The smallest guy is glaring at me from beside Moose, and everything about him screams to stay the fuck away. Which just means I have to get closer and be an asshole. Because people glaring at me for no reason pisses me off. My voice is raised as I call out to the big guy, and he looks up, surprised, a big dopey grin stretching across his face like we’re old friends. Aww, yeah, I knew he wasn’t a douche-canoe.
His giant hand comes up, almost causing him to drop the book he’s been fondling. “Sarah! Greg! Hi! What are you guys doing here? We’re looking at pillows!” He seems super happy to see me, and I don’t even have time to ask what’s up before he plops the book back on a kiosk and jogs towards us. “Hey, you two. I didn’t think I’d see y’all again.” He looks over my shoulder at Greg with a puzzled expression. “I mean, it’s good to see you again. How are you doing? What’s…um…what’s up…Oh, wait, this is my pack, lemme introduce you!”
Moose is a very animated conversationalist, the kind Tio Miguel said wouldn’t be able to talk if you tied his hands behind his back. Everything he does involves gesticulating, and he nearly knocks over his blond packmate when he tries to wave them over. Thankfully, long and tall has fast reflexes and manages to catch the flailing arm before he gets an elbow to the face.
“This is Paul.” The bigger alpha intones, clumsily wrapping his arm around the other blond’s shoulders. “He’s like my brother; we’ve known each other forever. His baby brother, Josh, is my best friend. He’s awesome and super smart…and a cop. But he’s not working right now, ’cause of…stuff.” Moose’s eyes flick behind me just as Teddy comes puffing to a halt at my side. “Oh,hey boss. I didn’t expect to see you not at work. Hi Sam!” He waves again at the alpha who settles behind Teddy.
His attention turns back to me, and I’m worried he’s going to pass out soon if he doesn’t take a breath. But he seems to be on a roll and have great lung capacity, so we’ll see how this plays out. Maybe he’ll just deflate like a giant balloon when he finally runs out of air. “And this is our pack leader. He teaches at the college me and Kelly went to. Oh, and Steve—he started there too. I don’t think he has any classes though with the professor, ’cause he teaches history. My packmate, not Steve. He doesn’t teach anything. I mean he could, he could totally do some nutrition classes at the gym. Not that he has to. But if he wants…Shit. Um, anyway, yeah. We just bought a house, and I was shopping for pillows. How are you doing?”
The big guy finally seems to run out of steam, his face turning red as his eyes drop to the floor, embarrassed.
Both packmates step up beside Moose, and it’s cute that they seem so protective of the big guy. Paul smiles and gives a little wave, his other hand landing on Moose’s shoulder and rubbing the tense muscles there. The smaller one is looking between Greg and me, and it seems like as good a time as any to make our own introductions. Greg’s arm goes around me, offering support I’m not sure if I need.
These guys make me nervous. Notbadnervous, kind of fluttery nervous. Which is strange in and of itself, since for all I know, every one of them could really be assholes. I doubt Teddy would hire assholes. Well, Moose could be cool, his packmates could be assholes. I let my eyes wander to the taller one and return his little wave with one of my own. “Hi, I’m Sarah. We’re just visiting Teddy for the break. This is my partner, Greg.Who I will be bonding as soon as he lets me.” My beta huffs a laugh into my hair. Fuck, why did I say that? Let’s just move on. “And we met Moose yesterday at the gym where I was being harassedby a pack with a truly unfortunate name. Also, he was getting groped by some skanky beta bit—” Greg’s hand comes over my mouth, silencing my hysterical ramble.
Why can’t I shut up?
Fucking hell.
Please stop me now.
My breath comes out in a huff through my nose, and I finally notice that the smaller man is pointedly ignoring me while giving poor Moose a huge dose of side-eye. His voice is soft as he quietly addresses the giant alpha. “I thought you said you reported her; she has no right to touch you without your permission. I told you I would talk to somebody about it if you’re not comfortable.” The bigger man is shuffling from side to side, looking distraught, his face going red.
