Starting with that huge fucker sipping hot cocoa in the office.
Please don’t let him pound me into the ground.
Spence
Kelly pats me on the shoulder and leaves me to my cocoa. I feel like a fucking loser for that—for telling them about Hope, and for not being alpha enough to stand up for myself. I hate that they had to get involved, and I hate that they’re losing business because of me. A small voice in my head reminds me that I didn’t lead Hope on, and I’ve dissuaded her at every turn, but she refused to take the hint. I couldn’t even talk to my pack about it because Al threatened to step in, and I felt like I should take care of the problem myself. Clearly, I did a bang-up job there.
Fuck my life.
Add into it now that Sarah thinks I’m either a huge man-slut or a loser, and I want to just crawl under a rock and cry. Oh, can’t forget I already did that in front of her. I wish I could just sneak out of here and never come back. They all saw how weak I really am. How useless—not really an alpha. Not that I blame Mom and Dad; they just don’t know much about alphas. They bought several books likeSo, You’re Raising an AlphaandThe ABOs of Parenting Designations. They did the best they could, and I amso lucky I have them and my sisters. I’ll call Tiffany later and ask her what I should do, though I shouldn’t mention Hope’s name unless I want to be bailing my sister out of jail…again.
She’d probably get along well with Sarah, if they wouldn’t kill each other. That being said, unleashing the two of them on Oak Flats seems like it might be a disaster in the making. It’s not like I know Sarah well, but Tiff can be over the top when she gets mad, or excited, or protective. She’s the closest to my age, and we had a couple years of college together before I graduated. Not that anybody messed with her. It always made Mom laugh. All the guys were afraid I’d do something if they bothered my sis, even though they should have been more worried about what she could do if they pissed her off.
She’s sweet and polite unless you get pushy. Then hang on. It’s even more ironic, because she’s super feminine. Always wearing the most flowery skirts and pretty peasant blouses. She looks so sweet and unassuming but she carries a hunting knife in a thigh holster under the skirt. She actually uses it for hunting. Which, once again, isn’t something I can do. I admire her for her abilities, and I love the taste of venison, but the disemboweling always makes me queasy. I’m happy to help her haul one out of the woods and hoist it into a tree, but anything more and she says I turn a funny green color. Tiffany says it’s hilarious, but I think I would be a vegetarian if I had to hunt my own food.
The hot cocoa I’m sipping turns bitter at the thought of having to help Tiffany again. I don’t mind, truly, but I’m also really glad that deer season is over. Of course, turkey season is gonna start any day now, but she can handle the cleanup on those herself. She took me hunting with her a few times, and I love being outside and enjoying nature, but killing something just doesn’t sit right with me. My brain just keeps asking how I’d feel if I was out trying to get a burger and someone shot an arrow at my ass. Hard pass.
My thoughts turn back to work when a hand lands on my shoulder and I look up into the eyes of Greg, the beta I met earlier with Sarah. He’s leaning against Kelly’s desk with a curious look on his face. “Hey, um…Spence? I thought that’s what Teddy said your name was. Sarah called you Moose, but I’ve never known her to actually ask anyone’s permission before bestowing a new moniker on them. You ok there, my dude?”
Aww, that’s nice he came to check on me.
But…where’s Sarah? Is she ok?
He didn’t leave her alone, did he?
No, wait, Kelly and her pack are here; it’ll be fine.
I look around, not seeing the tiny omega, and he notices before I can ask. “Sorry, Sarah went back to hitting the free weights. We were stuck on a plane for a long time yesterday, and if she doesn’t burn off some of her excess energy, she’s gonna strangle Steve when we get back to their house. You know how it is?”
I do, actually. He’s one of my bosses too, but I don’t find him as irritating as some people, though I did almost strangle him when we first met. But I can tell how much he loves Teddy and the rest of the pack. Even Kelly, though he won’t admit it. He has all the social skills of a dead skunk, but he’s loyal to the people he cares about. Plus, I’ve seen the way Kelly smiles when they talk about those books of theirs, and anybody who can make the sweet beta girl smile like that is ok.
