A hesitant voice sounds behind me. “Hi, um, Miss, do you need some help?” I turn slowly, now that we’re out in the open I can definitely smell that this guy’s an alpha. He smells like what I imagine a thunderstorm over the ocean smells like…minus the fish poop. Kind of salty and fresh with that weird hit of ozone on the back of your tongue. But his voice. I know that voice. Why do I know that voice?
He stops with several paces between us, but I know that alphas can move fast, and it would only take him a second to close the distance. “Sorry, it’s just really cold out here, and well, our SUV’s down at the shop, but we can give you a ride once we get it fixed. That is, um, if you need one? I don’t know how long it’s gonna be, though, sorry.”
Wait…the shop?
That’s where I know his voice.
I can feel an angry scowl forming, and it’s not a nice look, but I can’t help it. “Sorry, I’m waiting for my pack to come get these so I can go back to work. And my name’s Kelly, not sweetheart.” He gapes at me like a fish for a minute, his ears taking on a hint of red. At least he’s embarrassed by how he acted earlier. That’s something.
His not-quite-look-a-like comes tumbling out the door at that moment. “God dammit, Garret. I thought I told you to find ussome food. What the fuck, man?” I start backing away as waves of anger roll off him. He doesn’t seem angry at me, but I don’t want to get caught in the middle of a fight if one happens.
Then, wonder of wonders, I hear the slightly squeaky brakes of Sam’s truck, and turn my head right as it pulls up next to the curb. Sam jumps out of the driver’s seat, glaring hellfire and brimstone at the two alphas who have moved their argument entirely too close to me. Losing all my confidence, I practically throw myself into his arms. Once there, he picks me up and starts purring as he walks me towards where Teddy sits in the passenger seat. Of course everything comes to a screeching halt when the door opens and one of the two alphas behind me lets out a loud bark of surprise.
Teddy’s eyes flick from mine over my shoulder to the two behind me, and his face crumples as he pulls me against him. His whole body shakes and any predisposition I had to act the damsel in distress goes right out the window. If I had a crowbar, I would be letting loose on these two for whatever they did to make Teddy upset.
I wrap my arms around him and pull his head down to my chest, whispering quiet words of comfort. He takes deep inhales against my collar and cries into my shirt. I barely notice Sam as he loads the groceries in the back of the truck and snarls angrily at the two strangers.
Even when he finally gets back in the driver’s seat, he glares at them through the window. I turn my head enough to see them and the blond god is staring straight at me. They’ve switched positions though, and now he’s the one holding his darker half back as he strains towards the truck, eyes fixed on the part of Teddy’s big body that can be seen around mine. The blond’s eyes flick back and forth between us as he pulls the other guy closer.
I don’t know what they did to my omega, but I might need to kick someone’s butt.
Sam
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Something’s wrong, and I need to fix it. Teddy sounds devastated and neither of us can get an answer out of him about what’s wrong. I pull into the parking lot at the garage so Kelly can run in and let them know she needs to leave. She was supposed to leave a while back anyway. I doubt anybody’s going to be upset. She runs into the first bay and Xan smiles and waves. But all good humor drops from his features the longer she talks. I’ve pulled Teddy across the seat, but there isn’t enough room here to pull him into my lap.
His hands are fidgeting with those leather bracelet things he wears, rubbing circles around the outside and up the inside of each arm. I haven’t taken the time I should to ask about those. I haven’t seen him take them off. Even last night in the shower he only took them off while he was getting clean and put them on again as soon as he was dried off. If it’s a religious thing I should probably try to ask without upsetting him. Just, not right now.
Kelly gestures down the street towards the store and points at the truck where Teddy’s curled against me. Xan’s expressionis thunderous as he glares between the road, us, and the front office. Even when his gaze stops on us, his ire seems to be directed towards the two guys who were following Kelly at the store. I’m not sure if they’re gonna get their car back in one piece if he has any say in the matter.
Finally, Kelly stops talking. She’s understandably upset, but Xan gestures towards the office and waves her off, before glaring back down the street. I’m half surprised those two assholes aren’t trying to follow her, but better for them that they don’t. She sticks her head in the front door and says something to Sal behind the desk who waves in return. Then Kelly is sliding back in the passenger side and pulling Teddy towards her.
