Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
VAUGHN
T here are a lot of times in my life that I have woken up and wondered ‘ what has Griffin got us into? ’
I know he is here with me because he has me bundled in his arms. He thinks people he cares about are all teddy bears. It doesn’t matter that I’m bigger than him; I’m wrapped up in his arms.
But that’s not what woke me up.
“Get the hell out of the Omega’s nest. She’s not in there so you should not be there.”
Oh no.
“Morning Mother.” Griffin yawns and kisses the top of my head. Rolling over and itching his stomach without care. “Did our little weed wake up early? Oh, our Beta is missing. I’m sure those two are-”
“Do you call her a weed? How many times have you hit your head in hockey games to think that’s okay?” She is so mad at him that she doesn’t notice me shimmying out of the nest.
I pull on my slacks from yesterday, looking around the room, and wondering how long we slept for. Obviously long enough that the Omega snuck away.
A meow makes me look down.
The orange cat is looking up at me like he wants to be pet. He does not. This is a trick played out by a master manipulator. If I try to pet him the cat will attack. He is not a fan of any of the men in the house. He just likes our Omega and that’s it. If I reach for him first it gives him a reason to attack and if I cry out Clove will come running to take care of the cat, who she thinks is a sweet baby. It’s a demon covered in fur.
Cat has a good sense of character and plays a mean long con..
I grab the phone, wincing when I see the calls I missed from Apollo. He also sent a text to the Boys group chat.
Seems that he found out about the Omega in pre-heat. Which means he either talked to her or Mick. I’m betting that it was Clover who called him. She doesn’t like to not tell things. She’s always babbling on and being open.
I find that it makes me feel more comfortable. I know what she’s thinking and how she’s feeling because she usually lets it all come out of her mouth in a continuous stream.
It’s adorable .
What isn’t adorable is Griffin adjusting his dick in front of Apollo’s mother.
“I made breakfast!” Mick peeks his head into the nest, giving us a way out of the situation.
I don’t even need to look over at Griffin to know that he is following me out of the room. There is only so much that he can push Martha before she actually kills him. He must be pretty close to that limit by now.
Clover isn’t in the kitchen and Griffin frowns at this. I expected to see her too.
“She’s sleeping in Apollo’s bed. They talked this morning.” Talked is a euphemism because the Beta smells like her slick, “Neither of you mentioned she squirts when she comes.” He hisses as he slides us each an omelette.
What?
My brain and dick get confused over who is in charge. Neither of them win with my mouth who just makes sounds instead of intelligent words.
“Seriously?” Griffin is staring at the Beta like he told him Santa Claus is real..
Some people don’t kiss and tell. This pack is not some people. We share too much detail about everything in our lives. It’s why we’re so close.
“We were FaceTiming Apollo. She soaked his bed and her phone. Which reminds me, I need to order a waterproof case for her.” Griffin groans at the Beta’s words. His head falling into his hands as he fists his hair.
What a hell of a way to wake up.
My mind is still trying to make sense of why Martha was yelling at us. She was always sort of a harasser, trying to whip us into shape. Now that Clover is here it seems to have hyped up even more.
“Apollo is coming back tonight. He texted and said he would meet us here after the game since Clover probably shouldn’t be anywhere where her heat can spike.” Mick explains as he sips his coffee.
We eat quietly. Martha must have gone off to get some work done, or so I think, until she comes into the kitchen while I’m loading up the dishwasher.
Oh grea t, we’re getting a lecture.
“Does Clover know about your father and Terry?” I didn’t expect her to ask that question. I didn’t expect her to talk to me about this right now so I just freeze up, “They were at the game last night. There are pictures of Griffin trying to fight them with your Omega half hidden in a tunnel. So I just want to know if you’ve done damage control.”
The silence in the room is so deafening.
My father and Terry were at the game last night? Griffin tried to fight him? Clover saw all of this?
My heart is hammering in my chest. I’m going to puke. I can feel it burning in my throat as I try several times to gasp for air.
What the fuck?
Griffin is in front of me. He’s talking, his mouth moving as he breathes in and out. Reminding me of how it’s done because he can see the panic attack that is rising.
Fuck .
How close did they get to our Omega? What if they told her how unworthy of her we were? What if Terry told her how things went with us? Would Clover leave? Would I ruin this relationship like I had my last one? Would she see how terrible I was at being an Alpha and leave me?
I hear Martha talking, my ears ringing as I stumble past her.
It’s all too much.
