“Fuck,” Cam said softly. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I would never hurt you.” He slowly reached his hand out towards me and I took it, holding on tightly.
“Who is this gym owner?” Theo asked, his voice icy cold. “We’ll take care of him.”
“What?” I was so confused by their reactions. I replayed what I had said in my head.
“Oh my god! Nothing’s ever happened with me and Luc. He hired me to clean the gym at night.”
“You clean the gym,” Theo said slowly, as if it were a hard concept to understand.
Cam grasped my chin and turned my face so I was looking at him. “He didn’t hurt you? Touch you?”
“No, never,” I said. “Luc is a really good alpha.”
“He’s an alpha?” Cam growled, his muscles tense as if trying to hold himself back from shouting again.
“Wait, his name is Luc? The owner ofAlpha Gainz?” Theo asked.
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s the one. Do you know him?”
“We were just there the other night,” Ben said, sliding a stack of pancakes in front of me. “We did a drop there for the Alliance.”
“Wait!” I shouted, the puzzle pieces finally connecting in my mind. “You were there, in the alleyway! I totally forgot after everything that happened later, but I scented you.”
“You were in the alleyway?” Cam asked, his jaw clenching as he planted one hand on my thigh.
“What did the scents smell like?” Ben asked quickly.
I snorted. “Nice try.” I leaned forward to kiss away Ben’s pout.
“Ben, fucking focus,” Cam growled. “Why were you in that alleyway, sweetheart?”
“That’s why I brought this up. Luc leads a self-defense class for omegas. I was on my way to class when you entered the alleyway, and I hid until you were gone.”
Theo’s eye twitched and Cam’s grip on my leg tightened. Only Ben seemed somewhat relaxed, although he was tapping the spatula rhythmically against the counter.
I forged ahead. “We’re having class tonight and I invited Clementine, Amirah’s assistant. She wants to know if we can give her a ride.”
“You want to go to an illegal self-defense class led by an alpha,” Cam said. His voice was measured, but his bitter scent betrayed him.
“Yeah.” My skin felt hot. I hated the tension in the room, but I forced myself not to back down.
“It’s not safe,” Cam bit out. “You realize you could be arrested?”
Flickers of indignation and anger sparked through my body. “I’m aware,” I said tartly. “You realize most things are illegal for omegas?”
Cam grimaced but didn’t respond. I forced myself to take a deep breath.
“How do we know we can trust Luc?” Theo asked.
“You all seemed to trust him enough to do Alliance work with him,” I responded, trying to keep my tone even. “I’ve been working for him for almost a year. I trust him.”
“We’re not bonded yet, which makes you vulnerable. You need our protection,” Cam said.
“So if we were bonded you would let me go to the class?” I asked.
Cam looked away. I guessed that was my answer. A tendril of panic worked its way through me.Did they want to keep me locked in the house?
Ben made his way around the kitchen island, wrapping his arms around me from behind. I leaned my head back on his chest and he nuzzled my neck.
