Baby + the Late Night Howlers

by Kathryn Moon

  There was a needy purr echoing in the room, and suddenly I was out like a light.

  I woke up curled against Seth's side, surrounded by pillows that smelled of my new alphas. Like straight up, all twelve of them. I was swimming in pillows. Seth's eyes were on the ceiling, morning light falling in through frosted windows. By daylight, the room was more blue than gray, and there were a few peeling concert posters on the walls I hadn’t noticed before.

  Seth looked lost in thought, although not bored, and I reached up, brushing my index finger over the shadow of dark stubble on his chin, drawing his eyes to me.

  “Morning, precious.”

  I squirmed and tried to fight my smile, failing completely. “Morning. Where are the others?”

  He rolled, arms wrapping around me with our legs tangling until we were on our sides facing one another. “Jonah’s a stickler for the rules. It’s rubbing him wrong that the pack wasn’t able to court you before the heat came in, so he’s trying to keep things moving slow. That okay?”

  I still felt warm, but nothing like the scorching heat of the night, and now some of that heat seemed like girlish excitement. “That’s good. I don’t need a glacial pace, though.”

  Seth's eyes held laughter in them and he nodded. “I have a feeling if you ask for something, Jonah’s not gonna have it in him to say no. He’ll do his best to keep the others in line, but if you don’t like his orders, he’ll listen.”

  “Kay.” I scooted in closer to Seth until I couldn’t meet his eyes without mine crossing. His hands ran patterns over my back and a happy omega whimper, trembling and sighing, escaped my mouth.

  “You wanna know what my orders were?” he asked, and I nodded immediately. “To do absolutely anything you wanted, long as I wanted it too.”

  I smiled, warmth spiking in my veins. “Those are good orders.”

  “I liked them.”

  “Does that include a kiss?” The question slipped out without intention.

  Seth sat up, and I rolled onto my back. His hair was messy and loose, just long enough to hit his ears, and it fell into his eyes as he grinned down at me. “Precious, you are really gonna give this pack a run for its money,” he said, and before I could ask what he meant he continued, “Hell yes, it includes a kiss.”

  He snuck it in before I was ready, lips wrapping around my bottom one as my eyes widened. I sighed and wiggled, arms circling him and pulling him closer, and then it was a real kiss, both of us clutching and moving into one another. His knees straddled me and I wished I’d thought of a way to switch that around, feel him settling in between my thighs, but the kiss was a sweet enough distraction. He still had some of Jonah on his skin, and I did too, and he didn’t purr like an alpha but he groaned like a man as I licked at the seam of his lips.

  I was getting ready to see what else I could ask for when a door slammed somewhere in the building, hard enough to rattle the walls, and Seth and I pulled away.

  He grimaced, shifting back on his knees and adjusting himself in a soft pair of sleep pants. “Hang on, I’ll go ask them to settle down.”

  “Ask who?” It looked like late morning out the window and I didn’t see why anyone needed to tiptoe for me. I was awake anyway.

  But Seth's grimace told a different story. “It’s just the uh— well, the club… you know, ‘cause we only got the call last night that you’d chosen the pack and… Baby, wait.”

  I was scrambling out of the bed, half-annoyed and half-amused. I was still wearing my clothes from the day before, feeling kind of grimey and oily, but that could wait.

  “I’m just curious, and you’re taking a long time to explain,” I said, heading for the bedroom door.

  Seth beat me there, spreading himself across the frame, and a little warning bell sounded in the back of my head.

  “It’s the club sweet butts,” he blurted out, green eyes wide.

  “The sweet whaaats?”

  “Um… club…girls.”

  Oh. Ohhh.

  He was scrambling ahead of his own announcement, his hands raised in front of him. “But honestly, we knew they’d have to go when you got here. Things are just a little accelerated. They shoulda already been gone, but with the heat-“

  “Gone?” My jaw dropped. “Oh my god, Seth, are you kicking these women out of their home?!”

