Page 24 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter twenty-four

Penn

I can’t believe it. I told Halle that I love her, and my heart is still pounding a mile a second. Best of all, she said it right back.

I don’t think anyone has ever said it back to me before.

I don’t regret a single moment. I would move entire mountain ranges for that woman, because that is just how much she means to me.

Finally, I can put the past behind me and forget about the woman who hurt me. Luckily, she’s long gone now and can’t hurt me anymore.

As a matter of fact, I can barely recall what my ex looked like. Her voice and face are a distant blur, and now all I see is Halle.

I’m currently taking care of the ducklings, as Halle popped out for milkshakes across the street.

At first, I protested, as I didn’t want to let her out of my sight, but Halle said that it was good that we had a little independence from each other.

She talks sense. Of course she does. She’s a smart, brilliant woman, while I’m a needy mess.

Our bond is only a few weeks old, yet I still feel the strong aftereffects. I suppose it is worse for Alphas because we are natural protectors, so when the one we want to protect disappears from sight, we go a little crazy.

I still feel bad about leaving her right after I bit her, but I hope she understands that I just needed to go and find that Beta who put his hands on her and beat his ass.

Never have I been the violent type, but my Alpha is turning me into a reckless psychopath.

At least I have the ducklings to keep me in check at the moment as I perch them on my shoulders. Halle tells me that I am their daddy duck , so I need to make a good impression.

So, now I show Halle, Dane, Penn, and Aiden Junior pictures of adult mallard ducks so they can see what they will look like when they grow up.

“See? If you are a boy, your feathers will turn green.”

Dane Junior cheeps , nibbling at my earlobe with his tiny black bill.

I turn the page. “And if you’re a girl, your feathers will be brown.”

Another cheep and then Halle Junior poops on my sleeve. Great.

At least they’re cute.

Storytime is over now, anyway. I pick up each duckling and place them back inside their bed. Then I go out back so they can sleep peacefully.

I don’t want to have to explain the random peeps to customers when they enter the shop.

Perfect timing, because the bell over the shop door rings, signaling that a customer has just entered the vicinity.

Now I throw on my customer service hat as I approach the new customer, getting a strong whiff of artificial roses.

That is not a natural Omega scent, and my Alpha balks as it stifles his senses. I can barely breathe. What was the customer thinking?

She must be Beta. Some Beta women are known to spray themselves with a fake Omega scent so they appear more Omega in nature.

They needn’t bother. Most female scents are terrible to me now that I have found my mated and bonded Omega.

Nothing will ever compare to Halle’s scent now from my Alpha’s perspective.

My gaze lands on the tallish brunette as she peruses some of the titles on the shelves, merely flicking through the pages of a book before she shoves it back haphazardly.

I grit my teeth. I had those alphabetized.

She approaches the cash register, where I try to give a genuine smile. Something about her is rubbing me the wrong way.

Maybe my Alpha is still pissed that she put that last book in the wrong section, but it was never the Alpha side of my brain that cared about organization, anyway.

No, that has always been Penn.

“May I help you, miss?” I ask politely.

She places the heels of her hands on the desk, leaning into my personal space, and I refrain from stepping back.

Dane tells me that I need to be more approachable when it comes to customers, but this one is getting way too close for comfort.

“Hello, Penn,” she rasps in a breathy voice.

My eyebrow shoots up. “Have we met?”

The woman pauses, staring at me aghast for a few moments. Then she laughs, tossing her long sheet of brown hair.

“Penn, it’s me... Lucia?”

The name doesn’t register at first, but my eyes scan her face quickly, trying to put the pieces together.

It's only when I look into her eyes again when I finally recognize her.

My Alpha growls.

Of course I didn’t recognize her. She looks like a totally different person. New face, new hair, and her perfume masks her Beta scent.

“Leave,” I growl.

“And why would I do that?” She laughs, jumping up to sit on my till.

I step back. Just when I thought I would never see this woman again. Why has she come back into my life all of a sudden?

Especially as I have just found happiness again. Is this toxic woman here to take it away from me?

Damn, her fake Omega scent is distracting. It’s clouding my vision, irritating my sinuses as my Alpha just wants to get away.

How any Alpha can find that scent pleasant is beyond me.

I suppose it’s because I have had the real thing. Halle’s rose petal scent is the real deal. It’s healing, like a balm to my soul.

This one makes me want to run out into traffic just to rid the scent from my nostrils.

