Page 36 of A Holiday Arrangement

He looked absolutely nothing like either Orion or I but somehow, I realized it was him immediately. He was sitting alone at one of the round, bar-height tables that had replaced the furniture that was in this room only yesterday. An alpha stood directly behind him, a guard, but judging by the way he glared at Bastion with disgust, I was pretty sure he was more of a jailer than a protector. There was no way we were going to be permitted to speak to him privately with that alpha hovering.

“Just follow my lead,” Lyric whispered quietly.

Not knowing where this was going, I just followed Lyric and hoped he knew what he was doing. I was aware of Arden behind us, which gave me some relief. He’d make sure this didn’t get too out of hand.

A waitress walked by, holding a tray of red wines. Lyric stopped her. “May I grab one of these for my alpha?”

Usually, they might hesitate to allow an omega to handle alcohol without permission from their alpha, but everyone knew who Lyric was so she readily agreed. I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but I could tell it was a bad idea. I was helpless to stop it, though. Lyric approached Bastion’s table, where he sat silently, staring down at his lap, “tripped,” and spilled the wine all over Bastion’s white suit.

The omega gasped and jumped to his feet in surprise as the guard snarled at Lyric. “You fucking stupid omega. You’ll pay for that, little fucking whore.”

He reached out ready to grab Lyric and came face-to-face with Arden, who stood in front of him, blocking him off from the guard. “Maybe you should know who you’re talking to before you speak like that.” Arden’s voice was cold, steel in his tone. I shuddered.

“Get the fuck out of my way. Where is the whore’s alpha? He owes my boss for that tuxedo. Do you know how much that was?”

Meanwhile, Bastion was just standing there, dripping red wine and shuddering. He looked terrified, and I was second-guessing this plan of Lyric’s.

With everyone distracted, I quickly grabbed Bastion’s hand and dragged him closer to me and out of the way of the two alphas.

“His alpha is Orion Strongfire, the host of this party and owner of this home you’re a guest in. I’m guessing you’ve heard of him? Good. I’d suggest you stop calling his omega slurs before he hears you and comes over. That won’t be good for anyone.”

“Shh, it’s okay,” I whispered to Bastion. His hand was shaking uncontrollably in mine, but he wasn’t letting go. I squeezed tighter.

The guard spluttered, “F-fine! He still better make good on the tux. My boss will not be pleased.”

Sighing, Arden reached into his back pocket and pulled out a business card. “That’s my direct number. Have him call that and he’ll be properly reimbursed, I promise. In the meantime, allow me to take the omega to our suites and find him something else to wear.”

Oh, smart.I wondered if Arden knew this was what Lyric planned or if he was just going along with it.

The guard growled. I turned toward where Orion and Giden were still speaking to Alpha Tennyson. Tennyson had his back to us and hadn’t seemed to notice. Orion clearly did, but there was some unspoken agreement that kept him from barreling over here and demolishing this alpha guard.

“I can’t leave him alone.”

Arden barely blinked, even as the guard stepped into his space. He was a little taller than Arden, a little wider, but he didn’t look affected at all.

“And you aren’t permitted into the living areas. The omega is a relative, so an exception can be made.”

The guard once again tried to protest, but Arden cut him off. “People are starting to pay attention. From what I understand about your boss, he doesn’t like to cause a scene. I’d hate for you to be the reason for one.” Bastion flinched. I squeezed his hand tighter. “You can come with us to the lobby and wait there. I will be with them the whole time. I assure you I will not let him run away in the five minutes it takes him to get changed.”

The guard grumbled, but Arden just ushered us out of the cocktail hour without waiting any longer, and he had no choice but to follow. I was afraid he’d stop us once we arrived at the private areas, but he just glared at Arden and told Bastion he better be fucking quick. We hurried out of his sight.

“Gods, Lyric, if Orion doesn’t put you over his knee for that stunt, I’m going to.” Bastion practically froze, and all I could do was lean into him and comfort him. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as Lyric laughed, not at all frightened. Anyone who knew my brother-in-law for longer than five minutes knew it was his life goal to find ways to get Orion to spank him.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” He shrugged as we arrived in his private room. Arden quickly locked and closed the door behind us. “Worth it though. It worked better than I expected.”

Arden looked up at the ceiling, muttering something, probably a prayer for patience. I turned to the poor, petrified omega with us.

“It’s okay, I promise. Lyric, you do have something that would fit him, right? He’s taller than both of us.”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Orion’s brother Phoenix—well, your brother too, I guess—he has some clothing here and he’s taller than us.”

“I’ll get it,” Arden said quickly. “I’ll give you two a minute.” He walked away with a complicated glance at the omega. I noticed Bastion breathed just a little easier when he was out of our sight.

“Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you or any of us. He’s safe.” Lyric smiled at the omega. “We don’t have a lot of time so I’m going to talk and help you get undressed, okay?”

“Um, yes?”

I grinned. “Just go with it. It’s easier,” I told him.

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