Chapter Five

Shane

"Don't worry," I told the flight attendant. "I booked two seats. See?" I held up the two boarding passes and watched as his face morphed from wide-eyed to a soft smile. Pretty little omega, he was. Mated by the scent of his alpha on him.

He snorted. "Of course. Forgive me. I have no poker face."

"You sure don't, but it's okay. I get that a lot."

He chuckled. "Your seat is in the second section to your right." I maneuvered past him and heard him say something about a brick house to his coworker.

Damn right I was. Earned every pound of muscle on this body.

"Oh great," a woman said as I stopped to scan the numbers above the seats, trying to find mine. She was on the left and probably thought I was going to try to squeeze into the seat next to her.

I didn't bother replying. It wasn't like the flight attendant, who was in awe. This woman saw my form and thought it would somehow encroach on her otherwise-peaceful flight.

I tucked my small backpack under the seat near the window and sat down, putting the arm rest up so I could spread out along my two seats. I hated flying. Being stuffed into a seat, or two, for hours wasn't my idea of a good time but, given the time constraints of my schedule, going on a road trip or taking a train simply wouldn't fit in.

My dad, James, had thought I was nuts in accepting the invitation. Hell, he thought I was nuts for taking a weekend off, but I had to for my own sanity. Everyone needed a break, even though what I did was my passion.

I turned down the empty-carb pretzels and drank my lukewarm protein shake instead. I was used to it by now but hearing the crunching all around me made me want something to chew on, and it was a no-peanut flight. Someone aboard with a nut allergy, and while I wouldn't want to endanger anyone's health, it would be nice if they served something like carrots and hummus. Nah! I had a layover, so, walking to the next gate, I had to go through the whole seating thing again. This time I was called Hulk by one of the female attendants who then asked to take a picture of me. Chad had hooked me up with merchandise, and I always handed some out during trips. It got me exposure and views on my channel. At least, that's what he said. I'd forgotten to give the male on the first flight anything, but the ladies on this flight got T-shirts and some stickers with a QR code to find all my social media.

Even the guy sitting two seats over for me asked for my channel name.

Chad might have been a genius.

By the time we landed, I had watched enough videos online to scramble my brains. I'd brought a book to read, since there was still a good part of me that doubted I was going to go to this B&B and magically find a mate. It seemed too good to be true.

After disembarking, I took the escalator to get my bag. It was only a duffle but too big to carry on.

"Excuse me." Someone tapped my biceps. I turned to see a young boy half hiding behind a tall man's legs.

"Can I help you?"

"My son saw you and wants to know how you got so strong."

I chuckled and bent down. I lived for moments like these. "What's your name?" I asked, and the little man backed up more. "I promise I won't hurt you. I'm more of a gentle giant. My name is Shane. What's yours?"

"Blake." The boy had wheat-blonde hair and bright-blue eyes. I hoped I'd have a son that cute one day.

"Blake, it's nice to meet you. You want to know how to get strong?"

He emerged from the shelter of his father's legs and nodded.

"It's simple, really. You work really hard, lifting things heavier than you think you can, and then rest and eat plenty of healthy foods like meat and vegetables. You look like a guy who eats his vegetables, right?"

Blake blinked up at his father. "I hate spinach."

His father and I shared a chuckle.

"You want to know a secret?" I asked, beckoning him closer with a wave of my hand.

"What?" he whispered.

"I put a handful of spinach in my protein shake in the mornings with some peanut butter. Can't even taste it."

His eyes got wide. "Dad?"

"We'll try it when we get home. Would you mind if I took a picture with you and my son?"

"Not at all. Want me to pick you up, buddy?"

Blake reached his arms out, and we posed for some pictures. After waving at them as they walked away, I reached for my bag and got on my phone to retrieve the Uber information. My car was already there.

Once I got out of the airport, I climbed into the silver Tesla only to see someone else in the back with me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I get the wrong car?" I asked, checking my phone.

"No. This is a shared ride. My name is Zhang."