Chapter Seven
Hema
After they left, I stayed busy. Their order was enough to make for a good day, but I couldn’t be as happy about it as I normally would be because I kept remembering the fact that my long-suppressed libido had been surging forward, accompanied by my wolf who demanded we go find them and tell them that we wanted to know them better.
She could be a pushy beast, but she’d never shown the least bit of interest in any of the alphas in our life before.
Not that anyone had been decent to us. Before we presented, we’d been tolerated.
Each day we did not present, we were treated as if we’d chosen to be difficult.
As if our latency was our choice. At the time, I’d been willing to accept blame, to consider myself as less than the rest, but since arriving here, since taking the steps to get myself where I was, my confidence had grown.
As had my determination not to put myself in a position where others had power over me.
And what was an alpha but that? I’d seen enough omegas whose packs ran rampant over them, to not want to be in that position.
And then I met my friends here. Tawny, for one, and Karissa.
Both of them had really great alpha packs.
I’d been to both their homes and seen the way they operated.
Polar opposites of those I’d known before, and maybe that was why my wolf had suddenly decided she wanted to have mates of her own? A pack?
Close to noon, I finished a row of small arrangements for a restaurant in town.
Just carnations and baby’s breath, extremely retro, but they liked it and didn’t want anything more.
My stomach rumbled and I decided to go out for lunch.
Normally, I just ate at the counter and kept the doors open, but I felt like there wasn’t enough air in the shop and needed to clear my head.
So, as soon as the guy from the restaurant showed up and took their order, I called Tawny, since she’d suggested a lunch date, but her shop was busy and she couldn’t get away.
Not a fan of eating alone in restaurants, I was going to grab takeout, when I got a call from Jenny, another new friend who was free and wanted to know if she could bring me anything to eat.
She knew I rarely went out, but I surprised her by saying that today, I needed to get away from work and clear my mind. She was already at the diner.
Like me, Jenny was single and planned to stay that way.
Although she did love watching others hook up, claimed it made her feel like the one omega with her head on straight.
My singleness did not change her feeling of singularity.
But she was fun and a good listener on any other topic, so I put up the Back in a half hour sign and locked the door behind me.
I needed a little time to talk about something besides those three males who were about to get married.
Maybe it was all for the best because I didn’t want a pack anyway.
“Hema, over here!” I walked into the little diner and followed the sound of Jenny’s voice to find her at a table by the front window. “I hope this is okay?”
I took a seat facing out. “It’s great. I like to people watch.” And maybe see a few alphas going by? “How are things at the library?” Jenny was a newly minted librarian, but this was her day off.
“I love it so much there. We just got a donation of some very valuable books, and I’m getting to help with logging them in.
It’s just a dream, really.” The server arrived then, and we both ordered salads and iced tea, along with a large basket of fries for the table.
Having more than my share of curves, I strove for balance in all things.
It was fine to be me, but since I didn’t eat all that healthy at home, I tried to get a salad in me when I ate out, if possible.
“Tell me more about the books,” I urged. “Are they fiction?”
Jenny would gladly talk about books all day, and I was super happy to let her. “History. Nonfiction, all over a hundred years old. And so delicate. It’s such an honor to be able to even handle them. The sheer perspective of the authors at their time.”
The server brought our food, and I squirted some ketchup onto the small plate and dipped a fry in it. The salad was nice, all fresh and crisp, but with my mind in a twist over the alphas, I needed junk food.
“Earth to Hema.” Jenny waved a hand in front of my face. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“The books?”
“No, I was asking if you know those alphas?”
“Huh?” I looked around. “What alphas?”
“Behind you. Don’t look.”
“If you don’t want me to, why did you point them out?” And why did I have a feeling I knew who it would be?
“Okay, you might as well. But fair warning, they are eating you up with their eyes.”
I took a glance over my shoulder and confirmed what she’d said. “Ohhh. They came into the shop before.”
“Pretty cute. Interested?”
“I thought you were all against hooking up.”
“For me. And for permanence. But I’m not against a night of fun.” She sipped her tea and grinned at me.
I wasn’t so sure about that night of fun stuff. It sounded dangerous to me. “Do you happen to know them?”
“No. I’ve seen them around, but I don’t know their status. I’ve never seen them with an omega.”
“Well, they were buying wedding flowers, so gonna guess they are taken.”
“What a shame. They had potential.” She giggled. “Hey, I know you’re not quite finished with your lunch, but do you mind if I take off? I need to run a few errands while I have the chance.”
“No, it’s fine. I need to get back soon anyway.” We hugged and agreed to do this more often, and off she went. Leaving me in the sights of three alphas who had no business looking at any omega but their own.