Chapter 19 #2
“Don’t look at me like that,” he gripes. “I’m making it known now. They want to court you, they need to get my approval.”
“But two seconds ago you said—”
His eyes narrow. “I know what I said, girl. Now hush while I make these boys sweat, yeah?”
I snort, straightening away from Memphis’ touch despite wanting to burrow into him and say fuck the rest of the bar. I wave my hand, giving him the floor. “By all means…”
Memphis takes a seat in front of me just as Ridge drops off his tray of glasses at the end of the bar then makes his way to sit beside the Alpha.
Lyon walks behind the bar, dropping the dirty rag in the sink at the end before he comes back and stops next to me.
August has already taken up the spot on my other side, his impressive arms crossed over his chest as he stares at the old man who is enjoying all of this attention a little too much.
“What’s going on now?” Ridge asks, looking between all of us.
“Morris wants us to ask permission to court his honorary daughter.”
Hearing him say those words sends another little jolt to my heart. How is this real life?
“Beau Morris,” August begins without preamble, “we come to you to ask for your permission to officially court Shay Bennett.”
His words ring out loud and clear over the low hum of the jukebox in the corner.
I swear the entire bar stops what they’re doing, all eyes turning toward the circus taking place right in front of me.
Involuntarily, I step back, but Lyon’s massive frame is there, stopping me from running.
I’m both grateful and irritated he foiled my plan.
I swore I’d never so much as look at another Alpha.
And I definitely still don’t want a bond.
But there it is, that voice in my head that says I really kinda do if it’s with these men.
Holy fuck sticks. When the hell did that happen?
Memphis grins at me, enjoying this entirely too much. “We’ve grown rather fond of her recently, and we think she would make the perfect addition to our pack.”
“What started out as friendship quickly blossomed into something more, and now I never want to be just friends ever again.” Ridge winks at me.
All eyes turn to Lyon. I can’t see his face since he’s behind me, but I feel his chest rumble when he says, in the most succinct Lyon way possible, “She’s ours.”
The entire bar seems to hold its breath.
Old Man Morris runs his thumb and forefinger along his chin over and over again as if contemplating his answer, then he holds out his hand to Memphis. “I consent. But know this... If you hurt my girl, I’ll bury your bodies where no one will ever find you.”
The crowd inside goes wild.
Memphis stands, a smile damn near splitting his face. “The next round’s on me!”
The noise reaches unprecedented levels as chaos follows his statement. There are lots of pats on the back and congratulations. It must escape everyone’s notice that the one person whose agreement is the most important never actually uttered a single word.
When I peer over Memphis’ shoulder, I see Jules and Iris striding toward the bar with matching looks that very clearly say, I told you so.
I point at my two best friends. “Not a fucking word, you hear me?”
“Now why would you think we’d have anything to say?” Iris asks innocently.
Jules adds, “It’s not like we told you months ago that this friendship was obviously something more. Of course, we never actually heard you agree to anything, though either.”
Four pairs of eyes lock onto me like lasers on a target.
I shoot Jules a murderous glare before closing my eyes, counting to ten, and exhaling.
Searching deep inside myself, I realize that everything from my past is just that. In the past. I’m stronger now. I’m not that naive young girl anymore. I know my own mind and what I do and do not want.
I don’t want someone to pick out my clothes to give me the prim and proper image they want me to project.
I don’t want to bite my tongue when its words threaten to become too sharp.
I don’t want to wear a mask because what I’m feeling is too big, or too ugly, or too messy.
I don’t want to live a lie because it’s easier to deceive than to be honest. I don’t want to make myself smaller to fit inside someone else’s stifling box.
But somehow, my brain and my heart both know these men would never ask me to.
There is absolutely no doubt that the men surrounding me are the only ones that have ever made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I really could have what every Omega dreams about. The pack, the family, the bond.
Am I terrified? Absolutely. Do I think I’m making the wrong decision? No, I really don’t. Despite my promises to my past self, I’m ready to give this a chance. All I’m agreeing to right now is being courted. I’ll worry about the rest of it later. Let’s just hope it doesn’t blow up in my face.
Opening my eyes, I push my shoulders back and look each man in the eye as I say, “Yes. Yes, I agree to be courted by the Young Pack.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I huff. “Are you satisfied?”
A chorus of Yes surrounds me.
I feel a headache forming right between my eyes. All of a sudden, Lyon’s big hands are there, rubbing away the tension building in my neck. I swallow down a very inappropriate groan and remind myself that my vagina is on sabbatical.
As everyone talks around me, I look back and see Luke peering over the doors to the back. He gives me a small nod, his own way of giving his approval, before disappearing back into his hole.
For now, they’ve managed to corral Runaway Shay. But is she done running for good? It’s too early to tell.