Page 90 of Why Cruise

When the fuck did that happen?

I slid onto the barstool next to Theo. He didn’t even notice me.

“How’s things?” I said warmly. “What’s good?”

He looked at me, then darted his eyes back to Mackenzie before giving me a pained smile. After about thirty seconds of visible internal struggle, he broke.

“That’s her ex,” he said. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but he’s somehow on the ship.”

Daryl.

I watched the dynamics play out. Mackenzie perched in this douche’s lap while his pack swarmed around her. The bite mark on his neck was still pink and fresh. Every time she put her drink down, they pushed it back into her hands. They kept leaning in to whisper in her ear, touching her back, her leg. Classic love bombing.

“Well,” I said, doing everything possible to push down that possessive voice shouting “mine” in my head. These fucking alpha instincts sucked.

“She’s happy, right?” Theo said, no longer even trying to convince himself. “That’s what’s important. Look how happy she is.”

“Let’s go ruin their day,” I said to Theo, patting him on the shoulder. He tried to pull me back, but I just winked. As the music changed, I snagged a flag from a middle-aged man who was never going to find a pack on this cruise, anyway.

I pulled out a chair and slammed it down at their table, making half their drinks slosh. Mackenzie sat up straight, shock painted across her face.

“So boys,” I said, scanning the table until my eyes settled on the pack lead, “looking for packmates?”

The pack lead hedged. “Well, we were…”

“Excellent. I’m looking for a pack myself. I bring a lot of resources to the table.” I leaned forward. “What are your pack finances like?”

“Uh…” The pack lead shifted uncomfortably. “I’m Brock. Let me introduce the rest of the pack…”

“I’m Ren Delano,” I cut him off. “Nice to meet you.”

Maybe my name would be a deterrent. Who the fuck knew at this point?

“So, pack finances… five young, healthy-looking alphas. You must be pulling in at least half a million a year, right?”

Their silence was telling.

“Well, you see, Sam here has gone back to school,” Brock said. “And with his degree and everything… and the economy’s really hard right now. Chaz is still looking…”

“So what, a quarter mil between all five of you? Must be rough surviving on what? $125k?” Less. It was less.

“What do you do?” one of them asked defensively.

“Restaurants. Family business. You?”

“Cars,” Brock said with a sharp smile. “I sell cars.” Used ones, no doubt.

“We just bought a house,” another one chimed in.

“Yeah, right on the edge of the Mired District. Up and coming neighborhood. Very trendy,” Brock added quickly.

“Five bedrooms, six baths. A pool. It’s pretty great. And now that we have our omega…”

I looked at Mackenzie for the first time and smiled. She nervously chewed on her drink straw, her cheeks flushed. I couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment, anger, or alcohol.

“Five bedrooms.” I counted out the alphas. “One, two, three, four, five. And what about your omega? Oh wow, are you one of those traditional packs with a schedule for their omega to bed hop?”

Brock’s face darkened. “Now wait a minute…”

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