Page 93 of One for the Money
“Not if I take her out first.” Quinton crosses his arms petulantly. “She’ll pick me over you, easy. I built her first nest, you know.”
“We know!” Dario and Jude groan in unison.
Dexter and I watch their argument like a sporting event, our heads bouncing back and forth between the three Alphas as they argue.
“They did this while nest shopping,” Dexter hisses at me. “Over fucking candles.”
Is this what our future as a pack is going to look like? Dario, Jude, and Quinton constantly bickering while Dexter and I watch on? I can feel Alex’s contentment, like she’s a purring cat, sleeping in the sun, in my chest. She doesn’t need me to rush back any time soon.
So I decide to throw fuel to the fire.
“Maybe it should be Dexter,” I say thoughtfully. “She does feel safe with him.”
“Why the fuck would it be me?” he stutters, eyes wide with betrayal as he stares at me. “I don’t want a bond!”
“Not to bond, for the next date. It’s the least amount of pressure.”
Dario finally steps out of the doorway. “No, absolutely not. He could scare her off, and she’s already skittish. Jude is intimidating, and Quinton is too clingy. It needs to be me. I’m the logical choice.”
“Too clingy?” My Alpha shoves himself to his feet. “It’s not clingy to want to be around my scent match!”
“You’ve been humming the wedding march since youmet her!” Dario snaps back. “The last thing she needs is you to take her out and present your neck to her immediately. She’ll run for the hills.”
Quinton presses forward, crowding the other Alpha. “Her Omega marked me from the beginning. She won’t run.”
“I still hear no valid argument for why it shouldn’t be me, so I’ll go let her know I’m taking her out tomorrow.” Jude hauls himself out of the chair and turns for the door, but Quinton dives for him, wrapping his arms around the massive Alpha’s waist and dragging him to the ground.
It’s honestly impressive how quickly Jude’s bulk hits the ground.
The Prime Alpha roars, flipping onto his back and shoving Quinton off of him. “What the fuck, Q?”
“You don’t get to stomp out of here and make the decision for all of us!”
“I’m the Prime Alpha!” he roars.
“Prime asshole, maybe!” Does my Alpha have a death wish? I think he might.
Dario, not one to be underestimated, is slinking around the side of the room while Quinton and Jude tussle. Jude is definitely holding himself back, knowing that Quinton, despite how good his spirits seem, is still suffering from the Rot, but Quinton is giving it his all.
The tattooed twin is almost at the door before Dexter snags the back of his shirt. “Do not go out there.”
“Why not? Why can’t I be the one to take her on the next date?” Dario snaps back. “You said you’d try!”
“Of course, I said I’d try! What does that have anything to do with you going over there and begging for her bite?”
The trapeze twins fall into a heated argument, and I stand between the two pairs of Alphas, struggling to holdback my laughter. They’re acting like animals, all of them, their instincts pushing them to claim, to be the next person to join Alex’s pack.
When Quinton pulls away from Jude, panting, and stares at me, my stomach drops, and my mouth goes dry.
His eyes are foggy, and his skin is flushed. He’s clenching and unclenching his fists rapidly.
A look at all of the other Alphas reveals similar stances, and the realization hits me.
I fucked up.
I really, really fucked up.
I brought a bunch of Alphas, desperate to claim an Omega, to a trailer saturated in the scent of her slick, and let them argue and fight and tussle.
