Page 11 of The Alpha: Part One
The twin who has been nursing his drink turns his gaze on me. He watches me for a minute, never breaking eye contact when his brother leans into his ear to speak to him. He nods and holds my gaze long enough to ensure that I'll follow his when he moves it back to the omega across the room, then back to mine. He nods at me. I nod back. Then he and his brother are walking around the bar to sit on either side of me.
"We don't know you."
"I'm not from here."
"You don't know her."
"You do." I take a drink of my water and plunk the glass down.
He nods again and glances over at his brother, who also nods. "You here alone?"
"For now. I only landed a few hours ago."
"Is your pack going to be joining you?" His eyes narrow.
"No. They couldn't make the trip."
"That's our girl. Our omega."
I look back across the room and meet the girl's eyes. She blushes and turns away. "Why are you over here, then?"
"Can't do much at one of these functions as a pack of two. Rules. Sanctions."
Ah. That's what it is. What horseshit. I'm only going to be on the West Coast for a few weeks. I don't know how much help I'll be for just a few weeks, but she shouldn't have to suffer the attention of decrepit, pompous old men if she doesn't want to. Nobody will fault me for trying to help. "What do you propose?"
"Temporary alliance. For the night. You seem solid enough, and we're looking for a third, anyway. Nobody will think anything of it."
I sigh and look back over at the girl. She ducks her head the minute our eyes meet. "Deal. Let's go get your girl."
Jesus. Fuck. What am I doing? I have no more business aligning myself with these two alphas than I do flying a goddamn plane, but here I go walking across the floor with them flanking behind me like I have every right to.
I couldn't ignore the omega sitting at that table even if I wanted to, though. She's so … everything. Even sitting, it's obvious that she's an absolute knockout. Dark, glossy hair. Full, soft, lips that I can practically taste. Big, dark brown eyes moving up and down my body like I'm a fucking steak, until I catch her and she looks away. Yeah, I have no business doing any of the shit I'm doing. Kaleb is going to have a field day when I tell him about this.
"Names. I need to know your names,'' I whisper.
They each softly say their names so only I can hear them, and I nod.
I'm about to cause such a fucking scene, which is the exact opposite of what I'm supposed to be doing. I might have had a chance at pretending like that omega isn't some kind of beacon or magnet if she wasn't in so much distress. I can taste it in the air. It's ridiculous that the alphas surrounding her seem able to ignore it; especially the ones who are obvious relatives.
One of the twins whispers from the left. “Her brothers are sitting with her, on her side of the table. The older asshole is just that. An asshole. He might be a problem. The other's, not so much.”
I nod at him, not looking away from the omega. “He's not a problem. I outrank every alpha in the room except for Minos.”
“It isn't just about rank,” the other twin whispers. “He's got his hands in some things outside the council. He can cause problems.”
He can try to cause all the problems he wants. I've got the entire East Coast Council backing me. I'm a sitting member. And I'm all too familiar with backdoor operations. Fuck that guy. He's making her more upset than any of the others. “He's not going to do a single sideways thing. I'll make sure of it.”
Neither of them say anything else until we get to the table. I look around at the three seated alphas and decide the kid can go. “Good evening, Miss...?”
“Desir'ee,” she supplies, a gentle blush heating her cheeks.
“Desir'ee,” I say, enjoying how her name feels in my mouth. What the fuck is wrong with me. I can't be over here going after omegas. I'm here to save omegas. Well, technically, that is what I'm doing. “Would you mind if we joined you at your table?”
She shakes her head slowly.
“I need to hear you say it, darlin.” Jesus. I've been with Kaleb's pack so much in the past couple years that I've got Trent's heavy accent falling out of my mouth.
I can see the effect it has on her, though. Her blush deepens and she clears her throat before she speaks again. “We'll have to bring over more chairs."
