CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I watch with interest as Archie recounts his story to Cady. How he eavesdropped on her conversation with their Editor in Chief, how he ran home and told all of us the situation, as well as her coveted job title. She seems more pissed that he didn’t just come out and tell her they were scent matched. Which, to be fair, none of us really realized until now. Well, besides Matt, and he was only suspicious.
The omega…she’s something else. I had tried to ignore Archie when he would describe her, but fuck, the reality of her blows every description of his out of the water. Gorgeous, golden-blonde hair that falls over shoulders like a waterfall, full, pouty lips painted the softest of reds. Curves that I want to run my tongue over, and a scent that makes me want to take, claim, and bite her before she can run away.
This . This is why.
This is why I need to be careful. This…it’s not safe, how much I want her. What if we all get too attached, and she decides that scent match or no, this isn’t what she wants? What if I come on too strong and she walks away?
The scent of orange blossoms and vanilla fills my nose, and I have to tamp down the purr that wants to start in my chest. This is bad news. Bad, bad, bad news.
We’ve made it through our entire lunch by the time everything is out in the open.
“So, let me get this straight.” She levels us all with a look, setting her fork down on her plate. “Instead of just coming to me and telling me the truth, you chose to pay the exorbitant fee to register with the OMS, put in your scent card, and risk the fact that we might not even get matched up?”
“That’s what I said!” Simon throws up his hands, shooting Matt and Archie a look.
“We could tell that you have reservations about finding a pack, and thought you would react better if you chose us on your own, instead of us ambushing you.”
“So you…” she trails off, looking around the table. “You didn’t pull any strings at all?”
“We did try to...tip the scales a little,” Archie admits. “My sister works for the OMS, and she said that she would make sure our cards were present, but it turns out she didn’t have to because we were one of your compatible packs based on your questionnaire.”
A puzzled look crosses her face before it lights up. “I knew she looked familiar! Your sister is Bethany, right?”
Arch grins. “She sure is.”
“Wow.” She sighs, looking around the table at all of us. “I’m sorry, it’s just a lot to take in. I want to be upfront with you all though. You’re right about me having reservations regarding pack life.” She gives us all a serious look.
This is it. This is where she tells us she doesn’t want us.
“When I joined the OMS, I didn’t have any intention of really finding a pack. My plan was to find one that I could pass the time with until after…well, after the deadline I was given, and then go separate ways to where it wouldn’t look suspicious.”
Her gaze turns down towards the table.
I knew it. I fucking knew it—
“But now…” She sighs, shaking her head. “A true scent match. And with Archie’s pack.” Her voice chokes up as she reaches over to grab the beta’s hand. “Do you know how much it destroyed me when I saw you had a bite mark? To think that you could never be mine?” She blinks, her gaze moving around the table, taking turns meeting each of our eyes. I swallow the need to hold her when she lands on me. “I can already tell that you’re so far off from the type of pack I’ve been afraid of…” She shakes her head again and looks back up at the table, determination shining in her eyes. “I don’t…I don’t feel that way anymore. At least not with you guys. If there's any chance of me finding happiness with a pack...I think it's you guys. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty freaked out right now, but my omega might murder me if I try to walk away at this point. As long as you all know I'm not going to stop working just because I'm someones omega.”
“So, does that mean…you’ll give us a chance?” Archie asks hesitantly. “Even though we…I… lied to you?”
The omega lets out a huff. “Don’t remind me. But…yes. I mean, it’s you, Arch. How could I not?” I watch in rapt fascination as the beta leans over and brushes his lips against Cady’s. A small moan escapes her and my cock grows instantly hard, making me let out a quiet growl as I adjust my pants. I can tell by the subtle way that Simon and Oliver adjust themselves that it had the same effect on them.
“Shit,” she pulls away, blinking.
“Sorry CJ,” Archie says with a shit eating grin. “I’ve just waited so long to do that, you know? And...you know we would never try to force you to stop doing something you love, right?”
“ I know you wouldn't" She smiles softly before she bites her lip in a way that makes me want to tug it out from under her teeth. "You don’t need to be sorry. Just… not in public, okay? I don’t need to be flooding the restaurant with the scent of my perfume. ”
Nobody is more surprised than I am when a growl rips out of Simon’s chest at her words. Well, nobody except him, apparently, since his face flames bright red. “I’m so sorry. My alpha…has never been interested in an omega before and is reacting…strongly.”
