“You’re with us now, omega ours,” Freid said softly, never taking his eyes from mine. “It’s a brand-new world.”
“A new life,” I added.
“Come on.” Freid took his hand. “I can see if a booth is open. Let’s go over there and talk and calm down.”
Penn let himself be led. Sure enough, we found an open booth and Penn sat next to me. Freid slid in across from us.
Penn wiped at his face then put his arms on the table. “Can I get a drink?”
“Of course,” I said. We flagged a server and ordered drinks and two large orders of fries. The fries at Animals were to die for.
“Can I get ranch dressing, please?” Penn asked in a small voice.
“Of course.” The server smiled.
“Penn, was that sort of behavior what you had to deal with all your life?” I asked.
Looking down at the table, he nodded. “Even worse, too.”
“Worse?” Freid frowned.
“I was one of a few omegas. The rest were either babies or very old. I got the brunt of alpha bullying nearly every day.”
“That’s why you were so scared when we came flying into the kitchen here that first day we scented you.” I was beginning to get a clearer picture of what Penn had been through.
“We had no idea,” Freid said. “We must’ve come on like two Mack trucks.”
“I thought you were going to attack me.” Penn ducked his head. “It was a programmed reaction.”
Freid reached for Penn’s hand. I put mine on top of theirs. “We really handled that badly,” he said.
“But now I know.” Penn took a deep breath. “You were excited because you’d been waiting so long for me.”
“That’s no excuse. We could have approached you with some better manners.”
“It’s okay. You were both so nice.”
I let out a snort. “Dude, we chased you into the parking lot, right to your car.”
Freid shook his head at him. “Poor baby.”
A small smile formed on Penn’s face. “I guess that’s true.”
The fries came. And the ranch dressing. And a pitcher of beer. Comfort food and drink. We let go of each other’s hands and dug in.
I was still a little upset, too. “I want to go hunt down all the alphas who ever hurt you and beat them up.”
Freid tilted his head at me. “Exactly my thoughts.”
“But you won’t, will you?” Penn looked worried again. “Please don’t leave me. Ever.”
“We’ll never ever leave you,” I said.
“Never ever-ever,” Freid said.
“I love that you’re my protectors.” Penn let out a long breath then picked up two fries at once, dipped them into the ranch, and shoved them into his mouth. “Oh fu—wow, those are so good.”
“Animals’ fries are the best in the city,” Freid agreed.
