Thicc: Are you coming back in? I want to grab a couple of new blankets for the game room. But I can come back later if you’re in a rush.
Greg looks between me and my phone, his brows raised in question.
Sarah: No, take your time. I feel a lot better. I’m just taking a breather. Might be back inside in a few minutes, so grab what you need, no rush.
I stare at Greg, trying to decide how worried he’ll be if I try to go back inside, and my phone buzzes again.
Thicc: Spence has some paint samples he wants to ask you about if you come back inside. They are hovering around the pillow stuffing area, freaking out security. So lemme know if you want me to bring them out to you…or if you’ll deal with him yourself. I think the big guy has a crush on you.
Greg starts giggling as he reads over my shoulder, causing Steve and Kelly to finally look over from their argument. The alpha looks between us for a moment before snatching my phone and looking at the screen. He stops my protest with a raised palm. “If it’s from my Bear, I have a right to see it.” I don’tget his logic, but since there’s nothing incriminating going on, that’s fine.
His resulting short laugh when he reads the messages causes Kelly to make grabby hands at the phone. Garret reads over her shoulder before staring from me to the phone again with a look of puzzlement. Kelly looks at me hopefully, handing my phone back. “Oh my gosh, that’s so cute. Spence is such a sweetie, you could certainly do worse. I don’t know much about Alistair, but Paul is nice too. He’s been in some trouble this year with his job, but he’s a steady guy. He did a lot to keep my bosses out of trouble last year. And trust me when I say after what Xan did, he needed the help.”
Steve’s mouth drops at her words, and he looks genuinely shocked, so she rushes on. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, Xan was right. I mean, he saved me and Jake. And Steve. But the whole situation was pretty messed up.” My confusion at how vague she’s being must be showing because she shifts from side to side. All the little braids her mate put in her hair swing back and forth, already coming undone since he didn’t tie them off. Her voice is quieter when she starts again. “I don’t know if Teddy told you or not, but last year Steve and Garret’s dad showed up while he was back in Los Angeles getting all their stuff. He was nuts, and he set the workshop on fire, shot my poor Jake…and Steve.” The alpha in question looks annoyed at being an afterthought...again.
Kelly turns slightly towards Garret, giving the underside of his jaw a quick kiss before continuing. “The fire department and police showed up because I called 911, but the guy wouldn’t stand down. Jacks was freaking out, Jake was bleeding, and I was half-conscious ’cause one of his goons was choking me, so Xan took Paul’s gun and shot the guy…That sounds bad, but Paul had warned him multiple times, and he was gonna shoot Steve again. Xan’s a good guy, just a little…” Her hand wavesback and forth in a so-so gesture. “Morally plaid would probably be accurate. He really is a sweetheart, but he doesn’t take threats to his people well, and he’s super protective of Jacks and Candice. I guess since I was working for them at the time, I fell under that umbrella. Even though he used Paul’s gun to do it, they didn’t throw him under the bus.”
Steve’s voice is quiet when he finally joins the conversation. “The fucker had it coming. He wasn’t so much a father as a controlling piece of shit that tried to ruin our lives over and over until he finally died. He’s the reason Teddy…” His voice trails off like he’s said too much and I can feel my eyes narrow as I stare the scrawny alpha down.
“He’s the reason…what?” If he was about to say what I think, then it’s a good thing the motherfucker is already dead, so I don’t have to hunt him down and kill him myself. Steve just mutters incoherently, grabbing a book off the stack between him and Kelly and burying his face in it.
Kelly draws my attention back to her and Garret as he starts a new line of braids. “Yeah, no. He was awful. But my point is: Paul’s a good guy. I don’t know much about Alistair. He started teaching after I got my core credits out of the way, so I never had him for class. But I don’t recall ever hearing anything bad about him, as a teacher or a guy in general. Just kind of mysterious. He showed up in the area one day in that little VW of his. He’s brought it into the shop a few times for oil changes. Gabe grumbles because the damned thing needs a lot of work, but it just keeps going. Something about German engineering, I don’t know. I just think it’s cute and could use a paint job. Though I do sometimes wonder how the heck all three of them fit in there.”
She taps her chin a few times, as if deep in thought. “Anyway. Spence has been super excited because they just bought a house, and he’s working on the nest. Alistair is frustrated about the situation, and I’m guessing he has a bad history with omegas.He’s been seen around town with a couple’a beta ladies, but it never seems to be anything serious. Not sure if that’s ’cause he has a pack or they think he’s an omega and get disappointed or what, but if he’s in a pack with Spence and Paul, he can’t be all bad.”
Kelly looks thoughtful after that speech and leans back again, crowding into Garret’s space before tilting her face up for a kiss. He obliges with a happy little smile and then tips her forward again so he can get back to her hair. Without the fighting, it’s a rather idyllic little scene, and part of me wants that. Not Garret or Steve, fucking hell, gross. But companionship.
I love Greg, but we don’t share a lot of the same interests other than music. He’s not into working out, like I had with Thicc and he’s more into history books than romance or comedy. Not that he’s mean about it, but we can’t talk books easily. I could try historical romance, but I’ll need to look for something with orcs or dragons or something big. What can I say? I enjoy the size difference trope. Plus, as sweet as he can be with Shaggbutt, and fully embraces the role of bun-dad, he seems to worry about hurting him. I think he would probably do better with a bigger bun, one that weighs more than five pounds. Maybe when we finally get out of the dorms.
