Page 54 of Dubious Match
Damn these alphas.
Sitting on the bench, I shift with an impassive face, not wanting to show otherwise that I can still feel the warmth of that smack.
“Anything to say, Hollis?” Brice asks.
Felix hides a smile as he takes my sketch papers and tape to make a large chart.
“Who wants to be in charge of reading out names?” I ask, pulling out my iPad. My laptop is bulky, but it’s also in my bag.
I swear, I just schlep everything everywhere I go.
“I will,” Brice says, amused that I’m ignoring him.
“Thank you,” I say, handing him the iPad with the names loaded.
Together, we begin to put together the seating groupings, and I have to also make sure that I don’t seat alphas near another pack that they can’t stand.
“Pack Tribel can’t be anywhere near Pack Nitra,” I murmur, looking over the large canvas I have in front of me.
“What’s their deal?” Felix asks, leaning over the papers.
A bottle of water and a sandwich magically appears to my left, and I glance over at Remy and Malcolm as they sit down.
“Thank you,” I say. They look suspicious, but they also took awhile, which means they left to get both for me. “Ah, they have a long standing feud apparently. They live next door to each other, and their parents hate each other. Travis Nitra enjoys mowing their lawn with this monstrosity of a riding mower at six in the morning, and a few of the alphas in Pack Tribel work nights. It’s apparently a mess.”
“God, you know everything,” Malcolm chuckles.
“It’s my job,” I murmur. “Okay, Nitra will go in this corner of the gardens, while Tribel can go under the tent near the winter jasmine. It’s also near the food as well.”
Malcolm clears his throat, and I let Felix mark their names down as I open the paper around my sandwich and take a bite.
“Mmm,” I moan as I chew. Now that I’ve done the walkthrough and we’re making progress on the seating chart, I’m finally able to relax enough to feel hunger.
Before, I was too tangled in anxiety to be able to think about food.
There aren’t too many people who can’t be together as far as packs, but I am more careful about my omegas.
“The next group of omegas you’re going to see are Aisling’s,” I say in an effort to keep it confidential from anyone who may be able to overhear me.
Even though there’s no one around, I still worry.
“Okay, what do we need to pay attention to when placing them?” Felix asks.
I started with the alphas, both those in packs and those who are solo. Not every alpha is interested in pack life, and there is nothing wrong with that. Now, I need to make some more strategic decisions.
“Underneath each omega, there’s a list of things that trigger them or they’re uncomfortable with,” I murmur. “Let me take the iPad while we work through these since that information is sensitive.”
“Understood,” Brice says, handing me the iPad while he grabs a pen.
Taking another bite of my linner, which is definitely closer to dinner than lunch, I look through the first omega’s information. She doesn’t like jealous omegas, which means that half of these people are immediately eliminated. She has a history of being both cheated on and had a long term abuser, which means that I’d like to start her off with some sweet packs.
“Maria Rivera is going to go by Pack Royal please. The other packs that’ll be nearby will also be good candidates for her to speak to,” I decide.
“Okay then,” Brice says, writing down her name.
Now that I have a basic understanding of the template in front of me, I find it easier to place everyone else. I know these packs very well, and even the newer alphas were sent a digital survey of their likes and dislikes.
“This is super inappropriate, but I think I’m in love,” Felix mumbles as he writes a name beside a solo alpha. She’s an older omega who was rejected two years ago when her pack found their scent match.
