AFTER A BRIEF NAP and some lunch, I left a prickly Baby to her boxes. I wasn’t entirely sure what had her hackles up, only that I’d been asking where she wanted me to put her things until she finally snapped, “I’ll just manage it myself, thank you!” So with a kiss and a few touches, until her shoulders had softened out of their uncomfortable tight knot, I headed down to the club.
The pack was gathering, an hour until the bar opened. Scorch nodded as I entered.
“How is she?”
“Kinda… grouchy,” I said, waving my hand.
He frowned and the others watched us. “Still? ‘Bout the betas?”
I shrugged. “Not sure yet, to be honest. Thought I’d ask Books to look into it. Maybe it’s a heat thing?”
Books, Mackenzie as Baby knew him, nodded at the mention and pulled out his phone to start his research.
“When’s Bomber gonna get a break and you let one of us alphas step in and take care of the little piece?” Cole asked.
I frowned at the alpha, relieved to see Scorch joining me. Cole, or Coal for his shitty black heart, was a great hand with a bike, and a smart man in a sticky situation. He was a brother too, part of the pack, part of the crew. He was also kind of a dickhead. Baby might not have held the same significance to me as a beta as she did to the alphas, but I was already well on my way to devoted to her, and a little iffy on whether or not I wanted Coal bonding her. It might be what was best for her, but it would create tension for me unless Coal got his head out of his ass about the VP of the club being a beta.
“When she asks for one of you. By name,” Jonah said, eyes narrowing on him. “You heard her in the hall. This is not an omega that needs us to chase her or coax her. She can speak her damn mind, and when she does, I fucking expect you to listen. If I ever catch one of you alphaing her into something she doesn’t like, making her nervous or whine, we are gonna have more than words between us.”
“Alphas and omegas fit because omegas thrive on the structure we offer,” Books called out.
Jonah started to growl, and I elbowed him in the stomach before he could work himself up to real snarl. “Listen to your pack,” I murmured. Listen to them, even if to anticipate the problems they might create.
“I’m not saying pressure her into things she doesn’t want because we want them,” Books continued. “Just that there may be times when we have to offer opportunities or act on an initiative to keep her needs met. She’s in an unfamiliar situation, and limiting choices or offering a guideline might
make her feel more secure.”
I swallowed, thinking of Baby’s mood upstairs as I’d asked her dozens of questions about how she wanted the apartment arranged. I wondered if Scorch would’ve done the same, or if he’d have just put things where he thought they made sense and she could’ve tackled any problems he created for her.
Scorch looked at me, silently asking what I thought of Books’ concern, and I nodded softly.
“I’d like to operate under the assumption that she can speak up for herself to start with, but yeah, I see your point. If she doesn’t seem happy, then we’ll know we’re doing it wrong. Happy is the important part, yeah?”
Most of the guys cheered in agreement, even Coal looked pleased and not in a sarcastic way for once. It was Dusty who spoke up.
“If she don’t mind me and my sweet butt, Candy as we is, then I sure as shit don’t mind a bossy omega.”
Even Scorch laughed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Right. Sorry for any… cold shoulders you might be dealing with from your ladies. Blame it on me, if you gotta.”
“Oh, I did!” Dusty yelled.
Scorch flipped him off with a grin. “I’m glad the way it sorted out, for what it’s worth. Also glad to hear some of you low-lifes aren’t getting your knot in our sweet omega.”
I wondered how many of the others could see the way their Prez was slightly uncomfortable to make the joke, grimacing at himself just a bit, but it did the trick of raising laughs and spirits.
“Bar ready to go?” I asked Scorch as the meeting broke up.
He nodded and glanced around. “You should get back up to her.”
“I think you should go,” I said, watching with amusement as he stiffened at the suggestion. Big ole’ alpha, scared of a sweet little omega.
“I dunno…”
“Books isn’t wrong, you know. Science or not. She’s new to all of this. Even her designation,” I said, keeping my back to the others and my voice low so our conversation would be between us and us alone. “Yeah, she likes me. And yeah, she’s comfortable with me. But despite what you think, she chose this pack knowing the alphas in it would be pretty fucking important people in her life. And she’s spent next to no time with any of you.”
“I don’t wanna scare her off,” Scorch said, close enough to a whisper and at top speed. I still caught the words. His eyes flicked to mine and then away again. “Comin’ on too strong and shit.”
I snorted. “You’re her alpha, it’s the name of the game.”
“For now.” Before I could respond, he nodded and started to back away. “You’re right, though.
I’ll go sit with her. I put the courting gift in the apartment anyway.”
Scorch could give me mental whiplash sometimes. We’d only found out we had the chance to court Baby yesterday, and an hour later she’s on her way to us. So either Scorch had worked up a minute to hunt down a courting gift in the past twenty-four hours without me noticing—unlikely—or he’d had one ready before the pack even knew it was chosen. And the idiot was still talking like he expected Baby to dodge us like a bullet. After seeing her open up to him like he was the sun and she was a flower last night, I was pretty confident that Baby was well and truly settled on us assholes.
She liked Green for chrissakes.
Green—Ryan, as she knew him—wasn’t the least likable guy I knew, but he certainly wasn’t the easiest to hang with. Undoubtedly loyal, and kind of a genius, Green was just a icy prick in his moods.
“Hey,” I called before Scorch could leave. “Think she’s kind of sick of trying to figure out where her stuff goes in the apartment. Maybe take over a bit there to start,” I suggested, operating off my hunch. If I was wrong, and it pissed Baby off to have Scorch charging in, well… better him than me.
He nodded, brow furrowing in serious thought, and I resisted the urge to laugh. Alpha and omega power dynamics were a shit show. In this case, I was glad to have front row seats.
