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“Thanks.”
The rest of the drive is silent, just the light hum of the radio as Dane navigates into town and parks in Savory Byte’s parking lot.
I’m forty five. I’ve been in a relationship for half my life. Yet here I am, nervous as fuck like I’m a teenager again on my first date.
When we park, I quickly get out to allow Willow out, but Dane gets out at the same time, opening the car door on his side.
I look over the car at him, glaring.
He gives me a smirk and winks. That sexy bastard.
But it’s quickly wiped off his face when Willow gets out on my side. “Thanks,” she says as I close the door behind her. I shoot Dane a smug look and he flips me off.
“Of course.” I offer her my arm, and she surprises the fuck out of me and takes it.
A warm feeling forms in my chest, preening over the fact she’s touching me.
Dane follows behind, grumbling the whole time. He’s being a spoilsport but he only has himself to blame. He should be using this time to earn points with Willow and show her we’re a good match for her.
Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess immediately takes our name and leads us to our table. I made sure to ask for a table and not a booth because I didn’t want Willow to feel like she had to sit in a booth with one of us. Chairs are more separate, I guess. I’m probably overanalyzing the whole thing but as long as she’s happy I don't care.
We take our seats and our server shows up to the table immediately with water. “Hey, guys. I’m Megan and I’ll be hanging out with you tonight. What can I get you to drink?”
“Umm…I’m just gonna have a Dr Pepper,” Willow tells her, her pretty blue eyes roaming the menu still.
“We’ll both have the same,” Dane tells her.
Nodding, she doesn’t say anything else, just leaves the table, heading to the drink fountain.
“So Willow, tell us about yourself. We’ve known you forever but we don’t really know you. I want to know who you are now.” Dane looks at her and she licks her lips before swallowing.
“Well, I’m at Calling Wood mostly to get away from the box my father put me in. I needed this place to escape. I can finally breathe. I’m not sure what I want to do with my life, but I plan on enjoying my first year at Calling Wood and deciding that later. I love camming. It gives me a chance to express myself. I enjoy the power I hold over people I don’t know.” She gives us a cheeky smile that has my heart racing. “And I love scary movies, and Dr Pepper.”
A woman who knows what she wants. I can respect that. “How did you meet your pack?” I ask the next question, wanting to know everything there is about her and the people she’s connected herself to. Because if this goes how we want it to, they’ll be our pack too. I don’t plan on being with any of them sexually, but we’ll be a family.
“So that’s actually a funny story,” she starts, a genuine smile forming on her lips before she’s cut off by Megan returning with our sodas.
We put our food order in and then we turn our attention back to Willow.
“Continue, baby,” Dane murmurs.
Willow’s eyes flick over to Dane’s at his use of the pet name. They lock eyes, a heated moment passing between them. I smile to myself, knowing that whatever forms with them is going to be explosive, in the best kind of way
“Willow?” I prompt, trying not to smile.
“Oh! So I was on my way to Calling Wood for the first time and had some car trouble. Nash pulled over to help me and then we parted ways. When I got to CW I signed up for the pack program since I knew I didn’t want to ride out my heat alone. I was looking for a temporary pack only, nothing serious.”
She pauses to take a drink of her pop. “After a few complete duds, I was losing hope, but then I had a meeting with Pack Monroe and we hit it off right away. They agreed to be my temp pack and we started hanging out and dating just casually. After a bit, I knew I had feelings for them, but I didn’t know how to act on them or if I should.”
“Why?” I ask, curious as to the reason she would be so hesitant with them when so far she’s come across so strong and sure of what she wants.
“My dad kept me under his thumb from the moment I presented as an omega until I left for Calling Wood. I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t have people over. I wasn’t allowed to leave the house except for necessary trips like the doctor or dentist and only with him or the other dads. I felt trapped. He took everything from me. I never want to feel that way again.”
I can’t believe Tony got so crazy when she presented. Yeah, being an omega is riskier than being an alpha or beta, but not so much that he needed to keep her prisoner in her house. She could have easily lived a normal life with some caution and ways to protect herself. Now I understand why she’s so set on the cam girl thing and being her own woman.
“So how did you become a pack then?”
She looks down at her drink, her fingers brushing at the condensation on her cup. “Because of you guys, really.” She shrugs and I look at her confused.
