Walking up to the counter, I see Kelly and Steven bent over some sort of comic book, whispering what seems to be a heated debate over characters with too-big eyes. As rude as it is to interrupt, I have food cooling in the car, so I lightly tap on the counter when they fail to notice me after a minute. Kelly’s head jerks up, and she blushes, clearing her throat before apologizing, embarrassed at being caught slacking off at work. Steven looks between us for a moment, his eyes calculating, before he speaks. “Alistair, right? Spence’s packmate.”
Kelly’s eyes widen and she nods. “Yeah. Yes. Lemme just go rescue…er…make sure he’s all finished up and ready to go.” I can feel my eyebrows raising as Steven lets out a loud snort of laughter, failing in his attempts to hide it with a cough. I wonder briefly at what poor Spencer is doing working here, and whatbeing a personal trainer entails. If they feel the need to rescue him, maybe he needs to find another job.
Steven watches Kelly go, grinning like a loon and laughing quietly to himself. He eventually turns back to me, noticing my sour expression. “Er…sorry, Alistair…Er…Sir. Professor Miller. Spence is really popular with the customers, especially a few beta girls who keep asking him out. Unfortunately, the one he has today is kind of…well…she’s not Kelly’s biggest fan, let’s just go with that.” He watches me warily for a few moments before turning abruptly with a quick murmur of, “Gotta go check on Teddy.” Then he scurries away from the desk, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.
The formality and attitude takes me aback, and it’s a few moments before I remember that Steven is a part-time student at the university. He isn’t in any of my classes, but maybe he has problems with authority figures. Regardless, it’s not my problem, and I’m now left alone at the front desk, waiting for my packmate, and staring at the cover of what looks to be a horror comic—some freakish skinless giant with monstrous teeth being scaled by people with ropes.Yikes. However, the imagery is rather interesting, and my mind gets wrapped up in it enough that I don’t notice at first how quiet it’s gotten…or the looming presence at my back.
Fuck my life.
Physical fitness is all well and good, but either invest in better de-scenter or put your damned shirt back on. I don’t want to see some guy’s hairy pits, anyway. The scent of sweaty alphas is nearly overpowering as I turn to the three looming figures who are standing entirely too close to my personal space.
“Hey, look boys. It’s a little omega, all alone. What’s wrong, honey? You don’t look like you belong here.” He’s right, I don’t belong here, at least not if this is the standard clientele. I know it’s not; Spencer would never tolerate this kind of behavior ata place he worked. If someone from Pack Carpenter refused to step in, our biggest alpha would have no problem removing anyone who is harassing others.
A loud sniff comes from behind the man standing in front of me, and a head pops around his side. “Aww, he smells like a praline. I love those things. Sweet and crunchy.” He licks his lips, leering at me. He doesn’t sound as aggressive as the first alpha, nor as intelligent since I don’t smell like a fucking praline.
A loud growl sounds behind me before I can speak up. “Last warning, Chad. Back the fuck up or get kicked outpermanently. You aren’t allowed to harass other clients. This is not a fucking meat market. If you can’t be civil, you can’t fucking be here.” Risking taking my eyes off the “Chad” in front of me—and isn’t that an unfortunately appropriate moniker—I turn to note Teddy standing behind the counter, with Steven standing behind his shoulder, looking worried.
The big alpha is now shuffling his feet. He looks moderately cowed, but mostly because he doesn’t want to lose his gym membership. His shoulders shift as someone pushes him from behind, and it seems to rally the assholery. “Come on, Carpenter. Your pack might be fine settling with a beta, but we want a fucking omega, and I’ve never seen this sweet thing around before.”
Steven gapes, and Teddy’s loud guffaw nearly drowns out my responding growl. “Now see here, you—”
Before I can launch into what is sure to be a wholly unimpressive tirade, Spencer walks up with Kelly. I don’t think about it, because I see him every day, but he looks like a boulder rolling up behind these assholes, and their faces pale at his arrival. Not that he’s aggressive, I don’t think the man has a mean bone in his body.
“Nobody ‘settled’ for Kelly. She’s sweet, and they’re lucky to have her.” His voice is a low, vicious rumble. The beta girl—any of his friends, really—seems to be one of the few things that will raise Spence’s hackles enough to actually react. His voice continues to rumble out as a threatening growl. “And Al is mine, he’s part of my pack, so back the fuc—er”—his eyes flick over to Kelly—“frick off…or else.”
“Shit, sweet—he….er…Al. Why didn’t you tell us you were with Spence? Man, how did we not know your pack got an omega. Congrats, really.” The jovial congratulations and excitement are a far cry from the near-predatory attention they were giving me earlier, and it strains against all sense of propriety for me not to scream at them. Are they fucking kidding right now? Spencer isn’t going to fall for that bullshit.