Ah, shit.
Before my brain can stop it, my feet are moving, dragging Greg along with me as I step up into Moose’s space, shouldering the smaller alpha out of the way and wrapping my arms around the big guy. They aren’t long enough to go all the way around, but I’m trying. His breath hitches a few times, one hand coming up to rest on my head like he wants to pet me, and then he starts purring.
Which is both awkward and sweet. I mean, I like him well enough, and it makes me feel like my bones are going to melt, but this doesn’t seem like the time or place for it. Greg clears his throat quietly behind me. One of his hands is trapped between my chest and the stomach in front of me. Even if he couldn’t hear the motorboat level of sound, the vibrations sinking into my torso would be a dead giveaway.
The other blond, Paul, squeezes Moose’s shoulder again before putting his hand on my arm and gently trying to move me back. His voice is quiet. “Please don’t be offended. He has sometrouble with that. He’s not trying to be inappropriate; it just happens sometimes.”
Moose’s hand lifts off my head to rub across his face, and I feel like an asshole for making him even more embarrassed. His face is mostly covered, but the tips of his ears are bright pink, and it’s so stinking cute. Which isn’t a word I would normally associate with someone his size, but there’s no better way to describe it right now.
As awkward as it is, I want to keep hugging him…and have him keep purring for me. It’s been forever since anyone did. Basically, when I was a little kid and our dads would sometimes purr to help settle us down. The last time I really remember was when Scarlet was a baby, but she never cared for it like the rest of us girls. She didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t as soothing as it was to us. I guess we know why now. I let Greg draw me back so there are a couple of feet between me and the trio of alphas.
Chapter 37
Teddy’s quiet chuckle behind me draws me away from Moose more than anything else, and I turn to see Sam nuzzling against his hair. Teddy’s eyes are closed, and it’s unclear if he was laughing at my situation or if he’s just a bit ticklish. He never seemed that way before, but even though he’s my bestie, we didn’t touch often. His eyes pop open—almost like he can feel me staring at him—but he just looks happy to be wrapped up by his alpha. He has a small smile and he looks content. It makes me so happy that he found this, but also sad, because I don’t know if I ever will.
My gaze wanders back to the tableau in front of me: Moose, still covering his face like he wants to disappear. Paul speaking quietly to him, rubbing his hand over the bigger man’s raised arm. And the smallest of the three…the one I haven’t really met yet, glaring at me like he just stepped in dog shit.
Oh, he’s the fun one then.
Not.
What a jackass.
Now I just have to annoy him.
It’s like an unwritten rule.
Trying to act like I don’t see the other two, I hold my hand out to the smallest alpha I’ve ever met. Handshakes are a pretty universal gesture, but the way he looks at my palm, you’d think I was trying to hand the guy a dead rat. Still, I press on. “Hey, sorry about that. Like I said before, I’m Sarah and this is Greg. I apologize, I’m not great with people. You’re Moose’s—”
His voice is harsh as he cuts me off. “Fucking hell, woman! I am not an omega!” His outburst is a bit shocking and super off-putting. Nobody likes a random stranger screaming at them—even if I was purposely trying to irritate him.
It takes all of my considerable willpower not to rear back and knock the shit out of this guy. “I was going to say ‘packmate.’ You don’t smell like an omega, you smell like roasted pecans.” The look in his eyes is speculative. “It reminds me of my grandparents’ orchard. Why the fuck would anybody think you were an omega?” He huffs out a loud breath, but I refuse to admit that it’sexactlywhat I was thinking a few minutes earlier.
“Well, isn’t that convenient? Your grandparents grow pecans, huh? So, you justhappento know what they smell like? Yeah, right. There are pecan orchards in the state, but that sounds a bit convenient.” Moose is glaring at the smaller alpha, and my mind is starting to connect the dots. People usually think that this guy is Spencer’s omega? I’m not surprised, since I did at first. But he doesn’t seem to have a sweet bone in his body right now, let alone the scent that gives us away so quickly.
