We’ve gone out a few times, and while the conversation is great, some part of me seems to have decided that isn’t enough anymore. Which is inconvenient, since none of my packmates have expressed any interest in settling down. The last time someone brought it up, Hayes laughed and asked if any of us were ready to become daddies.
That shut the conversation down real fast.
Maybe I’m coming down with something? Is there some version of the flu that affects your sex drive? Because I’m pretty sure Aubree could strip down naked right here in the middle of the restaurant and my dick wouldn’t so much as twitch. Which is why I’m looking around the dining room, people watching, while I pay only partial attention to my date.
It’s a dick move, I know it is, but fuck if I can help it.
She’s talking about some memo her boss sent out at the marketing firm where she works when my eyes snag on afamiliar face. One I haven’t seen in at least six or seven years. A face I knew when she was a toddler, running around in a diaper with messy hands and pigtails that stood straight up in the air like Boo fromMonsters, Inc. A face I watched change, losing baby fat as she grew into a quiet, awkward kid who trailed around after her brother and me as often as we’d let her, and then a gangly, awkward teenager.
She’sdefinitelynot gangly anymore.
I watch as Olivia, my best friend Henry’s younger sister, walks, chin down and eyes on the floor, into the dining room of Savour. She looks beautiful—if a bit too made up for my taste—in a pink dress that accentuates curves she definitely didn’t have the last time I saw her. Her heart-shaped face is covered in entirely too much makeup, but not even all the layers of foundation can hide the golden glow of her skin. I can’t decide if I want those cinnamon eyes to look up and meet mine, or if I’d rather remain unnoticed so I can observe Liv Wellington like a total creeper.
I hum a noncommittal sound to Aubree as she prattles on about her boss and watch as Liv introduces herself to a smarmy-looking pack of entitled assholes. She appears decidedly uncomfortable, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from texting Henry to find out who these guys are and what his sister is doing with them.
I may not have seen Liv since she graduated from high school, but she can’t have changed enough to want to date guys like this. It’s a theory that holds more weight as I listen to the idiots introduce themselves, then try to comprehend what it means to be an endocrinologist.
Fucking morons.
“Sawyer? Are you even listening to me?”
Pulled out of my spying by Aubree’s annoyed tone, I smile sheepishly. “Sorry, Aubs. I saw someone I used to know.”
My date's eyes wander to Liv’s table, and her nose scrunches. “Pack Johnson? You know those guys?”
Pack Johnson, huh? Well, that’s the perfect name for a bunch of dickheads. “No, not them, the woman. She’s my friend’s younger sister. Haven’t seen her in years.”
“Oh. I heard they’ve been trying to find their omega, but I didn’t believe it. Those guys will sleep with anyone with two brain cells to rub together and a halfway decent pair of boobs. Is she theirs?”
My stomach lurches at the idea of Liv belonging with the pack of rich pricks a table over. Which is stupid, because I don’t even know her anymore. Haven’t spoken to her in years. “I don’t think so,” I reply, my gaze steady on the side of Liv’s face. She’s seated slightly facing away from me, which is the only reason I’m able to watch her so openly.
I listen as one of the pack members tries to order for her and grin when she shuts him down. It seems time has stiffened Liv’s spine. She’d always been so pliant, always caving to her mother’s whims.
Aubree does her best to draw me back into conversation, and it works for a moment. Until I overhear another snippet of conversation between Liv and the dickheads.
“So, Olivia, what do you like to do for fun?” There’s a sexual lilt to the words, and my eyes fly to Liv’s back.
She twists a curled strand of dark hair around her finger and says, “Um, when I was living in London, I loved to walk along the Thames. There were so many cute shops, and you can’t beat the people watching.”
The doofuses around her all shift in their seats and exchange incredulous looks. Liv doesn’t even seem to notice.
“I also loved exploring the museums. There’s so much history in the UK that we just don’t have here, and getting to see so many anthropological finds in their country of origin was really cool.” Her voice pitches higher and her speechspeeds up, like she’s getting excited. “And the ruins. I took a few weekend trips to Ireland and Scotland, and oh my gosh, walking through castle ruins and graveyards from the 1800s was amazing. Like stepping back through time. It definitely turned me into anOutlanderfan. I binge-watched that show while I was living in London too...” She trails off with an awkward laugh.
I smile like an idiot at the nerves lacing the sound. I forgot how epically Liv can ramble once you get her started on a topic she likes. It annoyed the hell out of Henry, but I always thought it was cute. Judging by the unimpressed expressions of the Johnson pack, they’re not charmed. Fuck those guys.
One of the alphas clears his throat. “Museums, huh? That sounds...interesting.”
“Yeah, but what do you do forfun?” another asks. “Like clubbing or going to bars and shit like that.”
Liv shifts in her seat. “Uh, I don’t... I don’t like crowds. And I don’t really go clubbing.”
There’s a beat of silence while the pack shares incredulous looks before one of them says, “I bet you’d like clubbing with us, omega. We’ll take you after dinner.”
Liv opens her mouth, a frown creasing her forehead, but the dickhead keeps talking.
“So, your mom told our dads you’re ready to settle down, find your pack, and take care of your alphas. When are you planning on quitting your job? Before or after you’re officially mated?”
That furrow in Liv’s brow deepens, and I’m not even pretending to pay attention to Aubree anymore. I should feel bad about that, but the sweet, awkward girl that followed me around as a kid and acted like I hung the moon is sitting one table over, growing increasingly uncomfortable by the second. Something heavy and possessive settles in my chest. Like I need to protect her from these guys. Save herhonor or some shit. That’s what Henry would want me to do.
