Page 4 of Fur-Ever Home

"Oh." I let him go, and he tugged his bag over to the line already boarding the plane. I approached the gate agent's desk. "I need to get on this plane. How do I do that?"

The woman behind the counter stared at me blankly. "What? You can't be in here without a ticket."

"I was flying to Phoenix, but now I want to go to … wherever this is going."

"Atlanta," she said.

"Cool. I've been there plenty. What can you do for me?"

She shook her head, but she pulled up the available seats on her console. "We've got two seats in First Class. We planned to bump a person from business class, but?—"

"I'll take them both."

"Both?" She stared at me blankly.

"I like to stretch my legs," I said. I stretched my arms over my head and looked as intimidating as I could, which was probably more like a cuddly wolf pup waking from a nap. "And I need to book a connecting flight to LA." I'd driven past the giant Barclay Foods building often enough. It was right by the coast highway between San Diego and Los Angeles. I hoped my mate worked there, not at some subsidiary. Financial Manager sounded important enough to be on the main campus.

"There's no connecting flight. There's a flight to Denver still open, and one seat on a flight from there to Orange County airport."

"Close enough. I'll take it."

She rolled her eyes and gave me an amount around a full month's salary. I suppressed a grin and handed her my business credit card. Hank could make one final purchase for me, if it meant holding onto my fated mate.

3

BENJAMIN

After all the rush,the plane sat on the tarmac for ten minutes while we waited for someone in first class to board. They took their sweet time, too. From my aisle seat, I couldn't see the person who finally boarded over the beta flight attendant as he walked past me.

I almost felt bad for the jerk who had kept us waiting when the beta said, "Sorry, Mr. McKeeler. We couldn't get your bags off the flight to Phoenix. You can pick them up tomorrow at the Orange County airport."

Wait. Someone else was headed to Orange County with me? It wasn't unusual for folks between San Diego and Los Angeles to use the smaller airport, but I had two layovers before then. Why would anyone else have wanted those flights?

Then, the beta flight attendant made his way to me. "Mr. Satler, you've been bumped to first class."

"I'm sorry, what?" I must have misheard.

"Do you need me to grab a bag for you?"

"No." I pulled my carry-on from beneath the seat in front of me. I glanced at the two women in my row, hoping they could explain the strange turn of events. They only smiled back at me,and the one closest to me waved her arms in a shooing motion. "Maybe it's an admirer," she said.

Fuck, I hoped not. I didn't need an alpha pining for me on top of everything else.

I clutched my bag to my chest and followed the flight attendant to the cushy seat beyond the curtain.

I groaned when I saw him. Connor. The guy who had helped me through the airport. The giant blond alpha with huge blue eyes and a sweet dimpled smile that would make most omegas swoon.

Not this omega. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Stalking you." He didn't even try to deny it.

The attendant took my bag from me and tucked it into the overhead bin. I felt naked without it. I tugged at my suit jacket and sank into the empty seat with a sigh.

"Can't you smell it?"

This alpha did not know how to take no for an answer. I could tell from his wide-open eyes and expectant smile.

Well, fuck him. I was full of, "No."

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