Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TYNAN
T ally’s eyes are breathtaking. The colors change constantly to the most stunning shades of green to match her emotions or moods. It’s what I see in them that has me unable to look away.
And when she gets that sparkle of defiance in them, I absolutely pant for her. Quietly. Because I don’t want to freak her the fuck out, any more than what she must be feeling after being thrown so deeply, and quickly, into our world.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask, sliding the rest of my croissant onto her plate before refilling her mug of tea.
A glare flashes in her eyes when I pick up the spoon to add some sugar. “I’m not going to go into shock. I might slip into a food coma because you keep feeding me. It’s going to take a lot more than watching some little shits getting what was coming to them to upset me.”
I know she won’t go into shock. Me feeding her is about something much more primal than that—she’s mine to dote on. To the rest of the world watching, for sure I’m making a right fucking statement. She is ours.
Ronin’s name flashes on my mobile, and her eyes fly back to mine. “You can let him know I’m still working.”
Her lips set into a firm line like they always do when her stubborn side flares, and I have to adjust myself under the table because of it.
Goddamn, she’s perfect. The fire in her sparks up with the smallest push, and she’ll need it living with us.
It’s why I train as much as I do and fight whenever I can.
Although, Tally might be the only outlet I need, if we ever get there.
Today, kissing her was a start.
Before I get lost in my thoughts, I answer Ronin’s call.
“Where are you?”
“At Miam’s, like I said in the text. Tally’s fine.”
“Well, she best not be thinking she’s fucking working now,” Ronin roars so loud, I’m pretty sure people outside would be able to hear him.
Tally doesn’t miss what he says, her peachy scent fading. Her eyes drop down briefly before the edge of her mouth lifts ever so slightly as her hand lifts, her ring finger a silent salute to him.
She twists her head, her gaze still low but her eyes on mine, and I already know we’ve lost any hope of her not working. No screaming match, no quiet pleading, nothing will stop her from going.
“Ronin, we’re about to head back. You want anything?”
“Nah. Just keep a sharp eye on the way back. We’re gonna all be going to see Paddy. He’s calling everyone in for a meeting. Fucking kids getting involved ain’t right.”
“Aye, it’s not,” I reply.
Tally starts gathering the plates as I finish up the call. I go to grab her hand to keep her from carrying everything to the counter but stop, hopefully before she notices. Who am I to stop her being herself? If she lets me, I’ll be her biggest supporter.
After leaving the dirty plates on the counter, Tally makes a beeline to Eloise. I stay back, though, because much like with the plates, Tally needs to do whatever she feels she needs to do.
One of the other people sitting, enjoying a cuppa comes up close. “I’ll go check the street, and I’ll wait further up.”
“Right, then,” I murmur, shaking his hand.
And I’m not acting on the sly, keeping shit from Tally; it’s just the way things are done around here. If we go out either alone or as a pack, we’ve got people scattered around watching out for us. It comes with the territory of being an O’Connor, and it’s one of the ways I knew where Tally was.
Sean didn’t go on a run with her—that was one of the other boys—but they’re both our people. After Ronin heard that Tally got roughed up by the spawn of Des Kelly, he sent extra help our way.
Sean goes, and as I expected, because she’s sharp as glass, Tally doesn’t miss the interaction. Nor does she miss when I purposely stall us leaving until he gives the all clear from out the front.
“Thanks again,” Tally says to all the staff as we make our way out of the shop.
I hold the door open for her, and she stops half in, half out, to take the box of food out of my hands.
She smiles, her eyes changing color again. “Just in case, right?”
I shrug. There’s no point pretending that, when it comes to protecting people, or fighting, it’s a lot easier if your hands aren’t full.
The plus side is, if Tally’s carrying the bakery treats, I get to keep my hand on her body all the way home.
Not that I’m keen on rushing our time getting home and getting to know her. By the speed she walks, neither is she.
We’re close to home when I lean down to talk privately against her ear. “Are you going to distract him with sex again?”
She belts out a laugh, and the smile I saw from before when he was damn near yelling his head off is the same one I get now. Cheeky. Unapologetic. “Tynan, what kind of person uses sex as a way of getting what they want?”
“A smart one.”
Her eyebrows lift, and she stops walking to look me right in the eye. “I’m an Omega, sex is pretty much my life force.”
Skating my fingers up her back, I curl my arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer, hoping she recognizes I wasn’t attacking her. “I’m not having a go. Merely making an observation.”
“Is that what you do? Watch everything from a distance?”
“Maybe. I was in the kitchen, wondering what to do to help make you feel better, when Ronin goes into your room, ready to fight, and lets you walk out with his guns. Keegan’s in the gym, ready to rip heads off people, but he goes to see you, and then the next moment, he’s eating out of your hand.”
She spins to stand in front of me and we come to a stop. Suspicion adds a brittleness to the green of her eyes, reminding me of broken bottles. “And?”
Being around Tally is so damn easy, and despite not knowing who she really is, I feel like I already do. It’s fucking weird, but there are just those people you meet who you instantly click with. They’re once-in-a-lifetime people, and I hate that I’ve made her edgy.
“Shit, Tally, I’m impressed, that’s all. Don’t hear me words differently. I’m curious how you’ll handle Ronin when we get back, because in spite of what happened today, I’d say you’re still keen on working. Right?”
She blinks a couple of times, slowly taking in what I said and the lack of challenge.
My hands itch to cup her face again, my lips want on hers like I’m starved. I want her smiling and relaxed. “I just want to make sure you realize that’s not normal for them.”
