Chapter 30
THIRTY
When we reach the restaurant (literally the best place to eat hotpot), I let out an actual squeal.
“I guess we picked a good spot,” Dax comments and I’m nodding before he’s even finished speaking.
“How did you guys know?” I ask and by the look on their faces I know immediately. “Stacia.”
They give me guilty grins. “Yeah.”
I don’t even mind that they asked my best friend for my favorite restaurant, because that means I get to eat hotpot tonight. My ultimate comfort food.
And for any first date, it’s best to be comfortable.
We’re seated quickly and it doesn’t take long for someone to stop by to get our drink orders.
“Are we ready to get started?”
The boys still look clueless, so I take over. “Don’t worry,” I tell them. “I’ve got this.”
I order a little bit of everything. Szechuan spicy soup for the hot pot, sliced pork belly, sliced ribeye, shrimp dumplings, fried tofu, mung bean sprouts, fried taro, enoki mushrooms, fish cakes, udon noodles, a side of kimchi and white rice, sweet potato.
We struggle to put all the food on our table, but the guys aren’t complaining.
I figured they all eat for two alphas at least, and I am no miniscule Mindy myself since I’m tall for an omega.
“How spicy is Szechuan?” Jett asks, looking at the bowl he just made from our selections.
“Hm.” I think. “Have you ever eaten raw jalapenos?”
His eyes widen. “You’re joking, right?”
I call the waiter over and order him a side of miso soup instead.
There isn’t a lot of talking right away.
We’re a bunch of busy college students, and it’s a Wednesday night.
So we’re all eating peacefully, with Dax and Everett stopping between bites to praise me for picking amazing choices.
Jett actually takes to the enoki mushrooms and fried tofu, to the point that I have to fight him with my chopsticks every time he goes to grab more.
“So, how did you get into social work, Everett?” I ask conversationally when I finish my first bowl.
The alpha smiles at me. “I always thought I’d go into hockey professionally.
It just seemed like the natural course. I got into college because of it, why couldn’t I make a career out of it?
” he voices, reflecting back to his early adulthood.
“But then Sam joined Alpha Xi. He was only a year younger than us, but he was radiating with dominance in a way I had never seen on anyone. He argued a lot with our president at the time, and that guy was a real pain. Because of him, we didn’t do right by our philanthropy and we didn’t contribute anything to Bensen like the other Greek houses were.
“After finally being allowed to take over Alpha Xi’s charity planning, Sam asked me to go with him to scout some local events.
He wanted to see them up close, see what else he could offer when it came to our own events.
Despite the fact that most were meant to be fun and a distraction, there was still a lot of sadness there.
An unspoken elephant hanging around at these fundraisers.
You could feel them thinking about what they would do if they didn’t hit their goal for the evening.
It was devastating. But one day, we went to a call center downtown, and they were having a benefit to raise funds for other charities in the city.
There were so many different types of social workers there that day, just wanting to lend a hand.
It wasn’t like there was one specific thing that moved me, either.
It was just the community of it, the empathy you could feel coming off these people. I wanted to be a part of it.”
The smile that I give is bright and vast. Sam has done a lot of good for people and charities alike, and it’s amazing to hear how much Sam’s personal interests affected Everett of all people.
“So, instead of applying for the draft or continuing my degree in sports medicine, I switched over to my BSW. I am enjoying my classes a lot more than I was before. I feel way more fulfilled.”
I look over at Jett and see that his smile is wide, showing just how much admiration he has for his new pack mate. I know what he’s thinking: I just want to play make-believe for money. I’m having the same exact thought.
“I think that’s amazing, Ev,” I tell him, and a bashful blush appears on his normally pale cheeks.
“He’s even thinking about going into habilitation. Well, I guess in some cases it could be rehabilitation, too, huh?” Dax asks as he eats another shrimp dumpling.
Every time I forget, they find some way to remind me of their long-time friendship. The amount of love they have for each other is one of my favorite things about them.
“That sounds like serious work,” I comment, thinking about how sensitive I am. But this is Everett, and he’s probably one of the most well-rounded people I know. “Can you promise me that you’ll take care of your own mental health, too?”
The short-haired alpha gives me a serious smile. “Of course.”
After that we talk a bit about Dax’s venture into physical therapy, and how he wants to help hockey players continue to play as long as they can.
Jett tells me about some of Dax and Everett’s favorite movies, basically snitching to me because the movies he mentions are awful .
We laugh about it, but the other half of our group isn’t deterred.
They defend their choices, especially when they tell us about the first time they watched them together.
The natural way they recount these memories makes me fluttery inside. It excites me that they have so many memories together that they can recite for us.
I continue to eat but I realize soon enough that the soup may be comforting, but my real sense of comfort is from the company. Without them here, I wouldn’t feel nearly as secure or safe in my skin, and that realization sits in the forefront of my mind for the rest of dinner.
By the end of our meal, we’re all full and practically buzzing from the evening. I’m smiling so much that my face muscles actually hurt. I’m thinking of ways to extend the evening when something causes my ears to perk up.
“Do what you’re told and eat your food. I bought it, don’t be ungrateful.”
My eyes snap to the next table over, where an older alpha sits with their date. The woman trembles, but still doesn’t eat. Her eyes gloss over as she speaks.
“I don’t like fishcakes. The texture?— ”
He slams his hand down on the table. “I don’t care. Don’t be a spoiled brat.”
