Page 54 of Not Ready

Mercy simply smiles as Vale sticks her damn face into his armpit.

That can’t be normal omega behavior, right?

It’s kinda cute in a weird way, but normal people don’t act like this.

No one I’ve ever known has had such an affinity for body odor.

I mean, he’s ripe.

I can smell his stench from here. It’s not the least bit appealing to me, but from the looks of it, the little omega is in heaven.

Mercy palms the back of her head. The look on his face isn’t one I recognize. Well, not until he picks up the change in her scent. He wraps a hand in her hair quite tactlessly and tilts her face up to meet his. He gently pulls her head to the side, then the other.

She laughs, pulling at the neckline of her dress. There’s a set of bright red canine marks.

“Congratulations,” Mercy says, his eyes bouncing between the two of them.

“Thank you. It’s completely fucking crazy.” Bishop laughs, shaking his head.

“In a good way,” Vale says, diving back into Mercy’s funky-smelling armpit.

“In the best way,” Bishop agrees, looking at Mercy and Vale with a weirdly affectionate look. “Well, until I got the random urge to bury my face in your other pit, but I’m guessing that’s spillover from the bond. She’s really enjoying herself.”

I bark a laugh. That does have to be wild.

Vale peeks over her shoulder at me. “You haven’t changed your mind about the pack commitment stuff?”

My stomach twists at the thought. It’s not fear of getting myself into something I’m not prepared for. I think that feeling might be discomfort at the thought of disappointing her. “Nope. I’m ready whenever you are.”

This is how I pay off my mom’s house, once and for all. No more paying it down a little at a time, and if I play my cards right, I’ll be able to buy myself something too. I don’t think they’ll want me sticking around the pack house once I dissolve my part of the union.

This has to qualify as the most anticlimactic marriage ceremony in all of time. Reeves checks each of our driver’s licenses and fills out the paperwork. Then he watches us sign two copies, stamps the forms, and has a couple of the other guys sign as witnesses.

Stevenson pops his head in the door as Reeves finishes copying down everything in his leather notebook, which I guess is meant for notary stuff. “Merrick is on hold. He’s asking for one of the three of you.”

“I’m done, anyway.” Reeves shoves his chair back from the table, glancing between us. “Uh, congratulations?”

“Thank you,” Mercy says, looking at Bishop and Vale.

The big guy has his tongue down her throat while he creepily palms the baby belly. Her cheeks are bright pink as they pull back, and a silly smile breaks out over her face.

Reeves nods, heading out.

I glance between Vale and the phone on the conference table. She shouldn’t be here for this.

“Would you take a quick walk around the building with me?” Mercy asks the omega.

I toss myself back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. What the fuck is that about? He’s trying to get her out of the room—that much is clear—but shouldn’t Bishop be the one to handle that?

“Merrick is the tech specialist.” Bishop squats down in front of the rolling chair she’s sitting in. “Do you want to stick around? Or would you rather I handle things?” He rubs her stomach tenderly. “The last thing you need is to get stressed out.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’d like to stay,” Vale says, looking between Mercy and Bishop. “I mean, it’s about me. So, I should stay.”

I scoff. “Not if it’s going to cause you mental anguish.”

Mercy and Bishop both swivel to give me scathing looks. Maybe that wasn’t the most tactful delivery. “I’m just saying. Our clients don’t usually hear our inside communications about their cases.”

There’s a very fucking good reason for that.

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