Page 104 of Gigi and the Gym Rats

“Our omega.” Zayne’s growl is even deeper, raising the hairs on my arms.

If I could growl, I’d do it, too. Casey is ours. I feel it, and when I glance over at Grey, I see his hands clenched into fists. Our eyes meet and he nods.

“Then let’s go,” I say. “What are we waiting for?”

28

ZAYNE

Gigi smells of worry. It’s slightly bitter, as scents go, overlaying her delicious sweet creamy scent, and it sets my teeth on edge.

My other two mates aren’t faring much better. Ronin has a metallic scent of fury lacing his scent, and Grey still looks exhausted and apprehensive, his scent so faint I barely feel it under the shower gel and shampoo he used this morning.

I wish I’d had time for all of them this morning. Aftercare. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t do anything too kinky. Iamtheir top alpha. I feel the need to pet and pamper them, wash them and caress them, ask them how they are.

I push that need down now because the last of our mates needs us.

Probably.

Assuming our suspicions are right.

But Sawyer seems pretty convinced of the gravity of the situation. He’s riding with us in my old pick-up truck, and Bee’s pack decided to join us, after we explained the situation to them.

There is strength in numbers, and perhaps just as importantly, Bee’s alphas are old money and owners of a big company. Money also talks, and knowing the right people can unlock doors. As much as it guts me, having to depend on other people for a member of my pack-to-be, I’ll take all the help I can, if it means getting Casey back to us safely.

Now is not the time to beat my chest and roar. It’s the time to be humble and put my mate’s safety first, like any good alpha would. My dad always told me that. When you have a pack, he’d say, your mates always come before your pride.

He was right. I’ll have to tell him that when I next go home to visit.

Focus, Z.

Sawyer is riding shotgun, his phone in his hand, the location of Casey’s family home already entered in google maps. Gigi is in the back, wedged between Ronin and Grey, her hands in theirs. Her red curls are tousled and she’s dressed in a mini skirt, unusual for her, but it shows off her long legs and…

Dammit, I said, focus.

We’re driving out of town, Bee’s pack following us in a shiny blue Rover. I think I can make out Bee’s second alpha, Nate, behind the wheel and the spiky hair in the passenger seat can only belong to Kaden, their beta.

I don’t know Bee’s pack well. I even barely know Bee, except for one class I teach at the gym which she attends sometimes, together with Gigi. Kaden occasionally accompanies Ronin to the gym as well. The two alphas apparently prefer to train in their home gym or go running.

I’ve been observing them since they arrived at Ronin’s and Gigi’s apartment to join us in our search for Casey. Observing their pack dynamics, how they don’t necessarily follow the official hierarchy but pay more attention to each member’s personality, their strengths or their needs. The fact that their beta is riding shotgun, that their omega was the one who led the conversation about joining us, that their top alpha sat in the back with the two omegas instead of trying to control the situation.

Their love, affection and respect for one another.

I’m taking notes. Not because I don’t think we are like that, this emerging pack, but because we are new to this. We’re still learning about one another, negotiating those dynamics. And I want everyone to be happy.

Including myself.

That’s another thing where you have to push your pride aside: learning from those who made it. Those who got their happy ending.

Though, let me tell you, having spent a few years in an unhappy marriage, I did learn a thing or two, and I wouldn’t be jumping into his with both feet if it didn’t feel right.

And it does.

“North,” Sawyer says and I catch a glimpse of serious dark eyes and a frown. “North-west, toward Sparta. I’ll tell you the exit.”

“Is it a town?”

“More like a farm near a town. It’s a small place. I’ve never been, but Casey told me about it.”

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