9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jayce

I was used to disappointment. It wasn't a new feeling for me, but something about waking up in Aydan's bed completely alone hit harder than usual. It was my own fault. I allowed myself to feel things I knew were off the table. And really, why would people want to live with my stench?

It wasn't like Adyan had been a dick or anything. He'd been clear that it was a one-time thing and definitely wasn't serious. He had responsibilities that didn't include banging his houseguest. I got that. I did. I hadn't thought it would be serious either, but somehow, it still felt earth-shattering. It was my own stupid fault for feeling this way. I knew better.

The skunk smell still lingered around me, though not as terrible as it had been. I worried that it would never go away and that the den members would hate me for it. They didn't. If anything, everyone in the pack got a good laugh out of it. Even if they hadn't, I wasn't going to let it stop me from mingling today.

Aydan might not think his den needed a floater to help out with random tasks, but I had already seen the need around the place. They needed at least one, possibly a handful, at least initially. Corey had mentioned a few things too, and I imagined it wouldn't take long to settle into a routine. Maybe it wouldn't take long to find a place of my own, either. No way was I staying under the Alpha's roof for long. As much as I hated to admit it, it would hurt too much.

At least Aydan didn't have to worry about his scent clinging to me. Nothing clung to me—except the asshat skunk. I showered anyway, because even if others couldn't scent Aydan on me, I swore I could still feel him there. Sleeping with him had been a bad idea, as fantastic as it was. He wasn't the kind of alpha I could have a one-and-done with, and a part of me knew that going in.

Once I was dressed, I left the house and made my way to the diner. No way was I eating here and risking the awkward conversation that would ensure. He'd pretend last night was no biggie, or worse, to him it wouldn't have been, and then I would use all my best acting skills to convince him I felt the same all while dying a little inside. Yean, no good could come of it.

Corey met me there with his baby in a stroller, the sweet cub our breakfast buddy even if she was still on a milk-only diet. I grinned when I saw him. He fit so perfectly into his role as a father. I loved this for him, this den, his mate, his everything. This was exactly where he belonged.

"You're glowing."

He laughed. "No, that's just sweat. Some of these hormones after having a kid are wicked. I swear it feels like I'm going into heat." That was interesting. No wonder so many shifters had back-to-back kiddos.

"Oh, will little one have a brother or sister soon?"

Corey laughed harder. "No, absolutely not. Not if we can help it. One takes up all my time." Not that he sounded like he minded that.

His comment had me thinking back to the condoms we used last night. They were the responsible thing to do, and I wouldn't change it, but also there was a sadness in needing to use them. It was a barrier and a needed one. Why did I wish it had been gone? Argh, I needed to stop my pity party for one already. This was a nice meal out with my bestie, and I refused to let my bad decision-making of the night before get in the way.

Once we were sitting down, another alpha approached the table, smiling broadly when he saw us.

"You must be Jayce. We've heard so much about you." That was interesting. At another time I might've been interested in the guy. He was good-looking and had a nice smile. But today? He was just a random dude.

I grinned. "I am. And you are?"

"This is Olen," Corey said, introducing him. "He works at the flower shop."

"Would you like to join us?" I asked.

Soon enough, we had three alphas at the table and two more standing nearby, all chatting and laughing. But even in the middle of all that attention, I couldn't help but notice when Aydan entered the diner. He was like a stupid magnet drawing me to him. I both loved and hated it.

Doubly hating it as I noticed the omega standing beside him. Worse than that, Aydan had his hand on the small of the omega's back, gently ushering him to a booth in the corner. Fuck that noise.

I forced myself to relax. There was no reason to make a scene—nothing to make a scene about, really. Aydan was just having dinner with another omega. Not a big deal. Or so I kept telling myself.

It wasn't like we were dating or anything really. It was a one-and-done. I knew the score from the get-go. Stupid feels always getting in the way.

"Is everything all right, Jayce?"

No, it was not.

"Would you like anything else to drink?" one of the alphas asked. I thought his name was Stephen. It didn't matter. All that did was getting out of here so I could breathe.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you," I said. Turning to Oliver, I added, "Tell me more about your business."

"Sure," he said, and he continued for another ten minutes. If nothing else, alphas did seem to enjoy hearing themselves talk. Corey grinned the whole time, of course, adding little tidbits about me and egging the alphas on.

"Jayce! Corey!" Aydan's voice boomed, and the five alphas at the table stood at attention.

Oops.

"Hello, Alpha. Do you need to speak with your brother?" Stephen was the first to speak. Probably because he couldn't feel the tension that was pulling me in a thousand directions at once.

"No, actually, I was just checking on how Jayce was doing." He was? That was weird.

"I'm fine," I said. "Aren't you having lunch with someone else?"

I peeked over and saw that the other omega who had come in with Aydan was sitting at his table, crossing my fingers my ill-earned hatred of the omega hadn't seeped into my voice. The omega's eyes were glued to the door that led to the kitchen and not toward me at all. As much as I cared about him, he didn't seem to pay me any mind and that somehow made it worse.

"Yes, that's Finnegan."

Finnegan like that song where they all begin-again. What a stinky name for an unstinky omega. I was the stinky one in all ways. Argh.

"Oh, the brother to—" I started to say but stopped myself. Finnegan had been the brother of the alpha Corey had been promised to, but that had obviously not worked out, and in that context, now I felt a little bad for the guy. That entire situation had been a hot mess from what I'd heard.

"Seems that lunch hour is running a little long for all of you," Aydan said, ignoring my comment.

The three alphas at our table pushed themselves to their feet and started scrambling. Great. Just great.

"It was great to meet you, Jayce. We must get back to work," Stephen mumbled on his way.

"It was good to meet you too, and thanks for your number. I'll be in touch."

Aydan's face hardened. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"What?" I said, confused.

"The alphas here aren't just looking for a good time, Jayce. It would be in your best interest not to lead them on."

My bear was rising up and it was taking far too much of my strength to push him down.

"Aydan, what the hell, man?" Corey said. Go, bestie, go.

Heat flooded my cheeks. What was he talking about? I hadn't even—I had just been with him last night, and he was the one who said it was only a good time, not anything real. Fuck. How was this day getting worse.

"Do you have something you need to say to me, Alpha?" I glared at him, daring him to say one freaking thing. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, it's just… you know the problem we have here. Too many alphas, not enough omegas. It's why you're getting so much attention."

He did not just say that. Now my bear was pushing back doubly hard, and I had half a mind to let him.

"I just don't want to see any of my alphas hurt."

"Thank you." I held back a growl. "You need not concern yourself with me. As of right now, I'm only at your den on a trial period, and quite frankly, I'm not sure that I'm willing to stay."

I was for sure not if this was going to become the norm. It was bad enough I had my heart crushed thanks to my own dumb choices. Having him treat me this way on top of that? Heck to the no.

"Everyone here has been exceptionally nice, and I do enjoy the people, but there's just one thing I will not tolerate." I turned to my friend. "Corey, it's good to see you. Perhaps we can chat later. I'm going to catch up with Russ. He mentioned that he needed someone to clean the barber shop, and I'm willing to help out where I can."

"He didn't mention anything to me about needing help," Aydan said.

"Perhaps you're not approachable, Alpha. You ever think about that? People don't come to you with their problems because you're kind of a dick." Not kinda… a full-on dick, and I wasn't sticking around to be on the brunt end of his dickiness one minute longer.

And with that, I stormed off.

It wasn't until later that I realized I had just called my Alpha a dick.

Great. Fantastic. Nothing could go wrong there.

That had to be a record of some kind. Getting kicked out of a den after just two days?