CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - BIRDIE #2
“I know exactly how you feel, Baggage,” he drawls, and the heated smile he gives me has a passing omega almost tripping over her feet.
When she stops at our table, I realize she’s a couple of years younger than me, with curly dark hair and pretty brown eyes.
She’s wearing a bright red mini dress under a cropped denim jacket, and is beautiful in a fresh-faced, glossy way that looks effortless, but which I’ve discovered actually takes a whole basket load of product.
“Hey, first time I’ve seen you in here,” she says to Colt, her lips curling into a stunning smile. There’s a cute little dimple in her cheek and her teeth are dazzling white. “I can help you with the menu, if you like. Some of the items can be a little hard to pronounce.”
“It’s all good,” he tells her cheerfully. “I grew up on Kaneohe Bay.”
“No kidding! I was born on Kauai but raised in Honolulu.” She shifts close enough to touch his arm, and I grind my nails into my knees at the excited gleam in her eyes. “We should hang out. See if we know any of the same people.”
Colt’s lashes flutter at her suggestive tone, but I’m pretty sure I can see a slight eyeroll as he turns in my direction. “I’m kind of busy at the moment hanging out with this person.”
The omega’s gaze flicks my way, her mouth thinning into an unimpressed line. “You two are together?”
She manages to inject enough incredulity into the question that my ears burn, and I have the overwhelming urge to scratch my nails into someone’s flesh.
I might not have her glossy sex appeal, but is it really such a stretch to think that an alpha like Colt might be interested in dating me?
I want to throw my shoulders back and claim my place at his side, but a small, gritty voice has to ask: if I wasn’t Charlie’s sister, would Colt – or any of the Lawsons - have even given me a second glance?
Screw that. I’ve had a lifetime of being told I’m not good enough, with all my softer, sweeter instincts crushed under ruthless boots.
I might not have an omega’s natural allure, but over the past few days, all three of the Lawson Pack have looked at me like they see me.
Not to mention that I have Hog’s scenting marks on my back.
“We’re all together,” I tell her, gesturing over her shoulder at Axel and Hog, who are returning to the booth from different directions. “I’m courting their pack.”
There’s a surprised grunt behind me, and I have to stop my own mouth from falling open. Where the hell did that come from? I don’t know a lot about courting, but I’m well aware that it’s the alphas who usually declare their intentions to the omega, and not the other way around.
The other omega looks suitably confused. “You’re courting them? Um, is that really a thing?”
“Lucky for us, Birdie doesn’t play by the rules,” Colt replies, wrapping an arm around my waist while the other omega watches with a pout. “Have a great night, but we’ve got some courting to get on with.”
I try to keep a straight face, but a small smile slips free as she flounces away. The other guys arrive, eyes bright with curiosity, and I clear my throat. “You didn’t hear that, did you?”
“They sure did,” Colt hums happily, nuzzling my hair. “We all heard it, so you can’t take it back. Although, it won’t be official until we get our courting invitations in the post.”
“Leave her alone, Colt,” Axel admonishes, but he’s smiling. He places a tray of drinks on the table and slides into the booth opposite me, his knee gently nudging mine. “Territorial is a good look on you, though.”
I swallow a strangled sound, my cheeks flaming, and Hog places a warm hand on my back. I look up into his honey-brown eyes and blink at the warm amusement gleaming there. “You look like you want to scratch someone up.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I reply, and reach for a shot.
“Remember, it’s lick, shoot, suck,” Colt tells me helpfully. “Want a demonstration?”
“I’ve got it,” I reply, plucking the shaker from the tray and sprinkling a little salt on the back of my hand.
I lick it up, conscious of all three alphas watching me as I down the shot and carefully suck the juice from the lime wedge.
When I’m done, I shake back my hair and cock a brow at them. “Like that?”
The words have barely left my lips when Colt swoops in and licks them clean.
I’m vaguely aware of the other guys shifting in the booth, their scents rising over me in a heady wave.
Colt groans in the back of his throat, gently biting my bottom lip before he releases it with a smirk.
“Damn, but we’re gonna need another round. ”
He hops out of the booth, humming all the way to the bar, and I suck my swollen lip into my mouth as I turn back to the other alphas. “I guess the courting thing took you by surprise.”
Axel gives a slow nod, his eyes flicking over my flushed face. “You want to take it back now that the cute little omega isn’t flirting with Colt?”
