First of all, dick move at any time–but fuck me, no wonder Gabe wanted to be extra nice. I know for a fact that the car needed more work than it had done. Maybe he wanted to talk to her about it in person so she wouldn’t feel as overwhelmed.
“Get her address, we’re going over there,” demands Leo, nearly in a panic–though I am at a loss to see why.
“Now, just hold your horses,” I tell him, “let's try calling him first. If he answers, then we can just ask him what is going on.” There, simple, practical, makes total sense–which is probably why Leo is gaping at me like a landed fish.
“Oh, yes, but I’m concerned. You see, the woman who this car belongs to…well, I wasn’t reacting normally. I kept feeling the need to comfort her, and I fear what that may mean about her designation.”
I blink slowly.
“Fuck man, just say omega like a normal guy–Oh Shit!” I snatch the phone from its cradle, hitting the speed dial for Gabe’s phone, and barely registering Jacks’ giggles getting louder from the other room.
The call goes to voicemail after four rings. So I try again and it goes straight to voicemail this time. I quickly pull up the customer information in our files, and her address is a few miles from here, not too far away.
Leo grabs Jacks and throws me keys out of his hands. Leo bundles him into the back of the Jeep while I get behind the wheel. I’ve already started backing up while Leo is still trying to close his door. A hard turn out of the driveway has him cussing at me as he’s slammed into the door hard enough for it to jar open again.
“Dammit, put on your seatbelt!” Jacks is still giggling from the backseat, and while that in itself is disconcerting, I can only handle one emergency at a time.
We barrel down the street breaking most of the speed limits in town, before sliding to a stop behind Gabe's truck in a little cul-de-sac. I’ve just managed to get the gear into park, when Jacks tumbles out the back door laughing hysterically. I can't even blame him when I see what has him gasping and sprawled in the street.
Gabe, lying on the ground tangled in a pink leash with an iguana perched on his shoulder, rubbing its face against his beard stubble. There’s a short woman straddling his back, pulling on the leash. Leo lets out a loud snort as Gabe beginsthrashing around, unseating both lizard and human passenger. The woman lets out a small pained whine as she tips over and hits the ground. That sound brings everything else to an abrupt halt.
The iguana strains to get to its owner, slipping free from the harness, and darting over to her side. It turns towards us and starts hissing and clicking–clearly defensive of its person, despite using Gabe as a perch earlier.
Gabe is finally on his back, his wrist, still wrapped in a leash, is stuffed in his pocket. Apparently he was trying to retrieve his phone when he went down. He’s covered in bits of grass and yard debris, and is using his non-leashed hand to brush it off his hair and face as he sits up, groaning.
Leo is focused on the Iguana, or its owner, I am not entirely sure. He is watching the situation unfold from beside me, and I can practically see the cogs in his mind turning. Unfortunately, that means we’ve forgotten about Jacks. Panic floods me as I realize his laughter has stopped too, and I spin quickly, trying to locate him, but he’s gone. Ice fills my veins at the thought of Jacks loose in suburbia. He’s not a bad person, but he’s not always safe for himself or those around him.
Before I can rally help, Leo lets out a strangled sound behind me. I turn again, feeling like I am on a fucking carousel, and see Jacks. He must have circled the Jeep while we were focused on the spectacle in front of us. He has scooped up the girl and her lizard and is now striding purposefully towards her front door, bleeding slightly from the torn elbows of his shirt.
He’s carrying her like a fucking princess, the iguana sitting on his shoulder, and a brown paper bag swinging from one hand. I have no fucking idea what’s going on until I hear Gabe’s voice, raised to carry across the yard, “Jacks, put the omega down.Do notgo into that house.”
Chapter 10
Mine.This one is mine. Her tiny green friend is protective, so she can belong to them as well, but she ismine.
I knew something was up, the twitchy feeling of ants crawling over me–that itchy tickle–should have known something was going to happen. But this has been a very pleasant surprise. Not gonna lie, I was upset when I saw Gabe tangled up in a pink leash, ropes have always been more my thing than his–and the absurdity of it all. My body wouldn’t stop twitching, I could barely breathe through my fit of laughter, not even noticing the omega straddling his back until she fell, and then I couldn't breathe at all.
My body on autopilot, I stand and grab the lunch I made for Gabe out of the Jeep, she needs it more than him anyway. She needs more, but that’s all I have on hand and I need to feed her. She’s mine, and I need to take care of her, I justdo. Marching around the front of the Jeep to avoid Xan and Leo, my body refuses to listen to reason as I bend to lift her off the ground, her scent is intoxicating, and now I know why I have been craving those damned cookies.
I bet she tastes even sweeter, but before we can get to the tasting I need to take care of her. Her small companion hisses at me again when I get close, so I pick it up first and hand it to her, that way it knows she’s safe. My omega in hand, and her lizard clawing its way up my arm, I need to get her inside. Her scent is making my head spin and I need to get her fed and into her nest for cuddles.
Mine.
Mine Mine MINE!
My mind screams out at me as I carry her towards the front door.
I just want to rub all over her bare skin. While I love her chocolate and peppermint scent–I want to lick her and see if she tastes like that too–I also need to make sure she smells like me. She is mine, and if my pack will kindly remove their heads from their collective asses, I will be happy to share. But for now they are all just standing around being useless–meanwhile our omega needs to be taken care of, so they’re on their own.
I hear Gabe’s voice calling out to me, demanding that I put down my omega and step away, but that’snotgoing to happen. She lets out a dismayed whine at his voice and I am sorely tempted to turn around and beat the shit out of my pack leaderfor upsetting her. Doesn’t she want me to take care of her, get her inside, away from other people?
There’s a tear running down her pink cheek when I look at her. She is so cuddly, and I just want to bundle her up in soft blankets and purr for her until she only feels relaxed and content. Shifting her closer to me, my arm under her shoulders, I pull her tighter against my chest and bring my hand closer to her face. I rub my thumb down her cheek, wiping away the tear so she’ll look at me.
“What’s wrong omega, I’ve got you, why the tears?” Her big blue eyes look up at me, wet, like she’s going to continue to leak and I have to strain to hear her whisper.
“Nobody knew…I've lived here for almost three years now, and none of my neighbors knew I was an omega. I can’t…now everybody's gonna know, and I…” more tears start down her face, her nose is turning red and I pull her closer still–rubbing my chin on the top of her head.
“It’s ok, little omega, we’ll take care of it, just rest.”
