Chapter 17 - Killian
Renz was getting twitchy. I’d noticed it for a while, but when his expression started to turn into a scowl, I nudged his leg under the table. His gaze snapped to me, and I jerked my head toward the bar.
“Let’s go get another round,” I suggested.
Renz’s expression twisted further, but he caught the look I was giving him.
His gaze flickered to Jasmine, who was currently talking to Jace and Owen about the books she’d been researching.
She hadn’t noticed his distraction yet, and, judging by the look that crossed his face, he had only just realized how zoned out he’d been.
We got the others’ orders and went to the bar. There, I leaned against the counter and gave Renz a firm look. “What’s going on? You’ve been very quiet.”
“Over there,” Renz said, nodding to a corner.
I followed his gaze and tensed. A group of men from another pack sat in the corner, all of them with drinks of varying strength in front of them. They were a crew that had been brought in from another town, construction workers who were helping with the omega housing project.
Among them, I recognized a few men whom Renz had ended up in a fight with last year in the city. One of them had apparently taken umbrage with the fact that an ex-girlfriend had decided to start flirting with Renz. And Renz didn’t take those insults lying down.
“As long as they stay over there, we shouldn’t have a problem,” I said. “Let’s just try to stay professional and keep our attention on Jasmine, okay?”
Renz let out a soft huff, one that I wasn’t sure how to read, but he nodded all the same.
We got our drinks and took them back to the table, where Jasmine was once more talking about her planned garden boxes.
I loved the way her face was so bright. She bounced with excitement, grinning as she described where she wanted to put the boxes and what she wanted to put in them.
“So can any of these plants that she grew work as aphrodisiacs?” I asked. The question was born out of mild curiosity until I saw the deep flush spread over her face. I grinned, leaning forward. “Are you turning shy on us, mate?”
“What makes you think I’m not shy normally?” Jasmine answered. She twisted her hands around her drink.
The smell of alcohol and good food made me feel even bolder than usual as I reached over to twist her hair around my finger. “You can’t think of any reasons why I might think you’re not shy? Because I can. I can think of four instances, in fact, one right after the other.”
“Killian!” Jasmine scolded, looking around. “We’re in public.”
Jace and Owen both chuckled, amused. They leaned back in their chairs, apparently enjoying the production. Renz was still distracted, but I decided not to draw attention to it. “Ah, so we are in public. I suppose it’s a good time to start telling you how much I’d like a repeat of Not Shy Jasmine.”
She bit her lip, eyes darkening.
The sight made my stomach tighten. I sniffed the air, but there were too many scents from the bar, from wood planks and peanuts to the inebriation of other patrons, to catch any whiff of arousal from Jasmine. I leaned over the table, reaching for her hand.
“So did your grandmother make aphrodisiacs?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” She turned her hand under mine so our palms were pressed together.
I smiled as I traced along the lines of her palm. “Though, come to think of it, it’s not like we need them, is it? Our past experience was quite intense enough already.”
“Maybe that was just because of my heat,” Jasmine answered.
Though her voice lowered, taking extra care we wouldn’t be overheard, she played her fingers against my palm in an almost sensuous way that made me stiffen in my trousers.
“We were all in an altered state. There’s no telling if that will be our typical… bonding experience.”
At this, Jace gulped down a large swallow of his drink. Owen shifted in his seat, clearly affected by her words. Even Renz had concentrated back on the situation at hand.
Jasmine glanced around at the four of us, her blush intensifying. But it was proof of how much things had truly changed between us all that she didn’t draw back or shrink. Instead, she smiled, her embarrassment present, but not enough to stop her.
“So maybe…we should experiment. To see if what happened with the heat really is going to be our baseline or if it was just a fluke.” She hesitated, then bit her lip.
“Although I’m not sure that I want to have such a marathon like last time.
I was really wiped out afterward. I’m not sure how this is meant to work…
I did read a book once where the heroine had sex with four men, but it sounded a bit painful, if I’m honest.”
I clucked my tongue, images pouring into my mind. There were a few of them that I thought would be for sure too much. After all, Jasmine was still inexperienced, since the heat was her first and only time.
“We’ve never had sex like that before, either,” Owen told her. He put his hand on her shoulder, playing with her hair. “I mean, we’ve all shared an encounter. But it’s always been just two of us and the woman. Or multiple women.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened. “Oh. So that’s why you were all so comfortable with it…” she considered, then scowled. “I don’t want to bring other women into this. I think I’d scratch out their eyes.”
Her jealousy did things to me. It made me want to crow to the rooftops that I belonged to my mate.
I pulled her hand to my lips. “I’d do worse if you suggested any other man.
I’m glad to know that you’re open to more experiences, Jasmine.
I’ve been holding back for your sake. We can go slow.
Experiment with different ways of being together.
I’m sure we’ll find something that gives all of us the satisfaction we crave. ”
She smiled back at me, though I could see the nerves behind her eyes. Was she wondering how she would have the stamina to please all four of us?
