“No,” I answered without hesitation, nice and loud. There’d be no mistaking my words, my intent, or my absolute horror.
He reached over with lightning speed again, grabbed the front of my t-shirt, and dragged me over the centre consolecloser. “Don’t be shy now. All night you’ve been looking at my dick. Don’t fucking lie about that too.”
“No! Please don’t, Troy,” I begged, trying to break free of his hold without setting him off even more.
He didn’t stop. Instead of yelling, he started trying to hypnotise me with his recent Alpha transition, using his designation to snake-charm my mind. “You get that I’m an Alpha, right? People are going to have a hard time believing anything you say, Tristan. Now stop being a pain in the ass and come suck me off.”
There was a sudden bang on the car. I screamed and Troy scrambled to right himself.
I had never been happier to see my family. Two of my fathers, Conan and Dean, were standing at the front of the truck. They both look pissed.
An audible click followed as Troy unlocked the truck. “Don’t you be telling lies, Tristan. You agreed to go on a date with me.”
He didn’t say another word, he just looked at me expectantly. The pause stretched out so much I actually thought I had gone mad, until he said, “See you at school, huh?”
By the time I climbed out of the car I was so far-away in my head, I couldn’t say a word. Troy reversed out of our driveway like he didn’t have a care in the world, only adding to my anxiety.
I was swept off my feet and carried straight into the kitchen where a mug of warm milk and a plate of chocolate cookies waited. My parents didn’t talk. Instead, they wrapped me in scents of home, comforted me until I begrudgingly told them what happened. I didn’t want to admit it at first because I really still wondered where it all went wrong. And if I was to blame.
I got passed over to the Omegas in our family, my mother, and my dad Sebastian, for a night of reassuring cuddles andwatching our favourite show, while two of my Alpha dads went out hunting. The other stood guard with a shotgun at the ready.
Before the first episode of the sitcom ended, I was led back outside by Conan, our family head and the more dominant Alpha in our pack. The rest of my family followed and surrounded me physically in their loving support.
“Tristan, come over here.” Conan’s voice rang through the night, temporarily drowning out Troy’s evident indignation at being brought back here. I went to take a step, but my mom grabbed the back of my t-shirt when Troy started to talk.
“Look, we had an okay night, but Tristan overreacted and misunderstood a few things. Not sure if it’s because I’m the Captain or what, but she really wanted us to go on a date, and she kept going on and on about it at school. She knew I had a girlfriend, but I felt sorry for her. I thought if she met my pack, she’d see we could only be friends because I’ve got a girlfriend and a pack already. On the way home I explained it again, but I don’tthink Tristan gets it. The way she’s into me more than I’m into her is embarrassing.”
“Tris, is that true?” Conan asks slowly, his eyes locked on my slimy date because Conan has already heard the truth from me.
And no one said a word or moved a muscle. It’s like the whole world held its breath. And it’s in that pause, that deadening stillness where I questioned myself again. I shouldn’t, I definitely didn’t need to, but I did. And the doubt nearly sent me to my knees.
Dean shattered the moment with a bark, “Are you calling my daughter a liar?”
And Dean was the most stable Alpha in our pack. He’d been a pillar of our community as one of the town’s doctors, but at the same time his compassion extended further than just the patient he treated. But not to Troy.
“Well, sir…”
Before I could even defend myself, my other dad, Sebastian, took control. “And shall we talk about you bruising my daughter? Or nearly breaking her wrist? Perhaps we should see how you like it, since you’re a big strong Alpha.”
Like my mom and I, Sebastian is an Omega. A rare male Omega who is also absurdly talented at making money, ensuring we never had to want for anything material.
As a family, we had everything you’d ever want in a pack, Alphas to protect and provide, and three Omegas to cherish. Yep, I grew up in a loving family unit. Right now, I was not the only one frozen in disbelief when Sebastian’s control snapped and he leapt off our porch and taught Troy a lesson.
Watching Sebastian with Troy, screaming in his face about having a goddamn moral compass, was reassuring. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I knew my family believed me, but still watching all my pack with Troy helped reinforce that.
“Tristan,” Sebastian hissed without searching me out, his sight still locked on Troy.
I went to him. “Yes,” I whispered.
And the night was once again silenced by the deep and angry growls of my pack.
Sebastian lashed out because of it too. “You did that, Troy. You made my daughter doubt herself. For anyone to steal my girl’s sunshine, is unfathomable and inexcusable. You are a pathetic Alpha. Do fucking better and don’t you fucking dare ever blame Tristan for your insecurities again. Now apologise before I rip your voice box from your throat.”
Troy’s apology streamed out of him like a bad late-night infomercial, bland and scripted without real sincerity.
I started to struggle again at that point. It was clear to me he was not sorry. And by the look of utter contempt he threw my way, I didn’t think he ever would be either.
“That’s enough of you watching,” my mom said, “our pack needs to sort this little upstart out.” She reached in through the wall of dads and took me inside our home, away from the rising aggression.
