I shook my head. "He has really high standards, or so Gabe says."
"The usual standards?" She grinned at me, but the humor didn't reach her eyes. "You know where you can stick those alpha standards, baby."
"I know, but it wouldn't be the first time an omega rejected me for not meeting them."
"He's your fated," she said. "I could smell it on him." This time, her eyes lit up when she laughed. "It's weird—his tattoo almost seems like it's scratch and sniff. His scent is stronger there."
"Mom! Why were you sniffing my mate's tattoo?" I leaned up against the stucco wall beside her, letting it hold me up now that the threat of confrontation had passed.
"It was completely innocent, I swear!" She bumped her shoulder against mine. "I asked to see it, and yes, his scent was stronger."
"Omegas have scent glands on their wrists."
She rocked her shoulder against mine again. "Did you forget he's human?"
No, I hadn't, but, "Point taken. Okay, I'll give his wrist a sniff when I see him again."
"Which is when?" She shuffled sideways and opened the door behind her back, signifying our conversation had run its course.
"Saturday, at the latest." My phone dinged with another notification. "Shit. Bruce is waiting for me."
She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Text me when you get home."
"I will." I'd gotten off easy. Usually, she asked me to call her, and I would have to rehash everything we'd just said, along with whatever Bruce and I discussed at the bar. Maybe I was her favorite, after all.
The streetin front of Bruce's hole-in-the-wall bar had no open parking spots. I found a tiny lot behind the building, also full. When I turned back onto the street after circling twice with no luck, I almost hit a fancy sports car angling into the street. I slammed on the brakes and held up my hands, mouthing an apology they couldn't hear over the screech of tires as they peeled out. Not how I'd wanted to find a spot, but I took it anyway.
It was easy to find my friend, the tallest man seated at the bar. Per usual, the humans steered clear of his alpha pheromones, so I had my pick of the stools beside him. I chose the one on his right.
"You and Gabe, huh," he said without looking up from his mug of tap beer.
"Hello to you, too." I gave the bartender my order, a virgin lime soda, since I still had to drive home.
"Nathan says you don't like him," I said, diving into the conversation I'd been dreading since my youngest brother had blurted it this morning.
"I don't dislike him." He sighed. "I've always been a little jealous, not gonna lie. Becca spends a lot of time with him. As long as we've known each other, he knew her first. He'll always know her better."
"Will he?" I took a sip of my drink through the metal straw, letting it cool my raspy throat before continuing. "She already lives with you. You see her more than he does, and she's going to share more of her days and dreams with you."
"They have a history." Bruce took a big swig of his beer and set it down with a sigh. "I missed out while I was away at school. She's still pissed about that."
"You came back," I reminded him. "You two worked out your shit, and you're still together." I couldn't believe I needed to remind him of this, but, "You're going to marry her in less than a week!"
"Shit, right? Where did the time go?" He chuckled. "I'm the luckiest man in the world. So many times, she should have left."
He took another long pull on his beer. I waited for him to swallow before reverting to our original topic of conversation. "Gabe is my fated mate."
Bruce still choked a little. "Mate? Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Pretty sure. He fell asleep on my couch Monday night, and I shifted just to be close to him."
Bruce shook his head, like he couldn't believe it. "You only shift at the compound, where you feel safe."
I nodded. "I felt safe with him. He's my mate."
"The heart wants what it wants, I suppose."
I'd expected congratulations from my best friend outside my family, not his resigned sigh. "What is it?" I asked. "What's wrong with him?"
