Page 9 of Knot Enough (Fruity Omegas #1)

L ydia

To be honest, I didn’t want to go to this party.

Balls weren’t too bad and even the occasional dinner with friends or family was all right, but a fancy rich party with no dancing?

No. Just no. I smoothed my dress down again, checking the mirror in case anything I was wearing was out of place.

Events like these also reminded me of Connor.

He would force me to go to these ridiculous dinners and parties and parade me around like a pet for others to see.

I hated feeling like nothing more than an object people were supposed to ogle at, but the way Gabriel’s eyes lit up with excitement and longing, I couldn’t say no, not to him.

Thanks to the multiple courting parties I’ve been to, I had plenty of dresses to choose from.

I went with my go-to dress, a dark blue cocktail dress that was loose at the bottom and reached just below my knees.

The top’s chest wasn’t cut too low, so it didn’t show off much of my cleavage.

I wore my hair in a high ponytail on one side with the strands curled for extra puffiness.

I kept my make-up light not wanting to feel too uncomfortable right now.

“You look gorgeous, Lydia; come on, the guys are waiting for us,” Gabriel called to me, poking his head into the bathroom.

I grimaced at the thought of the guys. Gabriel and I got into a slight disagreement about whether to put items that smelled like them into the nest. I knew Gabriel needed them to feel comfortable and have the nest smell like his scent matches, but he insisted on waiting until I felt comfortable with them being in the nest. We went back and forth on it till I relented.

We would wait till I got comfortable around them before we started adding their things into the nest. I wasn’t entirely happy about the final decision, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it now.

“You're sure?” I asked, twirling around again to check.

Gabriel shook his head and entered the bathroom completely.

His tuxedo fit him perfectly. The dark green color complimented his own green eyes.

He walked over to me and pulled me towards him with my back to his chest. I relented and relaxed against him, enjoying the support he was giving me.

“Yes, you do. I’d never lie about that.” He said as he lightly kissed the area of muscle that connected my neck to my shoulder. I tried not to squirm at his touch because of how ticklish I was. I felt Gabriel chuckle at my reaction before letting go.

“Fine, let’s go then,” I said finally. I pulled Gabriel’s hand, leading him out of the bathroom and down the hallway to where the guys waited.

Two of the guys wore suits in varying shades of gray and black, with Sorren being the odd man out in a bluish tux.

Finn looked uncomfortable as he fiddled with one of his sleeves.

They all stopped what they were doing to look at us.

I wanted to hide behind Gabriel when all three sets of eyes landed on me, but with Gabriel’s arm wrapped around me. I couldn’t move, the traitor.

“Well, alphas, don’t we look pretty?” Gabriel asked cheekily. I glared at him, knowing exactly what he was doing. He just smiled innocently back at me. I wanted to kill him at that moment.

“Damn, gorgeous, if I say so myself,” Finn said in a heated tone while he looked Gabriel up and down. His gaze softened when it turned to me.

“You look beautiful.” He said in the softer tone that one would use for a lover or someone special. I could feel my face flush a deep shade of red. I wanted to hide my face behind my hair, but then I would ruin all the work I put into it.

“Thank you,” I somehow managed to squeak out.

Sorren chuckled at our interaction before grabbing Gabriel’s hand and pulling him into a twirl.

At the end, Sorren dipped Gabriel down. Gabriel chuckled as he let his head fall back, trusting Sorren wouldn’t drop him.

My mouth curled in a soft smile at the exchange.

“I didn’t know you knew how to dance,” Gabriel told Sorren as he pulled him back up from his dip.

“I’m a box full of surprises.” Sorren mock whispered against Gabriel’s ear.

Gabriel and Sorren’s smells deepened. Their scent caused the other alphas’ to deepen as well.

A hint at the growing arousal between the two.

My smile tightened a little at the smell.

A part of me wished I could be that way as well.

I couldn’t explain why I was the way I was.

It just wasn’t in my nature to find other people sexy or hot.

I never liked the idea of uncovering myself in front of a person.

I’d experimented by myself a couple of times, but I never wanted to have another person like that, and I probably never will.

