We are worthy, p.21
We Are Worthy, page 21
I know that even though she’s my Omega, she’s not mine to control or own. I can keep her safe while she lives her life the way she chooses to without taking control. I mean, I’m at least gonna try.
But I need her with me today because Tris is taking her out tomorrow, so I need as much time with my Little One as I can get. I should feel bad for stealing time away from the others, but I’m just making up for the time I missed out on in the beginning when I was too fucking stubborn and in my own head. Another thing I love about her, she doesn't hold that against me and never thrown it in my face.
And the fact that when Sawyer was being a prick about his mate mark, she told my grumpy ass that she plans on giving me one too just proves proves my point. It took everything in me not to get on my knees and beg for her to do it right then and there. She wants me for me. She doesn't know I come from money; technically, we all do. It’s not something we’ve really kept from her, but it hasn’t really come up in conversation either. I mean, Sawyer was outed when he took her on his boat, but the fact she wanted all of us for who we are and not what we can give her is yet another thing that makes her so much better than all the other Omegas who looked down on us.
We sit in silence for the entire ride out of Calling Wood and into the next town over where the fair is being held. I can’t keep my hand off her, needing to feel her, even if it's just the brush of my fingers against her creamy smooth skin. Who knew, me, a grumpy bastard who hated the world, would turn into a big ol’ teddy bear for an Omega.
When we get there, I look at how packed it is and start to mutter under my breath.
“Hey,” Tia says, brushing her thumb against the back of my hand. “Are you okay?” Her eyes are filled with concern, and I love that she catches the shift in my mood and cares enough to ask.
“I’m not a big fan of people,” I tell her, looking at all the happy families, laughing and smiling as they leave their cars, heading towards the entrance.
“We don’t have to go in if you don't want to,” she tells me.
“What about the others?” I question, watching as Tristan pulls up next to us. The guys get out of the car, both laughing at something, pure happiness shining on their faces. I don’t want to be a downer on their fun and hold them back.
“Wanna know a secret?” she asks. I look over to her, and she has that cute blush on her face again.
“I wanna know anything and everything about you, Little One,” I rumble out.
She bites her lip before continuing. “I like the fair. But only for the games and food. I... I get sick from most of the rides they have. And I’m deathly afraid of heights.”
My eyes widen at this new information. “But you seemed just as excited as the others about coming here.”
“I didn’t wanna ruin the fun,” she admits, just like me.
I nod my head, my mind working to see what we can do about this. “How about this? We let the boys run wild, ride whatever they want. You pick any ride you feel comfortable going on and we’ll all go on those together as a pack. Then while they are busy, we play games and win you some stuffies.”
Her shoulders relax, telling me I said the right thing. “Yeah, I think I can handle that.” She smiles up at me, making my cold heart melt just a little bit more.
“If you're ever afraid, just hold onto me. I’ll never let you fall, Little One,” I growl, loving the shiver that takes over her body.
The rev of a bike has us both looking out Tia’s window. “Looks like everyone is here.”
We get out of the car just as Finn gets off the back of Knox’s bike. He takes off his helmet, a massive smile on his face.
“Oh my god!” he laughs. “That was frigging amazing!”
“I knew you would have fun, Finny. Sometimes you just gotta let loose and trust the ones who love you.” Knox grins as he tucks his helmet under his arm.
Finn’s smile doesn’t fall, but his eyes do widen. “I love you,” he tells Knox. “Thank you for having patience with me, this is all so new.”
“I love you too, Finn,” Knox growls. “And I’d wait a lifetime for you.”
“As adorable and sexy as the two of you are together, and trust me the sight of you two on a bike does nothing to help some of the dirty things floating around in my mind, buuuut we're in a family friendly place, so I’m gonna need less heated looks and about five feet between you two for a while,” Tia says, stepping up to Finn. “Alpha,” she purrs. “I think I may need you two to wear these again sometime,” she says, pulling at the leather jacket Finn is wearing.
“Anything for you, Kitten,” Knox growls, stepping closer.
“Stop!” she holds out a hand with a laugh. “I mean it! Family friendly.”
