“After sufficient rest, you’ll be good,” said the doctor.
“Thanks,” Joe answered, meaning it.
Despite looking like a mess and covered in bandages, he could feel his regenerative abilities kicking in.
Joe had no more time to waste. Getting out of Ace Ville was his number one priority, but he had to make one quick stop.
He was about to pay for his medical bill, but the receptionist claimed it was paid.
“By any chance, was it paid for by the Omega who rescued me?” he asked, hopeful.
The young woman barely looked up from her phone. She also handed him his wallet earlier without a comment. Joe wondered if she looked through its contents.
It didn’t matter. Even if word got back to his pack, Joe would be long gone by then.
“West? Yep.”
“His name is West?” Joe asked, intrigued. “Can you tell me more about him?”
The girl finally looked up. “Sure. He’s the owner of Alpha Wear, he’s pretty much a black sheep of his old pack.”
Joe didn’t need to hazard a guess. The Omega who rescued him was unlike any Omega he’d ever met.
For one, West didn’t seem afraid of speaking his mind. Clearly, West was self-independent too, if he ran his own business.
Some people would run from an injured Alpha who didn’t have full control of his beast. West didn’t so much as flinch when Joe sniffed at his neck.
That amazing scent...fuck. Joe wouldn’t easily forget how good West smelled anytime soon.
Hell, with all his senses in tact, he wanted to be in the same room with the Omega again just to see if his hunch was right.
“Can you give me directions to his store?” Before she grew suspicious, he added, “I wanted to thank him personally.”
She gave him the address and he was out of there.
The town wasn’t all that big. Joe had no trouble retracing his steps back to the store.
West’s car was still there, he noticed.
A couple of people were inside the store, browsing. Joe noticed his car was exactly where he left it that morning—parked on the opposite street of West’s store.
Damn it. If he were smart, he’d move on. Send the Omega a post card or something, because West was trouble with a capital T’.
The way the Omega riled up his inner beast bothered him. Most of the time, the animal in him didn’t care for anyone else but themselves.
Self interest drove his beast and Joe as well. For as long as Joe remembered, he wanted to be out of his pack and free of his responsibilities.
He had that now. Joe could literally go anywhere he wanted. But right now, all his wolf wanted was to get a second sniff of that tasty Omega.
He pushed his way inside the store, ignoring the huge werebear outside who gave him a dirty look.
The doctor was kind enough to lend him new clothes, so at the very least, he wasn’t as horrendous as his initial appearance. He must have scared West shitless when he came in hours ago, looking like he just came from some kind of massacre.
Arguing voices reached his ear.
“Come on, West. You know mating season’s coming. You can keep me company,” a gruff suggestive voice was saying.
“How many times do I have to say ‘no’? I’ll be happy to ring up your purchases. That’s all,” came the voice of his Omega.
His Omega. Oh yes, Joe decided. That had a nice little ring to it.
Despite being half-dead earlier, he knew the reason why West bolted. He tasted West’s lingering mix of fear and excitement in the air when he exited the clinic.
“What are you going to do? Call security?” threw back the speaker.
The bastard finally came into Joe’s line of sight. There was another Omega standing near West, looking worried. The guy’s name tag read ‘Harper’ and he was holding onto his phone, no doubt calling for the werebear outside. He finally saw the asshole who was poaching on his Omega.
The guy was huge, six-feet, but had nothing on Joe. For one, the werewolf might be a dominant wolf, but he was no Alpha.
“Don’t make me repeat—” West stopped in mid-speech, catching sight of Joe.
Joe could hear the Omega’s racing pulse and smiled. He couldn’t help himself. The way this Omega reacted to him riled up his wolf and woke his dick.
The other guy sensed it too, turning around. The man looked like he had a couple of things to say, but shut his mouth.
“Buddy, he said ‘no’. Give him some space,” Joe suggested.
“You,” West whispered.
“Me.” Joe grinned. “Glad to see me, baby?”
The other werewolf narrowed his eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”
Joe knew bastards like this guy. He spent his entire life trying to appear the bigger, and more powerful wolf in his pack. It was the only way to survive. So he explained the situation in simple words the other werewolf would understand.
“Understand this, buddy. West is mine. Approach him again and I’ll rip out your throat.”
That wiped the sneer off the other man’s face.
“You might be an Alpha, but you’re an outsider. Believe me, you don’t want to screw with the local wolf pack.” The guy even flashed Joe the pack tattoo on the side of his neck.
Joe snorted. “Only a weakling would drag his pack into a personal matter. Get the fuck out of here.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” demanded the asshole.
“West, is this gentleman your boyfriend?” Joe asked.
West blinked, perhaps surprised to be addressed. “Hell no, Max and I used to be in the same pack. That’s all.”
“West doesn’t even belong to your pack. Scram.” For emphasis, Joe flashed Max his sharp rows of teeth.
Harper apparently managed to contact the werebear, because the bear entered, frown on his lips.
“I get it. We’re not done, West. You fucking forget your place.”
Joe fisted Max’s shirt and growled in his face. “Go.”
That got the asshole moving. The werebear seemed to understand the situation and gave Joe a nod, before escorting the troublemaker outside.
“You don’t need to defend my honor or do silly shit like that. I can take care of myself,” West pointed out, crossing his arms and lifting his chin.
“Sure, I can tell you’ve been doing a good job so far,” Joe said good-naturedly. Something came over Joe then and West straightened up, looking wary, as if the Omega could sense it too. “If you were mine, I’d never let any fucker near you.”