“You thought she was cute?” I demand, a sour feeling burning in my belly. I turn abruptly to Hog, who’s still watching me with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “What about you, Alpha? Were you ogling the pretty omega as well?”
He looks around slowly, his brow furrowed. “Was there someone at the table? I didn’t notice anyone but that eighty-year-old server with a limp.”
Axel rolls his eyes at him, but I relax against Hog’s side and give him a soft smile. “That’s more like it.”
He grunts, his calloused fingers skimming over my flushed cheek. “You have all my attention, Omega.”
“I do?”
“Mmm. You’re hard to look past with such pretty hair,” Axel murmurs, sliding smoothly out of the booth and sitting down on my other side, his arm draped on the back of my seat.
I’m now caged between the pair of them and as they press their bodies against mine, my breath catches in my throat.
Axel leans down and breathes me in, stealing more of my oxygen.
“You smell good, too. That tequila has really brought out your salty undertones.”
“It’s Charlie’s jacket.”
I’m pretty sure he can hear the catch in my throat, but he just shakes his head, looking solemn. “No, Birdie. Charlie smelled great too, but this is all you.”
“Lawson? Am I interrupting something?”
The sound of a strange alpha isn’t nearly as confronting as his smell, and I jerk back at the hot meat scent wafting into the booth.
The guy is tall and broad, with a military haircut and shoulders almost as broad as Axel’s.
A glass of whiskey dangles from his fingers as he looks down at me with curious eyes.
They’re an eerie pale green, but it’s his smirk that puts me on edge, and I feel Hog go still on my other side.
“Cooper?” Axel sounds annoyed as he slides out of the booth, shielding me from the other alpha’s stare. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to catch up next week.”
“We did, but then I was in the area and decided to grab a drink.” He ducks past Axel with a hand extended in my direction. I ignore it and his smirk grows wider. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Special Agent Ryan Cooper.”
I stiffen at his title, and Axel turns back to me, his brow furrowed with apology. “He was part of the compound rescue team. Cooper, this is Birdie, Charlie’s sister.”
I try not to flinch at the blunt framing of my identity. Not Birdie, who Hog scent marked, or Birdie, the omega who just decided to court our pack… I need to remember that to Axel, at least, I’m still first and foremost his dead mate’s sister.
“Hiya, Birdie. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Cooper pulls up a chair, placing his drink on the table, and I catch a whiff of the alcohol on his breath.
He’s drunker than he looks and his nearness makes my hackles rise, but I force them down.
He’s Axel’s friend and he’s also the best source I have for what happened at the compound.
Still, it’s hard to settle back into the booth with his scent wafting over me and his pale eyes drilling into mine.
“Can you believe we went through boot camp together?” he muses, giving a dry chuckle.
“It was a million years ago, but I still remember this guy dragging our sorry asses through the mud. Even then, everyone knew he was gonna rise to the top faster than the rest of us.” There’s a touch of resentment in his tone and I cock a brow at him, because he was pretty quick to share his title with me.
But then his gaze flicks sideways to Hog, a sneer playing around his mouth.
“How are you doing, big guy? Still bench-pressing tanks, I see.”
“Cooper,” Hog growls back, not even trying to hide his disdain. “Still looking for the bad guys under bar stools, I see.”
“Touche.” He tips his drink towards Hog, but his gaze gleams with challenge as it slides back to mine. “So, you’re Beatrice Ann Wallace, Charlie's long-lost sister. How did you find your way back to these guys, Bea?”
“It’s Birdie,” I correct him. “And I was just lucky, I guess.”
“We’re the lucky ones,” Colt says, placing a couple of platters of food in front of us. There’s a hard edge to his scent as he glances at Cooper, his dimples firmly packed away. “We’re gonna eat, if you want to grab your own food.”
“I already ate,” Cooper replies easily, swirling his drink. “Don’t let me interrupt your dinner.”
Despite his easy smile, the tension is now thick enough to cut with a knife, and Axel frowns at his friend. “Let’s just catch up next week, like I said.”
“Wait a second.” I place a careful hand on Axel’s arm, surprised to find the muscle bunched with anger. “How many of the omegas at the compound got out?” I ask Cooper.
“Most,” he says slowly, rocking back on his chair. “A few of them...” He cuts off and clicks his tongue. “Look, I don’t want to upset you by going into too much detail.”
There’s a note of condescension in his voice and I glare at him. “Just tell me.”
He shrugs. “Their alphas wouldn’t give up. When they realized there was no way out, some of the assholes turned their guns on their mates.”