Charlie leans in to press his lips to my cheek, his expression caught somewhere between pride and exasperation. “You couldn’t wait until you were off camera to maul our Omega?”
“Nope.” Beau grins, shameless. “Wanted everyone to know exactly who I was riding for.”
The cameras are definitely still on us—I can see at least three news crews filming, and the jumbotron is showing our faces to the entire arena. My cheeks are flaming, but I can’t bring myself to care. Not when Beau is looking at me like I hung the moon.
“Come on,” an official says, appearing at Beau’s elbow. “We need you down in the arena for the ceremony.”
“Give me a minute,” Beau says, not looking away from me.
“Beau—"
“I said, give me a minute.” There’s command in his voice now, the Alpha authority that makes even other Alphas back down. The official hesitates, then nods and steps back.
Beau cups my face, his thumbs stroking my cheekbones. “You okay? I know this is a lot of attention.”
“I’m perfect,” I tell him honestly. “You were amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you.” He presses his forehead to mine, and I feel the bond between us settle, warm and content. “Knowing you were up here, watching me, cheering for me—that’s what kept me on.”
“Liar. You would have won regardless.”
“Maybe. But it wouldn’t have meant as much.” He kisses me again, quick and sweet. “Love you, baby. So fucking much.”
“Love you too, big guy.”
He grins at the nickname, then reluctantly pulls back. “I have to go do the whole winner thing. But don’t go anywhere. I want you down there with me, after the frenzy.”
“We’ll be right here,” Charlie promises.
Beau nods, squeezes my hand one more time, then heads back down to the arena floor where they’re setting up for the trophy presentation. I watch him go, my heart so full it feels like it might burst.
“He’s ridiculous,” I say, but I’m smiling so hard my face hurts.
“He’s in love,” Jake corrects. “There’s a difference.”
We settle back into our seats to watch the ceremony. Beau stands on the platform while they present him with his buckle—massive and ornate, with his name engraved on it. The crowd is still going wild, chanting his name, and he soaks it all in with that confident grin I know so well.
But his eyes keep finding mine in the crowd. Like he needs to check that I’m still here, still watching, still his.
My Omega purrs with satisfaction. My Alpha. My champion.
“You know he’s going to be insufferable after this,” Charlie says, but there’s affection in his voice.
“He was already insufferable,” Jake points out. “This just makes it official.”
I laugh, leaning into Charlie’s warmth on one side and Jake’s steady presence on the other.
My pack. My family. My home.
FORTY-TWO
jake
The ceremony wraps up,and Beau is immediately swarmed by reporters. I watch him handle it with ease—charming and confident, giving them just enough to make good headlines without revealing anything too personal.
But through the bond, I can feel his exhaustion creeping in now that the adrenaline is wearing off. His desire to be done with all of this and just be with his pack.
“He’s going to want to leave soon,” I murmur to Charlie.
