37. Artie
Artie
Ten Minutes Earlier
I’ve been trying not to make it obvious I’m making eyes at Bee because Orso is still treating me like a pariah, and Mathan just keeps sighing every time he looks at me.
I’ve apologized a million times, but I really have taken it too far this time. I don’t think ‘sorry’ even comes close to cutting it.
I know it upset Orso when I’d flirted with omegas in the past, but he still let me get away with it because I wouldn’t take things too far.
Mathan sat me down after I nearly bit Bee, gave me a talking-to, and basically told me to go and sit in the naughty corner until Orso decided he was ready to forgive me. But I can’t see that happening any time soon.
So if Orso catches me watching her, he’ll get even more pissed off, which will annoy Mathan, and then we’ll be back to square one.
But I can’t not look when she suddenly shoots to her feet and races to the door of the restaurant. Or Bee’s version of racing, which is coolly striding like she’s going to rip apart anyone who gets in her way.
Everything she does is so insanely sexy that I just want to spend all day with her.
I found the footage of her vaulting over the boards and racing across the ice to get to me, and I absolutely did not rewatch it a million times or jerk off to how beautiful she looked leaning over me as I bled out.
We all know at this point that Bee isn’t exactly expressive, which makes it so much hotter when she’s all soft for us.
She was cool as hell when she was shaking and riled up on the ice, but she was still in command of the situation.
But the distressed look on her face as she reaches the front doors has panic rising inside me.
Orso and Mathan pick up on it, both of them twisting in their seats to look.
We can only see her side profile, but we’re hyper-attuned to her. And we’re pretty sure that when she goes subzero, something is seriously wrong.
“We need to go over there,” I say to my mates.
“Artie, look at them,” Mathan says. “They’re clearly her parents. We can’t just barge in and introduce ourselves.” But his knuckles are white around his butter knife. “Let’s approach slowly. Don’t make it obvious we’re heading straight for her.”
“No, we need to move now! Guys, I don’t care if you never forgive me, but we can’t leave her there for another second,” I hiss. “We’re her mates; she needs us.”
“Let’s just watch how it plays out,” Orso says through gritted teeth. “She might hate us more for interrupting.”
“Orso, please, come on.” I look at him pleadingly. If I have to choose between them and a stressed-out Bee, it’s going to hurt him a million times more than me flirting with random omegas. But I can’t leave her when her already-pale skin is losing more color.
It’s when her dad reaches out, puts his hand on her waist, and clearly pinches her through her dress that I shoot up from my chair.
“Hey, what the fuck?” Tanner whispers from beside me.
We all saw it. Half the guys are watching her because, no matter how much she unnerves them, she’s part of our team, and they can tell something’s wrong as well.
“Did that asshole just hurt her?” A light growl rolls from Anders.
“I’m going,” I say, jumping around the table, preparing to hurl myself across the room and get those freaks away from her. But Orso is on me before I can even get past him.
His hand lands on my shoulder, and I instantly struggle and shove him off, my palms slamming against his chest.
“Don’t stop me!” I snap, trying not to draw too much attention.
“I’m not,” he says coldly. “I just think we should do what Mathan said and not barge in there. We’ll go over casually, like we might just be going outside. If she really is freaking out, then we do something. If not, we carry on walking. You okay with that?”
I nod furiously. I’ll agree to anything at this point, because Bee’s hands are balled into fists by her sides and already shaking, and she looks so vulnerable that she absolutely needs her alphas. I’m kind of proud I picked all that up from the blank look on her face.
Orso slides his fingers down my arm, wrapping them through mine. I know they think I’m going to go out of control, and they need to hold my hand so I don’t escape like a toddler, but she’s only twenty yards away. I can’t do that much damage in that small space of time. Probably.
Mathan is right beside us, and tension hums through our bond. But as soon as we get in earshot, we can tell it’s even worse than we thought.
