Chapter 16
Tony
I was walking slightly behind everyone, my erection so hard that it was almost painful. But I tried to play it cool as we walked the rest of the way to the country club, looking down at my suit as I tried to assess whether or not they’d let me in. Not only had I been sprayed with mud earlier, but I’d also been laying in the grass with Safira in that magical moment where she mentioned the possibility of being with us, not just for a heat, but for more. I now had dirt, mud, and grass on my suit from the day's excursions. If I wasn’t mistaken, I also had a spot of Safira’s slick from when she was laying on me earlier. If that were the case, I’d probably never wash these pants again.
She was everything we remembered and more. Today was so fun, so unlike what we normally do. Our lives had been decided for us the past few years, leaving our pack in the passenger seat as our fathers decided who we’d bond with and what we would do with our lives. We’d been asleep, so lost in our memories of the past that we never took the initiative to forge our own paths. Even taking Safira to the festival broke the pattern of our past courtship behavior. We’d always courted an omega with a nice meal, trying our best to make a connection even when we knew there wasn’t one. But today had not gone to plan at all, and it was still perfect. We’d enjoyed every mishap, every derailment as we went on an adventure with the one person who I knew deep down was the true missing link for our pack. Safira was it. Our true mate.
“Safira, we will help you with anything you ask. But we do need to warn you of something.” Jax said as we got closer to the club. Tony and I braced ourselves. We needed to tell her that we weren’t on the registry. It would take a few days to get that sorted, and then we would be able to help her through her heat. A minor thing, but something she needed to know nonetheless.
“Huh? What is it?” she asked. But then her face changed as we crested the hill. “Is that the club?” she gasped in amazement, her eyes widening at the sight of the sprawling country club below. The building gleamed in the evening light, its elegant fa?ade sparkling as it was bathed in the soft glow of the lighting surrounding it.
“That it is.” I said as she gazed at the private club. I knew that dinner time was almost over, but the private room we’d wanted might still be available, even if only for a dessert. Jax turned to face us. “Stay here, I’ll check if we can still get something to eat. I’m sure they can fit us in for a nightcap at least. We’ll talk more there.” He let go of Safira’s hand and winked, but before he could turn to enter the club, an ice-cold voice stopped us in our tracks.
“I believe your plans are canceled for tonight, boys.” I whipped my head to my left, only to see two of our fathers emerge, hidden by the dark shadows cast from the oak trees that lined the outer edge of the club. “Imagine, I thought it was crazy that my friend spotted our sons, of all people, with what appeared to be an unbonded omega, out in public.” My father, one of two alphas in my family’s pack, stepped forward to look down his nose at all of us, despite being a few inches shorter than us. “I didn’t think you’d be foolish enough to parade around a date when you’re publicly promised to another.” His eyes slid over to Safira as Kaden stepped in front of her defensively, his back stiff and his feet braced against the ground. I walked up to my father, crossing my arms as I stared him in the eyes.
“This is not what you think. She’s not just any girl. She’s our missing friend. The one we’ve been searching for.” I growled. Brian, the other alpha, rushed over next to him. He was one of Jax’s fathers who I’d known so long that he was practically family.
“You will stop this nonsense at once .” He hissed, throwing in an alpha command to his tone while his hands balling into. Our pack resisted the order as our alpha pheromones filled the air in a standoff. “We’ve worked for years to get this deal, and you aren’t going to mess it up now. We’ll make sure the girl gets home safe, but you cannot be seen with her any longer.” He growled out, and a low rumble from our pack filled the air in response. Jax stepped up to his own father.
“No.” The single word made our fathers pause in astonishment. We almost never went against their word. “She’s Safira. The girl we always looked for. See fathers?” He said as he gestured to Safira. “It’s her. We found her. She’s the one we’d been looking for. And now that we’ve found her, we aren’t going to lose her again." He was trying to be persuasive with his tone, but his words held the hint of defiance at any cost. We weren’t going to be told what to do with our omega. Our omega.
“ You three better think very carefully about what you say next. The fact is that you aren’t on the registry as a pack, so you have absolutely no right to be with an unbonded omega, let alone out here courting her. If we report you, not only will you be banned from seeing her, but you could ruin your chances at bonding with Illiana. If that falls through, good luck finding any worthwhile omega to join your pack.” His threats were very real. We weren’t supposed to be out with Safira without being registered. But she wanted us, and we wanted her. I wasn’t going to give her up without a fight. My anger flared and I faced off with my father, ready to fight him despite the consequences it might have. Luckily, Kaden’s cooler head prevailed.
“Stop!” Kaden’s words broke the tension of five alphas in a challenge with each other. “I’ll make sure she gets home safely.” He said, “And discreetly.” He looked at our fathers as they sneered at us. “You don’t have to involve the authorities. We’ll get this sorted.” Kaden was always the best at de-escalation, his loveable demeanor hard to resist. But he was right. We couldn’t let things go down like that. It was complicated. We had our family’s business on the line, an omega who was promised to us, and our own friend and true mate that we needed to explain things to. Our fathers looked at Jax and I. Jax mercifully swallowed back his growl and stepped up.
“You’re right fathers, we shouldn’t have gone about things this way. We will make things right.” Jax’s words were respectful as he bowed his head. The fathers looked at each other and us. Finally, Brian barked out an order.
“Kaden, our driver is parked out front. Go to him and take the girl home, with discretion please. You two, come with us. We need to have a discussion.” I swallowed and looked back at Safira and Kaden. Confusion etched her face, and Kaden looked anguished. I knew he’d have to explain what she just witnessed. I hoped we could fix things, otherwise we’d lose her again, in the worst way.