Chapter 7 Major
seven
Major
“You talked to her?” I ask, just one last time to be sure. My brother dips his chin instead of replying to me, so I push again. “And she’s coming out today?”
“I promised her real food,” he says again.
Real fucking food. Annoyance quickly turned into rage when Derrick explained to me what was wrong with her.
St. James should have told me. It’s not a big deal.
A quick search on my phone showed me a list of safe foods, and the ones she can’t eat, I can purchase gluten-free.
The list of things he should have told me continues to grow, yet I don’t make the call to curse him out.
Not when the harvest is so close.
The battered leather of my hat feels soothing in my hands and gives me something to do while we wait for her.
Jesse has his guitar over his neck once again, though his eyes are bright and alert.
Silence stretches, and I’m about to ask Derrick again about meeting Veda last night when I hear the distinct sound of the door unlocking.
Jesse’s back is straight in the same second.
Like a fucking puppy, I can almost see his tail thumping on the floor.
I don’t like his reaction to this woman, but that’s an issue for later.
After we feed her properly, we might need a new meeting among the three of us where I explain that Veda is only staying for a few months and that none of us should touch her.
Or be overly nice to her in case that makes us want to touch her.
She comes into the kitchen in a flowy blue dress, curly hair cascading down to her waist, and that maddening scent that makes me fucking dizzy in my boots.
One look at her and fuck me, all I want to do is touch her.
Her smooth skin glows in the morning sun, making my hands itch to reach out.
She looks better than the day she arrived, which says a lot because I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so pretty. It pissed me right off.
“Good morning,” she says when we just stare at her.
“Sit down, Miss Darling.” Derrick, of all people, takes the lead. “Let’s have some eggs.”
She looks fucking eager for eggs. A small smile comes to her lips, and she nods quickly, taking a seat.
Jesse peels the precious guitar from his chest and drags his feet to the coffee maker.
I don’t miss that he selects the only pretty pink mug for her.
As if it was always made to be hers. I don’t like that either.
I don’t like a lot that is going on here.
I rub my chin as I watch him bring the coffee to Veda. She smiles, mouthing, “Thanks.”
“Can I help with anything?” She blinks at the rest of us.
“Glad you asked.” I clear my throat, done with the madness. “There are a few chores you forgot to do. For a week.”
“Let the girl eat first,” Derrick says and places a plate of eggs and fruit in front of her.
“We also need to go down to Willow Ridge to grab proper food for her,” Jesse says with a pointed look.
Yes, because I’m supposed to run around and tend to her every need. I ignore the pure masculine instinct inside me that begs to do just that. That has to be kept locked down.
“Eat and then work,” I say directly to her, ignoring my packmates.
Jesse looks at me like I’m insane, his eyes burn into me even as I don’t look in his direction.
I’m doing this for him, doesn’t he get it?
She’s not a guest. She’s our new ranch hand, and she has ignored her duties since she arrived.
It doesn’t sit well with me that she doesn’t take her responsibilities seriously.
“I can work.” She eats her eggs with the ferocity of someone starving. “I don’t mind working.”
My arms cross in front of my chest, and I stare at her with narrowed eyes.
She shifts in the seat, uncomfortable. Good.
I know I’m being a dick, but she’s the one who decided to lock herself in and not eat.
I'd gladly have provided her with food a week ago if she had left the room and explained the problem.
Derrick and Jesse are acting like we did something wrong, but she could have told us about her condition.
“Tomorrow morning, I can show you around the animals,” Jesse offers. “But you eat today.”
As if someone needs a whole day allotted just to eat.
And then Jesse, who has been like a raccoon around my cabinets and fridge today, doesn’t even look when a plate is placed in front of him.
Derrick serves everyone eggs and bacon, though we have toast too, while Veda has the last pot of yogurt.
I won’t let her starve, but I don’t like the idea that we need to take her down to Willow Ridge for a shopping spree.
My opinion is clearly irrelevant because as soon as we finish eating, Derrick and Jesse are leading her to the trucks parked just by the side of the property. The complaints are on the tip of my tongue, but something unwelcome moves inside my chest when I look at them with her.
She could make us whole.
The passing thought is chased down with rationality as I remind myself this Beta is not for us. She’s just someone I’m housing because her asshole of a grandfather has me in the palm of his hand. What really matters is keeping Wilde Ranch standing.
Veda follows my brother and Jesse to the trucks, but before she can hop inside, I grab her arm and tug her close.
“Meet us there,” I bark at them, already tugging her to my truck.
“Hey!” She tries to wiggle out of my hold.
“Don’t worry. I’ll drive you down to Willow Ridge.”
“Major!” Jesse calls, but I don’t even glance his way. I yank the door open and close my hands over her waist, putting her inside the truck with minimum effort.
“What’s wrong—” I don’t give her a chance to ask before I close the door in her face and round the truck.
