Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Shayne
Smiling until my face hurts is going to be the order of the night.
It needs to look like we want to be here, and that’s not going to happen if I slink into a corner and attempt to hide until Falcon’s ready to get the hell out of here.
This place is so big, and there are so few people around that it really doesn’t feel like my lead Alpha’s going to get the chance to slip out of the room.
He gives a bar maid our drink order as if we’re on a regular night out, and I smile and nod at the nearest Omega who immediately blushes and looks away.
“Could you look a little less interested in the skirt?” Falcon mutters.
I raise an eyebrow at him. He can’t be serious.
“And what are we supposed to be here for, exactly?”
He sighs. “Never mind.”
The bar maid appears with a tray, and he lifts his glass of ginger ale.
“Thanks,” I tell her as I take my cola, since Falcon’s clearly too distracted for pleasantries.
She leaves quickly and I look back at Falcon.
He’s already putting his glass down on the nearest table.
“I’m going to try the doors at the other side of the dance floor. I’ll pretend I’m looking for a bathroom.”
It’s too late to question whether that’ll work. We’re here now. He’s determined to try it.
I nod slowly before I take a sip of my cola.
Damn. The sugar rushes straight to my head.
I forgot how good this stuff tastes.
It’s been a long time since we had a night out.
If there’s one thing I’m going to enjoy, it’s the soda.
Falcon looks around slowly.
This is it.
He’s about to leave me on my own.
I don’t think I’m ready for this.
I glance at the Omega I made blush.
She gives me a shy smile before she turns away.
Falcon frowns at me, leaning in and growling, “No flirting while I’m gone.”
He leaves before I can argue that I wasn’t planning on it.
Talking to a girl who might be attracted to me doesn’t sound like a good idea, so I find an empty table as far away from her as possible, and I sit down to drink my cola and cross my fingers that Falcon isn’t going to be gone for too long.
The room is just bright enough that I feel conspicuous sitting alone while Falcon is gone.
Everyone else around me is sitting, or standing, in groups or pairs.
It gives me flashbacks to high school.
Falcon was the sporty, popular Alpha.
I was … kind of a loner, I guess.
It feels weird to sit here with those memories in this place.
It’s not the same now that I have a pack, but it reminds me of how lonely my life used to be, and that still stings. More than it should.
I sip at my soda while I try not to let the shadow of the past push me into a melancholy mood.
A few seconds later, a real shadow looms over me.
My stomach churns at the thought of the blushing Omega attempting to make conversation.
I don’t want to look up, but I know I’m going to have to deal with this.
Falcon can kill me later for talking to a girl I should never have smiled at.
Setting my glass down, I raise my head and lock eyes on the person who’s standing in front of me. I blink when I realize it’s not the girl, and my jaw slackens when I find myself staring at my youngest brother’s grinning face.
“Hah!” Shadow exclaims. “I knew it was you. How the hell have you been, Shayne?”