stops me.
“It’s okay. Please don’t hurt him. The lack of hair on his body is a strong indicator of low testosterone, which could be why his muscle mass is so abnormally deficient for an alpha.
If you were to get into a fight, you could easily put him in the hospital, and I don’t want you to go to jail. ”
I bark out a laugh and turn to the dickhead who insulted my omega and loudly reiterate what she said. “You’re right, baby, he really is lacking in muscles. I bet he has a tiny dick too.”
The whole coffee shop has fallen silent, watching the drama unfolding in front of them. The small cafe fills with the sound of muffled laughter, and the alpha in question turns bright red, sputtering something incoherent before running out of the building. The rest of his pack is hot on his heels.
“Vixen.” I turn, pulling my beautiful, whip-smart omega into my arms and kiss the shit out of her. When we break apart, her pupils are blown, and she looks up at me with wide eyes. “Are you okay? Man, those guys are assholes.”
Liv beams up at me. “I’m okay. Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“Always.”
Liam chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss to Liv’s forehead. “Tag’s going to replay that takedown over and over again in his mind. He’ll never live it down.”
Tag. That’s the prick's name? A little bitch name for a little bitch. Sounds about right.
“Let’s get our omega some coffee. We don’t want to be late for our date.”
“Okay, vixen, you want to stand with your feet spread.” I grip our omega’s hips and try not to get distracted by the way her scent blooms at my touch. She’s holding an axe. I need to stay focused, so no one ends up injured.
“Like this?” Liv’s feet are shoulder-width apart, her right foot slightly forward.
“That’s perfect, baby. Now, you need to grip the handle of the axe lightly, okay?
If you hold it too hard, it may not release soon enough.
You want your dominant hand on top, and when you lift the axe over your head, your hands should line up with the top of your head.
” I take a step back, giving Liv plenty of space. “Go ahead and try.”
Slowly, and with an adorable look of concentration on her delicate face, Olivia adjusts her grip on the axe before lifting it over her head. When her shoulders are straight and aligned with the target, she peers over at us. “Like this?”
“You’ve got it, smarty-pants.” Wilder flashes our omega an encouraging grin.
She chews on her bottom lip, lowering the axe. “Could one of you go first? I want to watch the mechanics of it all before trying.”
Liam takes a step forward and gingerly takes the axe out of her hands. “I can show you.”
“Thanks.” Liv beams at our beta. She quickly presses a kiss to his cheek before taking several large steps back.
She catalogs every movement Liam makes as he aligns his body with the target, grips the axe, and raises his arms above his head.
When Liam takes a slight step forward, Liv holds her breath.
The axe sails through the air, turning end over end, before embedding in the wooden target with a sharp thwack.
It’s a solid throw. The sharp steel of the blade is embedded in the outer ring of the bullseye on the right side. Liam grins when he looks back at Liv, who cheers and claps for him.
“Are you ready to try now?” he asks. Liv nods and Liam pulls the axe from the target, carefully handing it to our omega.
The guys and I watch as she takes up her stance, the blade of the axe glinting under the bright fluorescent lights. This time, I’m the one holding my breath. When I exchange looks with my packmates, I see I’m not the only one.
Was it a mistake bringing her here? I’ll never forgive myself if she gets hurt.
“Careful, baby,” Sawyer says as our pretty omega lifts the blade over her head, takes a step forward, and lets the blade fly.
Wilder gasps as the blade connects with the target. “Holy. Shit.”
Holy shit is right.
“How . . . But you’ve never . . . That’s just . . .” My twin shakes his head before walking over to the target and tugging the axe free from where it is embedded. Almost smack-dab in the center of the small, red bullseye. He carefully extends the handle to our omega. “Beginner’s luck. Try again.”
Olivia tilts her head. “That wasn’t beginner’s luck.”
Sawyer’s brow furrows. “I thought you said you’ve never done this before?”
“I haven’t.” She shrugs before taking up her stance again, a little smile playing over her lips.
We’re utterly silent as she grips the axe, lifts it over her head, then lets it loose again.
“How?” Liam asks, stunned, when the blade embeds itself in the bullseye once again.
“Easy.” My vixen shrugs. “It’s physics.”
“Physics,” I repeat, dumbfounded. This incredible woman just threw two near-perfect throws in a row. From her expression, she has no idea how utterly terrifying and amazing that is. I never saw Liv coming, but fuck if she hasn’t completely embedded herself in my heart.
A perfect bullseye.