Chapter Fourteen
Carter
We probably should have let Elias have his day with the omega, but by the time they finished their date, we couldn’t wait any longer.
Fortunately, she and Elias agreed to have Jayden and me bring dinner.
We bought everything she requested from the local Chinese take-out place and a few more dishes as well to round it all out.
My wolf demanded we feed our omega, and I agreed.
“Why don’t we set it all out here on the counter,” Anathea suggested when we entered laden with brown bags filled with containers. “If there’s room.”
There was, despite her teasing, and we served ourselves buffet style and ate in the living room together.
It was friendly and relaxing, with no interruptions by outsiders.
Probably because, as Elias pointed out, the people who interrupted their morning and early afternoon were all here now.
Looking around at the smiling faces of my pack, I had never felt happier.
Anathea had not accepted us as her pack yet, but from what Elias told me while she was in the restroom, she seemed less closed down.
No, she didn’t want that other pack for many reasons.
They were not scent matched. She had not picked them for herself, had not been attracted to them. And they sounded like jerks.
When she returned, we put the leftovers in the refrigerator—not that there were a lot of them. “You all have good appetites,” our omega pointed out, although she also did her share of damage to the bounty. My wolf watched through my eyes with great pleasure as she enjoyed the food we provided.
I informed everyone that I would stay tonight, backpedaling when Anathea’s eyes widened. “That is, if it’s all right with you?”
She remained silent for a few seconds before saying, “If you don’t mind the sofa.”
“No. I don’t mind. As you probably know, a firefighter’s schedule is different than most, but I’m free for the next few days.”
“I have to work in the morning,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I’ll walk you there if you’re okay with that?”
She was.
I slept fairly well, getting up a few times to peek out the windows and check the door. Her scent wrapped around me, so, even if I’d have much preferred to be in her bed with her, holding her tight, it was the next best place to be.
The next morning, I got up and showered before her, having conveniently tucked an overnight bag in my truck and having Jayden bring his own car when we came for dinner. Not that I was assuming, but a guy could hope.
Anathea got herself all ready then entered the kitchen. “I’ll make some coffee.”
“You know what? Don’t. If we leave right away, can we make time to visit the coffeehouse next to your shop?”
“You sure? I can probably put something together for us to eat.”
“I’ve been wanting to try it. Have you been?”
“Yes. They have really good coffee and an on-site bakery, too. I’ll treat.”
I started to argue, but my wolf growled inside me. No, he probably didn’t want our mate to have to pay for her own breakfast, but he also didn’t want to offend her. Funny, he was usually not at all interested in the subtleties of human interactions.
Our omega was obviously the exception.
“Thank you,” I said. “That would be nice.
The morning was still cool enough to be a pleasant walk, and I reached out and linked our fingers, our arms swinging between us as we passed the neat lawns and blooming flower gardens of the homes.
Our town was largely made up of houses built early in the last century, but they had been maintained well both by previous and current owners.
We arrived at the coffeehouse too soon for my taste, and I went up and ordered two lattes and a couple of breakfast sandwiches.
We could have pastries too, but our omega needed a good breakfast for her workday.
I left her at the door to her shop with a couple of slices of blueberry streusel bread in a bag and a quick kiss on her soft lips.
Back at her place, I clicked the unlock on my key fob and reached for the truck door when I noticed a lean male with an untidy scruff on his chin, pretending to read a flyer taped to the light pole.
My wolf’s hackles came up, and I didn’t wait to ask why. Striding across the street, I called out, “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t pretend not to know what I meant. “Waiting for my property to show up so I can take possession of it.”
It?
“Unless you ordered something from and are having it delivered to someone else’s home, you had better get moving.
” I didn’t hit him or kick him or kill him, although my wolf thought it was a great idea.
But my going to jail for years would mean I wouldn’t be able to protect my mate from the rest of their pack. “Go now.”
“Why should I? The omega is taken. We have the paperwork.”
Maybe nobody would find the body if I tossed it in my truck and threw it off a cliff somewhere?
“She’s not a thing you can own. She is, however, with us, by choice.” I might have been speaking too soon, but at least she was not rejecting us. “Anathea is our omega. Our scent match. Our fated. Now, go before I make you regret staying.”
“Fine, but you’ll be seeing me again.”
I called my pack and we went to the store to talk to Anathea.
She agreed to have us over for dinner. We would bring tacos.
We could even give her a lift home. But for some reason I couldn’t fathom, our independent mate would not let us stay over.
She promised to keep everything locked up, but she said she couldn’t intrude in our lives and make one of us sleep on her couch forever.
Telling her about the alpha coming around only made her dig in her heels.
It made zero sense. And there was no way we could go home and sleep in our beds, all safe and warm while she was in danger.
It wouldn’t be forever, not sleeping at her house, anyway. Not if we could convince her that she was ours. But she held her ground.
Stubborn female.
Nothing we said could change her mind.