A small hand touches my arm and I look at Clover. Standing at the top of the stairs. When had I walked up the stairs? Her blue eyes are wide as she holds onto my forearm, staring at me as I shake. I’m crying. When did I start crying?
“Oh V,” She hugs me, holding me against her as she nuzzles into me. She’s trying to scent mark me and flood my senses with her smell. It’s similar to what we do when we try to calm her down.
It works.
Bringing me back to the present. My ears stop ringing and my heart rate slows down. I’m still so confused about what happened at the game.
Did all the tension and fighting set off her pre-heat? Is it my fault that she is going through this?
“I heard a little bit when I was coming downstairs. I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you that they were sitting behind me. Last night was just a lot. I wanted to talk to you about it this morning. Can we talk about it now?” She’s so open and it’s what I need.
I need to stop ignoring the fact it hurts and just open up about it all.
Nodding my head, I’m thankful that she walks us towards my room. Stopping outside the door to check with me if it’s okay before we head inside.
Clover climbs up on my bed, folding her legs under her, and grabbing one of my pillows to hold. I follow, dropping down heavily beside her and rubbing at my eyes. They burn from crying.
“You know I like you, right? That what happened before doesn’t change how I feel about you? Just because someone didn’t see your worth doesn’t mean I won’t see it. Because I do, see it I mean. I see that you’re pure gold Vaughn Mathers.”
I’m crying again.
Why does she have to be so sweet?
“Can you tell me what happened?”
She nods her head and tells me about the game last night. She explains how they sat behind her and how Griffin came to take care of them. They got kicked out and everything happened with her heat to distract what had happened.
“Bad people are always going to do bad things.” I mutter, trying to spin this so I’m not thinking about my dad. I know I’m going to have to call him.
Sure, I never want to talk to him ever again. I don’t want to meet the child he’s having with my ex. I don’t want to be apart of whatever fucked up sort of family he is trying to create.
I do, however, want him to stay the fuck away from my pack. My pack includes my Omega.
“I know. I’ve met a lot of bad people.” She frowns and I lean forward, kissing her lips. “I like being around you all. I just want to support you as best as I can. How can I take care of you like you take care of me?” I love how she asks and doesn’t assume.
Clover cares about each of us individually. Learning about us each as individual people and not just as a pack together. It’s something that I appreciate about her.
The care she puts into us.
“Can I take care of you? Nothing sexual, if that’s okay? I think it would reassure the Alpha in me if I can give you a shower and dress you. Maybe give you a snack or something. Have you drink some water. Just small things that soothe me.”
She blinks at me like I’m insane.
I feel a little stupid having to ask for reassurance and she seems to understand what I’m asking.
“You really want to take care of me? Like you’re not doing it just because you feel like you have to? It actually makes you feel good?” The question in her voice surprises me.
Sometimes I forget she wasn’t raised an Omega. She doesn’t understand the true dynamic of an Alpha Omega relationship. I’d have no problem demonstrating to her what that means.
“Yeah, cherry girl. I like it a lot.”
“Okay, Alpha. I’m ready for my shower.”
I strip her down before guiding the naked Omega to my bathroom. It feels good to have her hand in mine as I start the settings for the water and get ready to bring peace to both of us.
This is what we need.
“You should have told me,” I pull on my helmet as we head out for pregame skate, “I could have handled it.” Griffin sighs out as Mick skates on the ice to his goal.
He starts doing his stretches to get focused on the game as we do our usual skating around the ice.
I’m annoyed that they didn’t tell me.
After taking care of Clover all day it had eased some of my stress. I liked showering with her and washing her hair. I liked brushing it out for her. I liked that during pregame nap she had crawled into my bed with me and fell asleep on my chest. I liked dressing her in comfy clothes before putting on the college TV channel so she could watch the game.
I didn’t like leaving her with Apollo’s family because he was stuck in traffic from the airport and hadn’t been home in time.
“I’m sorry, Griff. Clover was going into pre-heat and things got hazy.” I could also logically understand that as well.
We stop, stretching together on the ice, without any theatrics from Griffin since he doesn’t have an Omega to show off too. A second later Fergus and Jimmy drop down beside us.
Things have been a little strange between us. Marcus had dumped them too, but it was still this awkward moment between all of us.
“Hey,” Jimmy opens up. “Marcus is courting Pack Weaver now. He’s been posting all about it on OLife. The courting gifts he’s getting are crazy. And he’s been talking about how they’re going to be a two Omega pack.” He looks at us.
I’m going to go to jail.
Griffin will be there with me. That’s pretty obvious from the way that he is gripping his hockey stick like a weapon.
