Chapter Ten
Orin
“What in the hell just happened?” I asked mostly myself as we sat there, still in the booth, pie half eaten.
We’d just been chewed up and spit out by our omega. She wasn’t ours yet, and after our encounter minutes before, I wasn’t sure she would ever be.
Every woman was different. They took time to get to know and learn what made them tick and what pissed them off, but if we never got a chance to even court her, then none of that learning could take place.
“I’ve never been so confused in my whole life.” Sovann was the most shell-shocked of us all. Other than speaking those words, he hadn’t moved an inch from his spot. She’d crawled under the table to get away from us, saying something about never dating shifters.
A new anger bubbled in my chest. Who hurt our omega so badly that she had sworn off an entire species of people? Had she dated a shifter who broke her heart?
My wolf didn’t like that idea one bit.
Altan opened and closed his mouth several times but managed to pay the bill and watch as the table got cleared before saying anything. “We can’t let this stand.”
“Don’t you think we should give her some space?” Sovann added. We’d all been snapped out of our post-omega-rant stupor and were ready to do something about it.
Letting our omega stew in anger wasn’t really our thing.
“I’m not letting this stand. We have to get to the bottom of this.” Before we could argue, Altan was on his feet, the two of us following him like baby ducks. It only took a few minutes to get to the flower shop and, thank goodness, she had no customers.
Altan paused at the door and took a long, deep breath. The last thing we wanted to do was piss her off even more.
“You three again?” She threw her head back, teeth bared. Great way to start things off with our mate.
“We would like to clear some things up, Hema,” Altan said. “Please. Give us five minutes of your time and then, if you want us to never come back, we won’t.”
Her eyes shifted right and left. She shrugged one shoulder. “Five minutes.”
“Is our order canceled?” Sovann asked, stepping forward. “Let’s clear that up first.”
Hema rolled her eyes. It had to be something about the wedding and the flowers.
“No. I’m not unprofessional. Well, I kind of was at the diner, but I would never cancel the order for your wedding.
I’m looking forward to making the bouquets and the other arrangements for the…
your wedding. The colors are really amazing. ”
Fuck me. If she was our omega, which she was, then that also meant she was aware, or had to have an inclination, that we were her pack, her alphas.
And we’d come in, ordering flowers for a wedding and…
“It’s not our wedding. It’s our friends’.
Their pack. We ordered the flowers because the wedding is a surprise for their omega and, if they ordered themselves, she would find out.
We are doing them a favor and giving them the flowers as a wedding gift.
” The sentences came out in a slurry of words, all strung together, nary a breath between them.
She had to know we weren’t getting married.
Her face went pale. I could see as the facts weighed down on her. Her scent changed instantly from burned and tangy back to honey and lemons and sunshine. “You were picking out flowers for another pack’s wedding?”
Her shoulders relaxed, and her perfume filled the air. There. At least she knew the truth.
“We didn’t want you to get the wrong idea,” I added. “We’re helping with the arrangements.”
“Oh. I have to admit, it was confusing. You were buying flowers for your wedding and then asking me to come over for dinner without mentioning the omega you were marrying, or you aren’t marrying because there isn’t one?”
I shook my head. “You thought we were a bunch of cheating, lying animals.”
My alarm went off, the one that told me to get my ass back to work. I silenced it and sent a quick text to my bartender to handle things until I got there. This was more important than any order. Hell, it was more important than my whole bar.
This was my life. That was just work.
“I really did. I’ve had some not so good experiences with shifters. Even though I am one. I-I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“Not your fault at all. We should’ve explained more, but we really are trying to keep all of this a secret.”
She nodded. “You are good friends. And thank you for not canceling the order after the way I acted. It’s my biggest yet.”
“You’re welcome.” Altan stepped forward and her scent spiked, but underneath was a slice of fear.
Was she scared of us or all shifter men in general? I was dying to find out.
“Will you go out with us? Or come to dinner? As a pack or individually, if that’s better for you.”
Her cheeks filled with a rosy blush. How beautiful. “No.”
The air in the store charged. I was more confused than ever. “No?”
“I don’t date shifters. I’m sorry. It’s not you. It’s me. Truly.”
Altan nodded and I followed his lead as he turned to leave. “See you around, Hema. Thank you for your time. I hope this place flourishes. You deserve it. We really do wish you the best.”