“Damn,” I whisper. “These must have cost thousands of dollars.”
The reality that our matched Omega, the Omega Marcus has shared a bond with for the last three years, is the bachelor son of the Fallon pack has been slowly sinking in the last few days. But this might just be the thing that slams it home hard enough to make it really stick.
Marcus nods, his focus on the line moving in front of us. Without missing a beat, he gently guides me to one of the open security checkpoints, kissing my temple before movingto the next. The security agent doesn’t even flinch, checking my ID against my ticket and then waving me forward without comment. Luckily, the rest of the process is just as seamless, and Marcus is holding my hand as we cross the terminal to our gate, Megan’s arm looped through his.
My phone vibrates with a message from Cole. Anticipation fills my stomach as I swipe it open.
Have a safe flight.
Thank you for the tickets! Excited to see you.
You’re still up for going out to dinner?
I glance at my pack mates. “You still wanting to meet up with Cole tonight? He’s double checking.”
Marcus nods as Megan says, fire in her voice, “Definitely. We only have, like, 36 hours. I want to make the most of them especially since I have to take that exam for my stupid class in the morning.”
I send back a quick reply. The dots appear for a moment but no new message comes through. We order coffees from one of the small carts in the middle of the walkway and then settle in to wait for the plane to board in another half hour.
Finally, a message from Cole appears, vibrating my phone as Marcus wraps an arm around my shoulders.
Great. Wear something a bit dressy. If you want, at least.
Alright.
See you soon.
I shove my phone into my purse and then wedge it under my chair to keep it out of the way. It only takes half a minute before Marcus is pulling me into his lap, adjusting my braided hair so he can kiss the sensitive spot just behind my ear. Sage swirls around me, and Megan chuckles.
“You both are terrible,” she chastises with no real heat.
I can’t help but giggle. Moments like this—where it’s impossible for Marcus to keep his hands off me and I preen under the attention—always remind me how strange it is that I designated as an Alpha. Wouldn’t the need for tactile comfort predispose me to developing the genetic and physical traits of an Omega instead? Especially since I designated so many years after most people do. But maybe it’s just me trying to readjust after living so long as a Beta?
Marcus clears his throat, pulling me from the thoughts.
“I wanted to bring an idea up with you both,” he says, a bit unsure. “It’s about Cole.”
“Is something wrong?” Megan asks, flipping her hair off her shoulder as she frowns. “He hasn’t said anything to me aside from wishing me a good travel day.”
Worry builds in my chest. He’d seemed perfectly fine texting me just now. Was something else happening?
Marcus shakes his head. “No, as far as I know everything is fine.”
“Oh, thank God. Don’t scare us like that.”
Megan relaxes into the airport chair with a sigh. Marcus smiles.
“Sorry,” he says. “I just want to make sure my bond isn’t impacting your impression of him. Obviously I have a vestedinterest in this working out, but I don’t want you two to feel pressured at all if I can help it.”
I frown. “We don’t feel pressured. Promise.”
Megan nods in agreement. “And you know I have no problem telling you when something’s wrong. Don’t worry about us.”
Marcus blows out a breath. “All right. Good. But I think I’m going to hang back a bit this weekend and let you both get to know him.”
“You’re sure?”
He snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me tighter into him.