“Clover is our Omega.” I say it as calmly as I can, “And she has a restraining order against Pack Weaver because Bryce Weaver is a scumbag.” I add in just because I want to let them know who the Omega they were courting was now with.
They nod their heads, quiet as they shift their stretches slightly.
“We liked Marcus. We didn’t know he would do this. We just wanted to court him and form a pack. He wanted more than what we have to offer.” Fergus says it softly, a sigh coming from his lips.
I try to put myself in their shoes. Try to think what I would do if I was deceived like that. I can’t imagine Clover doing it. Can’t see her picking a pack based on status.
Griffin makes a sound and I look at him. He’s still mad about the news that Marcus is talking about adding someone else to the pack and that his mind is set on our Omega.
I need to get him away from them.
“Focus. We have a game to play. Plus, Apollo should be home with Clover by now. Let’s shoot a little and then you can sneak a phone call to her, okay?” He nods his head, pushing himself up.
I glance back at my two teammates and nod at them.
“No hard feelings and thanks for the heads up about what he’s saying.” They nod their head as I skate after Griffin.
He’s shooting snapshots at Mick, who looks pissed off by the aggression that is being aimed at him. Can’t say that I blame him with the way Griffin is drilling them.
Our goalie leaves the net and skates over to us. He’s thankfully calmer than either of us are. But that’s all about to change when I inform him about what Marcus has been posting online.
None of us have followed Marcus before we met our own Omega. After him trying to steal Clover we hadn’t followed him because why would we? Now we’re going to have to see what he is posting so that we can make sure we keep our girl safe.
“C’mon, let’s go call Apollo and make sure he’s home.” We all skate off the ice, thankful that Coach is still in his office so we can make the call.
That’s all we need. To piss off coach more with our pack drama. He’s already been on our asses about not being idiots.
It only rings twice before Apollo answers.
“I’m still in the cab. Traffic is absolutely brutal.” He explains and we frown. He was supposed to already be there with her. When we last talked to Clover before taking the ice she had said that she was going to watch the game and that Apollo’s parents were headed out to dinner.
That was over a half hour ago.
“Have you talked to Clover?” Griffin rushes the words out and Apollo is quiet.
“I told her I was on my way and that traffic was bad. She didn’t respond, but I didn’t think anything of it. Why? What’s going on?” Apollo sounds worried now.
Mick already has his phone in hand and is calling someone. Griffin has his phone out too and is slamming his fingers into the keys.
My stomach turns and something doesn’t feel right. Something is off and we missed it.
“We just heard Marcus has been posting about adding another Omega to pack Weaver. It just feels strange.” I’m trying to stay calm, but my heart is beating like I’m having a heart attack right now.
Clover has to be safe.
“Apollo’s parents are at dinner.” Mick looks horrified, “They said Clover was having a little heat spike and was napping on the couch when they left.”
That bad feeling is back in full force.
My eyes land on Griffin who is staring at his phone, calling over and over again, with no response. Clover could still be sleeping, but it doesn’t seem like that. Now knowing that someone else has been talking about our girl.
“I’m on our street now.” Apollo informs us. Griffin is still calling her number and McKinley is staring at my phone like it has some answers.
We can hear Apollo getting out of the cab. Our front door is opening and his feet are on the carpet as he rushes into the living room first because McKinley said she was sleeping there.
He breathes a sigh of relief and we hear her voice.
“APOLLO!”
All of us breathe a sigh of relief at that sound. She’s safe. He got to her and everything is fine.
“WATCH OUT!” Her scream of terror is filled with the phone falling from his hand. A growling scream leaves him mouth before it goes silent and the line is disconnected with an ominous beep.
We’re all frantic as we start taking off our gear. We need to get out of here. We need to get home.
Apollo. Clover.
Oh God .
Griffin’s phone rings and he picks it up, setting it on speaker phone.
“Hello?”
“Sir Purrington doesn’t like Apollo’s cellphone and dove head first off the stairs to attack it from his hands. He’s okay, so don’t worry. I think Apollo might need stitches though because Mister One was a little naughty and bit his ear pretty bad. He told me to call you guys just to let you know and so you didn’t freak out.” Clover, oblivious to the fact that the last three minutes of my life cost me ten years, speaks softly. “Oh and good luck at your game! See you guys soon!” She hangs up and Griffin lets out a sigh.
“I think I shit my pants.”
“Jesus Christ.” Mick falls into his stall, his head hitting the wood in the back.
And me?
I start laughing because my Goddess, having an Omega is going to keep things interesting.