Leo laughed. “Have you ridden a horse before?”
“Nope.”
“There are still restaurants in the hotel. If you want to meet the horses, we could definitely do that.”
I’d been hoping for something restful after the chaos of laser tag, and while I respected the majesty of horses, I was still keenly aware that they could kick me into next week.
Jude blessedly saw the hesitation on my face. “We’ll come to one of the shows and meet the horses then. Let’s get some food and chill.”
Maybe we actually could work as a pack.
“I’m down for that.” Nathan nodded. “Book us in for a show at some point. We can cheer on our pack horse hottie.”
Leo choked on a laugh. “Ourwhat?”
“Hottie”—Nathan gestured to Leo, then to the rest of us—“pack, on horseback.” He popped his curled hands out in front of him and trotted in place like he was riding an imaginary horse.
That didn’t improve Leo’s prospects for not choking again. “You’re ridiculous.”
Nathan shrugged. “I call it like I see it. Our pack is stacked.”
We ended up at a burger place, two giant baskets of fries between us. I wasn’t used to such raucous conversation while eating, but it was more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Technically, I just wasn’t used to it with men, since the vast majority of the men I had contact with were business associates. My sisters were chatty. Family meals felt like I couldn’t even get through a bite without multiple conversations happening at once. It had been quite some time since I’d experienced the volume of my sisters, so I didn’t mind it so much from my pack while they talked and laughed.
I contributed when they prodded me to do so, but I liked absorbing the tidbits of information they dropped. Nathan told us about when he had almost abducted his sister because his mother had convinced him her pack was holding her hostage. His love for Ava was obvious, and it made me respect him that much more. Jude had a horde of sisters, and being the oldest had driven him into a protective role, leading him to a lifetime career at Best of Nests. Leo had a shockingly small family by comparison, being the only son of two betas. We came to theconclusion there must’ve been some recessive genes floating down the line from alphas past. They were equally attentive when I told them about my own family, which led to the words falling easily from my tongue.
“Do you think it’s weird I had a nest before I had an omega?”
“Nah,” Nathan said around a mouthful of fries. “Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
“That’s some big Boy Scout energy.” Leo grinned and took a sip of his drink.
“If Madison thinks it’s cool, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks,” Jude said. “The jury could go either way on thoughtful or weird, but I think we all know you’d fall on the thoughtful end of the spectrum. That’s just the vibe you have.”
Relief warmed me through.
“Do you think we can make her happy?” It was a question I had asked myself a hundred times already, but I was curious as to what their answers might be.
“I think anything is an improvement over what she had before,” Jude said carefully. “But yeah. I’ve known Maddie a long time and I can see she’s settling in. It’ll take her some time to get used to everyone, but I would say the odds are pretty good.”
“So, when are you going to tell her that you’re her scent match too?” Nathan asked and Jude looked like he’d been clocked upside the head.
“You’re her scent match? Why haven’t you told her already?” I couldn’t fathom a reason he would want to keep it secret.
“I’m nervous she’ll be mad at me.”
“Why would she be mad at you?” Leo asked.
“Because I was scared to say anything at the start. Things are different with me compared to the rest of you, and I didn’t want her to be with me just because of the match. And then she kindof sprang sex on me. I should’ve told her before that, but now it feels awkward to bring it up.”
I blinked at him, absorbing his statement. “Is it common for betas to scent match?”
Jude shrugged, holding his drink with both hands and keeping his gaze low.
“I think it’s clear to all of us how much you mean to Madison,” I said slowly, setting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “If she’s upset, I can’t imagine she would be so for long. You owe her honesty.”
“We could go get your blockers neutralized,” Leo suggested. “You’re on them for work, right?”
Jude nodded.
