CHAPTER ELEVEN
“O kay, what about this one?” I hold the shirt up to the camera on my phone that I have propped up on my dresser.
“Too…country-western,” my sister, Allea says.
“What do you mean?” I frown at the white shirt on the hanger. Yeah, maybe the tassels are a little too much. “Nevermind, you’re right.”
I go back into my closet to search for a different shirt. “Ollie?” My mom's voice calls out from my phone.
I pop my head out. “Yeah?”
“Go simple, baby. This omega will want to see the real you. No need to go all flashy,” Mom says gently.
“Got it.” I disappear back into my closet, and reappear a moment later wearing a dark wash pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a black and gray flannel hanging open.
“Very handsome.” Mom smiles, nodding. I check myself in the full length mirror. My tattoos still give me a pop of color, especially the roses that go up the side of my neck, and I trade out the studded gauges in my ears for plain black ones.
Go simple.
My hair is still a little wet from the shower, and I spray a little bit of mousse in my hands before running it through my pale blonde strands. It’s shorter on the sides, so I don’t need to worry about that, but the top is a little longer and needs some styling if it's going to look good.
“...So?” I ask, walking in front of the phone and doing a full spin. “How do I look?”
“So handsome,” Mom gushes, and one of my other sisters, Kayla, sticks her head in front of Allea.
“That’s the look! Good luck, Ollie!”
“Thanks Ma. Thanks Kay.” I grin. “I gotta go, but I’ll update you after.”
“We love you!” They call out as I blow them a kiss and hang up the phone. I’m so fucking lucky to have such a supportive family.
Grabbing my wallet off my desk, I pause, grabbing the pen that I snagged from Arch the other day. I take a big whiff, the orange blossom and vanilla scent making my dick strain in my jeans.
Fuck, that’s good.
I’d like to say I’m a perfect gentleman and didn’t jack off to the scent lingering on this pen, but I'm a pervert, not a liar.
Cady.
Thirty more minutes, and we’d finally have our missing piece. Archie has refused to give us anything more than a first name, so I can’t even look her up online. Part of me thinks he just wants us to be so dumbstruck when we meet her that he’s the smartest looking of the pack.
“Ollie, you about ready? We gotta go!” Archie bangs on my door.
I swing the door open and flash him a grin. “I’m ready, Arch. Let’s go.” Archie is wearing a light blue polo and a gray man cardigan with blue jeans, his wavy black hair pushed out of his face, making him look like just the loveable nerd he is.
We walk downstairs where Mattie is waiting for everyone, looking sharp in his green button down and gray slacks. His dark brown hair is styled perfectly, not a hair out of place.
“Did you see the others?” Mattie asks me, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt. I’m not attracted to guys, but if I was, I’d definitely be trying to get in on whatever Arch and Mattie have going on.
“Is everyone ready?" Simon comes in the room, also in a button down, but his is a light purple color, bringing out the green of his eyes from behind his glasses. His auburn hair waves are gelled to perfection, and I can tell he even ironed his pants.
“Where’s Titus?” Archie asks, looking around the room. “I swear, if his attitude makes us late and makes us leave Cady with a bad impression…”
“Oh cool it, Arch. I’m here.” I breathe a sigh of relief when Titus comes down the stairs.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Mattie wrinkles his nose. I can see why. Titus is in his standard outfit of a black t-shirt and dark green cargo pants and black combat boots. His dog tags hang proudly from his neck, which I love. I mean, it’s a good look on him with his crazy ass muscles and black tattoos peeking out, but it doesn’t exactly scream “first date”. But hey, at least he showered.
However, we’re going to be late if we don’t leave in the next thirty seconds so we don’t have time for him to change.
“You think the little princess is so stuck up that she can’t handle seeing me in cargo pants?” Titus sneers.
Archie rolls his eyes, “No but you need to put in at least the bare minimum—”
“Okay, gentlemen, let’s be done with this.” I jump in, turning to open the door.
Both Archie and Titus start sputtering their disagreement. “Archie, it’ll be fine. If Cady is as cool as you say she is, she won’t care about what Titus is wearing. Maybe she’ll even find it hot.” I shrug before turning to Titus. “But, Archie is also right. Of course she can handle seeing you in cargo pants, but it’s a sign of respect to put a little extra effort into your appearance. Do better.”
