Page 88 of Your Wild Omega

His grip on the tongs tightens as he puts a few pieces of lobster on his plate, making his knuckles stand out sharply. “So, then, all the times we had beer together?”

Bugger me. Yeah, I should have seen where this was headed. I flash him a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Calli. I was happy to hang out with you. I can get away with a bit here and there.”

He swears under his breath. “I’m sorry. That was dickish of me.”

I shrug and move on to the cheeseboard. Yeah, it was, but I could always forgive Calli. His folks took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and he’d earned himself so many Get Out of Jail Free cards by protecting me in high school from the idiots swimming in testosterone and no brain cells. A slenderal-megainterested in eye shadow and high heels was their favorite target, until Callisto taught them otherwise.

My steps falter and I lean against the buffet. Damn. Is that where I learned to like it rough? Not sex specifically since I wasn’t active much back then, but being treated roughly meant sweet rescue was coming. Meant Callisto would check me over for bruises and get mad, and I’d feel like the most special person in the universe. Fuck, am I screwed up in the head?

Zack’s drinking out of his soup bowl by the time I get back. I reach for his plate, but Red rests her hand on mine. “I’ll get him more. You sit and eat.”

With everyone worrying about me today, it’s like I’m a prince. And yeah, it’s thrilling to experience. That’s the beauty of family; no matter how weird it gets, we can still take care of each other. I’m a lucky guy. Even losing my parents was a stroke of luck, I could say. I glance over at Callisto and find his eyes on us like he can’t help himself.

I drop into my seat, Red on my right and Callisto at the end on my left. At least I still have this pseudo-family connection to Callisto, even if we can’t be in the same pack. I haven’t lost him completely.

“Okay, I’m now legitimately dying to hear how you met,” Aunt Lexi declares after we’ve all had a few minutes to eat. “Please put me out of my misery, darlings.”

I glance at Red and smile, and she offers me her hand.

“Well, it was actually Callisto who put us in touch,” Red says. She runs a pink tongue tip over her bottom lip nervously, and I pass her the napkin. She leans in to whisper, “Can I actually get this thing dirty?”

I chuckle and wipe her mouth for her, leaving a trace of lipstick on the fabric. Nothing the staff can’t handle.

“Really?” Aunt Lexi straightens, swiveling to her son. “You never mentioned it, Calli.”

Callisto shrugs, loading food into his mouth like he’s on a mission.

Red plunges on. “He found out I wanted to be an actress and said he was friends with a great acting manager. Turns out he was right.” She beams at me and leans her elbows on the table to rest her chin on her hands. “I walked into the cafe, our meeting point, and I knew Rickon was my alpha right away.”

“By the scent?” Simon asks, reaching for his omega’s hand.

Red hums. “Even before that, his voice in my head went all hush—” Red gasps and her body spasms, knocking against the table as her gaze darts to me and away again. In the blink of an eye, it’s all smoothed over, her actress skills clicking into top gear. “I mean, I just knew. And then his vanilla cream scent hit me.” My omega clears her voice and grins slyly. “Then I fucked him right there in the booth. At MoonMugs.”

Everyone except Zack chokes.

Heat blazes in my cheeks. “Red!” I hiss under my breath as all eyes turn my way, burning with interest. “You don’t have to tell, like,everythingeverything.”

Red grins at me. “It was a special day. I’m not ashamed.” She turns back to Lexi. “We tried to be sneaky, but the waitress still got offended. Rickon was amazing in the way he dealt with it. That was the day I learned an omega can get away with anything.”

She plunges on, recounting how I took her home and went into rut, but her words fade into a distant murmur as I realize she went for shock-value on purpose. She doesn’t want anyone to remember her slip up.

Didn’t the psychologist at the Omega Center ask me about it once? I frown, trying to remember what the woman said.Has Red ever mentioned the voices she hears?

“Don’t scowl, sweetheart,” Aunt Lexi says, flapping her hand in my direction and grinning playfully. “It’s a darling story, so nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Red’s face falls as she turns to me, and fear flashes through her lovely blue-gray eyes. “Did I embarrass you?”

I reach out and link our fingers together. “You could never,” I declare. “I was just being shy. She’s basically my mom.”

Aunty rests her hand on her chest. “Bless you, precious. I am, forever.” Her seriousness melts away and she flashes Red a conspiratorial wink. “But I’m also an omega, so I know how these things go.”

“Quick, stop her, Simon,” Lector declares. “Before we’re the ones blushing next.”

His brother grins and leans over the table corner to kiss his omega, and Lector nods at me, silently telling me he’s got my back. It doesn’t help my blush any, though.

Well, Red’s not the only one who knows how to shift a conversation. “The story you really need to hear is how Zack joined us,” I announce.

“Oh, yes!” Aunt Lexi claps her hands. “He really is the silent type, isn’t he?” She glances at Zack, who’s using his hands to eat cuts of roast meat and slivers of cheese.

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