7. Artie
Artie
To say that I’m excited is a total understatement. This is a level of excitement I haven’t felt before in all my years of omega hunting.
Yeah, I like omegas. Omegas are amazing. Omegas are the best thing that life has ever created, and I’ll not be insanely attracted to every omega I meet.
But Bee’s different. And it’s not just because she’s looking at Orso like he’s the devil (which is so far from the truth that we’re going to have to give her a reality check before we even get into the whole ‘mate’ thing).
Yeah, maybe we haven’t even talked yet and I’m already calling her by her nickname, but I want to be special. If everyone else calls her ‘Dr. Tully’ and she lets me call her ‘Bee’ or ‘Honeybee’, it’ll be pure magic. Alpha Privileges. Scent Match Benefits.
I’m so excited that my scent thickens around me. Normally, my freshly cut grass is subtle because of my rut blockers, but this is like five guys are mowing the same lawn after it’s rained. I keep inhaling deeply because it’s so good, and she’s going to love it.
Jogging down the corridor, I try to keep my steps light so she can’t hear me. I’m hoping Bee hasn’t gone far. It would be so much easier if I could just scent her honey. That’s all I need. One taste of her just to confirm what my body and my heart already know.
I think I see a wisp of a golden ponytail vanish around a corner, and I pick up speed. I can feel Orso and Mathan running, sending warning beats through our bond, so I’ve got to be fast.
Bee needs to scent me, too, maybe rub up on me a bit, or sit on me so I can get my hands around that tight pantsuit and see how hot I can make her if she grinds on my lap.
I breathe a sigh of relief as I reach the front doors of the rink. She’s standing by the reception desk in the large foyer, glancing around at the life-size trees that are painted all over the walls, looking pretty lost. I grin, knowing this is my chance.
But before I can jump out of the corridor and zoom toward her, Orso suddenly darts in front of me, slamming me to a halt as he smacks his palm into my chest.
“No, let me pass!” I hiss. There’s no way we can leave her when she’s scowling so beautifully. It’s our job as her alphas to make her feel comfortable. The best way to do that is definitely to circle her and create a barrier so she can’t escape.
“Don’t start on your bullshit again, Artie,” Orso growls. Now that’s both mates who’ve sussed me out.
“Come on, you can feel it too.” I beam up at him. I’m ten whole inches shorter than he is, but I’ve got twice as much pep.
“She’s going to turn out like all the other omegas you court, so leave her the fuck alone.”
“Orso is right, Artie,” Mathan says quietly as he comes up behind me. He’s the only one of us doing a good job of hiding from her.
“We’re not going to see her for four months! I just want to check,” I insist. I wiggle under Orso’s arm, but he stops me with that super sexy glare of his—and another shove at my chest.
Bee has to be as tall as him, and that’s without heels. I’m already getting fired up over the idea of her towering a foot above little ol’ 5ft 4 me and using my head as a boob rest.
I grew up in a super happy family where my mom was the center of not just her pack, but the whole community.
Omegas were the lifeblood of our small town in Southern California, and their love was what held us all together.
I have seven older brothers and sisters, and there’s a twenty-year gap between my oldest brother and me.
So I got to watch as all my siblings found packs and omegas and lived out their happily ever afters.
I’ve wanted that for myself my whole life.
An omega to love and take care of and make happy so that our pack is perfect.
Because I’m sure if I find our true omega, we’ll become the happiest pack in the world.
Before I can convince Orso that she’s our forever mate based on a single look and about four sentences (a very convincing argument that will go down well with anyone), her voice echoes around the foyer.
“Did you have to follow me?” she says with a light growl that sizzles inside me. Her back stays to us, and I swear I’ll do anything to see her face right now.
“It was more than we had something to confirm,” Mathan says softly as he steps forward, leaving me to stand behind him and Orso, which I’m not having any of.
I want to be the first one there. I’ve got the most experience with omegas; I’m the best person to convince her to become ours.
Orso has never even kissed a woman, or an omega.
Mathan and I are the only people he’s ever been with, which is one reason why the bite screwed him up. But I’m here to help.
I finally slip free of Orso’s grip, my heart in my throat as I move toward her. She’s ten yards away at most. I just need to clear the space to meet my mate.