The sharp lashing of the man’s tongue causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. My dates look over as the conversation grows louder and their jaws tense at the sight of the scared woman. Jett takes my hand, hoping to ground me but then something zaps at me with full force.
“ Eat your fucking food. ”
The bark isn’t even directed at me but it grips me by the throat. For two seconds I sit there traumatized, and then my temper flares.
I stand from my seat. “Hey, asshole!”
The neanderthal that barked at his date looks around for a second before he meets my eyes, surprise evident on his features.
“Who the fuck do you think you are barking at her like that?” I gesture to his date and then—before I can think it through—my hand scoops up the leftover kimchi on our table and throws it right at his face.
The place explodes. Not literally, but people start to stand up like the fire alarm is going off. Chairs scrap across the shiny floors and a few people call out in shock. I’m hauled off by someone and I start to fight them before realizing it’s Dax trying to put me behind him.
The alpha that I just yelled at is up and coming right for me, but before he can make it, I have a wall of alphas between us.
“I wouldn’t even fucking think about it,” Dax says and his voice is the deepest I have ever heard it.
The alpha starts to scream at him but I can’t hear it over the commotion of everything else, of people running like me throwing some kimchi is equivalent to a real threat .
A tiny part of me is pleased that an omega can cause so much uproar.
It’s absolute chaos after the first punch is thrown. Everett stands over the asshole that’s covered in food, and Dax cusses under his breath. “We need to get out of here.”
Yes, please. I don’t need anyone here knowing it was my fault this started. This is my favorite place to eat and I’d hate to get banned.
I let them take my hands and then we’re making our way out of the restaurant as quickly as we can. When I look back for a split second, I find the alpha passed out on the floor. His date is nowhere to be found.
The observation makes me smile, because that means it was all worth it.
We make it outside and it takes us a second to get our bearings, especially when a service worker starts to charge after us. “Run!”
I’m not sure which one of them says it, but we all take off like there’s fire under our feet. The rush is instant, and I start laughing. It’s a breath of fresh air as the brisk northern wind sweeps through my hair.
When there’s no more commotion behind us, we all slow to a stop, all laughing. “Fuck,” Jett says, bending over to hold his knees. “I can’t remember the last time I ran like that.”
“Have you ever ran at all?” Dax asks, panting as well. “You look like you’re dying.”
We all start laughing again, even Jett despite the fact he’s coughing up a lung.
“Did we pay our tab?” I ask as we all start walking in the direction of Dax’s car.
“I put enough money on the table to pay someone’s mortgage,” Dax exaggerates. Or at least, I hope he’s exaggerating .
Everett looks over at me with a big grin on his face. “Damn. We knew you were tough, but that was wild.”
“Stacia once told us that you went after Derek with a bat but I don’t think I fully understood that story until just now,” Dax adds, an exasperated laugh falling from his lips.
I smile, but feel a bit sad from the memory as the adrenaline starts to wear off.
“I was scared for Stacia. One of us had to take charge of that situation. It only made sense that it would be me.” At the time, at least. I have no doubt that Stacia could kick some ass now that she’s the healthiest she’s ever been.
“Is that why you did what you did back there?” Jett asks.
I shrug. “I’ve never been one for the bystander effect.”
They nod in agreement, but Everett is the one that cuts into the silence. “You looked really terrified for a second, Rory. If you didn’t cause a scene, I certainly would have.”
“Yeah,” Dax adds. “I didn’t like seeing you like that.”
We round Dax’s car soon after and when we’re all piled in, I turn to look at them. Everett and Jett watch me from the back seat, and Dax waits to turn the car on.
“My mother is an alpha,” I tell them but then hesitate.
Jett catches my eye and gives me the most subtle nod, knowing that I’m about to elaborate on something we once talked about in my living room.
“She used her bark all the time. Toward me, toward my dad. So, I do get a bit flustered when someone does it. But being scared doesn’t feel natural, it feels like taking steps backwards…
so I get angry instead, even if it’s not the smartest way to respond. ”
There’s a low growl in someone’s chest, and I realize it’s coming from Dax beside me. “She would bark at you?”
“Yeah.” I hang my head, feeling ashamed.
My mother made me feel weak. No matter how many bats I wield or heaps of kimchi I throw, that feeling will always be there, haunting me.
“I know this might seem like a big thing to ask, but would you guys mind not barking? At least not towards me. I feel like that’s a tough thing to ask because it’s a part of your biology, but still. ”
They all become a bit shell-shocked. “Of course you can ask that,” Everett starts. “Just because it’s something we can do doesn’t mean it’s something we should do. Or something we need to do to live.”
“I’ve never barked at anyone before,” Jett says. “It doesn’t feel right. So, I promise I won’t do it. Ever .”
I look over at Dax, and his eyes are shining with something I can’t decipher.
He cradles my face in his hands. “I’m so sorry that you went through that, Rory.
I vow to you that I will never bark at you.
Or anyone else for that matter. But if someone else did, and we were both witness to it, I promise to help.
Whether that includes weapons we have handy or leftover food, I promise to make that fucker pay . ”
I give a sincere laugh, but it comes out a little bit wet.
I didn’t even realize I was choked up. He wipes the tears away and kisses my forehead.
His cherry scent makes me feel lightheaded in the best way.
“Do you guys want to take me home?” I ask, and by the looks on their face, they think that’s all it is.
But I have plans for these alphas, so the night doesn’t end here.