Lucia cocks her head sideways, a venomous smile curving her overfilled lips. She bats fake eyelashes at me next as she whispers seductively. “I bet you never thought you would be seeing me again, hey, Penn?”

I don’t respond to her jibe as I grind my jaw. “What do you want? Don’t you have a pack out there somewhere waiting for you?”

That’s right—Lucia left me for a pack in the end. It was one of the reasons why I decided to quit being a solo Alpha and find my own band of brothers.

Most Omegas are drawn to packs of Alphas. Even Beta women, as I eventually found out.

Well, I hope they treated her far better than she ever treated me. I gave her my heart, and she stomped all over it with her designer heels.

Lucia giggles, tapping at the bell on my desk over and over in an attempt to unnerve me. I don’t know what her motive is here, but she needs to leave.

If I have to, I will drag her out.

Finally, I grab her wrist before she can ring the bell again, and she purrs when I make contact with her skin.

Is she serious? She has Alphas.

“What exactly do you want, Lucia?”

She sighs. “I heard what happened to your shop, Penn. So, I thought I would come over and say that I am very sorry.”

Yeah, I don’t buy it. Besides, the fire happened weeks ago. Things have turned around greatly since that night.

Lucia drums her long fingernails on the desk. “I just so happen to know the Omega that caused the fire. She always was a good-for-nothing parasite .”

The word sets me off, and I tighten my grip around her wrist. I don’t fucking care if she has Alphas, I will snap her bones if she calls my Omega a parasite again.

The male Beta from the night of the re-opening kept calling her a parasite, too.

My voice is low when I whisper, “Don’t you dare insult my Omega.”

Yet Lucia is in a world of her own now as she rambles. “Of course, my pack liked to call her their little plaything... Parasite was always Daryl’s thing. She wasn’t good for anything else, really. Just a complete waste of space.”

A snarl escapes my lips, and then I jump over the cash register, backing her up to a bookshelf. “Your pack is that pack? The one who hurt my Omega?”

Another breathy laugh…is that sound supposed to turn me on? How this woman ever got under my skin, I’ll never know.

When we first met, she’d managed to convince me that she was an Omega. So when I later found out that she was, in fact, a Beta, I still stayed by her side because I was absolutely convinced that I was in love with her.

She managed to weasel her way into my heart, so when she left me for a pack, I was completely distraught.

However, it seems fate brought me another. Someone who could mend my broken heart.

Lucia is wrong. Halle isn’t the parasite; she is.

Nothing but a vile leech.

The door of the bookstore dings open again, and there I spy a familiar Beta. Daryl.

That prick has a nerve showing his face here again. I can’t help but feel smug when I spy the faint bruises on his face.

I did that. It still baffles me to this day that I could be capable of such violence.

At least the bruises hide his ugly face as he steps into the shop, a smirk on his ugly mug as he sees me hovering over Lucia.

He takes a snapshot of us next, laughing when he pockets his phone away. “I’m sure your new Omega will love this new picture I have to show her.”

The fucking rat bastard.

So, this was all a setup?

I move away from Lucia, growling as I go to snatch the phone away from Daryl. But then three others step inside after him, and these ones are all Alpha.

Shit. I am outnumbered.

So, this is Halle’s old pack. They must be. I can see why she left them now. It gets worse the more I look at them.

No wonder they’re called Pack Grim.

Each one is uglier than the last as they form a semi-circle before Daryl, so I can’t get to his phone.

The lead Alpha has greasy black hair and several missing teeth as he opens his mouth, “Get over here.”

Lucia gives me a sly glare before she returns to her Alpha’s side, and seriously… this is who she left me for?

They must be rich.

A repugnant male on the lead Alpha’s right cracks his knuckles. He looks like an inbred mutt.

The left one is tall and gangly.

“Is that him?” The pack lead says without looking at Daryl.

Daryl sniffs. “Yeah, boss. Got me good. Highly dangerous.”

My fists curl as I raise my shoulders, keeping my legs far apart.

Fuck. Halle will be back at any moment. I have to get rid of these profligates before she arrives again.

I meant what I said; I won’t let her old pack hurt her again. They are going to fucking pay.

I can’t explain what comes over me next. My mind blanks out as I let my Alpha take over. All I recall is the heavy thumping of my heart and blood-spattered eyes.

But then everything goes black as I eventually lose consciousness.

It appears my Alpha was outmatched after all.

But I know that I managed to put a few dents in their faces before they got the best of me.

“This was for you, Halle. I love you. ”