Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(40)

The gulp of beer I'd just taken went down as hard as rocks in my throat as I swallowed. "Sure," I said, voice flat.

"Pack she trusts. Likes," Bear said.

Duh, I thought, but there was an almost teasing note in the words that made me look at the alpha. My usual scowl was on my face, and for once it didn't feel so natural.

Bear arched an eyebrow and I scoffed, not even sure I wanted to voice what I thought he might've been saying. "I'm a beta," I said, spitting the words and their bitter flavor out.

Bear shrugged. "She doesn't care. Why should I?"

I sucked in a breath and held it, turning back to stare at the young woman floating in the pool. She didn't care. She'd talked to Molly about me being involved in her heat. Kissed me and clung to me with such sweetness, it made me dizzy.

"One alpha and one beta don't make a pack," I said, because the offer was ludicrous and so fucking out of reach, it made me angry he'd dangled it in front of my nose in the first place.

"True. Not one big enough to keep her safe, at least," Bear allowed.

Which ought to be the end of it, so why didn't it sound like Bear was done?

"King would sooner take your patch away before he let you turn the club into a pack," I said.

"You think I want some of these fuckers going anywhere near her?" Bear asked.

Why did this bastard sound so fucking casual about this?

"Not many of us I trust that well," he continued.

"King." The name fell out of my lips, and I glanced at Bear again. He was still quiet. Totally out of his mind, but with a calm confidence. Insanity would do that to you, I guessed. I shook my head and continued. "You trust King. You wanna call his fucking bluff on pack?"

Bear shrugged. "She likes his scent."

It was my turn to laugh, but the sound was ragged and too harsh. Faith looked over again, but her eyes must've been bothering her, ‘cause she shut them almost immediately. That sobered me. She did need us.

But King?

"I think you need a backup plan," I muttered. King's focus was on the club, on holding it together and keeping his crown in place. Bear didn't even know half the shit-talking going on under the surface of the club.

I respected King. I sure as shit didn't want to be in a club led by my older brother, have him constantly rubbing my nose into my designation. But did my determination to keep King crowned make me less interested in the idea of being part of Faith's pack?

"You're probably right. Her heat is my focus for now. That and just…this," he said, nodding his beer in her direction.

This. This girl floating in a kiddie pool, soaking up sunlight she hadn't seen in weeks at least, relaxing for the first time in as long, if not longer.

"We don't know her. We don't know what we're up against," I said.

Bear nodded. "I know. And the Wasted are sniffing."

Fuck.

My hand clenched around my beer. The Wasted wanted her, or the product that they'd paid for.

It should've made me even more reluctant to get involved in this half-baked scheme of Bear's. Here was trouble in a pretty package that, by all rights of designation, should never have even been offered to me.

"You're insane," I said under my breath.

"Mhm. And?" Bear asked. Knowing, smirking bastard.

"And I'm insane too." And filled with a possessive demand to keep Faith safe and happy and mine.

No way in fucking hell was I letting the Wasted touch my birdy.

Bear clapped a hand on my shoulder, and I let out a heavy sigh.

"We need to get King on board," I said.

"Probably. I think it'll happen." Bear stretched his long legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankle, leaning back into the table.

Apparently, getting their knot strangled all night made burly, surly alphas into cheerful puppies. How nice for them.

The backdoor from the bar clanged open, a gunshot of sound in the dull quiet of Dead End. Faith sat up, water splashing against her cheek. Bear and I twisted to see King standing in the doorway, glaring at the low afternoon sun heading toward the horizon. A moment later, his eyes were on the omega, and she squinted back at him, adorably disturbed.

"Meet's tomorrow night," King said, gaze finally drifting to Bear, who grunted in answer.

My eyes bounced between King and Faith, Bear's mission buzzing through my head. Her eyes dropped back to the water, hand swishing patterns through the surface, and King stared. I couldn't tell if it was hate or hunger twisting his expression. Probably both.

His throat cleared twice, but Faith's attention was long gone, or at least she was pretending so.

I remained riveted to the pair, the charged silence of the yard, until King finally managed to spit out words.

"You need anything, princess?"

I turned away to hide my surprise, but Bear was openly smug, grinning down at his hands.

Faith's head shook, eyes flicking toward the door. "Thank you."

It shut without another word.

"This might work," I muttered to Bear.

"It will."

I actually hoped so. And that fucking scared the shit out of me.





"She's worn out, should be good to sleep through the meet. Heat's probably good to start properly tomorrow, so she's gonna be snoozing her way up to it. But if she does wake up—"