“It’s that woman’s fault, isn’t it? Aspen has always been a terrible influence on you. Don’t tell me you actually let her talk you into coming to this ridiculous town to do a job like this.”
“You don’t know what work I do,” Bee croaks.
“I can see well enough from the kind of company you keep. If your work involved the higher levels of the NHL, we could understand, but do you really have to engage with the players as well?” her dad says. And it’s an instant no from me.
“We care about you, Kallis. You can’t waste yourself in this dowdy town. You’re better than this.” Her mom puts her hand on Bee’s shoulder with a caring smile, and pure rage blares through us, because we can see how hard she’s squeezing our omega.
They need to get the hell out of here before one of us attacks.
“Oh, hey, whatcha doing over here?” I say, my scent thickening as my anger rises. “Dr. Tully’s in the middle of an important meeting with some tacos, and you’re interrupting.” I have a feeling their sneers will get worse if I keep talking.
“Excuse me?” her dad asks, and I don’t think I’ve heard anything more poisonous than my ass after a bad shrimp cocktail.
“You’re in the wrong place,” Orso growls. “This isn’t a party for people like you.”
Bee suddenly bursts out with a heaving gasp as Mathan steps in beside her. Her parents look so shocked, but I ignore them because Bee is choking, and we need to calm her down.
“And who do you think you are?” her dad asks, looking straight at me with empty eyes. I’m pretty sure I could say anything right now, and his expression won’t change.
I clear my throat, puffing out my chest, hands on my hips as I smirk. “Artie Cadell,” I purr. “You may have heard of me.”
He blinks slowly, as if he can’t believe I even dared to speak to him.
So that’s where Bee gets it from.
Every inch of the man says I’m not even a spec on his radar, and that’s my absolute favorite kind of person. Apart from my mates, of course.
I squeeze my hands on my hips so I don’t fling my arms around Bee and growl at them to protect her.
I like the height difference between all my mates and me. I love how much effort I have to put in to kiss Bee. But damn if her mom doesn’t look scary as hell. She’s basically the alpha version of Bee, except half a foot taller on heels and drenched in fur and pearls.
I fucked up so badly last time we were together, so I have to be real smart about this and do it without pissing anyone off except the two assholes in front of me who think it’s okay to scare our omega.
Orso is here, but he’s going to be as useful as a teaspoon against a cement block for making a dent in these people with anything except his fists. And there’s no way that throwing punches is the way to go, but I can always try.
My general attitude is to be nice to everyone because I can’t know what they are going through. But I’m willing to make an exception.
“Didn’t you hear him?” I ask. “He said, ‘Leave’. We don’t like your type ‘round here.” I click my teeth. “You wanna fight? I might not pack a punch, but I’m scrappy, and I aim low. Plus, my mates will give you a run for your money.”
I hold up my fists like I’m a boxer, but twin pulses of energy through the bond tell me to cool it. I figure acting as goofy as I can might get them off Bee’s scent so we can get her away from them.
But I suddenly freeze, because Bee does something I never expected. One second, she’s standing so straight we could measure her with a level, facing them on her own. The next, she leans ever so slightly to her left, just enough to press into me.
And I go absolutely feral. It takes everything I have to hold back my snarl, because if Bee is so upset that she’s instinctively reaching for me, then it’s even worse than we thought.
But Orso’s already on it, stepping between them, his growl fiercer than anything I could ever do. I’m like a puppy compared to him.
I take my chance, feeding my arm behind her, clutching her lower back, almost moaning as she lets me take some of her weight. She’s stopped gasping and seems to be back in control.
She glances at me, giving me the smallest, most vulnerable smile that nearly has me lunging for her because we need to pour love on our omega to stop her looking like her world is collapsing. Not on our fucking watch.
But she stretches a trembling hand, gently taking Orso’s arm, and he gets the hint for once, moving aside so she can challenge them.