With that, I ignore their gobsmacked faces and turn to walk out the door, a chuckling Simon behind me. I know I tend to get over excited pretty easily and often get compared to a puppy, but I know how to be serious when I need to. These guys need to get their act together.
We all head toward my SUV since I’m the only one with a big enough car to drive us all. Well, technically, Titus’ car could comfortably fit us all, but he’s being a little bit of a dick.
“Get in front, Sy,” I tell Simon as I approach the driver's side.
“But—”
“They need to get it together. They can all sit knee-to-knee while thinking about how they won’t act like a bunch of spoiled brats in front of Cady.”
Simon raises his brow, but shrugs, getting into the front seat.
“Wait a minute—” Titus, who would normally sit in the front seat, starts to protest, but I cut him off.
“You guys are going to fix this before we get to the restaurant.” I look at them over the top of the car. “If we lose out on Cady because you guys can’t quit bickering, I will never forgive any of you.” I then slap my hand on the roof of the SUV before sliding into the front seat. Mattie, Arch, and Titus all grumble as they get into the back, Arch squeezed in the middle of two alphas.
“How on earth have I never noticed the daddy energy Ollie gives off?” Archie mutters to Mattie as they slip on their seatbelts.
Titus gives a derisive snort and I look at them in the rearview mirror. “I prefer to be the fun uncle. But if I have to be the daddy so you three stop acting like a bunch of children, then so be it.”
Simon lets out a low whistle, causing me to chuckle. Five minutes into our drive, and the back seat is still eerily silent.
“Do I need to pull over?” I ask, slightly annoyed.
“What? Why? We’re going to be late!” Mattie protests.
“Arch and Titus need to apologize to each other. She’s an omega. She’s going to sense the discord in our pack before we even get out of the car and then she won’t want us. Is that what you all want?”
Everyone around me, even Simon mutters a sullen, “No…”
“Shit, I forgot you have like three omega sisters, right?” Titus murmurs, running a hand over his buzzed head. “Look,” he turns towards Mattie and Arch. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m on edge, I…I guess I’m trying to protect myself in case this doesn’t work. Yeah, I know, it’s some real deep psychological shit. I’ll try to be less of an ass, yeah?”
“I’m sorry too,” Archie sighs, “I know I’m really…enthusiastic about the whole thing, but it’s only because I know how amazing and perfect she is for our pack. I’ll be less obnoxious about it and let you find out for yourself.”
Mattie shrugs. “The thing I was offended about was Titus wearing cargo pants to a non-work event.”
The car bursts out into laughter as we all relax, just in time for us to pull up to the restaurant. We park and pile out of the car, waiting outside the entrance like we set up with the date coordinator for OMS.
Nervous energy fills the air as we wait, and less than five minutes later, a blacked-out SUV parks, a large alpha in a suit getting out of the car before opening the back door. Like some kind of movie with a dramatic entrance, we see the black kitten heels first, followed by the lower half of a skin-tight jean-clad, but obviously shapely leg. The woman that steps all the way out takes my breath away.
Long, wavy, golden blonde hair frames her face that I want to run my fingers through. Or you know, fist into a ponytail during other activities, if she’ll let me.
“Is that her?” Simon chokes out, and all Archie can do is nod.
“Yeah. That’s her.”
She’s too far away for me to tell the exact color of her eyes, but they look like a beautiful blue color. I don’t know anything about makeup but she’s lined her eyelids with some smudgy black eyeliner, and soft red lipstick lines her plush lips.
Tight blue jeans hug her deliciously curvy figure, and a flowy, light purple top gives us the barest hint of cleavage that I really want to bury my face in.
She turns her head to say something to the alpha behind her, and his chest shakes slightly with laughter. I suppress a growl that wants to rise at the implicated closeness of the omega and her bodyguard. But I know that alpha bodyguards employed by the OMS need to be bonded to qualify for a position.
He’s not a threat to us or to her.
Titus, however, is not aware of that little fact, and I elbow him the moment I hear a growl make its way up his throat.
“He’s bonded already. Cool it.”
Titus only swallows and nods.
Her eyes widen slightly as she takes us in when she approaches, but she quickly plasters on a dazzling smile. “Hi! I’m assuming you’re the pack I’m supposed to meet with—”
Her eyes grow even wider when they land on Archie, and fuck, we didn’t think that part through.
“What the fuck, Arch?!” she snarls, and I find that my dick really likes it when she’s mad.