“Will you turn around and look at us?” I ask. I don’t know why I’m so nervous when we’ve literally just seen her give the most awkward speech in the world. But this is super important.
I glance at Orso and Mathan, both staring at her so intensely that she’s probably going to get a fright, though she doesn’t look like she scares easily.
Mathan tends to smooth out Orso’s hard nature, but there’s times when they are as bad as each other.
And their scents are swelling, too, though they aren’t as strong as mine.
Even if she’s on more suppressants than everyone at the party combined, she won’t be able to resist the combination of us.
Clover, wildflowers, and freshly cut grass are the perfect match for honey.
As soon as she turns, my breath catches, and a jolt of need goes straight to my cock.
And not just because of the way she glares at us or how freaking sexy she is as she walks our way with a little sway of her hips and her ponytail bouncing around her shoulders.
It’s because I know for sure she’s our match.
Even if we never scent Bee properly in our whole lifetime, Dr Tully is it.
She’s who I’ve been searching for before I even learned that not everyone finds a scent match.
It would probably be weird to suddenly tell her I’m not sure I’m ready to meet her yet, as I’ve been waiting so long for this.
Except it happens with every omega I like, as I always think they’re the one.
But she’s my bullseye. I just have to convince the others that we need to share bites ASAP so she doesn’t get away.
“Just tell me what you want and then leave me alone. I need an orientation to the organization, and there is paperwork I must do.” Her voice is clipped, and she’s definitely annoyed as hell.
“We can orient you,” I say, a purr lacing my voice. “There are plenty of things we can show you to get you more acquainted here.”
Her gaze snaps to mine, and I won’t lie, I jump because it’s so piercing. Good thing I didn’t waggle my brows like I wanted to.
“You cannot,” she says pointedly. “And I don’t wish it. I have better things to do than this.”
“Then you shouldn’t have run off,” Orso growls.
“Or maybe I wanted space because I was thrust into a public situation without warning. You were the ones who told me I had to give a speech with no preparation.”
Her arms fold, her index finger tapping on her forearm as she surveys us in a way that makes me want to kneel in front of her so she can lift a leg and let me taste her slick.
“We just wanted to talk to you,” Mathan says.
“I find that highly unlikely, since you’ve already shown what kind of alphas you are. I’d prefer it if you stayed away from me unless we need to interact professionally.”
“And what kind of alphas are we?” I ask, nearly trembling because she sounds so pissed off. It shouldn’t be hot, but I swear she’s going to attack us if we go any closer.
She raises up her arm, yanking down her sleeve to expose the barest trace of a white scar on the bobbly bit of her left wrist.
“Bite first, ask questions later,” she growls, and I burst into a laugh.
My excitement turns to pure wonder at seeing Orso’s bite there, marking her, claiming her, announcing her as ours. Even if she rejected him, she still belongs to us. She’s our match through and through. All Mathan and I need to do is scent her to make sure it’s not just Orso who gets to keep her.
“Do you think that your mate biting someone without permission is funny?” she snaps, and I instantly shut the hell up, especially when Mathan frowns at me.
I’m used to playing and teasing omegas. But she might scratch my eyes out if I go ahead with my plan to kiss that mark and rebite her just to get her into our pack.
Orso looks like he wants to take her out, and they have a fiery, glaring match as we wait to see which way the conversation goes.
She clears her throat, her gaze dipping for a second.
“Did you think it was a dream?” she asks.
“Thankfully, we were smart enough to reject each other, but I didn’t take this job for a repeat.
I’m making it plain. I want nothing to do with any of you.
I will be here for a lone season, accrue the experience I need for a promotion, and then I’m gone. ”
I open my mouth to argue, but Orso steps closer, and I’m shocked he actually thinks about his answer before he replies. “Good, then we can agree to keep this professional so we don’t get distracted.”
“I take my job seriously, Mr. Williams. I don’t want anything to tarnish my reputation.”
Even just hearing her say Orso’s surname has us trembling. She punctuates each of her words with a force that hums in me, and I want her to get closer so she can take charge before submitting. Yeah, she’s probably nearer to Mathan and Orso’s age than mine, but experience makes up for my age.
“You think we don’t take hockey seriously?” I ask.
“No, I’ve seen you play, and I trust in your commitment. Which is why I’m asking you to respect me instead of believing you can bite me without consequences.”