His sobs have tapered off to a quiet sniffle. His reaction threw me for a loop. We’ve only been together for a few days, but that’s enough to get a feel for him, and he doesn’t seem like the crying type. I understand that he’s under a lot of stress but this seems extreme from what I’ve gleaned of his personality so far. “Sorry, Xan said Candice’s car took longer than expected, but he should be done with mine in about an hour. I can come back this afternoon or get it tomorrow. Whatever works best for you.”
Kelly strokes Teddy’s hair, making soft soothing noises against the top of his head where he’s curled against her. “Do you think y’all can take me over to the courthouse real quick so I can sign that paperwork then come back and let me get my car?” Her eyes finally meet mine, and she looks as confused as I am about what’s going on.
Teddy nods against her chest and makes a muffled sound that I take as an affirmative. Kelly squeezes him tightly. “Oh, Teddy, if we need to we can go straight home, afterward. I just didn’t want y’all to have to bring me in at seven-thirty in the morning. But we can do whatever you need, ok?”
Teddy takes a deep shuddering breath and looks back and forth between the two of us. “No, I’m…I’m ok, that was just asurprise.” The smile he turns to me is watery at best, he looks like he’s going to cry again and a low growl rumbles through my chest. I put the shifter in drive and we pull out of the lot towards the city center where the old courthouse is. Thankfully we’re heading away from the grocery, since I see those two fucks walking down the sidewalk.
It takes every ounce of my willpower not to turn around and knock them senseless for whatever the hell they did. But I don’t want Teddy anymore upset, so I glare at them quietly in my rearview mirror as we pull away. My purr fills the truck. I need to comfort my omega and beta both, but I’m not sure what else I can do until we get home and I can hold them properly. Then get them both fed and cuddled up together so I can get more work done on the nest.
Chapter 25
Iwasn’t expecting that. Part of me is relieved that the girl we saw wasn’t an omega, but that means that the situation with Teddy is an even bigger shit-show than originally anticipated. Seems like the scent that was screaming at my brother and me was his. With luck, this will at least get Garret to stop fighting over making Teddy our omega, though now I have to figure out how to get him to come back with us. There’s no way in fucking hell that I’m leaving without him. Dad and his legacy bullshit can fuck all the way off.
I drag Garret back inside because right now he’s just staring off after that damned truck. I don’t know what the fuck that girl said to him, but by the way Teddy clung to her when he saw us, she’s important to him—which means Garret upsetting her is just going to make this harder all the way around. And that big fucking alpha. Shit. I mean, he wasn’t that much taller than us, but fucker looks like he lifts cows for fun. What the fuck. Maybe that’s why Teddy likes him, he makes him feel like an omega. He could probably pick my boy up and princess carry him if he wanted to.
The kid behind the register—Billy according to his nametag—stands up straighter and glares at me as I walk back into the store. “We don’t want any trouble around here. If you harass anybody else, I’ll have to call the police.”
His back is stiff as a board, but his eyes shift from side to side, and I can admire his conviction, even if I don’t appreciate it. Time to do some damage control, I don’t know how long we’ll be in town, but I don’t want to deal with cops. “Sorry, man. We thought we saw a friend of ours and wanted to say hi.” It’s a thin excuse and he doesn’t look like he believes me. Fuck, I don’t blame him, it was shit.
“Miss Kelly didn’t look like she knew you”—his expression shifts—“but I’m sure if you ask down at the garage where she works, Gabe or Xan’ll be happy to help you out.” He’s outright smirking now, and yeah, I think we better avoid those two at all costs. I wonder if the alpha in the truck was one of them.
Also shit…Kelly from the garage. No wonder she looked ready to bludgeon Garret to death. If it’s the girl who answered the phone earlier, I don’t blame her for wanting to slap him stupid. Of course, as smitten as he seems now, maybe this’ll teach him not to be an asshole to people. Looking back to the still smirking Billy, “Hey, you guys got a deli or anything in here? We came in to find some lunch while our tire gets fixed.”
He looks like he’s actually thinking about it for a few seconds. “Sorry, Sir. We only have prepackaged deli stuff. The diner is a couple blocks down after you pass the garage. They’re about the only place around here to get hot food, unless you want to head towards the interstate.”