A line of caution creases her features, letting me know I’ve upset her. But it disappears as quickly as it appeared, and her smile turns playful again, making me more wary than ever.
“What’s normal for you?” she asks, diverting me away from talking about her. A very Omega thing to do, but there’s another reason for her doing it. I just can’t figure out what it is at the moment.
She starts walking backwards, perhaps aware of the time or my reminder of what’s to come, and she’s keen to get it over with.
Nabbing her hand and guiding her so she’s not walking backwards, I keep my other hand on the small of her back as we cross the road. “You’re still working, I take it?”
“Yeah. Nothing’s really changed, has it? I mean, I don’t think the boy gang intentionally targeted me. Unfortunately, I was the one they stumbled across, but thankfully, you were close by.”
I hear a small gasp, and she’s come to some conclusion. The way she wordlessly stares at me has me all but confessing.
“Of course we have people watching over us.”
“But, Tynan, I’m not in your pack.” She slows her speech and accentuates each word as if it will change the outcome.
“You’re our wife, Tally. Whether you want to believe it or not, the fact remains that you are an O’Connor.”
Her breathing hitches, making her lips purse together, and her scent gets lost under a flare of anger. “You followed me.”
“No, I was in the shower when you decided to go for a run unprotected and without giving one of us the chance to join you.”
“I left a note. I’ve been wearing my ring like I was asked.”
“And Keegan unlocked the front door. Nothing about that changes the facts. A guard whenever and wherever you go, and you’re an O’Connor until we’re nothing but a mere memory.”
Walking inside the lift, Tally refuses to look at me or say anything more on the matter, but it’s not hard to figure out her thoughts on any of what I said.
“Tally…”
“Look, we’re not going to see eye to eye on that one, so let’s not waste time arguing about it. I really like speaking and being with you. Can we leave it at that? No labels, no pressure, let's get to know each other.”
She’s right about some of what she’s saying, and I respect that. I drop pushing the subject but not the actual subject matter. Not that I say that out loud.
I close the distance between us again, because she’s like a magnet; my draw to touch her is impossible to ignore. Which, in the scheme of things, is pretty fucking huge. “So, what’s the plan?”
She shuffles over, and her warming presence brushes over my skin as obvious as her hand touches mine. Then she takes a long, slow inhale before letting it out and turning to look at me. “Now, I’m going to talk to your brother. Any hints?”
I shake my head. “Tally, you seriously don’t need any tips. You reach out to him, and he’s yours.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t say that, Tynan. Honestly, why can’t you guys see we’ve all missed a fundamental part in our relationship? And that’s however or whatever you want to refer to it as.”
The lift doors open, and neither of us moves a muscle.
“What you don’t get, Tally, is you have been with us exactly the same way Noinin has been for all these years. Perhaps that whole concept is whack to you, but not to us.”
Tally’s lost in thought when the doors start to shut. I hold them open for her and she steps out, but when I don’t follow her, she’s looking at me for an explanation.
“Where are you going?”
“Up to my place.”
“What?”
She scrunches her brow. “Isn’t this your place?”
“Yes and no.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“One that works.”
“Can you explain it, please?”
I can explain. I’m just not sure I want to.
We’ve been living like this for so long.
Admitting it to her only adds to how pissed off I get when thinking about what happened years ago.
Designating as a Beta wasn’t in my cards, and if I could, I’d seriously punch the fucking daylights out of whichever deity was in charge of that department.
Of course, though, it seems I can’t deny her. The things I don’t want to say are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “They’re not my Alphas, Tally. And as much as I love my brother, and would do anything for him, incest isn’t something I want to explore.”
Her green eyes flood with instant understanding. “Oh my god, Tynan.”
“It’s all good. I love my brother and our pack.”
“But you…”
I finish for her. “Have everything I need in those walls, Tally.”
“When he’s in heat, and everyone is in his nest?”
“I watch over them. Protecting and caring for my pack differently to how the Alphas do it.”
“You were in his nest, though. I remember you after that night.”
“Aye. Not sexually, though. I tried it a few times with Ronin and Keegan after way too much tequila. It wasn’t for me, but this pack is.”
She searches my eyes, and I assume she’ll push me for more of a breakdown of what our pack life entails, but she surprises me. Yet again. “Can I come up? After I see your brother. I’ve been avoiding him for too long.”
“Why is that?”
She shrugs. I guess since she and I are sharing things we both didn’t think we would. Not yet, anyway.
“It’s an Omega thing. This is Rafferty’s home.
You are his pack. I understand what you all keep saying about how you’ve always believed I’d be a part of it, but designation wise, it’s different.
The best analogy I can think of are cats.
While they look cute and cuddly, they are inherently territorial and fiercely so.
Step a foot into their territory and it’s a fur fight.
For that reason, it’s pretty rare for a pack to have two Omegas.
No doubt, that’s another problem to add to our list of never-ending issues to discuss.
But all those things will have to wait until I get home from work. ”
Cheeky shit, dropping that back into the conversation, thinking I wouldn’t notice. She knows she’s being sly too. Her smile grows brighter the moment I raise my eyebrows.
She takes a step out of the lift to let the doors start to shut, making her talk fast. “Can I have access to come up and see you? I’ll leave a note.”
The doors close before I can confirm she’s always had access to come up. I just never thought she’d actually want it. I’m a Beta; I can’t satisfy her in her heat, and my presence wouldn’t bring her comfort like Rafferty or the Alphas.
Still, I’m fucking stoked when I unlock my door and rush to the cleaning closet to pull out the vacuum.