“But you’re our omega; we can’t just leave you alone,” I reply.
Three pairs of eyes swing to me, all of them glaring because I just said the stupidest thing possible. But it’s not like I’m wrong. Just bad timing.
Plus, I love that they’re all paying attention to me.
“You’ve already made it clear that you will take whatever you want from me without asking,” she says.
“I’m sorry,” Orso says as he steps closer, but she leans away from him.
“I really am. I was just out of it because of the injury, and I wasn’t in my right mind.
I’m sorry if I scared you or hurt you, and I completely understand why you’re angry.
But I wouldn’t have rejected you as well if I had really wanted to claim you. ”
He said that, but he’s eyeing the bite up as much as we are.
Bee’s nostrils flare as she watches him carefully. I know I don’t imagine the desire I see there, the way she straightens her back, how her chest swells as he takes a third step.
I want to be nearer to her as well. It’s not fair that she’s only looking at Orso like that.
“If you are planning to ‘get to know me’ as your omega, I decline. I’m a person outside of my designation, a person who would rather not become tangled up with alphas like you.”
“Good, because we want to reach the playoffs next season, and we don’t need anything getting in our way,” he says. They keep weighing each other up like they’re in a face-off, and I want to get right in the middle of them so they can both go for me.
Yeah, we might be having an argument, but the pair are so sexy together that Mathan is getting worked up as well.
But her intense gaze softens, and she gives him a nod.
“Unless you are actually wounded during a game, I need to take scans, or there is a real reason for us to interact, I’d appreciate it if you left me alone.”
“Can’t we just scent you? Even once? I just want to know that you’re ours,” I gasp, desperation tearing through me. I can’t go four months just wondering and waiting for her. I need to know now if she’s matched with Mathan and me as well.
She goes very quiet and very still, and it feels like some kind of primal rage is rising inside her. Her body is tight, and her emotions pour out as she takes a slow breath.
Fear rings through me as a growl tumbles from her. I shudder because she’s so freaking amazing already.
“If that is all, I’m returning to the party. Please do not talk to me again,” she says, and she suddenly turns on one foot and walks past us. And we don’t move.
Mathan and Orso grab my arms so I can’t chase after her.
I watch her leave, drenched in shock. How did the conversation go so wrong?
I just wanted to see if she’s our mate, so why is she so furious?
Most omegas love the idea of being bitten by an alpha, especially a pack like ours.
We’re top-tier, hot material, and omegas are always lining up to chat with me.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Orso snarls as she leaves, his voice bouncing around the foyer. “Are you fucking insane? Didn’t you listen to a word she just said?”
“But she’s our scent match. She has to like us,” I say.
“You haven’t even fucking scented her,” Orso snaps. “She hasn’t been here a fucking hour, and you’re already harassing her.”
“I wasn’t harassing her! I just wanted her to like us! And she will once she’s scented us properly.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Artie,” Mathan says, disapproval heavy in his voice. “You can’t just force someone to be your mate. Why didn’t you stop to consider what Orso and I are feeling?”
“It’s fine. We can make it up to her,” I say, scrabbling for all the excuses I usually have for when Orso gets angry with me. But none of them will work here.
“She literally just said she doesn’t want to be around us. She drew a fucking line, and we’re staying on our side,” Orso growls. “I won’t have shit to do with an omega, and she’s made it clear what she wants, so it works out perfectly.”
But that’s what Orso said when I first joined the team, and I fell in love with them both straight away. He insisted he didn’t want anyone except Mathan, but it only took six months before he finally gave in to me. I just have to do the same thing with Dr. Tully.
“Artie, I mean it. Don’t try your tricks. No matter what you’re feeling, leave her the fuck alone.” Orso releases me and storms off in the opposite direction, probably to go to the gym to work off the pent-up tension. But we could have totally relieved it with a good old cock-battle instead.
Mathan stares down at me as I grin. “So you want her, too?”
He sighs heavily. “Let’s just enjoy the break, and we can address this when we return.”
His grip tightens on my arms, and he’ll keep me here until my scent calms. Because there’s no way I won’t just go back into that party and hit on her.
As soon as I get my hands on her and show her my moves, I’ll make her legs go to jelly, and I’ll carry her somewhere more private and show her how good I can be for her.
Just as long as Mathan and Orso are on board with it, of course.