Fury
Where are they? My pack had been apprised of the situation last night once our pretty Omega had nodded odd, snoring like a freight train amidst the heat of our bodies.
We’d spent an hour still awake, discussing what we’d like to do with her heat rearing its head again, and the final date for her.
My original plan had been to take her out running in wolf form, but given the circumstances and danger, it just wasn’t safe.
My wolf is pawing, panting, and whining to go, tongue lolling between tan lips.
Energy that feels electric is buzzing through my blood, and I am pretty much wiping layers off the bar tables to keep busy.
Atlas follows me around, big gray tail sweeping the floor as he sits, ears pinned at the hurricane of energy.
I stare back at him until he gives me a soft, quiet ‘wuff’ and lies down behind the bar in his designated spot.
I love all of my pack; it is just part of being Cardinal, but sometimes their worry for me is too much.
I am the leader, I’m meant to be the one worrying about them.
Tonight, the bar is busy. Fridays are the best nights for Bowline, and I usually work them, since Kayla is on call tonight for surgery.
These nights are my favorites, the bustling people, the scents and sounds.
My wolf isn’t as keen; he’d much rather be bundled up at the ranch with our little she-wolf.
But, alas, I’d promised her a proper introduction to the other love of my life, and she’d been twiddling her thumbs something awful for something to keep her busy.
The bar is the best place to make her ‘feel useful,’ as she’d put it.
Not that she has to, the pack's been running smooth as butter since she came into our lives, and I’m proud of her.
Think I’ve thanked every deity under the sun that she escaped into the bar that night.
Pouring a round of Ocean shots—the rum, lemonade, and Curacao blending into something that smells a little like our girl—I top them with a thick orange slice and pass them out to the group of college Betas with a smile.
My pack doesn’t need the tips, but the ladies like me and I distribute them to the rest of the staff on top of their wages, so it didn’t hurt to lay it on a little thick.
Deacon works the other side, shuffling around me as we go.
He’s a lean, big Alpha, with short curly black hair and a dark beard.
He’s another favorite of the customers, and we’ve been asked more often than I can count if we’re brothers.
He should be so lucky; he doesn’t have the beautiful, flowing locks that I do, and he’s got no self-confidence either.
He’s quiet, a little stern, and not much keen on the chatting that usually comes with a customer-facing role.
I overheard some pretty Omega one night saying how they ‘could fix him.’ No idea what that means, but Deac only needs a good vodka to get him yapping, hell, it’s hard to get him to shut up.
I’m in the middle of pouring flaming shots for a couple of Alphas in business attire after they’d secured some big deal, when my entire world tilts on its axis. Just like that, there she is.
Standing in that doorway like the goddess of the moon herself in ripped black jeans that look painted onto her thick thighs and an emerald jumper that bares her shoulders.
The low afternoon sun halos her through the door, but it’s got nothing on the brightness of her wide smile as she lights up at the sight of me.
For a moment, my heart just… Stops. I know that the moment it starts up again, it is beating just for her.
I think it’s now that I really fall in love with this woman, and I am helpless to do a thing about it.
Skye floats through the bar like it belongs to her, taking in the tables set on upturned anchors, the intricate ropework edging them, and the bar.
There’s even a little model boat in a bottle above the bar, bobbing in blue liquid.
I wonder if she notices the new addition, an old chunk of wooden hull painted with a firework against a night sky with ‘The Fire Cracker’ printed on it.
“Hey there, Firecracker,” I smile at her, tossing the bar cloth over my shoulder like I’m in some Hollywood movie, leaning on the counter.
Tapping my lips and then giving her a come-hither gesture, my heart picks up as she meets me over the counter.
Our breaths mingle, our scents mixing now that the scrubbers are down a little lower.
She’s extra sweet today, heavy on the molasses with hints of coffee and spice from the morning spent between the others.
My brain cells seem to go on the fritz when her lips press against mine, soft at first—just a touch—then she’s got a hand woven through my ponytail and her tongue pushes in.
I’m a goner. She tastes like my favorite cocktails, and she’s just as fucking intoxicating.
Someone whistles, and there’s a whole lot of hollering, but it's the sharp nip to my thigh that drags me away.
Claws click on the bartop as the wolf next to me stands up on his back legs, his tail sounding like a damn helicopter from wagging so hard.
“Skye, meet Skipper,” I say, giving her a pointed look. With a smirk tugging at her now-swollen lips, she scratches between Atlas’ midnight ears, cooing at the wolf until the jealousy burns a little too much, and I shove him down. I want her to pet me like that.
“Yeah, yeah, get down, you big sap. Some of us like having our bar slobber free.” Wiping it down again, I lift the latch from my side and bring our Omega around beside us.
There’s a big stool set up to sit and watch, though her eyes immediately drop to my bulging jeans, and her cheeks flare a little as I cross my arms.
“Hell of a kiss, huh?” She quips, looking out at all the patrons, checking out Deacon as he grabs a bottle from the cabinet, then she’s drawn back to me.
“Mhmm, plus I can taste how good your mornings been.” Almost immediately, her face takes on that endearing pink hue, looking down and sputtering.
“Oh goddess above, you can taste that?” She drops her face into her hands before I catch her wrists, pulling them away, “I brushed my teeth three times! I’m so sorry.”
“Baby, you don’t join a pack unless you know you’re gonna be able to deal with a bit of cum,” I snort, chucking her under the chin before going back to serving, “Ready to help out? You get to sit there and look pretty, and pull in the tips for the staff.”
The way she lights up sets my soul ablaze, though she isn’t happy to be sitting by and jumps down to stand with me.
And that's how my little Omega spends the next hour, learning how to mix drinks and pour a pint, attracting all the attention in the room as she chats brightly away, cursing with the old timers and charming the new customers. My girls a natural at this, flirting up a storm and raking in the tips from a particularly drunken Alpha. The guy has heart eyes for her, and despite my pride in her hustle, my Alpha is beating my chest until a growl finally rolls out. Deacon’s mouth ticks up at the side, smug bastard, but he keeps serving, an extra pair of eyes on Skye, making sure the guy doesn’t try anything.
Atlas is still behind the counter, but I can see his hackles raised, too, his tail stiffly hitting the floor, and his eyes on the other Alpha.
This guy is gonna take a hit and some teeth if he gets any more friendly with her.
Skye takes the twenty he offers her and blows him a kiss, stepping over to me and standing up on her toes.
I think she’s going to kiss me, but she grabs me by the beard, dragging me down to her level.
Her breath warms my jaw and I tip my head for her, offering my throat as my eyes lid.
I might like it when she’s a little more dominant…
“As fucking hot as it is, Alpha,” She purrs in my ear, and my cock gives a jolt in my pants.
Fuck, my PA piercing is stuck in the back of my zipper, I think.
“That you’re being all Alpha-y and shit, you’re interrupting me working, and how else am I supposed to get all those tips to pay for nice things? ”
“Clay gave you access to the pack bank account, right? Just before we went nest shopping.” I clearly remember her getting her own card, and she’s been making good on her attempts to bankrupt us, all these fancy book boxes for the library, hell, she bought herself a very nice new phone, and a PC setup so she could do online courses.
She’s a clever girl, our Omega, loves to learn, and she just seems so damn happy.
Good, because I don’t think we are gonna let her leave now, even if she wanted to.
“Mhmm, but if you think that’s gonna stop me on the grind though, think again.”
Laughing, I shimmy her back to the front and set her loose in my bar, letting my heart expand just a little more for her.