Page 97 of Slick Handling

“Apollo will be going on a small road trip coming up on Thursday. It will be for a few days, but we’re playing in games Friday and Saturday. He’ll be back this weekend so it won’t be a big deal. That’s about as long as he usually goes away because of pack regulations. Once you bond, the team does allow travel, for the bonded with the team.” Mick explained, “Would you be comfortable traveling with the team? What sort of goals do you have for your future?”

The way she tenses on my lap makes me on high alert.

My eyes meet Vaughn’s and he seems to be thrown off by her reaction as well.

“I want to work. I’ve worked my whole life and pulled my weight. I don’t think it would be fair to stop doing that now. I’ve been thinking about, maybe, doing some work as a seamstress. I did a lot of that in the village. I made clothes for the children and women, but I also would hem mens suits and work on them as well. I don’t really know how to go about that, but I think that would be what I could do best. I could open a store? Something that is my own?”

She’s unsure and I feel like we’re pushing her too hard. We’ve worked our whole lives to play hockey. Played since we were just kids. Clover just broke free from a life she had expected to live. She just learned she was an Omega.

We’re not coming across clear.

It’s like we’re just setting up more rules for a life with her and that isn’t what we wanted to do.

“You don’t have to pull your weight. You don’t have to have anything figured out right now. All we need to really know is if you’re okay courting us. It’s clear we’re scent compatible and we’re all drawn to you. You’re the first Omega we’ve ever courted and things are already moving quickly for us. It’s common for pairs to bond after a few months. Our instincts rule us and we’re just trying to make sure that we don’t push you too hard.” Vaughn explains everything way better and Clover relaxes a bit in my arms.

“I’m still learning what it’s like to be an Omega.”

“That’s fine. Griffin is still learning how to pee standing up.” Mick ducks the smack Griffin aims at him, “This process isn’t going to be perfect, but we want to go through it with you, little Omega.”

Clover rests one of her hands over where I’m stroking her thigh. Her thumb tracing over my knuckles as she bites at her lip.

“I liked you all so much. Are you sure you want to court me though? I don’t really know what I’m doing and there are so many other Omega’s who don’t come with all the problems I do. I mean with Pack Weaver and growing up in a Beta only village-”

“Little weed, you grew up in a cult. It wasn’t a Beta only village. I mean it was, but they literally taught you that Alpha and Omega designations were bad. And I can’t even imagine what it’s like to now be an Omega. You’re so strong and smart. So brave for embracing your designation. And that makes you the perfect Omega for us. And, if you didn’t see already, I have no problem beating the fuck out of any other Alpha who looks at you. So Bryce Weaver and his pack of douchebags aren’t a concern.”

Her hand squeezes mine and the silence hits.

Clover likes to babble when she’s nervous. She talks about things in string-on sentences to ease pauses in conversation. She talks to make sense of things. Her silence is something new that we’re learning now to handle.

She doesn’t ask if we want her or ask for more reassurance from us. There is nothing about her body language that seems shy or unsure.

She’s just quiet.

We let her sit in her silence. Sipping our drinks and just waiting for her to be ready.

“Okay, I’m ready to be your pack Omega. Exclusive. I’m ready for the full experience now. As long as I can say stop if things get too much and as long as I do have some say in things. Which I do? Of course I do.”

Thank fucking God.

Tilting her head back, I kiss her to quiet that sweet babbling that she does. To let her know that she is mine.

Ours.

My teeth nip her lip making her gasp and giving me the space to kiss her deeper.

Fuck.

She’s an addiction. She’s going to make me lose my mind from falling for her.

“Okay, enough of that. We have a gift.” Clover pulls away as Griffin looks at McKinley. The Beta pulls out the wrapped white box with the silk pink ribbon.

We had picked out this gift over the weekend and had gone in to get the imprints of our canines done for it.

Clover takes the box, sitting forward, as she tugs at the ribbon to undo it. She gasps as she sees the four bracelets inside. They’re all silver cuffs, but at the ends are our individual canine teeth. The bracelets go on easily, but our teeth can dig into her skin to mark her if she presses down. Not like the permanent bonds we’ll leave on her but just a mark that she is ours. There is a small charm with each of our initials on each one as well as our birthstones and a small charm we each picked out.

Vaughn has a green emerald on his and for his charm, he picked out a Phoenix for Clover. He said that she is his second chance at family and happiness. He’s putting so much hope into her. It was important to him that she also knew that this was her rebirth at life too.

Griffin has a red ruby dangling from his bracelet. For his charm he got a clover design, which seemed a little on the nose for my taste. I know he calls her his little weed and technically clover is a weed. He says she’s strong and he’s lucky to have her. I know he put a lot of thought into the charm so I can’t fault him for it.

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