West let out a shaky laugh. The need to touch the Omega arose, but Joe held himself back. Having established West was a threat, someone who might ensnare his heart—he should be getting the fuck out of here.
Retrieve my car. Move on. Run before Zack decides to send out more wolves to track me down.
Joe didn’t for a second believe that Zack would let him run wild. A man like Zack didn’t forgive and forget easily.
No. Letting Joe live on was all an elaborate act to show the rest of the pack he was merciful, yet got the job done at the same time.
“Do you think threats work on me?” West finally asked.
Joe blinked. “I wasn’t threatening you, pet. Simply making a point.”
“I’m not your pet either. I don’t belong to anyone and never will.” It sounded like a declaration, coming from the Omega’s lips.
“Sounds lonely,” Joe remarked. “Could it be you’re just afraid?”
“Excuse me? I’m not afraid of some arrogant good-looking Alpha who thinks he owns the world,” West flared back.
“You think I’m good-looking even with my messed-up face?” Joe couldn’t keep the smirk from his face.
West let out a huff. “Are you done? I have customers to attend to.”
In fact, a line had formed behind Joe. He craned his neck to see two dominant shifters with baskets of clothes in their hands. Unthinkingly, Joe snatched the first item on the counter.
“I’m a paying customer too. Don’t ignore me.”
West rang his item up. “That will be fifty-four ninety-nine.”
Joe balked. “What? Are you serious, for a trinket?”
West stiffened. “These are limited edition cuff links from my Summer collection, you ass.”
When a submissive wolf insulted a dominant one, usually things got nasty. If Joe were in the pack, he wouldn’t have let being called an ‘ass’ fly. Too bad he found it fun dueling using words with this Omega.
Clearly, West cared about his business. Joe picked up the link cuffs with undisguised interest. It was plain silver and was wrought in the shape of a wolf’s head. It had tiny rubies for eyes.
“Simple but understated. I like it.” Joe plucked another cuff link from the display. “I’ll take this too.”
“Fine,” West muttered, scanning the item too. “You really think that?”
“What?”
West cursed under his breath. “You really like them?”
“Of course.” Joe didn’t miss the initials on the back of the cuffs. It read ‘W.M.”. It didn’t take a genius to figure out West designed the accessory.
“You’re just saying that. Stop flirting with me. That won’t get you anywhere.”
“Are you sure?” Joe crossed his arms. “Go out on a date with me, Omega. Tonight. I’ll pick you up after you close your store.”
West looked baffled. “What the hell? You’re asking me out?”
“Something wrong with that?”
“Usually, Alphas don’t ask. They demand.”
“I’m different. Come find out. You know you want to.”
“If I say ‘no’?” West asked.
The fact the Omega didn’t outright refuse him was a good sign. Joe knew how other Alphas would react. Some Alphas shamed him, because they acted like spoiled brats when things didn’t go their way.
“I’ll try again tomorrow until you say ‘yes’,” Joe answered in a heart beat.
West looked taken aback. “Really? What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m sick. Madly in love. Cupid shot an arrow through me the moment I saw you.”
Fuck, Joe could do this teasing all day.
Seeing the Omega’s cheeks and neck flaming up was worth it. The two customers behind him began to grumble what took so long, but Joe didn’t care.
All they could do was complain, because they knew they wouldn’t be able to take down an Alpha like him. Besides, what would they fight over—clothes?
One of West’s employees opened up the register next to West’s and gave Joe a thumbs-up sign. Joe could use an unexpected ally. He glimpsed the name—Harper again. Nice.
“Next customer,” Harper said, voice ringing out.
“Jesus H. Christ. Did you get that line out of a romance novel?” West asked him after giving his fellow Omega the stink-eye.
“Well, it worked didn’t it? Red’s a fucking good color on you.” Joe poked a finger into West’s left cheek.
The Omega recoiled, as if Joe’s touch burned him. He could sense it and knew West felt it too—their two wolves were eager to do more than touch.
“I haven’t said yes.”
“I don’t hear a ‘no’ either.”
Joe could see West about to say it, so he cut him off. “Come on. What do you have to lose? Do you have a boyfriend? I don’t sense your wolf’s mated to another wolf.”
“I’m single for a reason.”
“Someone hurt you in the past.” Joe deduced that awhile ago.
West’s mouth hung open. “How did you do know that?”
“It’s not hard to guess. You’re defensive, but let me assure you, West. You fucking absolutely have nothing to worry about. I won’t ever hurt you or do anything you don’t like.” Joe kept his voice low, so only the two of them would hear.
West looked into his eyes. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“I know trust needs to be earned. All I’m asking is one dinner. No strings attached. If we don’t work out, I’ll leave you alone.”
West bit his lip and bagged his items. Joe wondered if he fucked things up, but West pushed his bag across the counter and took a deep breath.
“You better bring your A-game, Alpha.”
Joe grinned. “Oh, I will. I’ll pick you up at eight?”
“Eight-thirty. There’s a couple of things I need to tend to,” West said.
This Omega was not giving him an inch, but Joe could wait.
Sooner or later, he’d chip at West’s defenses until the Omega would put down the walls around his heart.
Some predators, went right for the throat. Joe was patient when something worth having—entered his line of sight.
“West, don’t worry about the shop. We can re-schedule the team meeting for tomorrow morning,” Harper said.
Joe shared a grin with the other Omega, then looked back at his prize. “So. What other reason do you have?”
West let out a huff. “Fine. One date. You promise you’ll leave me alone if it fails?”
“Oh, it won’t, baby. Let me assure you that.”
Joe lifted his bag and headed out of the shop, whistling a cheerful tune under his breath.