Silky blond hair fell across Grayson’s light eyes as he peeked up through equally pale lashes. “It’s really good. Do you want to—Or can you even eat—”
Keld shook his head. “Gluten doesn’t play well with Mer digestive tracts.”
“Oh.” Grayson twirled his fork in the noodles. “How about yours? The green salt is matcha?”
Keld dusted a thick slice of raw tuna in the powder and popped into his mouth. Warm salt imbued with a distant bitterness melted into the savory, rich flavor of the fish. This was one of his favorite dishes. “It’s incredible. Try some.”
Keld used his chopsticks to pat a smaller piece of fish into the dish of green salt and held it out toward Grayson.
“It’s… raw, right?” The Omega looked, if possible, more nervous. “I’ve never had raw fish.”
Keld shrugged and retracted his offering.
They finished their meal in a staticky silence that set Keld’s teeth on edge. In his periphery, he could see Duion typing furiously. An update on this disastrous date for his nosy Omega father, no doubt.
“Why’d you agree to meet me?” Keld asked, his tone harsher than he anticipated. “You’ve looked like you’re on the edge of bolting all evening.”
Grayson flinched, eyes going wide. Keld noted irritably that his irises were the shade of shallow water on a cloudless day. Annoyingly beautiful.
“I—” The Omega’s tongue darted out across his full lower lip. “Beau seemed to think it was a good idea.”
“Beau?” Keld scoffed. “A man you knew for all of a few minutes?”
Grayson’s face went redder under the blanket of freckles.
“Listen, I know uprooting your whole life to come here must be a lot to handle.” Keld took a steadying breath. “But maybe you should hold off on dating until you’re not completely terrified of Alphas. It’s a little insulting, watching you shake like a cornered rat.”
His mind flashed to a vague memory of his childhood, one wherehewas the cornered rat, watching his mother hurl things across the room. Now, it was his very presence making someone else feel the same way.
“I’ll get the bill,” he muttered. Before the shocked Omega could say anything, Keld pushed to his feet and strode off. Duion jumped, fumbling to print the bill and accept the credit card Keld shoved into his hands at the same time.
“That good, huh?” the kid muttered.
“Fantastic.” Keld snatched his card back and stormed out into the humid night air.
∞∞∞
Had he overreacted? Yes. Was he embarrassed? Yes. Was he just going to bury his feelings in the soft body of a pliant Omega sub at Siren? Also yes.
Kir eyed him as they filled a glass with gose. “You look like you’re in an abnormally bad mood.”
“I am always a delight.” Keld accepted the glass and took a swig. “Just a bad day. Need to blow off some steam.”
“Blow off or get blown?”
“Both, ideally.”
Kir smirked. “Well, it’s a good night for it. Your fanclub’s had a good turnout tonight.”
Keld glanced over his shoulder and noticed a group of five or six Omegas at a corner table, eyeing him. He recognized Dakota’s small, slim figure among them, though he was pretty sure he’d fucked all of them at least once.
“They’re not my fanclub,” he said, turning back to the bar. “Options are limited, that’s all.”
Kir jerked a shoulder. “Maybe. Regardless, the result is a fanclub.”
Keld took a sip of his drink and tossed another casual look at the Omegas. “Think I could convince all of them to join me?”
“Probably.”
