Page 7 of Pack’s Pledge

Maybe he would leave, and I would close this part of my life–the part with Conall, or his memory at least–forever. But maybe…

Maybe he wouldn’t.

* * *

“DidI see you talking to a male omega, earlier?”

I stared into my locker for a second, trying to decide what to say to my coworker Kylie. Stalling for time, I pulled off my apron and my black shirt and tossed them in the linens cart to be picked up by the laundry service. They’d be stripped of scent before rewearing. Kylie did the same, and I couldn’t help but notice her body, as I always did: she was tall and straight up-and-down, like most betas, but she’d gotten a pretty obvious boob job. She’d had a rich alpha boyfriend who’d paid for them, and I could never decide if I was jealous of her or vaguely skeeved out.Vaguely skeeved out,I thought, tonight.

“Yeah,” I said, as she stood expectantly. “I did.”

“I wish I had been there,” she said, pulling on a low cut top. “I’ve never met one before, and I’ve heard they’re incredible.”

“I don’t know,” I hedged, “I only talked to him for a minute. And he was claimed, so.”

“Claimed and still on the prowl at Ardor on a Thursday, huh?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. “How many?” The biggest pack either of us had seen was seven, although we’d heard rumors from long-time employees of packs of eight or even ten, back in the day. I didn’t know how the omegas handled so much alpha energy–let alone so many dicks–but then again, I was a beta. I didn’thaveto get it.

“Just three,” I said. “Him and two alphas.” She hummed, and I shrugged into a top of my own, a plain heather gray tee with a more moderately cut V neckline than Kylie’s plunging one.

Him and two alphas.It seemed so simple when I put it like that, but it felt anything but. Adrian, who’d made my heart thump and my body heat up with his flirtatious gaze. Beau, who’d entranced me, despite the way my job had desensitized me to all things omega.

Conall.

They’d disappeared from the bar by the time I was done serving the other patrons, and I’d spent the next hour trying and failing not to wonder if they were still here, if they were waiting for me. It seemed unlikely–two alphas waiting for me? To say nothing of a male omega doing the same–but I couldn’t help but hope…

“Earth to Britt?”

Kylie waved her hand around.

“Sorry,” I said, “just–”

“Lusting after a certain omega, if I had to guess,” she smirked, and I forced myself to play along, fanning myself with my hand and fluttering my lashes.

“You know me.”

“Betas, girl,” she gestured between us with one hand, her lacquered nails glittering in the fluorescent lighting of the staff room. “Not much to know. See you next time.” Then she was gone, through the back door and out into the alley.

I stood collecting myself for a moment, wondering what I should do next. Had Conall waited for me with Beau and Adrian? I hadn’t seen them at the bar or even on the dancefloor, as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight and the end of my shift.

They hadn’t come looking for me.

I didn’t dare go back through the staff entrance, on to the floor of the club. I didn’t belong there, not in my jeans and my grey tee shirt, not with my designation. There was nothing to be done. I tore my eyes from the door where a ratty sign printed on computer paper read “club floor” and forced my feet to carry me toward the one reading “exit to street.” If they wanted to see me, well, they knew where I worked, didn’t they, and as I opened the door to the humid night air, I took a deep, grounding breath of city air: stale cigarette smoke and booze and the faintest lingering smell of pee. This is what Ardor smelled like to a beta, I thought wryly as I trudged up the alley to the street. I’d walk to my apartment from here, pass out, wake up tomorrow, and come back here again with a little bit more closure than I had had tonight. Conall was in the past now.

“Hey,” said a familiar voice. “Britt.”

I looked up. Adrian, leaning against the shiny black door of a huge SUV, his shirt unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up. My lips curved into a smile against my better judgement.

“You’re here,” I said, stupidly.

“Of course I am,” he said, like it was the easiest, most obvious thing in the world. “But not for long. This bartender I know just got off work, and I want to take her out to a real club.” He grinned, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Want to get out of here?”

I hesitated. The back passenger window rolled down, revealing Beau’s handsome face, eyes seeming dark and sultry despite his casual smile.

“Yeah,” I said, taking the hand Adrian offered me, the step up into their car. I could trust Conall. I always had. “Yeah, I do.”

CHAPTERSIX

Conall

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