Page 133 of Switch Heater

Fuck.

Thirty-Two

Kian

River and I watch Ripley dance with her friends, smiling and laughing at the group of omegas as they let loose and have the time of their lives. He danced for a while with Ripley before coming to take a break and check in on me. I haven’t taken my eyes from them since we got here, keeping them in my sights like I promised the others I would.

“Ooh. More drinks!” River says, clapping his hands excitedly, making me look out of the side of my eye as a server drops another tray on our table and takes the one with the empty glasses in its place.

My brow furrows in confusion because I didn’t order more drinks. Rip, Huntleigh, and Gabriel haven’t asked for more since they finished the last of the shots and their drinks an hour ago, so I haven’t concerned myself with it.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We didn’t order these,” I tell the woman, stopping her in her tracks.

She turns back and smiles. “Oh, no. Sorry, busy night and I seem to be lost in my head. There was an omega that paid for them and asked they be delivered to your group. She said your omega friends will be thirsty when they finally come off that dance floor,” she chuckles.

Suspicion rattles through me, and I narrow my eyes. That’s extremely generous of someone who knows nothing about us. Too fucking generous.

“That’s-” I start, but River’s hand on my shoulder interrupts me and the server escapes while my attention is turned away.

“Babe, an omega sent some drinks over. Calm down. That’s really sweet. We’re fine, safe. Look at our mate out there. She’s having a blast and letting loose.”

My eyes track back to my omega and my lips tip up as I watch her laugh with her friends, dancing between the two. River huffs but takes a sip of one of the drinks that were brought over. A twinge of jealousy shoots through our bond as he watches the male omega hold Ripley’s hips as they sway from side to side.

“Jealousy is not a good look on you, Omega,” I tell him, not taking my eyes off Ripley.

“I’m not jealous,” he sulks, pouting as he watches the trio of omegas.

“You are. You know she’s yours, River. She marked you and you marked her. Gabriel is her friend, nothing more. You’re her omega, and she doesn’t want anyone else.”

“I know,” he sighs. “I just love her so damn much, Kian. More than anything.” His eyes are locked firmly on Ripley, a soft smile on his lips, but there’s also a bit of fear in those chocolate depths. “I can’t lose her, Ki. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of you and the thought of losing any of you scares the hell out of me, but her...” he trails off.

And I get it. We knew his love for her differed from his love for us. None of us begrudge him for how much he loves Ripley. It’s kind of impossible not to love her and to want to protect and care for her every need and want. From the moment I saw her across the room at the Center, I knew things would change for our pack. I don’t know how I knew, but something inside of me felt it.

“I know. Wanna know what else I know? You and her? Inevitable. We all know it. I think we all knew it when you caught her scent that night Syn and I got home from the Omega Ceremony at the Center. She was always meant to be ours, yours. Just like you were always meant to be hers. You will not lose her, baby. To anyone, you hear me?” I say finally, rubbing his shoulder as I look deep into his eyes to make sure he’s taking my words in.

He bites his lip, eyes closing, and nods, letting me know he hears me. “Good. Now, chin up, Omega. Don’t let your mate see you miserable after you’ve both had such a good night so far. Get back out there with her. Take them their drinks and dance with your omega. I’ll be here if you need me.”

He lets out a breath and gives me a small smile.

“Thanks, Ki,” he leans in and kisses me before grabbing the girls and Gabriel their drinks.

He hands me a full bottle of water that must have been brought over with the other drinks before he leaves me alone. I watch him walk away and go directly to Ripley, handing each omega their drinks. Ripley’s grin is huge when she catches sight of him, love and adoration written all over her face as she looks up at him.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out to see which alpha is messaging to check in, even though I’m pretty sure I already know which one it is.

Nic: How are they?

Me: They’re fine, Alpha.

I quickly snap a blurry picture of the omegas dancing and laughing. River and Ripley are tangled together, lips locked as the music pulses around them, and they grind against each other to the beat. It’s dark in here, just enough to see by, so the picture isn’t great, but you can see the two well enough.

Kian: See? Nothing to worry about. Your omegas are safe and sound.

I shake my head with a chuckle and slip my phone back into my pocket. They’ve all been messaging me off and on since we left, checking on River and Rip, despite knowing that they’re safe with me. Nic’s alpha instincts are riding him the hardest, the need to be with his omegas and see with his own eyes that they’re okay, hard to ignore.

I go back to watching my mates and their friends, distractedly grabbing the water River left near me from the table and cracking the top to take a drink. My omegas laugh and smile at each other, sweat making their skin glisten enticingly, and I have to calm my thoughts before I’m sporting a major hard on in public.

When all of their cups are empty sometime later, River takes them and starts heading back in my direction to put them down on the table. I watch Ripley holler something in Huntleigh’s ear, who then turns and repeats it to Gabriel. The girls walk off and Gabriel makes his way back to our table.

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