“It’s so kind of you to take on such an unconventional omega,” she purred.
Then shetouched Cam’s arm.
A red haze came over my vision as I stared at her hand. All sound fell away. Nothing mattered anymore except getting her off my alpha. I wanted to leap across Cam’s lap and tackle her, wanted to rake my nails down her skin for daring to touch him in front of me.
Before I could act, Cam firmly moved Sharon’s hand off of him with a scowl and pulled me closer to his side, rubbing little circles on my hip. The red haze eased enough for me to take a breath and focus on the conversation. I felt a foot run down my calf and looked across the table to Ben, who gave me a wink.
Sharon opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by two servers carrying large trays with all our appetizers. I shifted with discomfort, already prepared for the food-related comments they were about to make.
“Goodness, you must be starving,” Linda said, eyes wide.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen her eat at any of the countless dinner parties my parents forced me to attend.
“Of course, alphas such as yourself need to eat to keep up your physique,” she added, practically eye fucking each of them.
Sharon let out a theatrical gasp. “Did you not get the omega-approved diet list?” she asked my alphas. “I barely recognized you at first, Josephine, with all the weight you’ve put on. I’m so concerned about your health.”
Cam vibrated next to me, his scent almost acidic with anger. We gripped each other tightly as if to prevent the other from attacking.
My mother glared at me, the epitome ofiflooks could kill. I tried to find a witty retort, but to my shame, all I did was shrink lower in my seat. It’s not like I didn’t know I had gained weight, but for her to say it in front of my alphas hurt.
My mother’s steely gaze flitted between me and the appetizers. “Don’t embarrass yourself, Josephine,” she said. It was obvious to everyone that what she meant wasdon’t embarrass me.
“Josie is perfect the way she is,” Ben said, his usual mirth absent from his tone. “We don’t need her to look a certain way.”
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t,” Sharon said with a wink. “I’m sure you’re not lacking side options to satisfy you.”
The red haze returned and I had to hold back a growl. How dare she suggest my alphas were cheating on me?
“I suppose there are limits on what we can expect from you,” Elizabeth said airily. “Nothing can make up for bad breeding.”
I crinkled my nose slightly, wondering how my mother would respond to the insult. But she didn’t react. Didn’t say a single thing.
“It’s time you return to your table,” Theo said, standing up, his accent deepening with his barely suppressed rage.
“Of course,” Sharon said with a girlish laugh. “It was so nice to meet you all.” She trailed one last finger down Cam’s arm before flouncing away, leaving us in silence.
I kept my head down, staring at the napkin in my lap. Suddenly, all three guys moved into action at once. Cam and Theo shifted their seats so they were blocking me from view of the OBS table, Cam pulling me in so close I was practically on his lap. Ben signaled for the waiter.
“We need all of this boxed up immediately,” he said. “And please box up some entrées and desserts as well—Seb will know which ones. We’ll be waiting in the parking lot. You can bring them to us out there.”
The waiter’s eyes widened, and he stammered in confusion. Ben clasped the waiter’s hand as he moved out of the booth. As the waiter pulled his hand away, his confused expression transformed into one of amazement.
“Right away, sir,” he said, gathering the appetizers and whisking them away.
“Did you just slip him money?” I asked, momentarily distracted. “I thought that only happened in movies.”
Ben winked at me.
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” Cam said, tugging me out of my seat.
“We don’t have to leave,” I said weakly. No part of me wanted to stay. Being this close to my mother and her vicious friends made me nauseous, but I didn’t want to be a nuisance either.
“If we stay, I’ll do something I regret,” Cam said, pulling me out of the booth. “Probably best we go unless you want to pick me up from jail.”
I wasn’t sure what it said about me that his words didn’t remotely frighten me. Instead, I pulled him down for a kiss, uncaring that the OBS was watching. For the first time, I left an encounter with them feeling like I came out on top. They could do their best to insult me, but I was the one leaving with three hot alphas who cared about me, while they all had to go back home to cruel alphas who didn’t give them the time of day.
* * *
