Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(67)

"Stop," I said, sharp and sudden, realizing Ghost was just about to reach out and touch me. I glared up at him, and his smile grew wider. "Does Rider know?"

Ghost blinked and shrugged. "Doubt it. I haven't said shit."

"Are you going to?" I asked, because I didn't know where Ghost's loyalty was, or if he was even capable of any.

"To Rider? No," Ghost said, frowning. "I know what he's up to, but I don't have skin in the game. King or him, doesn't mean shit to me. But King shouldn't have you doing his dirty work, not against your own brother."

I scoffed and stood from the bench. "Doesn't mean shit to you. Doesn't make a difference to you what alpha top dog is in charge of the club. It matters to me, Ghost. You think I wanna be a nobody under Rider's rule? I went to King in the first place."

Ghost blinked in answer, silent for a beat as he absorbed the information. "And dragging you into what is as good as a pack, the one thing he swore up and down would never have shit to do with the club? What? So you can play guard dog for the omega while he and Bear are busy?"

Simple question. Same one all the other alphas were probably asking themselves. What was the beta doing in the mix? Playing guard dog.

I had a short temper on the best of days, but even I didn't expect the way my fist flew up through the air. My shoulder burned with the sudden movement, clumsy and urgent, and Ghost's eyes widened as he jumped back out of the way, even while I pulled back.

We stared at another, panting hard, at my aborted punch, still hovering midair as I considered whether or not I wanted to try again, in earnest this time.

"I am not your business," I ground out through clenched teeth, forcing my arms back down at my sides. "And she is not your business. I told you to back off before you left, and I'm telling you the same now. I will not say it again."

"Chance."

I stiffened and spread myself wider, feet planted and vibrating with tension. Ghost had that rasp in his voice he got right before he begged for my cock, but I'd had enough. He'd already proved what he thought of me. If he wanted to slum it with someone who would treat him like garbage, he could find someone else. Because I was sick of joining him in the muck.

He stalled, eyes flicking over me, brow furrowing. "You can't be serious about her."

"How would you know? You wouldn't have a fucking clue what serious feelings looked like," I said. "Stay the fuck away from me. That's it, that's all you get."

We were only a foot away from each other. If I licked my lips I would taste him, even when it'd been weeks since we touched. I didn't know if it was just muscle memory at this point to want him, but I wasn't giving in.

I moved for the door, slow and cautious and determined, half expecting him to reach out and grab for me. What would happen if we touched while we were alone like this? Would it be too much? Would I fall into the magnetism of him like King had with Faith?

I opened the door to the garage and sucked in the fresh air, moving faster now, refusing to run and refusing to stop. I would listen in on everyone tomorrow; the gossip wouldn't die down overnight. For now, I needed to clean out the little threads of Ghost that still lingered in my veins. I knew my cure.

I ignored the muttered remarks and openly hostile jabs of rude humor directed at me as I moved through the bar. The party was starting to die down, pairs and groups heading for private rooms for more thorough release. I heard their grunts and fleshy slaps and lewd moans as I passed by doors.

Would King be hoarding Faith to himself? I almost didn't care. I meant it more than he did when I called her mine. I would force myself into the nest with them if I had to, if only because I was too terrified to go alone to my room, too certain Ghost might just turn up there…or too afraid he wouldn't.

But there was nothing to interrupt in the nest but peace, and somehow it was worse to see King and Faith cuddled tight on the mattress than it would've been to find them fucking. I hesitated at the entrance, wondering where I fit in, even as an open place at Faith's back waited for me.

She stirred, rolling in King's arms, and paused, blinking at me. Her mouth curved, eyes falling heavily shut.

"Chance," she murmured, patting one hand on the bed.

I sighed, leaned against the edge of the nest and stared at her for another minute as the poison of anger leaked out of me.

One eye opened, and I grinned as she pouted.

"C'mere."

"Just enjoying the view, birdy," I said, shrugging out of my cut, folding it and placing it next to King's.

"Better up close," King said, huffing and scooting back, dragging Faith to his chest again, leaving more room for me.

Fuck the others, fuck Ghost, fuck my own head too. This was what I wanted. As I crawled into the nest, sliding in and facing Faith, her lips grazed my clavicle. As we settled together, the rest of the world faded to the background and the noise in my head turned down. This was the shit worth keeping, and I wasn't going to lose sight of that.





26. FAITH





The bed rustled behind me, daylight already crawling into the nest from the window, sharp and golden. The body behind me was too large and their scent too sweet to be King. I rolled over with a smile on my face as Bear sat up, looking rumpled and barely rested.