Rolling my eyes, I begin to tune them out. If Santo gets his feelings hurt because he ends up overhearing them and they’re being shitty, then I’ll step in. Right now, they’re just curious, and that’s part of being a professional hockey player.
Everyone wants to know about your life, have a piece of you, and I just want to beat the shit out of people on the ice. These people don’t know me, even if they think they’re owed a piece of who I am. So, I largely ignore them.
“This one,” I murmur, gazing at a pretty chandelier that’s completely black and with candelabra for lighting.
“Can I help you with anything, Alpha?” a floor saleswoman asks.
“I need this chandelier, please,” I say politely, pointing at it.
“I’ll have one brought out from the back for you,” she says. “I’ll also put your name on it so you can pick it up from customer service once you’re ready to check out.”
“Wonderful,” I commend. “Can you put it under Pack Diaz, please?”
The woman nods with a smile and scurries off, and I continue to look for my pack.
“Maybe he has a male omega,” the woman in the next aisle continues to gossip. Ooh, they’re going to make me lose my temper. I thought they’d finally moved on.
“Do you think he’s hiding something from the public?” her friend hisses.
“Ladies,” I purr, stepping into the aisle they’re in. Fuck it, Miles and Santo can come find me.
“Oh, hi!” the younger woman exclaims. “I’m Suzy, and I just love you. Can I ask why you’re here?”
“I am shopping for a nest to surprise my omega,” I state. “My very female omega.”
Maybe I’m being a jerk, but their startled eyes and blush of embarrassment is something I need. They don’t live in a bubble, and people can fucking hear them.
“Oh, I suppose that I was under the impression that you liked men,” Suzy says slowly.
“I can understand how that could happen, since I’m openly in a relationship with a man,” I say. “However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it excludes my ability to be scent matched to a female omega as well.”
“So you didn’t choose that relationship,” Suzy says obstinately. “Fate doesn’t give you a choice.”
“I choose not to reject her,” I counter. “There’s always a choice. My omega is one of the best people I know, alongside the men in my pack. Don’t believe everything the world tells you. You can say no at any point, to anything.”
Suzy looks stricken, and I know that she finally understands my words.
“Suzy,” the woman beside her murmurs.
“No, he’s right,” Suzy says. “I’m rejecting Tommy.”
Oh shit. What did I just do?
“Suzy, your parents will be pissed if you do that,” her friend reminds her.
Looking closer, I see that Suzy is younger than I originally would have pegged her. It’s the sadness in them. There’s something she’s deeply unhappy about.
“I’m nineteen about to play house with a man who disgusts me,” Suzy complains. “I’d rather sleep on a park bench than marry him.”
She stomps away as the other woman glares at me.
“I’m going to be in so much trouble with her mother,” the woman grumbles. “This is all your fault!”
“You’re welcome!” I call after them, at a loss of what else to do.
“Are you getting into trouble?” Santo asks, finding me as he takes in the scene.
“They were talking shit about my sexuality, and while I usually brush it off, I chose violence today,” I explain, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. “I can’t be left alone.”