She leans over Ollie and takes Simon’s hand that’s sitting on the table. “That’s okay Simon. I appreciate how protective your alpha is of me. In fact, my omega is practically purring right now.”
He looks up at her, his brows raised. “Really? You don’t think I’m some…barbaric neanderthal?”
Thank gods nobody looked at me with that question.
“Not at all,” she shakes her head, “in fact, I’ve repressed my omega side for so long she’s now knocking down the wall I built with a sledgehammer and demanding all the alpha…” her eyes widen, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure she was about to say the word “knots”, but ends her sentence with a lame, “...things. I can only assume it’s because I’ve found my scent matches.”
She looks around the table at all of us shyly.
“I don’t want to lie to you guys — I’ve never wanted my own pack. I have some baggage that you guys should probably be aware of. I’m not ready to talk about it now, but maybe after we get to know each other better. It’ll help you guys understand why I’ve been so hesitant.”
Ollie leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead. “No worries, Tink. You take all the time you need.”
She stifles a laugh. “We’re sticking with Tink, then?”
“Of course.” Oliver gets in close to her ear, speaking just loud enough for us to hear if we lean forward. “Because now, it’s because you’re tiny, blonde, and make me feel like I’m flying.”
“Oh,” she gasps softly as her cheeks pinken and she leans back and looks at him. Fucking smooth bastard. I want to be the one who puts that look on her face.
“I…” she clears her throat. "How did you all meet?" Her quick change of subject has me raising my brow, but a fresh wave of perfume tells me that she’s just embarrassed by her reaction to us.
Arch is the one who answers. "Titus and Mattie grew up together, and Mattie and I got together in college. We met Simon when Titus got himself shot at his job—"
A gasp from Cady and her eyes on me have my alpha preening like a narcissistic prick. He's delighted that our omega is worried about us.
"I'm fine, angel," I say gruffly. "Just part of the job and Simon here stitched me up."
"What job?" She demands.
"Personal security firm at the time." She eyes me for a minute, her lips pursed. Unable to take her silence, I try to explain myself. "It was back before I started my own company. I'm mostly admin and investigation now."
"As I was saying," Arch rolls his eyes at our apparent dramatics. "Titus got shot, and Simon was our ER doctor who stitched him up. We all knew he was pack. Then, when Mattie and I got our initials tattooed on eachothers knuckles, we walked into Ollie's shop and instantly connected."
She looks at Ollie excitedly. "You own a tattoo shop?"
“I’m an artist too,” Ollie says proudly. “I can hook you up any time you want."”
Her face lights up. “I’ve been wanting to get a tattoo for a while now! I’ve been looking at…gosh what’s the name of that place?” She bites her lip as she thinks. “Oh! Industrial Ink! I follow them on Instagram.”
“That’s my shop.” I swear, Oliver couldn’t look any more smug if we were all on our knees and bowing down to him. “What kind of tattoo do you want to get?”
“Something book related,” she admits, her cheeks pinkening slightly. “I’m really into fantasy, and —”
Cady’s OMS assigned bodyguard coughs suddenly, and I swear I hear him say something that sounds like “monster smut”.
My brows shoot up as she shoots him a dirty look. “I swear to the gods, Brennan, I may love your omega but I will end you.”
The bodyguard, Brennan, only makes a “zipped lip” motion with his hand and shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Cady.”
“Monster smut?” Archie raises a brow.
Damn. The little omega is freaky. I can get behind that.
She sighs and shakes her head. “It’s been sort of my…litmus test for other packs. Well, for the first pack I met with. They acted absolutely scandalized . I admit, it had been my intention, but it ended up with me giving recs to Brennan for his omega.” She grins at the bodyguard now, seemingly forgetting about his teasing a moment before.
I’m just glad these bodyguards are already bonded, because my alpha does not take kindly to my omega smiling at other alphas.
Shit. My omega?
“Well that gives me the perfect idea for what kind of tattoo you should get,” Oliver says gleefully, before leaning forward and whispering in her ear. We all lean forward to try and hear what he’s saying, but then Cady leans pack, playfully smacking him on the arm.
