Page 40 of Where There's Smoke
There was something so attractive about that. The fact that they could see I was struggling and stepped in without saying a word. Sympathy was one thing, but action was another. Not too many people got to the point where they actually pitched in tolend a hand, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me wonder what kind of fathers the guys might be.
“Just let us help,” Elliot said as he gestured to an empty seat next to Fitz, placing a fresh plate of bacon and eggs down and gesturing for me to eat.
Was this what it was like to be an omega? Or were they this nice to everyone? At any rate, no one could deny that Pack Wilder had some rather nice men in it.
A girl could get used to this sort of attention.
If I was honest with myself, I wanted that more than anything—but why was I so anxious to reach out and grab it? Sure, the past had already shown me that even the people closest to you could disappoint you, leaving you in the dust because they couldn’t be bothered to understand you.
Maybe…maybe these guys would be different.
Folding one of many blankets and placing it on a neat pile, I observed my little nest. The guys had been sweet and not taken their shirts back, which I was eternally grateful for and felt weird about. I couldn’t explainwhyI was so obsessed with the shirts, but the thought of them being removed made me want to whine in a panic.
Whine. Like a freaking puppy.
This omega business was insanity, and it was going to take more than a little getting used to.
It still hadn’t fully sunk in how much my life had changed, how muchIhad changed.
How would I even go about dating packs? Were there apps for that?Date a knot?Oh, lord.
Then again, the idea of dating any pack that wasn’t Pack Wilder made my stomach twist uncomfortably, and apparently, we were already dating, per my conversation with Fitz. We still needed to sit down as a group and discuss all that, we just hadn’t found the time. A thought that, of course, made me about as nervous as a chicken trapped with a fox.
Still…I didn’t regret sleeping with Fitz, and warm buzzes of electricity lit up through my body in anticipation of doing it again.
What Fitz and I had done was magnificent, and I was curious if I would have those same sparks with the rest of the pack. The truth was, I felt drawn to all of them. Samson, with his giant-sized heart to match the rest of him, Fitz, who was so much like his cousin it hurt, and even Elliot. That was a sticky one, though. I was interested in getting to know him, but the other day, during sandwiches, had felt more like an interrogation than a conversation.
He was always so on edge, so grumpy. And apparently, that was nothing new for the pack lead. I wanted to know if there was more behind him than all that. Elliot was closed off, to say the least, but there had to be something nice under all that.
The guy was a firefighter, for god’s sakes. Helping people was in his blood. Right?
Quiet hung around me as I finished dealing with laundry, and I considered what I was going to do. Time was dragging on, and I needed to do something about finding a new shelter, a newhome, and I still had no idea if my insurance was even going to cover all the losses. It wasn’t like I’d splurged for great coverage.
“Ugh,” I moaned, tossing down the blanket I was messing with and slumping onto the bed. “You need to call them. Hell, you need to actually start looking for a new shelter.”
My stomach growled loudly, and I looked down at myself, rolling my eyes. “But apparently, you need to eat first. Okay. Here we go.”
I stood up, regarding myself in the bathroom mirror before I left. I’d changed out of my pj’s, going with a clean pair of leggings and an oversized sweater that was more like a dress. I didn’t care. It was warm and cozy, and I had on thick socks to match.Leave it to alphas to keep this firehouse way too cold.
“All right, Melody. You’re going to go down there and get lunch like a normal person. You’re going to talk to the guy, or maybe just Samson and Fitz, and you’re going to figure this shit out.” I nodded to myself, trying to psych myself up. “You got this.”
I left the room, feeling very much like I didnothave this.
Chapter 20
Samson
“Fitz fucked the omega,” Elliot muttered, running a hand through his hair. He seemed especially worked up, and I rolled my eyes. This was a hell of a way to start a lunchtime conversation. Still, I knew we’d all been thinking about it since yesterday, so it didn’t surprise me that Elliot had come and found me while I was having lunch in the kitchen.
“I know, lucky ass.” I chuckled, taking a bite of my sandwich and surprisingly wishing for yesterday’s company. After lunch yesterday, Fitz had told us about their little “experiment” and how successful it had been. It made a lot of sense, considering how pink Melody’s cheeks had been during her entire sandwich.
“But now she’s convinced that she’s an omega. That’s a good thing,” I insisted.
Elliot nodded but was distracted by the papers he’d brought with him, flipping through the stack without looking at me. “I suppose that’s something. Maybe she’ll be less reckless with her own safety now.”
Mr. Pack Lead seemed especially concerned about that one, his jaw clenching hard as he tried and failed to find something to do with his hands that wasn’t shuffling the papers.
Somehow, I doubted she’d be any less reckless. I had heard stories about the things Melody had done to rescue animals over the years. Caution wasn’t one of her strong suits.
