Page 20 of Arranged Bullied Mate
Chapter 13 - Ronan
“How’s that omega settling back in?” Royce asks, sliding the beer across the bar. I feel a few extra eyes and ears turn to hear my answer. It’s rare for a banished wolf to return, rarer still for her to become luna. I know many in the pack still have doubts and concerns about her, and a few are just outright jealous.
Despite the fact that I don’t really know how to answer the question, I simply take the beer and nod. “She’s doing fine. She’s a true omega, grateful and needy for pups.”
Royce chuckles, as do a few of the other bar patrons. “The best kind of omega,” he laughs, good-naturally. “You’ll have your hands full with her, and then all the pups that follow.”
I smile back politely, knowing that Royce is old-school and thinks pups are a blessing. They are a blessing, I guess, I just haven’t given it much thought yet. My wolf is so in tune with Ava’s heat that I know she’ll peak and be fertile in the next day or two before her heat finally breaks—something I think she’ll be grateful for so she can get back to normal.
I’ve no doubt that once she peaks and I knot her, she’ll be bred. I grip my beer and remember how well she took nearly my whole damn fist by the lake; I’ve no doubt she’ll handle my knot. Some omegas can be injured the first time—if the alpha isn’t careful, they can tear an omega, which no one wants. But Ava’s slick and her body’s need to be bred is clearly enough to prep her.
I adjust my position on the hard barstool as my cock swells at just the thought of being locked inside her, filling her womb with my cum. How many orgasms will her greedy body wring from my knot?
I shake my head, trying to clear the fog that has descended. Royce is right about one thing: pups are what Starcreek cares about. Ava will need to produce pups for the pack to start moving past her return and lingering suspicion about her family. Maybe she can even, gradually, play more of a role in the pack again once the shame around her family is replaced by respect for her as an omega and mother, and then perhaps as a luna.
Emily doesn’t seem to understand my reluctance to position her as a proper luna right now. My sister’s naive, though; she thinks the best of everyone and is young enough not to remember how disliked Ava’s parents were—still are. Choosing Ava was a risk, one that I didn’t even hesitate to make since I was driven by my wolf’s desire and the overwhelming shock of seeing her. But I can’t allow anyone to use that decision against me or question my thought process.
I can’t look weak, not with the alpha ceremony still weeks away and Maddox stirring shit.
I drain my beer and let the low rumble of voices fill in the gaps. The bar’s not packed, but every face here is one I’ve known since childhood. Some were at my first shift, some at my father’s funeral. There’s a comfort in the familiarity, but it’s edged with the knowledge that every word, every gesture, is measured and catalogued. These men are my pack, but they’re also my audience, and tonight, the scrutiny feels sharper than usual.
A couple of guys from the garage stop by on their way out the door, asking very similar questions as Royce and reaffirming my suspicion that everyone is a little curious about Ava, among other things.
They keep circling back to the same thing, though. The alpha ceremony and the hope that the pack will finally settle down after what everyone calls “the rough year.”
“We’ll be glad when you’re in charge officially, Ronan,” one of the older men says, pushing his glass forward for a refill. “Nothing against the council, I know they’ve got your back, but a pack needs a real leader. Your dad had it. You got it, too.”
“Appreciate that,” I answer, and I mean it, though it comes out flatter than I intend.
He grins, all teeth and an awareness that comes with age. “And don’t let the young ones get you down. They bluster now, but they’ll follow you in the end.”
I’m about to ask what he means when Jacob finally appears in the doorway. He doesn’t say my name, just jerks his chin in a way that means,Come on, and I drain my beer before excusing myself from the bar. There’s something about the set of his shoulders, the way he’s not meeting my eyes, that tells me before we even reach the parking lot that I’m not going to like whatever he has to say.
Outside, the air is cooler, the sun is already setting, and I follow Jacob to the edge of the lot, where he pauses, scanning the shadows. When he finally turns to me, his face is careful, unreadable.
He glances over my shoulder, then back at me. “We need to talk. Not here.” He tips his head toward his truck. “Walk with me.”
We cut across the gravel, boots crunching in time, until we’re out of earshot from the bar. I expect him to start talking, but he doesn’t. Instead, he stops at his truck, the big old Ford that he’s been driving ever since he could reach the pedals. In the passenger seat sits the last person I’d expect to see. Emily.
Considering how scared Emily usually is of Jacob, I’m genuinely shocked to see her sitting there. But more than shocked, I’m pissed, because she looks scared—I’m just not sure who I’m pissed at yet, so I start with Jacob.
“What the fuck is going on?” I growl as Jacob opens the cab door for Emily to step out.
Jacob holds his hands up to calm my wolf. “I was leaving the lodge, and I saw Emily arguing with Maddox on the sidewalk.”
“The fuck?” I snap, looking to Emily for an explanation. “I’ll kill him. What did he do to you?”
Emily stands there looking impossibly small, and something in my gut twists, knowing she doesn’t need to feel my rage directed anywhere near her. I reach out and gently touch her shoulder, lowering my voice. “Just tell me what he did?”
Emily offers me a small, reassuring smile, and it kills me that her first thought is always to make others feel better. “He didn’t hurt me, it’s nothing like that.”
Jacob scoffs beside me, and I turn to him questioningly. “He was getting pretty worked up,” he says, disgust evident in his voice. “Who knows what he would have done if I hadn’t shown up.”
Emily shoots Jacob a strange look, but doesn’t dispute what he said. She just sighs and seems to pause before explaining, “Everything’s been going really well. We’ve been on a few dates, and I thought he really liked me,” she begins as I try not to show my building rage, knowing I should have put a stop to her seeing him the moment he started stirring shit up. “I don’t even know how we got talking about the leadership, but suddenly he was asking if I wanted to be luna, suggesting we’d be the alpha couple.”
Her eyes go wide as she shakes her head. “You know I don’t want that. I support you. I don’t want to be luna.” She’s trying and failing to stop the tears from falling now, and I rub her arm, trying to encourage her to continue. “He got angry when I didn’t agree and said it’s what our dad would have wanted, which is rubbish. He loved Maddox, but not like a son; he’s delusional.”
Jacob clears his throat. “When I drove by, he was shouting something about being on his side, or being against him.”