"A kitten," Hastings repeated.
"I've been thinking about it. Mr. Cheddar's made it clear he doesn't like commitment, so I thought I'd get my own. An orange one, probably. Name him something ridiculously cute like Gerald. I could get two…" I was rambling, but the weight of three alpha stares made my tongue go stupid.
Fritz' glanced behind me, his expression shifting. Still controlled, but darker underneath and more alert.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The alphas Maeve mentioned were watching. One of them looked at me a beat too long.
"Inside," Fritz barked.
My body did a little involuntary shiver. "The café—"
"Inside. Now."
His tone brooked no argument. I stepped into my caravan past the door hanging open like a broken wing, Fritz and Hastings followed. Each dipped their heads as they entered the small space.
Etienne stayed outside. I heard him make a low sound in his chest, something that wasn't quite a growl but wasn't far off.
"They can smell you," Fritz said quietly. He stood by the tiny window, angling his body so he could watch both me and the alphas outside. "You. A virgin–an unmated omega and your heat symptoms are showing."
I crinkled my nose and sniffed. “I smell fine and so you know I'm only a virgin in the sense of not being with a man," I muttered, heat crawling up my neck. "I've got two toys and plenty of batteries, Fritz. I'm a big girl."
He grinned for a moment, the expression vanishing as his gaze fixed on the window, tracking the alphas outside.
"They’re waiting."
"For what?"
"For you. For your heat. For the chance to get close to an unmated omega." His accent thickened slightly on the last words. "This park has no security. No gates. Nothing to stop them from—" There was a tic on his jaw as his eyes flicked to the window.
“I’ve lived here for a few years and never had a problem.”
“You have one now,” Hastings replied. “If you want this deal, you need to leave now. Get anything that is important to you.”
I knew what he meant as my gaze tracked over my nest.
"But I have a shift," I said. "Maeve isn't feeling well. I need to help her.”
"I’m fine.”
I turned to see Maeve stood in what used to be my doorway, one hand braced against the splintered frame. She looked worse than she had twenty minutes ago. Paler and sweating despite the cold.
"Maeve—"
"I told you to take the opportunity." She stepped inside, moving around Fritz like he was furniture as Hastings stepped outside. Her gaze swept over him with the same sharp assessment she gave everyone, like she was remembering everything for later. "This is them, then? The baby daddies?"
"I—" My gaze darted between them. "Yes?"
She glanced out of the window and studied Hastings, then Etienne who was radiating barely containedaggression at the watching alphas. Her mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.
She nodded slowly. "Not bad."
"I thought you were sick."
"I’m sick, not blind." She picked up my rucksack from where it sat in the corner and shoved it toward me. "Pack your bag. Get what you need for your nest."
“They’ll burn it all.”
