My eyes lift to his but he’s not looking at me. His narrowed gaze is on Iris as she stands with the water bottle in her hand and her other hand rubbing her forehead under her dark bangs. Meanwhile Jett stands on the other side of Wilder with his arms over his chest, brow knitted in confusion as he stares at our Prime, obviously having heard the growl.
Hmm, that was interesting, now wasn’t it?
Augie’s reaction I can understand, and Iris clearly felt something when she touched my mate.
And Wilder…
I tap further into our pack bond. There's no denying he’s confused by what he just did. I can feel Augie’s embarrassment, Jett’s curiosity, and an undercurrent of attraction that I believe to be coming from all of us.
Could these reactions to Iris simply be because not only is she a very attractive Omega and exactly our type with her generous curves and dark hair, but she’s unbonded? Many of the Omegas we’ve worked with, Molly included, had packs and bond marks that makeup had to cover up for shoots—but not Iris.
Mine.
My spine straightens. I guess my Alpha disagrees with me on that. I feel his anger at just the idea she’s only a randomunbonded Omega. I can understand why too, because our pack has worked with them before, and of course many cross our paths outside of work, and I’ve never felt like this. And I’ve never heard Wilder growl like that over something as simple as a clumsy head collision. Jett hasn’t given much of an outward reaction, but the way he’s looking at her now, eyes focused, and the attraction in the bond, he’s feeling something too.
“I’m so sorry,” Augie mutters, snapping my attention back to him. He’s standing at his full height, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Are you okay, Iris?”
His eyes draw to the Omega’s hand rubbing her forehead and she immediately drops it. I force my hands to stay at my sides to stop myself from taking her in my arms and checking her over.
“I’m fine,” she exhales, holding the water bottle in both hands now. “I swear I’m usually not this clumsy. Sorry.”
“Don’t be, it was my fault,” Augie adds.
Iris opens her mouth as if she wants to debate but Jett clears his throat. “We should get started before Augie ends up apologizing ten more times.”
The light southern twang of his accent is more prominent than normal, and there’s a pulse of curiosity through the bond. This time from not only me but from Augie and Wilder.
Jett’s lived in California since he was seventeen and is thirty now like the rest of our pack. He did a lot of work to get rid of his accent for roles unless it’s needed, and it tends to only come out when he’s stressed or laying it on thick for women he’s trying to bed if they think it’s charming. But I don’t think it’s either of those things at the moment. The slip felt natural, like a wall came down that made him feel at ease with her to show the real him only our pack sees.
Mierda, mierda, mierda!I think Iris really could be our Omega! My heart pounds in my chest and I wish more than anything I could take my pack and Iris into a room, explain what’s going on, and ask to court her, but that would all beinsane. There’s also the fact we’re surrounded by a crew and have responsibilities that trump my Alpha instincts right now.
“That sounds good,” Iris says with a small smile, silver eyes alight.
There’s an awkward pause before Wilder claps his hands, making both her and Augie jump slightly at its suddenness.
“I’ll restart us.” His gruff tone is laced with enough of his Alpha bark that we all stand at attention. “I think we know each other’s names at this point but I’m Wilder, this is August, he’s the brilliant writer behindKnotting Hill, and he’ll be on set with us for the next month. I’m not sure if I’d mentioned it on our call, but he’ll also be my assistant director for this shoot.”
Iris’s silver gaze travels to my mate’s; he’s rubbing the back of his neck in the way he does when he feels shy and nervous. He’d probably be gripping the water bottle between his hands like she is had he not given it to her.
“That’s me,” he says, his voice a tad squeaky. It’s fucking adorable and I feel my amusement along with my fellow packmates flow through the bond.
Iris dips her chin. “It’s nice to meet you, August.”
“You can call me Augie if you like.”
“Augie,” she says, eyelids fluttering and skin pinkening. “You can call me Iris.”
He chuckles and my gaze catches Wilder and Jett’s. I know they see her flush and the way she already appears starry eyed for Augie. I think mi conejita has a bit of a crush on our Beta, one that pre-dates their meeting like his does for her. I store that information away alongside everything else I’ve learned in these last minutes.
“Then of course you met Mateo, our cinematographer. You’ll get to know his crew as we go,” Wilder says.
“Mateo is fine.” I smile at her when her attention turns to me. Though I want to say she can call me Alpha too if she wants. Or anything, really.
Iris grins softly and her nostrils flare on an inhale at the same time mine do. Once again I only get the smells of my pack and the de-scenting agents she has on, but her nose scrunches like before. She covers it by turning away and bringing the back of her finger up to rub it daintily like she has an itch. Augie stares into the side of my head and I look over at him. His face is confused and I know he saw whatever that was, but I don’t have an answer for him.
“Lastly,” Wilder continues. “We have Jett, your leading man. Your other costars should be around at lunch and Jett or one of the PAs can introduce you.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Iris.” Jett steps toward her a miniscule amount so as to not come off threatening, his natural charm of an A-list celebrity and Alpha radiating off him like a magical aura. His accent is nowhere to be found now.
