Page 8 of The Bear, the Eagle, and their Wombat Omega (Omegas of Animals: SD #14)

Arkyn

My lips still trembled from Bruno’s amazing kiss. My mind reeled in pleasure. But that scent, so sweet, so perfect, put us both in hunter mode. Even if we wanted to keep making out, our alpha nature was compelled to locate this omega. Now.

We straightened our clothes. My face was hot, but my eyes were clear, quickly scanning the room, assured by my beast I’d know him on first sight. But no one stood out.

“Can’t everyone in this place smell that?” I asked.

Bruno shook his head. “This is for us. You and me alone.”

“It smells so good. I want to nip at the air.”

“Me, too.” Then he turned to me, his eyes glowing. “You smell good, too, Arkyn.” His hand came up and cupped the side of my face.

“I can’t believe it was always you, Boss. If I had known, I wouldn’t have been afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Of my heart being broken again.”

His thumb stroked my cheek. “Oh, Arkyn, I didn’t know.”

My heart thrummed in my chest. “Well, now we know it was meant to be. And that we have to find our omega. Because he’s close. So close.”

“Agreed. We can’t wait another minute.” Bruno glanced about as I had just done. “I don’t think he’s in this room, though.”

“He’s not. I sense him more in this direction.” I pointed away from the vast dining and dance area, past the bar, and toward the hall where there were restrooms and entrances for staff.

“There’s a patio area that way,” Bruno said. “Let’s check it out.”

Bruno had been here before. It made sense to follow his lead. But when we got there, the crowd on the patio was sparse, the scent not as strong.

We turned and went back inside. Someone passed through a staff door where I heard a lot of voices and the banging of pots and pans. When that door opened, the sweet scent came pouring out like a tidal wave.

Bruno caught the door before it swung closed. The staff member turned. “That’s the kitchen. I don’t think you’re allowed to go in there.”

“Our mate is in there.”

“Oh, okay. What’s his name?”

“We don’t know yet. But can you smell that?”

The staff person frowned. “Smell what?”

“Our omega,” Bruno said with a grin.

“Um, well, I suppose if you stayed out of the way, you could have a look around. But we’re very busy. There’s supposed to be an event in the second hall but so much has gone wrong, it’s got everyone running in circles.”

I bowed toward him. “I promise we’ll stay out of people’s way.”

He nodded and ran off as Bruno and I stepped into a huge, busy kitchen filled with servers and cooks and food lined up ready to be taken out to the tables. But all that was nothing compared to that beautiful scent. It was strong here. I knew we were in the right place.

Again, my eagle eye scanned the room. Nothing. Not until I saw a young man in the far corner leaning the entire upper half of his body over the edge of a metal table, his head buried in his folded arms. He looked like he’d collapsed there and had no energy to move.

I pointed and Bruno followed my gaze. “That one. Over there. On the table. He’s ours.”

“Gods, he looks half dead! Poor guy.”

We wove our way through the workers toward our omega. My skin tingled. My veins burned.

When we reached his side, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to touch him and startle him. Bruno and I exchanged looks, shaking our heads. It didn’t seem he even sensed we were near, which was not how Fate should be.

I drummed my fingers lightly on the tabletop. “Uh, hello. Hey, are you all right?”

The young man moved his head a little, letting us know he was alive which, of course he was. “Barely,” he mumbled.

“Um.” I gulped. Where did I start? What should we say? He still hadn’t noticed us. Maybe he had a cold and couldn’t smell?

Bruno stepped closer. “My name’s Bruno, and this is Arkyn. We came to see you.”

Without raising his head from his arms, he said, “Are you here to fix the menu? Or deliver the band who won’t answer my texts? There is a DJ, but we promised live music.”

“No.”

“Are you the supply company who forgot the chairs? Did you finally bring them?”

“No.”

“Then you must be the florist. Did you change your mind and see that I didn’t get the dates wrong and that the centerpieces were to be delivered today, not tomorrow?”

“No.”

Finally, he turned his head. His eyes were red and puffy, his mouth turned down. “Then, who are you?”

Our omega was having a bad night.

Bruno cleared his throat. Then he spoke in a raspy voice. “We’re your alphas. Your fated mates.”

“F-fated what?”

I leaned closer. “Fated mates.”

He pushed himself up with his hands until he was leaning on the table instead of lying on it. He was beautiful with big eyes and dimpled cheeks. Immediately, I wanted to enfold him in my arms and save him from the world.

“I still don’t understand,” he said.

“We’re your fated mates,” Bruno repeated.

“You’re not here to save the event?”

Bruno frowned. “What event?”

The omega blinked rapidly. So cute in his misery. “It’s the thing I’m soon going to lose my reputation over.”

Obviously, he was so distracted, he still hadn’t noticed. The Fates didn’t fool around. He should have been greeting us with enthusiasm, entering a state of euphoria. I didn’t know what to do.

But Bruno, bless him, stepped forward. “What can we do to help? Use us. Let us do whatever we can for you.”

“Really?” He took a deep breath and stood up straighter. “Who are you guys? Are you for real?”

“We are real,” I answered. We told him our names again, in case he’d missed that part.

And that was when the light went on in his eyes. His mouth dropped open. He uttered in a hoarse voice, “You.” Took a deep breath. “You. You’re mine.” His eyebrows shot up. “Both of you? Wow. Oh wow.”

Then he started to laugh. “What a night. And then the two most beautiful alphas in the world show up and tell me they’re my fated mates. Is this real?”

We both smiled.

“What’s your name, sweetheart,” Bruno softly asked.

“Steve. My name’s Steve. I’m so sorry I didn’t see you! You’re both amazing. Can you steal me away from here? Now?” He frowned and put up his hand. “No. No, I can’t do that. I still have my contract to complete here, until this night is over. I can’t leave. Damn.”

“Steve.” It felt right. Steve. Our omega. “We understand. Our timing is off.”

He started to protest.

I kept talking. “We caught you at a very bad time. But now we’re here, and we want to help. Point us in whatever direction you need us to go. We’re yours for the rest of the night.”

“Completely yours,” Bruno added. “And I can vouch for Arkyn. He’s my assistant at work. Whatever needs to get done, he’s your man.”

“Wow, it’s just so much. Too much.” Steve rubbed his hands over his face. “The list is too long.”

“Not too long for Arkyn.” Bruno winked at me.

I nodded. “What do you need?”

“Chairs. Centerpieces. A band. The right food.”

“Great.” Bruno got out his phone. “Give me the number for that band. And give Arkyn all the other numbers. He’ll get the job done or find someone else. Is money tight?”

Steve shrugged. “Well, I have a budget.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Steve made a face. “I feel bad. You’re my alphas. You shouldn’t have to do this.”

“We want to,” I said.

Bruno nodded. “Don’t you know that’s what alphas do? They take care of their omegas. Even if they just met them. It’s our nature.”

Quickly, we all exchanged numbers, and the information began to flow. Bruno made phone calls. I started in on the food vendor.

“What about the people who own this place?” I asked Steve. “Can they help?”

“I don’t know. The manager is Zevo. He’s pretty nice. But I’m not sure if he’s here.”

“We’ll find out,” I said.

There had been a lot of screwups. None of them appeared to be Steve’s fault at all. But, within half an hour, we’d learned what was needed and begun to fill all the holes that needed filling. Even Zevo showed up and offered his expert assistance.

Steve was going to have his event. And it was going to be grand. We’d make sure.