“What do you think you’re doing?” my brother asks from his spot, leaning on his truck. He’s not as angry as Jesse, but wears a smirk on his lips. I don’t like that look of his either. Damn, they’re annoying me today. This whole damn house is on my nerves.
“Driving our guest.” I emphasize the word I know doesn't belong to her. “See you there.”
“Don’t you dare ever drag me around like that again!” Veda says the minute I climb into the driver’s seat.
“Noted.”
She’s not happy with my answer, I can tell by the huff leaving her lips, but we are both locked in the truck, and I turn on the gas and peel out of my driveway before my pack tries to stop me. Then I take a deep breath, and it’s a mistake.
Fuck. Me.
Her scent fills my cab quickly, sweet on my tongue and twisting my soul until my cock is hard in response.
Women smell good, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never encountered someone like her.
She’s something else, fucking with my brain, and I have to shake my head and open both windows before I can drive.
“What the fuck? Are you insane?”
She even curses good, and I swallow a grunt, shifting on my seat so she doesn’t spot the tent growing on my lap.
I press on the gas, and the truck speeds down the hill where Wilde Ranch sits.
The wind is loud enough to muffle her words, and the dust is so uncomfortable that my cock goes down, and I can relax again.
Willow Ridge is a small town, and a little boring if anything.
There’s not much to see besides a bar, which I’ve been to a few times, and some local stores that mostly carry cowboy attire.
People here like to be in everyone’s business, which means I have to work extra hard not to be dragged into gossip.
There's no way they won’t notice we now have a woman.
And the most beautiful woman anyone has ever seen at that.
Fucking St. James knew what he was doing when he sent me his granddaughter.
She’s gorgeous and full of attitude, and I don’t know what to do with her.
Of all his lies, I’m fairly sure he wasn’t lying about her age, which means she’s twenty-one.
She’s too fucking young, twenty years younger than me, and I should remember that especially when her sweet scent clouds my mind and leaves me empty with a hard cock.
There’s so much I want to ask and plenty I need to understand, but to engage in conversation, I’d need to close the windows, and I obviously can’t do that without losing my cool.
It’s useless. This whole drive is out of my control, and I can’t do anything but remain silent until I find a place to park right on the main street.
I’m relieved when I get to leave the truck and breathe out, but damn, manners will be the end of me, and I round the truck and open her door quickly before she even takes off the seat belt.
“Thank you.” The words slip through her lips. She blushes and snaps her mouth closed into a thin line. She didn’t mean to be polite in return, but I guess it’s hammered into us.
Derrick and Jesse are not far behind. They look frustrated, and at this point, I am too, so I just shake my head to let them know I don’t want to talk about it.
“Come on, Veda. Show us what you can eat,” Jesse says, showing her the direction of the grocery store.
She smiles at him so easily, making my teeth grind. Fuck this. I watch them make their way down the street. Her backside moves in a way that makes my mouth water, and I have to shake myself from the trance. This is not good. Not by a long mile.
“Did you learn whatever you wanted to learn?” Derrick interrupts my salacious thoughts.
I lean against my truck, but my eyes are still glued to her, drinking her in until she goes inside a store with Jesse, and I can finally swallow the uncomfortable knot in my throat.
“Have you noticed her scent?”
My gaze shifts back to my brother, and I find him stunned after my question. He pushes his hat down into his brows, choosing his words carefully.
“She smells good.”
Too good, I want to say, but I don’t. The obvious connotation of my question rings between us, but I don’t even know what I mean by this. Is it possible she’s an Omega? We haven’t seen one around here this generation. It just doesn’t make sense.
And what about St. James? I met him a couple of times, and I know for a fact he’s a Beta and has never seemed to know about Alphas and Omegas.
Our world. There’s no reason he should have an Omega as a granddaughter, so I can’t ask.
What kind of question would that be? If he doesn’t know about us, I will sound insane.
“I keep thinking about Mom’s lecture when we started leaving the township for a few nights,” Derrick says, reading my mind. “Never let anyone know who we are. The township is hidden for a reason.”
“She used to say the same thing every time I went out, even if it was just to grab supplies.”
He surprises me by chuckling. “When I left for the rodeo, she lectured me for hours.”
“She thought you were going to fall in love with a Beta and knot her.”
“Never felt the need to knot them.” He shrugs, and I know what he means.
Mom was always scared that we would have sex and accidentally knot someone, as if that was a possibility.
Our dads tried to reassure her that it wouldn’t happen.
There’s no drive to knot someone when you don’t scent-match, but Mom is an Omega who only ever was with her pack.
She doesn’t understand the emptiness of sleeping with someone who isn’t your fated mate.
Knotting someone was never a risk.
Veda laughs as she and Jesse leave the store. The sound is musical, and we both turn at once. My mouth waters when I take her in, and something in my gut goes tight and twists at once. She makes a liar out of me because I want nothing more than to knot this woman.