My mind snaps back to the beta in front of me. Stupid, derailed train of thought. “Oh, sorry, I was…um…can I help you with something? That is, if they don’t fire me. I mean, they might…still. I lost ’em two contracts today. Nobody would blame them for it.” It’s a miracle my voice doesn’t crack.
“What, dude? No, Teddy won’t fire you, and I’m pretty sure Kelly wouldn’t let Garret or Steve do it either. Besides, while I know for a fact that Sarah can take care of herself if she needs to, I’d rather her not have to. The less trouble we get into whilewe’re here, the better. Besides, I think she likes your knight-in-shining-tank-top schtick. You know? Not many people treat Sarah like she deserves. Even at school, most of the other omegas find her a little…what’s the word? Abrasive.”
I nod along, though I can’t imagine how anyone could find her anything but adorable. He’s staring at me with an intense expression, and I’m starting to worry I have a hot cocoa mustache…is that even a thing? You can have a milk mustache, but can you get one from…
I’m getting sidetracked again.
He seems to come to some sort of internal decision, because he nods to himself before speaking to me again. “So, Spence…Kelly mentioned your pack earlier. Do you guys have an omega? I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, so I thought it would be prudent to ask before I ask about a favor we might need. Might being the operative word here, and I still need to talk to Sarah, but I don’t want to suggest anything she’ll kill me for later without talking to all other parties first. You get me?”
My purr stutters back to life in my chest, and I can feel my face heating in embarrassment. Holy hell, why can’t I control this damned thing?
Chapter 30
Spence looks wrung out when he gets home from work.
Not that I can blame the poor bastard. I mean, I know he works hard, and he loves being there. It’s not like any of his bosses are strict, and even though we told him it was a terrible idea, he told them at the start that he really wanted a job in teaching. They still hired him. He did say that Kelly looked kind of exasperated when he mentioned it, but she understands.
She later told me that nobody else was going to hire him if he kept telling people that he really wants a different kind of job. But we also both know he won’t leave them in the lurch, even if he gets hired as a teacher. He said he’d be happy even if he only got to work weekends at the gym. Seriously, I love the big dork, but he’ll do everything in his power to avoid inconveniencing anyone.
Which is how I know, when he comes through the door looking like a kicked puppy, that something has gone horribly wrong with the day. He rode his bicycle to work today since the weather was warmer—I’ve lived here all my life, and I’m still not sure what weather’s doing from day to day. I have my cruiser, even while stuck in the office, because Abe didn’t want to do the paperwork on it. Plus, he told me I’m “on call” which I didn’t think that was something that police officers did, but when your precinct is as small as ours, you have to be ready to do whatever to cover emergencies. They also know that if something serious comes up, I won’t bail on them, especially not with Josh possibly being in danger.
That being said, the biggest scandal we’ve had here was Xan shooting that motherfucker with my gun. Which is why I’m spending my day assembling IKEA bookcases for Al, so he can have his library. We’ll need to make a trip to the recycling center soon. The recycling truck that normally does our cardboard already seems to hate us for all the boxes we put out. Spence is super conscientious about flattening them, but since we recently moved in, it’s going to take some time to get everything unpacked and situated. Not to mention having to get some new furniture and update a couple of appliances. Now, the boxes these shelves came in, well, it’ll just be easier to rent a U-Haul or borrow Josh’s truck to take it all away at once.
I groan, my knees popping as I stand up. Spence passed the room I’m working in, and I heard him close the door to his bedroom, but he hasn’t come back out. That in itself is unusual, since he normally wants to tell me how his day went and how everyone is doing at work. I don’t mind. They aren’t my friends like he is. But they are important to him so it’s important to me.
Spence has been part of my family since we were kids, and while everyone else thought I was insane when I found my scent match at twenty-five, he believed me. He was also there to helpme when she rejected me because she didn’t “want or need an alpha.”
