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“Depends on what I’m eating,” she winked, causing Elias and I to shift in our seats.

Marlowe watched and cackled, the little vixen delighting in the power she held over us, taking another big bite of her panini. Elias leaned over, grabbing her chin in his free hand to turn her face towards his. He licked an errant crumb from her lip, then said in a low voice. “I think you’ve been far too much of a brat today. Would you like me to list all of your offenses now or when you’re bent over my lap?”

Her eyes widened in shock, the scent of her sugar-laced arousal coating the air and going straight to my dick. That kind of domination wasn’t really my thing, but I would certainly enjoy watching.

The table full of alphas had fully turned around to face us now, their pupils blown. Marlowe’s scent was so potent she could attract every alpha in the room. Even some of the betas had picked up on her by now, looking over curiously.

Elias and I made eye contact. “Maybe we should get some to-go boxes,” I said quietly.

He nodded his head in agreement, his grip on Marlowe tightening, “Would you mind?”

I went up to the counter to grab some when one of the alphas from the other table came up to me. “You got an omega?” he asked. “Where the hell did you find her? She bonded?”

“Happily,” I responded through clenched teeth. “And she found us.”

He looked at her, his nostrils flaring. “I’ve never smelled anything like that.”

Grabbing the boxes, I stepped up into his face, looking down into him. “She’s not yours to smell, so go back to your pack and leave us alone.”

The alpha leaned towards me and took another deep breath, his body shuddering. “She’s all over you…”

“Liam!” one of his pack mates barked. “Knock it off.”

He headed back to his table in a daze, and I went to ours, putting away the leftovers.

I growled to myself and Marlowe’s face flushed, looking down in guilt. “I’m sorry…” she said.

Fuck, I’d been thinking so much about myself dealing with all the attention she was getting, I hadn’t even noticed it affecting her. Ineeded to do better.

“Am I ever going to be able to go out in public here without causing a scene?” she asked, defeat in her slumped shoulders. Elias leaned over and kissed her temple. “It will take some time, but eventually they’ll get used to you. And if it makes you feel better, a little sniffing is nothing. You have no idea how difficult it was for me not to throw you over my shoulder and take you home that first day I met you.”

“You tried to punch Cam in the face,” she said, smiling at the memory.

NowthatI wanted to see.

“Yes, I did,” he laughed. “When you left my office I just sat at my desk, getting high off the scent you left on my coat for hours, while Cam called Archer and begged him to convince you to bond with us. From the first moment, you completely owned us. So while it pisses me off to see any other male notice you, I can understand a bit, because I was in their shoes just a couple of weeks ago.”

It had only been a few days since I had first scented Marlowe, and if she had asked me to gut myself in front of her, I would have done so with a smile on my face, thanking her for even talking to me.

But when I watched that alpha who approached me through my peripheral, seated with his eyes glued on Marlowe, I still wanted to break his neck.

“However,” Elias continued, closing the lids and gathering Marlowe’s things for her. “That doesn’t mean you need to just sit here in discomfort. Let’s finish our meal back at your father’s house in peace.”

“Okay,” she responded meekly.

We left the restaurant together, followed by the alpha who had barked at his pack mate. “Hey, wait up!”

Elias moved Marlowe behind him and growled, and the other alpha held up his hands in submission. “I just wanted to apologize, we didn’t mean to scare you.”

Scareus? The idea was laughable. “I don’t think you understand,” I bit back. “I wasn’t scaredofyou. I was scaredforyou.”

Marlowe released a small whine, clinging onto the back of Elias’s jacket. I knew she disliked violence, but I couldn’t hold myself back any longer, and I cracked my knuckles.

Elias simply smirked. “You heard the alpha. We appreciate the apology, but our little omega feels bad when we kill in her name. We’re just protecting you.”

The other male swallowed, his face paling slightly. “Understood. Have a good day, folks.”

We watched him carefully as he headed back in, and Elias handed me his keys and spoke in a commanding tone. “You’re driving.”