Well, I had ideas about that, too.
“Shall we go back home?” I asked as I pushed back from the table.
We all started to move. Renz growled under his breath and stepped to one side in front of Jasmine. I tensed, my wolf on alert as I followed his gaze. The troublemakers had caught sight of us and were also standing. They ribbed each other, clearly hyping themselves up to approach.
Great. Just what we fucking needed, a bunch of assholes causing trouble.
Owen and Jace quickly moved to stand between the troublemakers and Renz. Jasmine grabbed his arm, shaking as she caught sight of them, too. I hurried around the table, putting my arm around her. Jace and Owen stayed close to Renz as we hurried to get out of the bar.
My wolf growled, not liking the feeling that we were running from a fight.
It certainly wouldn’t look good if we simply walked out on an altercation, but the bar was crowded, and we had Jasmine here.
It was clear from the outsiders’ expressions that they were drunk and after a little revenge on Renz.
Given the pack they belonged to, they might even want to prove we were a bunch of weaklings for taking Jasmine as our wife in the first place.
If they reached us, they would no doubt provoke Renz and start a fight. We risked hurting bystanders, and most importantly, Jasmine. She was nervous again, having sensed the tension.
We left the bar and started for the car. Jace, Owen, and Renz hung back, watching to make sure I got Jasmine out.
“Why aren’t they coming?” Jasmine asked, pulling against my grip.
“They’ll stay and take care of this,” I told her.
Jasmine tugged herself free and headed back toward them. “Renz, please—"
The troublemakers all stumbled out of the bar and grinned when they saw us. I rushed over to Jasmine, putting an arm around her again. She resisted my attempts to pull her to the safety of the car.
“If it isn’t the alphas and their little omegas mate,” one of the troublemakers said.
His companions chuckled, and a dark-haired one with a scar over his face answered, “Not so little, though, is she, Graham?”
“Keep your opinions to yourself,” Renz snapped.
Jace pushed him back before facing the outsiders. “Remember whose territory you are in. Do you want to return to your territory to face your alphas, knowing you’ve caused trouble?”
“We’re not causing trouble,” Scar said, sounding falsely innocent. “If anything, we wanted to pay our respects. After all, it’s not every day that the Goddess herself comes down to tell a pack who their alphas should marry.”
“And not every day that they get paired with a fat little bitch, either,” Graham crowed.
He might have continued that line of thought if it wasn’t for a fist that collided with his face.
Bones crunched, and his nose snapped, spraying blood into the air.
My vision was awash with red, so much so that I hardly realized it was my fist that had hit him.
I howled, my wolf snarling blackly as I kneed him in the stomach and threw him to the ground.
“Killian!” Jasmine gasped.
The rest of the troublemakers swarmed, coming at us swiftly.
Owen shoved two of them away and ducked from the fight to grab Jasmine and spirit her away.
I focused on the troublemakers, punching another one in the face.
They tried to surround us, but the three of us moved swiftly, quickly pushing them back and kicking them down.
Either they were poorly trained or drunker than they seemed, but the fight was over in moments. They all groaned on the ground, alternating between groaning and glaring. Some of our warriors had left the bar when they realized there was fighting.
“Take them to lockup and keep them there until their alphas can come collect them,” Jace ordered.
I rubbed my hand. My knuckles had split open, and they were starting to throb. I glared at the troublemakers as they were hauled away, until Renz grabbed my arm. He was bleeding from his scalp.
“Jasmine,” he said, nodding.
The aggression drained from me as I turned swiftly around. Owen and Jasmine were in the car, Jasmine in the backseat, Owen in the driver’s. We went to the car quietly, and I slipped into the backseat first. Jasmine anxiously looked us over before turning her face away.
She held herself stiffly next to me as we drove back to the house, her arms wrapped firmly around her middle, and she turned her face toward the window.
Normally, I enjoyed her long hair, but now it seemed like a veil keeping her separate from us.
Jace pressed against me on my other side, Owen growling softly as he drove, and Renz pressing a hand to his face. The scent of blood filled the air.
This must have been terrifying for her. She’d never seen us driven to fight before. We could have handled it differently. It must have been even worse, knowing that it was an insult directed at her that prompted the fight to begin with.
“I’m sorry,” I said, speaking into the silence. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
“Is it going to cause trouble with the other pack?” Jasmine asked, her voice small.
I didn’t know. I hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, then leaned back against me. Her warmth seeped into me, and I pulled her a little closer. It was impossible to know if this would cause trouble or if the other alphas would consider it justified.
The one thing I did know? “It will slow down construction on the omega housing project. Without them as workers…” I shook my head.
“But we’re better off being a little slower.
If they’d be so disrespectful to us, then it’s no doubt they’ve been treating the omegas badly, too.
We’ll have to double-check their work. Make sure they’ve worked to the proper specs and haven’t cut corners. ”
Jasmine nodded. We came to the house, and we were all still quiet. Damn. What a terrible ending to the evening.