Page 18 of A Baby for the Beast
I snatch the phone from him before anyone else thinks to look first. I have to bite back a growl when I see Kyle's stupid face on the screen, but I know Jace has been watching all of his social media because he thinks it's better to know what's going on with the enemy. I'd prefer to pretend he didn't exist at all until it was time to fight him, but I understand why Jace does what he does. As I watch the video, I appreciate his willingness to watch this bullshit in his free time to keep me updated on what's going on.
I tap the play button, hating that I'm giving this guy any of my time, but needing to know what Jace thinks is so important that we need to see it. There's text on the screen that reads 'For everyone who keeps giving me shit about the last fight. I recorded this that night. Fuck you.'
Kyle is sitting in a locker room, the same locker room where I confronted him over two weeks ago. He's not wearing a shirt. His body is covered in sweat. I didn't stay to see how his fight went, and to be honest, I didn't know it went so poorly that he felt the need to say something about it. He looks pissed, which I assume means he lost. The thought has me smiling until he starts speaking.
"Not only did I learn that some bitch I fucked six months ago is pregnant and claiming it's mine right before the fight, I also had to deal with Remus staking a claim on her like he's trying to take everything that's mine. My title, my bitch, my whole fucking life. It's pathetic. No wonder I wasn't performing my best, my competition is trying to be me, and I'm supposed to be level-headed about that?"
I'm going to murder him.
No, I am.
I toss the phone on the table, pushing away before anyone even picks it up. I grab Henry's keys, which are sitting next to his and Sarah's phones.
We need to leave. We need to make sure Hayley's okay after seeing this, and we need to make sure Kyle hasn't said anything else about her. It's bad enough that he's calling her names and making it out like she's at fault in any of this. If he starts dropping her name or any identifiable information, it's going to cause a shitstorm. Hayley doesn't deserve that. No one deserves that. Especially with the kinds of unhinged fans Kyle has.
"I'm taking the car," I say over my shoulder to Henry.
He doesn't argue with me, his eyes flickering golden as he watches the same video I just did. Romulus, his beast, gives me a quick nod as his growl rumbles in his chest. It must be really bad if my brother's lazy ass beast is worked up over it. The guy doesn't even like thinking about fighting.
No one argues with me. I'm close to losing it, and Remus is just looking for an excuse to fight. No, we need to get to our mate, make sure she's okay, and then we can figure out a way to get through these turbulent emotions. Thankfully, we already know she's working tonight, just like she does most evenings. If we're lucky, no one will be hassling her and she'll go through her shift easily enough without even knowing the amount of shit Kyle has been talking.
When we get in Henry's car, I flip through the radio stations until I get to one of the sports stations, the one that's more about the drama happening rather than how teams are playing or any normal type of commentary.
I let out a sigh of relief when they're talking about some baseball players getting into a fight over an omega, and remind myself that we just do MMA. Even if Kyle and I are household names for fans of the sport, we're not popular outside those who care about it. Maybe that'll keep this drama from blowing up even more.
Night Owls isn't very busy, which is good for me because I can look through the windows straight to the bar top where my sweet mate is currently wiping down a spill and laughing at something one of her patrons is saying. I can't see all of the televisions in the bar, but I can see enough that they're all on a couple of baseball games happening tonight. Good, baseball is way more popular and should hopefully keep all of the attention from–
I have to bite down a growl as I watch one of Hayley's coworkers grab the remote as she talks to a different patron. She's switching the channels as they talk, nodding along likeshe's going to whatever this alpha wants. I can't see the screen, so I don't know what channel they're going to. I have no reason to believe it's anything other than a different game. Still, Remus and I don't like it.
Before I can think better of it, I'm grabbing a navy baseball hat from Sam's backseat and putting it on. It's not the best disguise, but I won't get close enough for Hayley to notice me. I'll sit in the corner and have one of the other bartenders serve me. It's the male beta working the tables tonight, which means Hayley won't have any reason to come over and interact with me. If her nose is still acting up, she won't scent me either.
The door to Night Owls opens, and inside is the low chatter of people talking and a few boisterous laughs. During the weekdays that I've been watching Hayley, I've noticed a few regulars who come in.
At first, I was irritated by how easily my mate spoke with two of the males, but the bites in their necks made me feel better. Whoever the two alphas are, they don't have any interest in any of the omegas at Night Owls. And they seem to watch out for the bartenders, walking the women to their cars at night or at least asking if they want them to stay late to make sure no one causes any trouble.
I pass by the two alphas who are always sitting at the same spot at the bar top, and they don't even give me a second glance. Good, I don't want anyone here to pay me any attention.
I sit down in one of the far corners away from the bar, but with a great view of the whole place. I can see every television screen, everyone at the bar, and the front door. When the server comes around, I order a beer and try to stay as relaxed as I can.
So far, everything seems fine, now as long as no one causes any issues, maybe I can get away with sitting over here all night and watching my mate. She doesn't need to know I'm here, and if no one causes problems, she won't.
Who knows, now that we've figured out a great place to hide out and watch our mate, Remus and I might be here every night. We can be close to our omega, and we can make sure no one tries to do anything to her. Plus, if she doesn't notice us, then it's not like we're doing anything wrong, right?
Who cares. I want to be near her. Don't care if it's wrong or not.
And as much as I want to argue with Remus about that, I can't say that I don't agree. If we can get away with being this close to Hayley, I'm not giving it up for the world. Hell, the only way I'll stop coming here now is if she notices us and asks us to stop. Until then, I'm going to assume she has no idea we're watching her. If she did, she would've already talked to us about it. At least, I think she would've.
Maybe she wants us to be watching her.
Now that's just wishful thinking.
Maybe or maybe our omega wants us as badly as we want her.
Based on the lack of communication between her and us, I'd take it she's just fine without us.
She'd be better with us.
She wouldn't have Kyle talking about her without us.
