Page 14 of The Alpha: Part One
Alpha Pratchett reluctantly looks away from me and at Mateo. "I've planned for a few weeks, but I'll stay as long as I need to. They can live without me until I get back."
Mateo gives each of the twins a hard look. "This is your solution? Aligning yourselves with an alpha who's leaving in a few weeks?"
"What were we supposed to do? You guys weren't telling Lopez to fuck off and Desie was so upset she was about to throw up all over the table. He was just as worked up about the state of her as we were." Michael returns, gesturing to Alpha Pratchett, his opinion of everything that happened at this table evident in his tone.
"We were supposed to tell Lopez to fuck off? Really?" Lucas asks.
"Yes," Alpha Pratchett says firmly. "Yes, you were. I normally never interfere with family or pack matters, but Desir'ee should never have been forced to tolerate his presence at her table for that length of time." He closes his eye and takes a breath. "And, please, call me Seth."
Lucas opens his mouth to say something else, but I interrupt. "This is really good. Thank you for sharing with me."
"Of course," Alpha Pratchett, Seth, says. "Thank you for sharing with me. It makes it easier for me. How long have you known Michael and Ben?"
"Forever. My whole life," I take another bite. I can see questions forming in his mind and I don't know if I'm ready or willing to answer any of them right now.
He takes another bite, too, giving Mateo another opportunity to ask his own questions.
"So, you'll be here until Ben and Michael find a third? And I'm supposed to just let it happen? Just let my sister's future be blown up in the air by the identical idiots and a stranger from the East Coast? What kind of brother would I be to let that happen?"
Seth puts his fork down on his plate and tilts his head to the side. "You're the kind of brother who was too afraid to tell an old man to stop perving over your little sister. I don't say that to be rude, please don't think that even though it sounds rude. I have absolutely no intention of taking advantage of your sister in any way. I'm only standing in as a placeholder until they figure things out now that I know what is going on. I won't make any trouble for Desir'ee, or any of you."
"You've already made trouble," Lucas whispers. "The Flores pack doesn't get told no, and you embarrassed Lopez on a personal level. They're powerful and have connections to really dangerous people. They're dangerous enough on their own. They will retaliate, and you're untouchable. Who do you think they'll come after since they can't get to you?"
That's exactly what I'm terrified of. "The twins. They'll go after the twins."
Seth meets my worry with a small smile. "Are they stupid enough to risk going after your twins if they think they're in my pack?"
I look over at Mateo, then back at Seth. "Yes. They definitely are. What will you do if the Flores pack comes for Michael and Benny?"
"Stop them."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Simple as that? You'll just stop the entire Flores pack and all their affiliated bad guys, no big deal? Just put yourself on the line for people you only just met? What if they come for them tonight? What can you do that would stop them?"
He smiles at me, with his whole being and all his freckles. "My god, Talia would love you."
And just like that, every jealous, possessive, greedy feeling I've ever had over the twins comes roaring to the forefront because he said another female's name. "Who's Talia?" If he says she's his omega I'm going to throw this plate of food at his face and kick the twins’ kneecaps in when I storm out of here.
Benny bites his lips to keep from smiling and Michael shoves his tongue into his cheek. I am fully aware that every emotion I feel is broadcasted on my face, loudly. I am also fully aware that there is no reason in the entire universe for me to have this reaction; but knowing that won't keep it from happening.
"Talia is a very close friend. I work closely with her pack. One of her alphas, Nathan, is the reason I'm here. Corso, another of her alphas, is sitting in my place on the council while I'm away. They're really good people. They're closer to me than my own family. I think you and Talia might be friends if you ever met. She doesn't have much of a filter, though." Warmth shines in his eye as he talks about the people he has back on the East Coast. Jealousy might still be lurking in the back of my mind, but hearing that Talia is a friend with her own pack doesn't hurt. That is, until Ben opens his mouth.
"Didn't you say you had a pack back home? They couldn't make the trip, right?"
If it was possible for a freckle-faced ginger to go pale, Seth Pratchett manages it. He closes his eye and takes a few breaths before he answers. When he opens his eye again, it's no longer warm. "My pack couldn't join me on this trip because they," he takes another breath, "didn't survive a COT operation. It was a little over two years ago. I don't enjoy talking about it."
The anxiety and pain flowing from him, naked and raw, hurts me. Actually, physically hurts me; and before I realize it's happening, I start softly purring to try to combat his sorrow. Michaels jaw clenches and twitches, and Benny's eyes snap to mine. I don't want to see my brothers' reactions. I've only ever made this sound for the twins, and now I'm making it for a man I've only just met. What is wrong with me?
Seth smiles softly. "Thank you for that. It's very difficult for me to think about. It has gotten better with time, but you never truly get over that kind of loss. No matter the circumstances. I'll be alright now."
I slowly let the purr fall away, never dropping my eyes from his. I can't ask for the details, it would be rude, even for me. And I'm a horrible, evil person because I'm glad he doesn't have a pack waiting for him to come back home. Some part of me is spinning around in circles, giddy with the thought that he could just stay here. Get a grip on yourself, Desie. He can't just abandon his life on the East Coast because you've got butterflies in your stomach. He's on the council, for goodness sake. He can't stay here. He's just doing us a favor.
"I'm sorry," Benny says. "I didn't mean to get in your business."
Seth offers him the same soft smile. "It's okay. I'm fine, it's just hard to remember." Then he rubs the back of his neck and raises his eyebrows. "I hope you won't think I'm stupid, I swear I'm not, but I don't know which one you are. Are you Michael or Ben?"
"Ben," I answer for him, scowling at Benny when he laughs.
Seth looks back at me. "How do you know? I know a set of twins and the only way I know one from the other is one of them loves me and the other gives me constant side-eye."