  “I…?” He looked confused, arms dropping and head tilting as if he genuinely didn’t know the answer. I took advantage of his confusion and pushed past him. The apartment was clearly his, hints of Jonah and him mixing together, and also recently seriously cleaned so that the strongest scent of all was a mild sanitary fragrance. The layout was open, worn down carpeting on the floor and tile in the corner kitchenette. It took me a moment to orient myself and find the door out of the living room and into the hallway. Seth caught up to me as I stepped outside.

  “Baby, precious, wait—“

  In the hall, a crowd of women was filing down stairs and out of doorways, bags over their shoulders and boxes in their arms, red rimming their eyes. When we caught sight of each other, we all froze.

  “Don’t worry,” one snapped, tall and blonde and lovely, the kind of tough that worked on models but never on round-faced girls like me. Her chin jutted out at me, and I felt it like a punch to the stomach. “We’ll be out of your way in just a minute.”

  “What the hell needs to be so loud— Shit, Baby,” Jonah breathed out, stomping up the steps from the first-floor staircase. He glanced at the sweet butts—ugh, what a terrible name—but not for long. “I can explain.”

  “You’re kicking them out?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he answered, and then he stilled as he watched my face shift from shock to anger.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? You can’t just throw a bunch of women out on the street. Where are they going to go? They were living here for chrissakes!”

  I was storming down the hall toward Jonah who waited for me on the top step, his jaw hanging loose and eyes round with confusion. Around me, doors to apartments opened, my alphas wandering out to watch the show. Jeff came out from behind one of the women, his eyes less shocked by my outburst and more attentive.

  “We weren’t trying to do it so fast,” Jonah murmured as I reached him, his eyes wincing as he looked over my head to the women. “I’d’ve found ‘em places to go if we had more time.”

  “Why can’t they stay here?” I asked, hearing a hiccuping soft breath from one of the women behind me.

  “I—uh—well…” Jonah’s mouth worked without sound.

  “Because you wouldn’t want us to,” the blonde from before said.

  I turned to face her. She’d set her box down on the floor and set her bag on top, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip to the side.

  “Why wouldn’t I want you to?” I asked, mimicking her pose.

  “Emmy,” Jeff said in a low tone.

  She smirked. “‘Cause we fuck your alphas,” she said.

  I blinked and one of the other women, a sweet-looking woman around my age with wide lips and full hips, spoke up. “Some of us work around the bar. Or the shops. We clean too.”

  “Sure,” Emmy said, her eyes narrowed on me. “And sometimes we fuck the alphas.” Jonah growled, and she rolled her eyes. “Not him, obviously. He already has a beta.” She said it spitefully as if I were supposed to be surprised by that too.

  I crossed to her and the closer I got, the more I could catch the whiffs. Emmy was wearing Jeff’s heavy caramel. The sweet one had Steve’s licorice. There was even one who was pretty clearly wearing a bit of Cole’s beach and vanilla. And okay, that one felt a little uneasy on me, but I didn’t want to hiss at the girl or kick her out.

  “It’s the smell thing, right? It’s supposed to bother me?” I asked.

  Emmy’s brows drew together and her lips pursed, but she wouldn’t answer. I took in a deep breath right in front of her, my face tilted up to hers, and then let it out again slowly. I still felt like me, ca
lm and not in an omega ‘snitty rage’, and it was a genuine relief.

  “You do smell like my alphas,” I said, scanning over the women. There were seven of them, which kind of confirmed my guesses. Aside from Beach Day, not one of them was wearing the scent of an alpha I’d been craving for myself. Which confirmed a secret, private guess that I would examine later. “Which, as far as I’m concerned, means you smell like my pack.”

  Emmy’s tough expression shattered and for a moment she reminded me of Lola, open and hopeful, just wanting to belong. I turned away from her and faced the alphas who’d gathered in the hall. Some of them, like Quincy and Mackenzie were focused on me. Others like Brody and Roger and Steve seemed to be holding their breath and keeping their eyes fixed on the betas. I found Jonah’s gaze.

  “I chose this pack and I stand by that. But I am unbonded for the time being, and I am sure as shit not bonding every alpha here. Don’t you dare throw these women out for my sake.”

