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I nod slowly. “He’s a very good Alpha, and a good person in general.”
“I can attest to that.” Jorge laughs and breaks the odd mood, lightening it. “Of course, I’ve only known him for a few weeks, but from what I’ve learned about him, he’s very good attaking careof his Omega.”
He winks at me, his eyes twinkling, making it clear that he doesn’t mean in general but has a very specific situation in mind.
Riley lets out a deep sigh, rolling her eyes as she playfully pushes at his shoulder. “You horndog. Not everything’s about sex.”
Jorge grins wider. “But some things definitely are.”
Then Riley smiles at me. “Well, if he can stand this one, he must be a good person, or have inhuman patience.”
I’m pretty sure it’s both, as Caleb does have a very high level of patience. Though, I know that Jorge can be serious too, but he tends to act silly to try to distract people from situations that he doesn’t want to talk about.
Riley’s smile falters and she glances to the chair that Mathew just vacated. “I don’t want to bring down the mood, but the way Mathew talked to Jorge just now didn’t sit right with me. I know this pack is very new, but… It feels like things have been moving too fast and might not be very healthy.”
She turns to Jorge and her worries are clear in the way she’s frowning and the tightness of her shoulders. It seems to make Jorge very uncomfortable.
“You said that you were waiting for your scent matched Omega to finally accept you. What happened to your Omega? It’s not Vera. Don’t even try to lie to me. You would have told me if your Omega already had an Alpha. So, what happened? Why were you convinced that you were going to pair bond with one Omega, but you’re now in a pack with a totally different one?”
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no.
No wonder she’s being so protective of Jorge.
She has no clue who Jorge’s scent matched Omega is.
Of course, it would make sense that he’d confide in her, at least some things, but she’s totally got the wrong picture of what’s going on here.
Also, Jorgedidfinally bond with the Omega she’s talking about, but he won’t be able to tell her about it right now because that would reveal Mathew’s secret.
What a fucked up situation.
Tears slowly start sliding down my cheeks and I quickly wipe them away. Fuck. I don’t want to cry, but the whole situation is so messed up.
Things that should have been happy announcements now can’t be, which gives Riley the wrong idea of what’s going on here and… And…
“Vera.” Jorge wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his chest, surrounding me in his cedar scent and letting out a low rumble, trying to calm me down but he’s clearly not that calm himself.
“I’m sorry.” Riley’s hand on my arm is warm, her rose scent tinged with worry. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m so clumsy with words sometimes, and I’m bad at knowing when my words are too blunt. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you’re not good enough or something. It’s just…”
I take her hand as I nuzzle against Jorge’s chest more. Clearing my throat, I glance in Riley’s direction, my vision still blurry from tears. “It’s okay. I know it’s not about me. But it’s good to know that someone has been looking out for Jorge, that you worry and want to make sure that he’s okay. I’m just very emotional right now, I’m sorry.”
The constant worrying, the waking up in the middle of the night and finding Mathew and Caleb gone, only to then find them working hard in Mathew’s office a few hours later, it’s all taking a toll. All the stress of the last hour or so hasn’t made it any better.
“Still, I didn’t mean to make this dinner awkward. Maybe I should excuse myself and wait somewhere else.”
“No.” I grip her hand tighter. “Please, don’t go. I’ll be okay in a few moments. I’d like to talk to you more, learn more about you.” I want to know all about her. Though, I’m sure one dinner won’t be enough for that.
“You know what, maybe I should go out for a smoke before the food arrives.” Jorge kisses the top of my head. “I’ll be right back. You two have fun gossiping about me or something.” He flashes me a grin and then gives me a soft kiss.
“Just as long as you won’t get jealous if I’m sitting in Riley’s lap when you return.” I grin back and he raises an eyebrow, his gaze heating up in a way I’m all too familiar with.
“I’d be disappointed if you weren’t.” He walks off towards the entrance and I catch Riley following him with her eyes.
“So, what good gossipdoyou have about him?” I wriggle my eyebrows at her and she smiles, seeming to relax.
“Do you want the juicy stuff or do you want things you can embarrass him with later?” She flashes a grin as she leans closer to me, though she still hasn’t let go of my hand.