Graham guided Gabriel out of Sorren’s hold and held him close to his chest with a hand resting on the small of his back.

“Do you mind?” Graham asked, looking at Gabriel for permission. I wasn’t sure what he was asking till Gabriel nodded his head. Graham had placed a chaste kiss on Gabriel’s cheek before pulling away.

“If we don’t go now, we’ll be late,” Graham said as he double-checked his wristwatch.

“Let’s head to the car.” He continued. After a few more longing looks from Sorren and Finn, we left the house and got ready to make our way to the event.

The ride wasn’t long before we got to the place.

As Finn had warned, the event was surrounded by news reporters and people with cameras or desperate fans trying to get at least a single word from the celebrities passing by.

The alphas were, however, really good at keeping the attention away from us as we walked into the building.

The inside was just like I’d imagined. The bright lights irritated my omega eyes, and despite the descenters, all the other people's scents filled the room, making it a bit hard to breathe.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw large tables filled with bite-sized foods and waiters running all over the place with plates full of drinks.

Sorren and Finn stood on opposite sides of Gabriel and me while Graham held up the back as they guided us into the large room.

“Try to stick with us, alright? We are having a hard time being around this many people with you two since we only just got to meet you. We would have liked more time to settle ourselves before going somewhere this public.” Graham said, talking between Gabriel and I’s heads.

I tried to ignore the tingles from his breath on my ear.

Not trusting my voice, I simply nodded. Gabriel did the same, likely feeling overwhelmed by how many people are here.

“I’m going to go get food,” I said, with a tone that let the four of them know I wouldn’t be changing my mind on the decision. I needed something as an excuse not to talk to people, just in case.

“I’ll go with you,” Finn spoke, putting his palm at the small of my back to guide me towards the tables with the food on them.

I was looking through all my options when I heard a familiar voice a little ways away.

Despite myself, I turned my head to look in the direction of the voice.

There he was. He was the same as I remembered, and that thought crushed me more.

Brett stood at the end of the tables in a black suit.

His scent hit me, almost bringing me to my knees.

Sage and Jasmine. His dark brown hair barely touched his eyes, which made the icy blue color stand out more.

Next to him, a tiny strawberry blonde laughed at something he said and touched his chest affectionately.

I knew she was an omega immediately, and I hated the feeling of remorse my heart pushed on me.

I pushed the taste of bile from my mouth as I wrenched my eyes away from them.

He doesn’t look tortured at all. They were the reason I even had to be on suppressants.

My heart remorsed at the fact. I was over them.

They rejected me after all, but it didn’t stop the feelings of hurt from rattling my body.

I wanted to cry and punch a wall at the same time.

They cheated on me. They broke me. I wasn’t enough.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Finn asked, touching my shoulder lightly. I looked away from Brett to see concern flooding Finn’s eyes. I needed to get away from here before I did something I regretted. Gabriel’s face popped into my mind. The urge to go to him was so strong.

“I need Gabriel.” I choked out. I felt my tears threatening to spill out. I needed Gabriel. Gabriel always made me feel better. Gabriel made the hurt go away. Finn looked down at me, studying me. His mind seemed to click, and a look of determination crossed his face.

“Alright, let’s get Gabriel," he said, softly taking my hand and pulling me in the direction of the pack. I looked down at the wall, resisting the urge to look back.

“Is that who I think it is?” I stiffened as I heard a voice call from behind us. I felt Finn’s hand tightened around my hand.

“Do I know you?” Finn asked, turning away from me. I kept my head down, not wanting to look at Brett.

“Hmmm, no, not you. I was talking to the omega next to you. Lydia, isn’t it?” Brett responded. I quickly hid the hurt that stabbed me in the heart. He almost forgot my name. I took a deep breath to try and steady myself and looked up.

“Brett, I wish I could say it is nice to see you, but it isn’t,” I said, keeping my voice even. Brett’s face turned sour at my tone, but he quickly recovered from it.

“Who’s she?” The girl I originally saw Brett with asked. Brett wrapped his arm around her. Giggling, the girl touched his chest and kissed his cheek. My eyes involuntarily looked away from them.