Page 78 of One for the Money
Every single one of them is a feast for the eyes in a different way, and it’s hard not to devour them as if I were starved.
Jude, with his massive form, dark hair and eyes, and deep brown skin, looks like he could crush me between his thighs in the best way.
Quinton, with his cheeky grin and shaggy hair, looks like the boy my dad would slam the door in his face while I cry that I love him.
The twins are like mirror images of one another, if one of those mirrors peered into a different dimension. Their features may be the same, but the way they wear them is so starkly contrasted that it’s almost possible to forget they’re related at all. While Dario is sunshine, Dexter is a midnight storm.
And then there is Matteo, with his smooth skin and youthful face, his hair never out of place, and his smile always welcoming, who is a soothing balm on my weary soul.
“Hungry?” Matteo asks, grabbing a paper plate from the table. “I can make your plate.” He blushes as he looks down, as if he’s embarrassed that his caretaker nature is shining front and center.
Betas, in general, take care of the other designations. They keep Alphas level, and protect Omegas. It’s so important for packs to have Betas because sometimes those Alpha pheromones can be too much for the Omega, and they need someone to advocate for them.
“Sure.” All eyes in the room are on me, and they may as well be trailing their fingertips down my body for the effect it has on me. “Just an eggroll and maybe some plain rice to start?”
Matteo nods and dishes up my request, setting it on the table and pulling out the chair he had been sitting in before. “Sit, please.”
It’s so fucking quiet in here.
All of them are watching me take small bites of rice, as if my eating is the newest blockbuster movie. “S’good,” I say around a bite. With my words, all of them visibly relax and go back to their dinners.
The silence is thick in the air, but there isn’t much I can do about it. None of us knows where to go from here, least of all me.
“I’m not surprised we have an elephant in the room,” says Quinton jovially, “what with us being a circus and all.” Jude groans at the joke, and Dexter launches a balled up napkin at the other Alpha’s head. Quinton laughs and holds up his palms. “Tell me where I’m wrong and I’ll take it back.”
“You’re not wrong, you’re just an ass.” Matteo swoops down and kisses his Alpha on the cheek. The casual romantic gesture tugs at my heart.
Rich was never sweet like that to me. Even before, when I thought everything was wonderful, he wasn’t like that. In retrospect, everything was transactional. How did I miss that? I just assumed that was how relationships were,and I was happy with what he gave me. My Omega nature didn’t seem to need more from him.
It does me no good to do it, but I can’t help but imagine what my life would be like if I had met these men first. Suppose I had attended a show before med school and found my scent match under the big top. Where would we be now if that were the case?
My food starts to stick in my throat, and before I can cough a second time, a can of soda water is being slid across the table to me. “It’s good for stomach issues,” Jude grunts, a soft pink glow on his cheeks.
I crack it open and take a small sip. “Thanks,” I tell him quietly. “I appreciate that.”
He waves me off and turns his attention back to his plate.
Chapter 29
I openmy mouth to break the silence, and Matteo squeezes my knee before I make a sound. His punishing grip is communicating “don’t you dare,” but I’m going to pretend like I cannot interpret his nonverbal cues and get the conversation going again.
“So about that elephant.”
Dexter groans and Dario chuckles, but it’s Alex’s reaction I’m watching.
And she doesn’t disappoint.
“Did you know male elephants leave their herds once they reach maturity and then cluster together in what they call bachelor herds until they’re strong enough to challenge for breeding rights in established herds?” she says before taking a tiny bite of her eggroll. “You guys are kind of a bachelor herd, if you think about it.”
“Competing for breeding rights?” Dexter asks, his tone incredulous.
Alex takes another small bite before speaking. “That’s what happens in packs, right? A bunch of Alphas andmaybe a Beta or two fighting for the attention of an Omega like she’s a piece of meat, competing for the right to be the one to knot her during heat.”
“You wound me,” I say dramatically, clutching my chest. “You’re something to be cherished, not fought over by feral beasts. I understand you don’t have a good experience with packs, but you cannot possibly think we’re the same as those assholes.”
“That’s the thing!” Her voice is stronger than I expected it to be after everything she’s gone through. “I don’t know what to think becauseI don’t know you!” She pushes back from the table and looks between the group of us. “I don’t know you, and yet I’m supposed to accept that because I smell good, you’re going to take care of me. Forgive me, but that hasn’t worked out well for me in the past.”
“Then get to know us.” I lean across the table, crowding her space and refusing to let her bury her head in the sand about this. “Go on a date with me. With us. Each of us.”