The big alpha in question gently shoulders his way through, coming to stand at my back, while Kelly rejoins her alpha and omega on the other side of the counter. Her voice is loud over my shoulder now that she’s back in her safe space. “Teddy’s right, Chadwick. If you can’t be civil to other members, you can’t be here. Those are the rules in the contract you signed when you joined. It was clearly stated that this was an inclusive space. If you can’t behave appropriately towards any omegas that come in, which by the way Alistair isn’t, then you can’t be here.”
Steven’s voice is a muffled whisper. “I thought you said his name was Chad.”
Teddy’s reply sounds exasperated. “I don’t know his fucking name. The man’s an asshole, but he looks like a fucking Chad. I mean, I wasn’t that far off. It was supposed to be a fucking insult!” Kelly snorts at their not-so-quiet conversation while Spencer continues to rumble behind me.
Chadwick, or whatever the fuck his name is, glowers over my head, addressing Spencer instead of me. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know that this…person was a member of your pack. We won’t cause any more problems.”
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder, and I feel the telltale vibration of Spencer’s purr against my back, causing my anger to flare back up. I. Just. Fucking. Can’t! “I swear to all that is holy that if you start purring right now, a horrible accident is going to happen to your new rice cooker. You’ve been warned.” The low rumble cuts off immediately, and I tilt my head to see my packmate’s face fall. He looks like he’s going to cry. Fuck, why am I such an insensitive prick? He can’t help it, and I know he just wants to be useful. “Listen, Spencer, I’m sorry. I’m just—”
Before I can finish my stammering attempts at an apology, Steve cuts in. “Oy, big guy, you got a new rice cooker? What kind is it? We use these super-fancy Zojirushi ones at school. They are so awesome, but also stupidly expensive. I keep trying to talk Sam into buying me one, but he says we don’t eat enough rice. I’m sure I could come up with some good recipes.”
Spencer’s mood shifts suddenly, and his smile could light up the room. “Oh, I…it has a tiger on it? I think. I can’t remember. But it’s really nice. I got it for when we get our new place, so I haven’t tried it out yet. I should probably do that, huh? Make sure it works before the warranty goes bad.”
Steve nods along, like kitchen gadgets are the height of intellectual conversation. “Well, when you remember what kind it is, let me know. Despite what everyone else at home thinks”—he casts a sideways glance at Kelly—“sometimes you need fancy kitchen gadgets. They’re an important part of being an adult.”
Dear gods, what have I gotten myself into, and how does Spencer find these kinds of people that agree with him on the most inane things. Kitchen hardware? Really?
Thankfully, it seems my earlier angry outburst has been forgotten, though I know I need to work on my temper. There’s low muttering as the aggressive assholes from earlier wander away, realizing they’ve avoided repercussions for now.
Chapter 13
After my earlier outburst, I wait patiently, not wanting to rush Spencer despite our food cooling in the car. A few moments later, a younger beta woman appears from the back. It’s surprising that her hips don’t pop out of joint from how much she’s swaying them when she saunters over to our group by the counter. She gives a smirking nod to Kelly and Steve before running her hand up Spencer’s arm and leaning heavily into him. Pressing her breasts against his arm as she invades both our personal space.
“Thank yousomuch for your help today, Spence. I really don’t know why I can’t get those positions right for using the squat machine. You’re always amazing with getting my hips lined up right.” Her fingers are running up and down his forearm as she continues to try to flirt, and Kelly and Steve swap eye rolls at her cringey attempts to get intomypackmate’s pants.
I’ve had enough. I want to go home and eat dinner, andIdon’t fucking work here, which means there’s no need for me to be nice. Brushing her hand off Spencer’s arm, I glare at her until she backs away, then I start shoving the big man towards the door, giving a parting farewell to Pack Carpenter. “Kelly, Teddy, Steven, I need to get Spencer home and fed. Have a great night, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break.” I don’t bother waiting or pausing at the annoyed beta girl’s huff as I shove the gigantic body towards my car.
“Sorry if you were interested in her flirting, Spencer. But I don’t want our dinner getting any colder.” He smiles at me and wraps an arm around my shoulders, using his huge body to block the biting wind from mine.
“Oh, it’s not a problem. I’m supposed to be nice to her because she’s a client…but I don’t like her. She’s mean to everybody and only wants me for my dick.” I choke on my own spit, and my legs nearly go out from under me as I stop in shock. The large man keeps walking, his arm still around my shoulders, almost dragging me over.