I look down and notice I’m petting Greg’s hand. He’s looking at me warily. He worries so much about everything, and it’s frustrating when he won’t tell me what’s bothering him. I can make a guess that right now it’s me and my crazy as hell body, but I’ve been living with it for twenty-nine years; a few heat flashes are nothing. I wrap my hand around his fingers. “Let’s head back inside. I would hate to have made this trip for nothing, and I really do want to check out that damned pillow stuffing machine now that Thicc mentioned it.”
Chapter 40
The cashiers don’t even give me a second glance as I walk back inside. They probably have omegas with sensitive noses in here all the time, so I doubt I’m the first one that they’ve seen step outside to take a breather. Greg has a tight grip on one of my hands, offering me security with his touch, and I pull out my phone with the other. It’ll be easier to just call Teddy than try to track him down through text. Plus, his phone ringing should be loud enough to help me find him.
Greg pulls me gently along, back towards the center of the store since he knows I’m most interested in the custom pillows. My tummy does that little fluttery thing again, wondering if the alphas are still there. Something about Moose, er Spence, really calls to me. Not like my scent matches, like Greg or John, but something is justrightabout him. Paul seems sad, and I feel like I should give him all the hugs, wrap him in a warm blanketand drag him back to my nest to purr for him until he stops feeling bad. Despite being an asshole, Professor Miller gives me the flutters too. Maybe it’s just his association with the big guy, or maybe he’s actually a really nice person who’s overprotective of his pack. Or he could just be an dipshit since he glares at me when my voice rings out. “Hey, Big Moose! Sorry about that. Teddy said you had something you wanted to show me.”
Spence is bent over, talking to a sales clerk. His big body jerks when I make my exuberant reappearance. No one can ever accuse me of being subtle, that’s for damned sure, and I just want these alphas to know me, the often loud, unapologetic, and overwhelming me that turns so many people off. For some reason, I need them to accept that version of me, so that they can then get to see the softer, more laid-back pizza-and-a-movie me that likes snuggling up in my nest with a good book and cuddles and maybe ordering takeout so nobody has to leave the bed for more than five minutes to answer the door. The version most strangers don’t get to see because it shows too much of my soft, vulnerable little underbelly.
Teddy knows about it; he used to be my TV and takeout partner. Greg does too since he lives with me and I would go nuts if I had to have my walls up all the time—he brings the best pizza, even if we sometimes disagree on movies and never read the same books. Adam and Lily have seen it a few times since they caught me off guard during my depression after Teddy left. Most people only get the outgoing Sarah, and I think I want these big alphas to get to know the quieter version. Still, they have to be ok with the loud version too, which is why it’s so funny to watch the professor’s face turn red with embarrassment as I saunter over.
“Sup, bitches? I’m back! I needed some air, but I have returned to grace you with my presence once again! How goes the pillow hunt, my dudes?” Sure, I’m laying it on thick, and acting overly familiar, but we’re only here for a week. Betterto get all my bluster out of the way early to see if they run screaming in the other direction. Spencer finishes talking to the clerk and turns his full attention our way. A huge grin splits his face. It transforms him from rugged and mildly appealing into shockingly attractive. His eyes crinkle, and I notice he has a chipped tooth, not directly in front, but one just to the side. It probably isn’t noticeable most of the time, but his smile is so big that it becomes apparent. His hair is a shaggy blond bird’s nest on top of his head, and my fingers itch to run through it and try to make some semblance of order. Is it windswept or just naturally floofy?
He looks like he wants to close the distance, but his gaze goes first to Paul and then the professor.
Ugh, that name has got to go, it’s too long.
I refuse to call this man, who has never been my teacher, professor.
Oh, that’s a good one.
“Hey, Teach, Oak…Big Moose! So, Teddy messaged me about paint colors…?” I let my voice trail off, watching as Professor Miller gets even redder in the face when he figures out his newly dubbed moniker. Yeah, I’m keeping that one. Worth it to either piss him off or embarrass him. I could have technically gone with “the littlest alpha” for a full-on kid’s book vibe, but that was super long and kind of missed the point.
Teach raises his hand, only stopping his death glare to rub his eyes. “What…what exactly did you just call us? That doesn’t even make sense. Paul’s name is only one syllable so shortening it to Oak is superfluous. Spencer is often shortened to Spence. I have no idea where you even got the concept of a moose; we aren’t anywhere near Canada. And I am Alistair or Professor Miller, though Spencer mostly calls me Al.”
Greg lets out a startled bark of laughter. He’s looking at the small alpha, grinning like an idiot. “Wait, your name’s Al. Like,seriously?” My beta is giggling fit to split, and I'm not sure exactly what I missed, but Alistair just glares at him. “So…can I call you Al? You can call me Betty.” It’s then I realize that we’ve stumbled across another one of my lover’s little random eccentricities when the man he’s speaking with groans.
I’m feeling a bit tired from earlier and really pushing the attitude so it’s easier to just smile and let it go. “Ok, Pretty Boy, just get it out of your system; I know you need to.”
