Page 35 of The Night Movers: Season One
To Ridley, Linus said, “If you’re too submissive, you won’t stand out. If you’re too antagonistic, you’ll put the pack in a position where they have to decide whether they’re going to discipline you. You need to walk right on that line but never fall on the wrong side of it.”
“Oh, well, as long as it’s something easy,” Ridley grumbled.
Titus snorted. “You’ve seen him. He has zero control over his temper. He’s been with me less than a week and he’s lost his shit on me multiple times.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Ridley asked. “Especially when you keep slapping me.”
“You didn’t seem to mind when we were fucking,” Titus muttered under his breath.
Linus gave him a smirk and a wink. “Good for you, lovey.”
“I will do whatever it takes to find Ren. Besides, you seem to keep forgetting we have a secret weapon,” Ridley said.
“Oh? Do tell,” Linus said, leaning over the counter.
Ridley looked at Titus in askance. The alpha sighed like Ridley exhausted him. “He can see the future.”
“No shit?” Linus asked, eyes going wide.
“It’s true,” Ridley said. “Not all the time. And I’m still trying to do it on command, but it has to be some help, right?”
Linus nodded. “This is good. This is very good.” To Titus, he said, “I think you just need to trust Ridley’s instincts. He’s been right so far.”
“What makes you say that?” Titus asked, his tone dripping with derision.
“Because you thought Ridley was special enough to put a metaphorical ring on it.”
“I did tell you that you were all going to bite me,” Ridley added, letting a bit of smugness seep into his voice. “That I was your pack’s omega.”
Titus groaned. “Okay, I give up. You win. We’ll do things his way. You’re both relentless.”
“You,” Linus said, sticking a finger in Ridley’s face.
“You cannot be too soft on the omegas passing through. You can’t rescue them all.
You can’t interfere with business. We can’t save everyone.
You also can’t interrogate people about your sister.
You’re going to have to learn the art of discreetly inquiring about things and only from those you trust.”
Ridley nodded. “Okay, yeah. Fine.”
Titus sighed, then gave Ridley a weary look. “Well?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his tongue as he gestured to the slip chain. “Is this good enough for my queen?”
“Fine,” Ridley said haughtily. “I’ll wear the collar.” Titus’s shoulders sagged in relief. “If you do.”
Titus’s head snapped up. “What?”
Ridley shrugged. “You want me to wear your diamond-encrusted shackles, then you can wear one, too. We’re mates, after all. Right?”
“You’re crazy.” He looked at Linus, pointing at Ridley. “Tell him he’s crazy.”
“It would make a statement and get people talking,” Linus said, tapping a finger on his chin as he contemplated the idea .
“Yeah, talking about how I’m letting an omega run me around by the fucking nose.”
“Because a collar makes you weak?” Ridley asked. “Like an omega is weak?”
Linus seemed to be biting back a smile as Titus performed a series of complicated facial gymnastics while he worked through the five stages of grief. The beta reached beneath the counter and brought out another velvet cloth.
At first, Ridley thought it was made of thick wire or maybe even cable. But when he touched it, it was cool like metal. “Titanium,” Linus answered, like he could read Ridley’s mind. “This little gold detail really makes the design. It’s simple and elegant.”
Ridley ran his finger around the cool metal. The little bean-shaped gold piece would fall right at the hollow of Titus’s throat. It would look incredible on him.
Linus’s eyes glittered with excitement as he looked back and forth between them, clearly eager to see whether the king of the underworld would acquiesce to his new mate.
“Fuck,” Titus growled. “Fine.”
The beta’s eyes went comically wide, but he recovered quickly. “Excellent. Would you like me to put it on for you? It requires a special tool to put it on and to remove it.” He held up a small screwdriver-like object.
Titus glowered at the shop attendant. “Of course, it does. Just put it in the bag and tell me how much I owe you.”
“$12,398.20,” Linus said without so much as blinking. Ridley choked on his own saliva, chest burning as he stared at Titus like he was insane. “Oh, no, wait. That’s not right. I forgot your coll—necklace,” he said to Titus, smirking. “$16,948.73.”
Titus’s mouth fell open. “You’re charging for mine but not his?”
Linus gave him a tight smile. “Omega privilege,” he said in a saccharine sweet voice. “Besides, no other alpha will be caught dead in a collar.”
Titus rolled his eyes, then pulled a thick brown envelope from the small of his back, opening it to reveal a wad of cash. He ran his finger along the bills, then handed it to Linus. “That’s a little over $18k, just…keep it.”
Linus beamed at Ridley. “Come back anytime. Always a pleasure to be dressing royalty.”
Ridley reached for the bags, but Titus slapped his hand away, asking the beta, “You’ll have these delivered to the house, right? Before tonight?”
“I’ll deliver them myself if I have to. Don’t worry,” Linus assured him.
Titus nodded, gripping Ridley by the arm. They’d only made it a couple of feet when Titus turned around. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe you should come to the house tonight. Get him ready? It is his first time. You said yourself that he needs to make an impression.”
Linus rubbed his palms together. “I would love to. Leave him to me. I’ll handle everything.”
Titus groaned, shaking his head. “I’m already regretting this.”
Ridley patted his face, softly twice, then hard enough to cause it to jerk to the side. Titus grabbed his slightly reddened cheek. “What the hell?”
Ridley stopped, putting his hands on his hips. “Payback’s a bitch, slappy. Don’t hit me again unless you’re about to put your dick in me. Got it?”
Titus closed his eyes, looking very much like he was praying for some kind of divine intervention. After a long moment, he sighed, those sea glass eyes meeting Ridley’s blue ones. “Yeah, Strawberry. I got it.”
Ridley’s whole body went warm as he resisted the urge to kiss the disgruntled alpha. “Good. Now, feed me. Real food. I’m starving.”