A group of alpha werewolves in matching leather jackets that identified them as the Howling Skulls Motorcycle Club made their grand entrance, barking in people’s faces just for their own entertainment. A merfolk beta couple waiting for a table got up and left, and they took over a vacant corner booth, putting their feet on the seats and lounging around like they owned the place.
Fucking werewolves.
They snapped their teeth at the poor omega waitress as she skirted around them, heading towards us with our orders on a tray.
“Alright, let me know if you need anything else!”
I beckoned her closer and spoke in a quiet voice. “Everything okay?” I asked, gesturing towards the bikers with a quick tilt of my chin.
“Hm? Oh, those guys?” She dismissed my concern with a wave of her hand. “They come in a few times a month. They’reobnoxious, but don’t usually make too much trouble. It’d be a bigger hassle to try to kick them out than to just serve them and send them on their way.”
She went to check in on another table, and I was about to start eating when I saw they hadn’t subbed the fries for a salad. Sage clocked it as well, her face scrunching. “Wait, that’s not what you ordered.”
I grabbed the ketchup bottle. “It’s not that big of a deal…”
She raised her hand and called the waitress back before I could finish. “Excuse me, sorry, but he was supposed to get the salad.”
The waitress’s eyes went wide as she realized her mistake. “Oh, right! I’m sorry about that. Keep the fries, I’ll bring that salad right out.”
Sage nodded and then picked up the hot sauce, shaking it liberally over her omelet, and my jaw dropped open. She looked up and gave me a confused smile. “What’s wrong?”
What was wrong was that she’d fixed my order for me, and now I learned she loved her food with a spicy kick. What was wrong was that I might have been falling in love with my bounty, and that was the absolute worst thing that could happen with my soul on the line.
And of course, what was most wrong with this situation was that I couldn’t tell her any of that. So I just shook my head. “Nothing. Thanks for your help.”
Sage gave another small laugh. “What? You should get what you ordered.”
“No, I know. I’m just surprised you cared.”
She tucked a lock of hair nervously behind her ear, her cheeks tinging with pink. “It’s not that big of a deal,” she said, parroting me.
Averting her eyes, she took a small, tentative bite of her omelet before adding more hot sauce.
Taking a deep breath, I started to eat my own dinner when that prickly feeling one got when they were being watched crept along my skin. I turned around to look at the werewolf pack from where they sat, finding that they were staring at us.
At Sage, more specifically.
A growl worked its way through my chest, and my hands clenched into fists around my silverware.
Sage had noticed as well, and I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she didn’t look up and was concentrating on her meal.
“How is it?” I asked, trying to put her at ease.
“It’s good, thanks.”
The werewolves were whispering to each other, and one finally stood and made his way over. I bristled, bracing myself to defend my omega.
I meant mybounty. Defend mybounty.
She wasn’t my omega. Sage was just an omega who happened to be my bounty.
The werewolf’s head was shaved, but his beard was long and unkempt. He put his hands on the table and leaned towards Sage, who had started shaking in her seat. I was shaking too, but for an entirely different reason.
“Where’s your alpha?” he snarled.
“I’m right here, asshole,” I replied. Okay, maybe I wasn’t actually her alpha. But we could pretend for simplicity’s sake.
“Like fuck you are,” he spat.
