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With a soft sigh, I pick up a piece of bread and put it in his mouth. “If you want me to feed you, just tell me.” I turn my head and kiss his cheek. “You don’t have to pout.”
“Do you want me to cut your food too?” Caleb laughs, slowly reaching for Mathew’s plate, but before he can touch it, Mathew smacks his hand away.
“No thanks. I just like to be fed by my cute Omega.” He winks at me and my skin flushes hot.
I’m not used to someone flirting with me in public, especially not when there are three other people who are very clearly staring at us and who would love to join in.
Fuck. I guess this is life as part of a pack instead of just a pair bond…
Then I notice the other Alphas and Betas staring at us and I quickly look down at my plate, taking another bite. That’s way too much attention…
I finish the pieces of fruit first, hoping that they’ll help me cool down some. As I look up to take a sip of my water, suddenly there are more pieces on my plate and they’ve disappeared from Riley’s plate.
“I saw you liked them and the rest of your pack already finished theirs.” She winks, seeming calmer than before.
I have no idea if she’s noticed it herself, but her pheromones have slowly started to mix with ours, like she’s become part of our pack already.
“Thank you.” I quickly put one in my mouth so I don’t have to say anything else because I feel my cheeks burning and my pheromones flaring.
Fucking hell. I’m pretty sure that’s considered flirting, and she’s doing it right in front of the others, like it’s never been any different.
Her attention feels good and it’s hard to ignore the way her pheromones intensify every time we exchange words. It’s heady.
For the rest of the meal, I keep listening in on the conversations around me. Though there are so many going on at the same time that I have a hard time following most of them. Some names I recognise from Mathew’s phone calls or emails, or from his conversations with Jorge or the others, but most of them I’ve got no idea about.
On the one hand, the fact that everyone keeps ignoring me is annoying because it’s so fucking obvious that they’re doing it.
It started the moment we were introduced. They congratulated Mathew and Jorge on finding an Omega and starting a pack, which looked genuine. Then they quickly introduced themselves to Caleb and me, which seemed to be more of a chore than real interest on their part.
Once all the introductions were done, they went out of their way to only talk to Mathew, Jorge and Caleb, fully ignoring me.
Even if they wanted to know something about me, they would ask one of them and not even look my way, referring to me as ‘the Omega’, not even using my name. It’s so fucking obvious, but I don’t feel like making a scene, so I ignore the bad feeling it’s giving me.
Other than my mates, the only other person who’s been talking to me all evening has been Riley. And it’s clearly because she wants to and not because of some other reason, as her smile is genuine and warm, making my stomach do flips.
On the other hand, the others ignoring me does make it easier to listen in on their conversations and hopefully hear something that will be of use to Mathew or Jorge later.
If they want to pretend I’m nothing but empty air, then they shouldn’t be surprised that their ‘private’ conversations are being overheard by that ‘empty air’.
Caleb is turning out to be a pretty effective bodyguard. Every time someone tries to get close to Mathew, he moves between then, cutting off their path.
It has made some people upset, but they don’t want to make a fuss as they know they won’t be able to take Caleb in a fight.
Pack rules say that Alphas are well within their rights to protect their pack leader at any cost, and ‘I thought they threatened my pack leader’ is a perfectly valid reason for a brawl. Which most people in this group will very clearly lose if they’re up against Caleb.
I lean my head on Mathew’s shoulder as I push the pieces of cherry pie around on my plate.
“Are you sleepy?” His voice is soft as he runs his fingers over my cheek.
“A little.” All the impressions are overwhelming and while my pack’s pheromones are nice, some of the people in this room have pheromones that really rub me the wrong way. Constantly having to ignore them is hell.
I guess that’s one advantage for Mathew, the perfume he uses also lets him ignore bad pheromones more easily.
“Do you want to sit in my lap?” He leans his head against mine, his fingers slowly sliding down my neck, making me lean against him even more.
“I’m not a kid.” Though, I don’t move away.
He lets out a soft chuckle. “I know, but you’re my sweet Omega. And you’re adorable when you sit in my lap.”