Page 33 of A Pack of Honey
So, I put the bark away. "The Apiary isn't open yet, and this is private property. I'm going to ask you to turn around and leave right now."
The big man's eyebrows shoot to his non-existent hairline.
He looks up to where Sunny still sits on the porch swing. I growl, forcing all of my dominance into the sound. I'm pleased to find I'm not the only one. Growls have erupted from my packmates behind me.
"You don't look at her,” I say. “You want to deal with someone you look at me from now on."
Craig looks back at me and sneers. "And who the fuck are you?" His voice is smooth with a hint of a bite.
"Cole Night," I reply. His eyes flash with recognition. Of course, they would. He knew about our offer for the farm. It's why he'd ramped up his harassment of Sunny. That thought has my insides twisting and my alpha straining so close to the surface that it's a wonder I manage to keep myself from destroying this man.
"I see. Has Sunny finally seen reason then, and decided to sell?” Craig smirks. Cartoon dollar signs may as well have been in his eyes.
"Let's make one thing clear right now. What my mate decides to do with her farm is none of your business."
Craig's face twists into something like disbelief and disgust. "You're mate? My cousin doesn't have—"
I cut him off. Listening to this man's voice might be the most irritating thing I've ever experienced. "We know what you've been doing, and my lawyers have been contacted. They're looking into you—your movements, your business dealings. The moment they find anything, they're handing it over to the authorities." Now, I have the absolute pleasure of watching all of the color drain from his face. His slack, disbelieving face. He thought he would get Sunny to sell the farm to us. Instead, we've turned around and put all our vast resources into defending it from him. It must be a bitch.
"You—this has nothing to do with you," he splutters out.
"This has everything to do with us,"
Luca is staring intensely at Craig. Like he'd rip the man's throat out if I so much as twitched my approval. Hunt has a similar expression. I realize they've also spread further from Craig as if preparing for him to try to rush towards Sunny. That would be monumentally stupid, seeing as Jess is smiling at Craig. It isn't a happy smile. It's a smile that promises painful death. Because Jess doesn't care about anyone until he cares so deeply, he'd literally destroy anything that touched them.
"We know it's been you. Harassing her, threatening her. I don't know what kind of alpha could do that to an omega, but it ends now." My voice carries all of the dominance and certainty in the world.
Craig sneers. "I certainly can't speak to those tragic happenings around the farm. But I do expect whoever's doing it has the best intentions."
I clench my fists at my sides, not ready to hear this justification nonsense. "Threatening, scaring, and stressing her cannot havegood intentions." I spit the words.
He smirks. "She's an omega. They're not meant to be in these sorts of positions. They're biologically suited to two things. Fucking and bree—"
A roar slices the air.
Mine.
Sunny
Thesoundsthatripfrom Cole and Jess could come from wild animals but not men. Jess lunges for Craig.
"Jess!" I scream, instantly on my feet, leaning against the rail. Craig is goading them. His trespassing, coupled with the police knowing I wouldn't invite him, means Jess probably wouldn't go to jail for beating Craig off my property. But if Cole is really going after my cousins legally, one of his packmates beating the shit out of Craig wouldn't help any case Cole is trying to build.
Jess instantly freezes, inches from Craig's face. Cole looks at me, and when our eyes lock, I can see the approval in his gaze from here. He'd come to the same conclusion I had. The thing is, Craig's views on omegas aren't very uncommon. They've been disproven a million times scientifically. In this modern world, omegas can handle any job, position, or leadership role that betas and alphas can. We weren't cavemen scrounging for food anymore. But that doesn't suit alphas like Craig, who still want to play at being the dominators of the universe.
"Get off her property. Now." Cole's growling bark hits me like a ton of bricks, even though I'm not the target. His dominance is all-encompassing. It takes all of my will to keep my knees from buckling.
Craig smirks, turns and walks back to the car.
I can't help the insistent pull in the deepest parts of my gut, propelling me off the porch and out into the yard. I launch myself into Cole's arms, who immediately gathers me into his chest and shoulder, my feet dangling far off the ground.
"You all right, Little One?" he asks into my hair, scent marking the top of my head. I lean into him. I’m all right. I wouldn't have been if they hadn't been here.
Craig has become more unstable every time he shows up. I imagine he views the loss of his money as dire. Even though his family can still live comfortably, they can't afford luxury vacations or the McMansion they bought. But to people like him, who've been raised with everything on a platinum platter, the upper middle class may as well be the slums.
I catch Jess's remorseful stare over Cole's shoulder and reach for him. He steps closer and strokes a hand down my hair. "Sorry, Sunshine," he gruffs.
I smile, trying to reassure him.
