“Not in this case. Leave.”
The younger man gently hid the young omega with dark eyes and even darker hair behind him, trying to move her out of harm’s way. Vittorio’s son sneered. Not at Kaelen, but at his father, hissing loud enough for us to hear.
“Padre, per favore. Non addesso.”
Torin moved from the side of the table, now in front of it, blocking me with his hand resting on the hilt of the gun on his hip.
What color remained in Vittorio’s gaunt cheeks vanished. He glowered at his son but relented, dipping his chin.
“Of course, Kaelen. My apologies. A misunderstanding,”Vittorio said, his eyes landing on Torin before drifting back to Kaelen like he had been trying to steal another glimpse of me.
My skin crawled. I buried my face in Kaelen’s stomach, feeling safe when he palmed the back of my head.
“We’ll leave you to your dinner.”
Vittorio reached out, attempting to pull his omega daughter to his side. His son snapped, placing himself between his father and his sister, murmuring something in Italian to the young girl. Sad eyes stared up at him.
An expression I was familiar with. One of resignation.
I struggled to see around Torin, only hearing footsteps fading into the distance. The tension in the room slowly dissipated. The hushed murmurs from the main dining room, carrying back in. Our table was secluded enough that other patrons only heard raised voices, not seeing everything that unfolded.
“Keep an eye on the Rossis,” Kaelen said, his tone cold and detached. “Vittorio is up to something.”
The unfamiliar man nodded, leaving us alone as Torin and Aidan made their way back to wherever they had been.
Once the two of us were alone again, Kaelen crouched beside me, running his rough palms over my thighs. I shivered, a mixture of residual fear and heat from his touch. He cupped my cheek, holding me steady.
“Are you alright, mo chroí?”
I nodded, still shaken. My omega swelled with pride at how well our alpha protected us. I ran my nails through his beard, scratching as he leaned into my touch.
“Okay. A bit of shock.”
My gaze landed on the forgotten cake-like pastry on the table, and my stomach twisted in knots.
“Alpha. Can we have dessert to-go?”
“Anything you want,” he said, brushing his lips against mine in the shadow of a kiss. “I’ll have them deliver one of every dessert on the menu. Come, wife.”
Standing, he slipped his hands under my knees, cradling me against him. I squeaked, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Kaelen, you can’t carry me out of here like this.”
“Watch me,” he said, and I buried my face in his neck.
Thirty-One
WILLOW
The next morning, everything ached.
I barely remembered crawling into my nest with Kaelen when we got home. He tried to feed me bits of chocolate, but I shrugged most of it off, falling asleep faster than I thought possible.
Fingers brushed over the thin silk covering my navel as I stirred. Kaelen’s arm around my waist tightened, pulling me snug against his firm chest. I rested my hand over his, tracing the ink on his knuckles.
“Good morning,” he said, his sleep-roughened voice blowing over my ear.
“Morning.”
