Page 62 of Ruffled Feathers

The Beta who lived inside me growled at the Alpha in front of me, making Max chuckle and Akio come to stand in front of my feet. Swallowing down the instant jealousy, I tried to reason with the instincts that wanted to keep Otillie-James locked away and safe forever. I knew these guys; I trusted them.

So I beat back my more primal denial and nodded. “Come around tomorrow for a cookout. I’ll introduce you.”

Max laughed at me, then he frowned. “Wait, what Omega?”

Thirty-Three

Otillie-James

When Lance had said he wanted to bring around some VA buddies for a cookout, not going to lie, I went into panic mode. What if they hated me?

I knew most of Truett and Sonny’s friends. We’d either grown up together, or they’d come around for Thanksgiving or New Year’s parties.

What did I know about army guys? Nothing.

So I experienced what I liked to call an Omega frenzy. I cleaned the house until it sparkled, though Lance followed me around, cleaning as I cleaned. He didn’t question why we needed to rewash the windows and the floors. He didn’t ask why we were vacuuming in rooms they’d never go in. He just lifted things when I asked, scrubbed things when I scrubbed.

Sonny had finally gone back to work, and the days were kind of lonely without him. I didn’t like another one of my mates being gone all day, but that was just how the world worked, I guess. Being a firefighter was what made him happy, and he couldn’t just walk around adoring me all day. I wasn’t that high maintenance.

Though, right now, Lance might have argued my low-maintenance claims. The grocery store was quiet, thankfully, asthe lunch rush started to die down. I put a sixth type of meat in the cart, along with some carrots.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You do know we’re feeding two men, not the entire United States Army, right?”

“What if they don’t like steak?” I put veggie patties in the cart too.Just in case.

“Everyone likes steak,” he answered.

“Not vegetarians,” I shot back, and he sighed.

Wrapping a hand around my arm, he pulled me back until I was against his body. “They aren’t vegetarian, Angel. What’s really wrong?”

I sighed, wishing I knew. “What if they don’t think I’m good enough for you?”

There, right in the middle of the grocery store, the man I’d rarely seen smile before this week, broke out into near-hysterical giggles. He drew stares from people around us, laughing until his cheeks turned pink, his scars pulling tight.

Still chuckling, he hugged me to his chest. “Angel, no one in their right mind is going to think you aren’t good enough for me. They might think you’re too good for me, but not the other way around, I promise. You’re perfect in every way. A shiny beacon of goodness in a world that’s full of shitty things and people. The guys will love you.” He sighed against my hair. “I’m more worried they’ll try and steal you away. Or worse, join the Pack,” he mock-growled.

“No way. I’m at capacity for partners, I promise.” Kissing his cheek, I squared my shoulders and gripped the cart. “Come on, we better hurry this along.” I headed to the charcuterie section, where Lance shook his head at the bougie cheeses I grabbed.

“You know they made us eat mush in the military, right?”

I was in a light blue dress, and the night was warm. I’d done the animal bedtime routine a little early, so no one would be rushing off to do the night feeds, and we could just relax and be casual. Like normal people.

Truett had seemed a little put out about another Alpha coming onto what he considered his territory, which was making him a little grumpier. I kissed him—a lot—and eventually, he chilled out.

Strat came out to the farm too, and it was always nice to spend time with my Omega. Having him here calmed me, and I found myself leaning into him more and more throughout the night.

Sonny turned up to help me cook, and he looked so fucking sexy in his uniform, I almost undid all my hard work taming my hair to go upstairs and fuck him senseless.

Like the perfect house alarm he was, Doodles began barking like mad, and I went over, redirecting him to the treats I kept on the kitchen counter. “Thank you for the alert, buddy, but no more, okay?”

I had a feeling that Doodles would be a foster fail. He had way too many medical conditions for the average household, and despite being ugly-cute, he did not photograph well. He was old, which meant that if people did adopt him, they’d have him for a few years at most. None of that made him particularly adoptable. It was better that he stayed here, with me, where he could be loved forever.

Trying not to look as nervous as I felt, I breathed out a long sigh as Lance came over and wrapped an arm around my waist. “I love you. That’s all that matters. There’s nothing anyone could say that’d make me change my mind. You could be a crazy serial killer, and I might still love you anyway,” he murmured against my cheek.

I huffed a laugh. That was oddly reassuring.

Giving me one last kiss, he bounded out the door to meet his friends. Truett came up beside me, wrapping his fingers in mine. “Nervous OJ is kind of an anomaly, like seeing the Aurora Borealis from Queens or something.”

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