  “Done,” Jonah said, voice firm.

  “Good. Still mad you were planning on it.” My shoulders sagged and exhaustion set in again in the wake of my temper. At the end of the hall, Seth leaned against his door, his hand lifted to cover his laugh. I cut my hand through the air in a limp gesture. “Okay. Omega out.”

  Quincy snorted and shook his head and behind me, I heard Jeff growl again.

  “Little girl, what did I say?”

  “But, Daddy,” Emmy whispered.

  “Come here.”

  Well, alrighty then. Emmy and Jeff were a thing, and I was glad not to be getting in the way of that.

  Jonah met me in the center of the hall and I lifted my chin to him. “I’m not going to be a very good omega,” I warned him. “I have a few more choice words I can think of.”

  “I’ll hear ‘em,” he said. He didn’t look angry at least, but he definitely wasn’t sheepish either. “You’re the perfect omega,” he added, and I was annoyed by how quickly I wanted to melt at the praise. “I prefer your solution, for the record.”

  “Good,” I said again, raising an eyebrow and wishing it didn’t get me all soft when his lips twitched with a smile.

  “There’s a lot of advice for alpha packs when they bring in a new omega,” he said.

  I thought of our earlier conversation about Seth and nodded. “Like tossing out betas?”

  “Till you know how your omega will feel.”

  “Well let’s just…err on the side of caution and ask me how I’ll feel before you guys go restructuring next time, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Jonah said. He was getting that warm look, and I wished he would either break eye contact or fucking touch me. Then his hand reached up and cupped my neck and getting my wish seemed a wonderfully dangerous thing. “Your boxes just arrived. Where you want ‘em?”

  Ummm, where was I allowed to be? I didn’t want to be the reason people were getting kicked out of apartments. My feet shifted beneath me, and his eyes caught the movement. He looked back to Seth and jerked his head in our direction so the beta came rushing over.

  “Bomber, tell her what apartment you live in, basically,” Jonah said.

  “His,” Seth said to me, pointing to Jonah.

  “So if you wanna keep the place you stayed in last night to yourself, it’s yours,” Jonah said. “If you want somewhere else, all you gotta do is say.”

  “I…It’s,” I chewed over words as I looked up at Jonah, my nose wrinkling. “The place last night, I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  “I just… am I gonna be by myself in there? Like it’s just my own apartment or…”

  Seth stepped forward, wrapping an arm around my waist and drawing my attention. “Do you want privacy or company, precious?”

  “Company,” I said immediately.

  “Won’t be an issue,” Jonah answered. He bent and I rose up to my tiptoes, catching the nuzzle of his cheek on my temple, rising and hoping to steal a kiss. “Seth will be around whenever you need him.”

  I frowned as his lips pressed to my temple and caught Seth's eye over Jonah’s shoulder. He looked annoyed with his alpha but didn’t speak and when I broke into a yawn, they both started ushering me back to the bedroom.

  “Come and get some more rest and we’ll take care of the boxes,” Seth said.

  “I’ll have Chef put together some lunch… once he’s done with Emmy,” Jonah amended. Chef must’ve been Jeff.

  “Do you prefer your crew names or your real names?” I asked.

  “Whatever you wanna call us, baby girl,” Jonah said.

  I frowned again and then Seth was taking me into the apartment and Jonah was heading back to the stairs. I had told Jonah I was going to be a bad omega. I planned on putting my foot down when I disagreed with my alphas. I wanted my backbone to stay strong, didn’t want to be bowled under their commanding influence. But there were some things that I was beginning to realize I didn’t want to have to think about. Maybe there was a little more omega in me than I’d originally thought. If I asked Jonah a question, like about their names, I didn’t really want to be left with the choice. What did they like to hear? Were there people I wasn’t supposed to say personal names in front of?

  And more than that, I was wondering why, after choosing my pack and arriving in heat, I was seeing so little face to face time with any of my damn alphas.

