He dragged me outside, and dragged out his phone.
“What a bunch of jerks,” I told him, glaring at the sign that saidNo service to Gold Packs.
“Right. I will be sure to call them out specifically once I’m officially alive again on social media.”
“I know a place,” Kaos said. “I think it’s run by a gold pack, so you’ll be fine there.”
“Perfect,” Jewel said. “Lead the way.”
I was a little dubious as we climbed out of the car and looked at the old warehouse building. It looked like a motorcycle repair shop, but there was a little sign on the side that invited us in for piercings.
Jewel didn’t hesitate, striding toward the building at a fast pace and leaving me and Kaos scrambling to catch up. He was pissed, clearly, and his stubborn streak was showing.
“Hello?” Jewel called as he entered the garage.
“Hey, be right with you,” came a gruff voice. A large alpha appeared from behind a motorcycle and wiped his black hands on a black rag.
“Yes, I need some piercings,” Jewel announced. The alpha cocked his head.
“You got an appointment?” he asked.
“Nope,” Jewel replied.
“He usually does by appointment,” the alpha said. “I’ll see if he can take a drop-in.”
He disappeared through a door in the back of the garage.
“Hmm,” Kaos said. “I swear I know that guy from somewhere.” He frowned in concentration, but still hadn’t figured it out when the alpha came back with a skinny guy with golden eyes. This must be the gold pack Kaos had mentioned.
He blinked as he looked at us, then flicked his white-blond hair out of his eyes. He had a lovely smell of chocolate brownies and roses, and was quite attractive, despite his grungy style.
“I’m Ice,” he said, looking at me and then Jewel. He eyed our outfits with suspicion.
“Arsenal said you wanted piercings?” he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“Yes, three,” Jewel said, pointing to his head. “Both ears and a helix.”
“Can you fit us in?” I asked him. “We can pay extra.” He looked between us again, then shrugged.
“Sure,” he said. “Follow me.” He turned and led us to a small studio. Jewel sat primly on the chair, folding his legs as the other omega handed him some waivers to fill out.
“So what brought you guys here?” he asked, eyeing my outfit again.
“Funny story,” Jewel answered, scribbling his name on the papers. “I tried to walk into a place on High Street, but apparently gold packs aren’t allowed. I assumed you didn’t have a similar policy.”
Ice shook his head, but I saw his shoulders relax a bit.
“God, it was just plain rude. What is this, the 1950s? I didn’t realize we, as a society, were so prejudiced.”
Ice snorted.
“Just the way it is. You been living under a rock or something?”
“Basically. Though I imagine a rock might have been nicer than locked in an alpha’s back room,” Jewel replied, stacking the papers and holding them out to Ice.
Ice had paused and looked up, meeting Jewel’s eyes for the first time.
“Yeah I… I know what you mean,” he said,