“Absolutely not! I’d never be able to go out in public.”
“Believe me Tink, the places I want to tattoo you are places the public eye would never see.”
Her cheeks flush even more if possible, and she covers her face. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?”
“Only the best kind.” He grins at her, before taking mercy on her and motioning toward Simon. “Come on Sy, now that our girl knows how we all met, connect the dots and tell her what you do.”
Our girl.
He might be jumping the gun, but I have to admit I like the sound of it, and based on Simon’s rumble in his chest, he does too.
He may look shy and timid, but when it comes to his pack, he’s just as alpha as the rest of us.
“I’m a doctor. I work at Starbrook Hospital in the ER,” he says, adjusting his glasses.
“That’s amazing, Simon.” Cady smiles. “What do you do for fun?”
“I read, mostly,” he says, ears turning pink. “Not…not romances or anything. Mostly biographies and medical journals.”
“Sometimes we can get him to join us for a game of Call of Duty,” Archie chimes in grinning ear to ear. “He says he doesn’t want to play, but then he kicks all of our asses.”
“I’m not surprised,” Cady says, her lips quirking up. “Video games require hand-eye coordination, which as a doctor, I’m sure Simon has plenty of.”
Simon flushes further at her praise, and Archie jumps in. “You like to play video games?”
“I’m not good at the first person shooter, but I do love a fantasy RPG with a good story. There’s a new one that came out that I want to get—”
For some reason, I jump in and we both say at the same time, “The Redemption of the Broken Sword.” Everyone at the table looks at me, shocked for a moment. I only shrug. “What? My everyday job requires the possibility of shooting someone, sometimes I’d rather leave work at work and use magic to kill people instead.”
Cady is the first to recover. “Makes sense to me.” She grins at me, and then her smile falters, and she tentatively asks, “When I get it…they have online multiplayer. Would you…would you want to play it at the same time?”
Fuck. I had wanted to keep my distance, but I hadn’t expected her to be so…so sweet. So kind, and soft. Fuck.
“I…I think I would like that, gorgeous.”
The nickname slips out, unbidden, but the smile on her face when she hears the words makes it hard to regret it.
“When you say your job has the possibility of shooting people, do you mean… I thought you said you were admin and investigation?”
I had planned on silently brooding this entire conversation but the little omega is quickly tearing down all my defenses.
“We're Lone Star security. We do everything from providing bodyguards to private clients to contracting with the government on rescue missions and…other jobs that aren’t polite conversation for a restaurant at lunch time. Sometimes clients are...insistent that I'm present for some of the more dangerous situations.”
“Oh.” She looks shocked for a moment, but nods, and then Matteo speaks up, drawing her attention.
“I inherited my family’s business many years ago and I am currently the CEO.”
“What kind of business?” She asks looking between Matteo and Archie, who are leaning close together.
Archie smirks. “NeoTek."
Cady’s jaw drops. “Neotek? Like…like my phone, laptop, and smart-watch Neotek?”
Matteo’s face flushes, a phenomenon I’m not sure I’ve ever seen in our ten years together as a pack. “That would be the one. It is really not that big of a deal.”
"He doesn’t like it when people find out because they treat him differently,” Archie stage-whispers, and I resist the urge to cuff him upside the head.
I may not swing that way but sometimes his sass makes me want to bend him over and swat his bratty ass.
“That must be hard.” Her bottom lip pushes out before she bites it. “I kind of get it though. I promise I’ll never treat you differently though, okay?” She looks at him shyly, and a small smile quirks on his lips before he nods.
“I greatly appreciate that, tesoro mio .”
At that, the waiter comes by and Matteo pays the bill, much to Cady’s dismay as she tries to pay for her own meal.
“We’re a pack of five, Tink. We make more than enough to cover this meal. Better get used to it.” Ollie smirks as she shoots him a glare with no heat in it.
“Fine, but I get to buy ice cream,” she snarks, standing up from her seat.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time!” Ollie jumps up from the table. “I’ll race you outside!”
They take off like two kids competing for shotgun and Simon, Archie, Matt and I all stare after them.
Damn, this little omega is really going to keep us on our toes.