And, oh boy, the look they give us. We’re absolute dirt for touching their daughter. I might have been joking about throwing hands, but her mom’s long fingers clench into a fist, and I’m pretty sure she’s ready to go.
With Mathan and me casually hugging her on either side, there’s no way we’re ever backing down unless Bee tells us to.
And pride booms through the bond, at least from me. Because I can be there for my omega, and protect her, support her, and love her so a tiny bit of light returns to her eyes.
“You have no right to be here,” she croaks. Her hand rises to her throat as if she needs to squeeze her airways to hold them open. “Leave. Now.”
I softly hug her waist, wishing I could pour my scent over her to mark her as mine. But this isn’t the time.
“Kallis, what do you think you’re saying? We came all this way for you,” her dad says.
“You didn’t. You came to see the team. And I’m currently busy. Indefinitely.” Her other hand shakes so much that it’s spasming, but I slide my fingers through hers, my thumb making circles on her palm. “I will visit you when I’m ready.”
There are creaks from chairs, and all of us glance back as Tanner, Kenny, and Anders hop from their seats to move forward, their gazes hard as other members of the team stand.
The pressure in the room hikes, and my grin stretches as the guys make their statement.
Bee’s one of ours now, and we don’t take lightly to people harassing our own.
As soon as the guys start to move in behind us, her parents take a step back. And the most gorgeous growl rolls from Bee as her hand tightens in mine.
“If you want to see me, don’t do it like this. I’ll come to you when I’m ready,” she says.
“We have the Winter Ball on the 24th, and the Senator—”
“No,” she growls again, and I bite my lip. She’s so beautiful in every way. “When I decide, not you.”
The pressure increases as more bodies pack in behind us. Maybe I should stop showing off by taking my arm away so the other guys don’t see that we are totally a pack, but Mathan is holding her, too.
“This is what I’ve chosen, and I’m staying here until I choose to leave,” she says.
Which my alpha brain instantly translates into her declaring that we’re her mates and she’s staying with us forever and ever.
Her dad sniffs as her mom sneers again, but it doesn’t escape any of us that they are inching toward the door, keeping their eyes on us like we might lunge for them any second. There’s no way two people can go head-to-head with the Bears.
Because Bee is our doctor.
The doors close behind them to heavy silence, apart from the cheesy Mexican guitar music strumming in the air.
Bee’s hand is clammy as she squeezes my fingers, her eyes wide, staring at the door in absolute shock.
“Mathan,” she chokes out, looking to her right the moment they vanish from view.
I throw my arms around her, not wasting a second as I scent mark her with everything I have.
Her chest deflates, and she grows heavier, leaning on top of me. Yeah, she’s skinny, and I’m a trained athlete, but it’s an awkward angle when I’m trying not to rub my face in her boobs in front of the guys.
I knock my head back, and my chest clenches. Because the light has gone from her eyes again, she’s glancing around; everyone’s looking at her, and we need to get her away from the audience.
“Artie,” she pleads, and my heart breaks for real this time.
Orso and Mathan are already there; Mathan gathers her up as Orso peels me away from her, because they know I’m never going to let her go unless I’m forced to.
So I take the lead instead, spinning around, going straight to the ma?tre d’.
“We need an empty room, somewhere we’re not going to be disturbed. Fast, please. We have to be alone.”
The ma?tre d’ nods, still pale from whatever the hell happened with Bee’s parents before we got there.
I spot a green first aid box on the wall of the corridor she leads us through and swipes it.
I don’t think there’s any medicine in there that will help as Bee shuts down in front of us, but who knows what our omega has in her nest?
She loves being a doctor so much that maybe a first aid box could calm her.
Obviously, I want us three to be all she needs, but the panic in our bond is suffocating, and I don’t know how much we can do when we’re freaking out as well. I just have to keep it together for her. I need to be her alpha now more than ever.
Mathan has his head on straight, and Orso is keeping his shit together with his pure rage, but as soon as we stop, I’m pretty sure I’m going to cry.