Page 9 of Golden Omega

I tried not to look at her. I did. My wolf snarled and snapped inside me, demanding that I go over there and take her back to our den. Make her ours and mark her.

Finally have our omega.

But that wasn’t the way things worked. My human side wanted to court her. Give her courting gifts. Ask all the questions that first dates did. Learn her likes and dislikes. Let her hear my purr. Allow her to whimper when she needed me like omegas did.

Fuck, all of this was not going to plan.

Maybe the best things didn’t.

“Do we give her space?” I asked my bond brothers. My eyes were on her. Lunch was forgotten. Almost forgotten. My wolf would never let me forget a meal entirely.

“No. We have to find out what happened. We can’t correct what we said to upset her if we don’t know what it is. Right?” Sovann leaned back, mimicking my stance. “Why is everyone giving up so fast?”

Her laughter interrupted my thoughts in the best way possible. She was with a friend and they’d ordered.

What did she order? How did she like her steak? Was she a salad-with-dressing-on-the-side girl, or did she like their famous avocado-bacon burger with three kinds of cheese?

Goddess, I had to get hold of myself. This desperation was uncalled for this early in the relationship to be so needy. And yet here I was, yearning for her like my next breath. My pack brothers felt the same. I didn’t have to ask them to know.

Once an alpha found their mate, especially a shifter alpha, there was no question of his priority.

I calmed myself slowly as did Sovann and Orin. We resumed eating and, while there were a thousand other noises in the town and in this crowded diner, all I could hear was her. Noises of affirmation. The sound of her laughter.

We ordered pie because we wanted to extend our time here as long as possible and when it was delivered, her friend received a call. There was giggling, followed by said friend scooting out of the booth and waving goodbye to Hema.

This was it. Our time to find out what we’d done and to pledge to never repeat a mistake. We were half human after all.

“I’m going to ask her to join us. She’s sitting all alone.”

Orin’s eyes widened. “We just talked about giving her space and time.”

“That was before. I can’t… I have to try.”

Before any more rebuttals, I was on my feet and walking toward her. She looked up at me with those huge baby-blue eyes and I paused as the world around her faded away.

“I saw your friend leave.” My voice sounded gravelly. Nerves. Goddess, I was like a boy, nervous to talk to a girl for the first time. “Did you want to join us?”

Chapter Nine

Hema

Did I want to join them?

More than anything, but also less.

The alpha I’d seen walking past the shop that day, Altan, was the one who invited me, but he was asking me to come and sit with all of them. While they placed their orders, they’d been charming, but in fact no more than that. And hot guys, in my limited experience, had a rough time turning off the charm.

They were getting married, and even if they wanted a little omega on the side, they wouldn’t be announcing it in a public place. So, I did the only thing a businesswoman could do. Did I want to join them? More than anything, but not for reasons that were entirely honorable.

“I’ve got a few minutes before I need to return to the shop.” Standing, I picked up my iced tea and followed him to the booth at the back. The guy in black, I thought his name was Orin, slid out and let me get in, which put me at the back middle, unable to leave unless one of them let me out or, if desperation struck, I could crawl under the table. Wouldn’t that be professional.

As we all got settled, the server came and refilled everyone’s iced tea and winked at me. My cheeks burned. I wanted to tell her it was just business, but that seemed like more information than a person should share with the person filling their beverage at a diner. She could think what she wanted.

“Would you like some pie?” Sovann asked. He seemed the most laid-back of the three, and his arm casually lay over the back of the booth behind my shoulder. “It’s very good.”

“No, thank you. I don’t have time. But it looks very good.” That’s good. Polite and friendly. But sitting there surrounded by the three of them, scents of delicious desserts filling my nose, holding myself aloof was not happening. Or at least, I was holding on by my fingertips.

“I didn’t know we had a new flower shop in town,” Altan said conversationally. “Then I took a different walking route to work and there you were.”