  9

  Bomber

  After a brief nap and some lunch, I left a prickly Baby to her boxes. I wasn’t entirely sure what had her hackles up, only that I’d been asking where she wanted me to put her things until she finally snapped, “I’ll just manage it myself, thank you!” So with a kiss and a few touches, until her shoulders had softened out of their uncomfortable tight knot, I headed down to the club.

  The pack was gathering, an hour until the bar opened. Scorch nodded as I entered.

  “How is she?”

  “Kinda… grouchy,” I said, waving my hand.

  He frowned and the others watched us. “Still? ‘Bout the betas?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure yet, to be honest. Thought I’d ask Books to look into it. Maybe it’s a heat thing?”

  Books, Mackenzie as Baby knew him, nodded at the mention and pulled out his phone to start his research.

  “When’s Bomber gonna get a break and you let one of us alphas step in and take care of the little piece?” Cole asked.

  I frowned at the alpha, relieved to see Scorch joining me. Cole, or Coal for his shitty black heart, was a great hand with a bike, and a smart man in a sticky situation. He was a brother too, part of the pack, part of the crew. He was also kind of a dickhead. Baby might not have held the same significance to me as a beta as she did to the alphas, but I was already well on my way to devoted to her, and a little iffy on whether or not I wanted Coal bonding her. It might be what was best for her, but it would create tension for me unless Coal got his head out of his ass about the VP of the club being a beta.

  “When she asks for one of you. By name,” Jonah said, eyes narrowing on him. “You heard her in the hall. This is not an omega that needs us to chase her or coax her. She can speak her damn mind, and when she does, I fucking expect you to listen. If I ever catch one of you alphaing her into something she doesn’t like, making her nervous or whine, we are gonna have more than words between us.”

  “Alphas and omegas fit because omegas thrive on the structure we offer,” Books called out.

  Jonah started to growl, and I elbowed him in the stomach before he could work himself up to real snarl. “Listen to your pack,” I murmured. Listen to them, even if to anticipate the problems they might create.

  “I’m not saying pressure her into things she doesn’t want because we want them,” Books continued. “Just that there may be times when we have to offer opportunities or act on an initiative to keep her needs met. She’s in an unfamiliar situation, and limiting choices or offering a guideline might make her feel more secure.”

  I swallowed, thinking of Baby’s mood upstairs as I’d
asked her dozens of questions about how she wanted the apartment arranged. I wondered if Scorch would’ve done the same, or if he’d have just put things where he thought they made sense and she could’ve tackled any problems he created for her.

  Scorch looked at me, silently asking what I thought of Books’ concern, and I nodded softly.

  “I’d like to operate under the assumption that she can speak up for herself to start with, but yeah, I see your point. If she doesn’t seem happy, then we’ll know we’re doing it wrong. Happy is the important part, yeah?”

  Most of the guys cheered in agreement, even Coal looked pleased and not in a sarcastic way for once. It was Dusty who spoke up.

  “If she don’t mind me and my sweet butt, Candy as we is, then I sure as shit don’t mind a bossy omega.”

  Even Scorch laughed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Right. Sorry for any… cold shoulders you might be dealing with from your ladies. Blame it on me, if you gotta.”

  “Oh, I did!” Dusty yelled.

  Scorch flipped him off with a grin. “I’m glad the way it sorted out, for what it’s worth. Also glad to hear some of you low-lifes aren’t getting your knot in our sweet omega.”

  I wondered how many of the others could see the way their Prez was slightly uncomfortable to make the joke, grimacing at himself just a bit, but it did the trick of raising laughs and spirits.

  “Bar ready to go?” I asked Scorch as the meeting broke up.

  He nodded and glanced around. “You should get back up to her.”

  “I think you should go,” I said, watching with amusement as he stiffened at the suggestion. Big ole’ alpha, scared of a sweet little omega.

  “I dunno…”

  “Books isn’t wrong, you know. Science or not. She’s new to all of this. Even her designation,” I said, keeping my back to the others and my voice low so our conversation would be between us and us alone. “Yeah, she likes me. And yeah, she’s comfortable with me. But despite what you think, she chose this pack knowing the alphas in it would be pretty fucking important people in her life. And she’s spent next to no time with any of you.”