Knox chuckles, and Finn blushes as Sawyer walks over to him. They start talking about the bike ride while Tristan heads off to buy our tickets.
“Alright my sexy lumberjack, ready to have fun?” Tia smiles up at me.
“Lumberjack?” I ask, brows furrowing.
She smirks, raising a brow. “Plaid shirt, jeans, and hiking boots,” she says, looking and pointing at each item as she says it.
“Ahh.” I laugh. “I think I could be your sexy lumberjack.”
“Good. Now, let’s go have some fun... I hope.”
OCTAVIA
IT’S ADORABLE TO SEE Finn, Sawyer, and Tristan as excited as kids in a candy store. For the past hour, they’ve been running around going from ride to ride while Dom and Knox stuck with me.
We’ve played a few games and gotten something to eat. So far, I’ve agreed to go on one ride, and it was one of those slides you go down while sitting on a carpet. It wasn’t very high, probably because I think it was meant to be a little kid’s ride. Oh well, I had fun and watching my Alphas go down was hilarious, especially when Knox and Dom went down. The stink eye Dom shot the worker who tried to help push him down almost made me pee myself.
But he kept his word and agreed to go on any ride I wanted.
“So, Tia. Are you having fun? You haven't gone on many rides,” Tristan asks as he takes a bite of a hot dog we just got from one of the vendors.
“Haven’t found anything I’ve really been interested in.” I shrug, taking a bite of my pizza.
“Sunshine,” Finn says, getting my attention. “Do you like going on rides?” The way he’s watching me right now tells me he’s about to call my bluff. He knows something is up.
So I take a deep breath and sigh. “No,” I say, cringing. “Not really.”
Tristan’s hot dog pauses mid air, and he looks at me with wide eyes. “What? Really? Then how come you agreed to come here when I brought it up?”
“I saw how excited you and the others were at the idea, and I didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer.”
“Love,” Tristan growls. “Don’t force yourself to do things you don’t like or don’t feel comfortable with just to please your Alphas.”
“And why not?” I ask, raising a brow as I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms. “You would do it for me.” He starts to protest, but I stop him. “Don’t even try to deny it, Tristan. I know damn well you all would do any silly or crazy thing I wanted to do if it was something I was excited over or loved. So why can’t I do the same thing for you guys?”
“It’s not the same. If you don’t like rides, we don’t want you going on any that would make you feel uneasy.”
“And I didn’t,” I point out. “You guys have had fun going on rides together, right?”
“Yes.”
“And none of them were with me, other than the slide, right?”
“Yes,” he sighs, seeing my point.
“And I have been having fun,” I tell him. “Dom won me the monkey, you won me the teddy, and Knox won me the black cat.”
“Finn and I still have to win you something before we leave, by the way,” Sawyer pipes up.
“And I can’t wait to see what game you kick ass at or what prize you pick for me,” I tell him, giving him a smile before kissing him on the cheek.
“Alright, fine. But as long as you're not miserable,” Tristan grumbles.
“I’m not,” I laugh. “I’m having a good time. Mostly just because I’m with my guys.”
We eat our food before walking around the fairgrounds some more as we scope out what rides we want to go on or games we want to play.
I can’t help but giggle watching my tall, sexy men holding the prizes they won for me.
“What about this one?” Finn says, pointing to the strong man game.
“Are you sure, man?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes, why not?” Finn looks at his friend confused.
“Alright.” Sawyer puts his hands up. “Go for it, man.”
Finn steps up to the Alpha who’s running the booth and hands him the money. The Alpha looks at Finn and snorts out a laugh. “You're kidding me right? You wanna play this game?”
“Yes,” Finn says, sounding annoyed, and I’m starting to get annoyed for him. “It’s why I gave you the money.”
The Alpha looks Finn up and down, then to the rest of us behind him. “Why don’t you get that tall, tattooed one to take a swing at it, or even the beefy one? Might have a better chance at getting that sexy little Omega a prize. Although, I don’t think that’s gonna help you win her over.”
My guys all growl, ready to defend their pack mate when Finn handles it himself. Finn grabs the hammer from the man sharply and juts his chin out. “I can do this myself. I don’t need any help or anyone taking my place. And for your information, I don’t need help getting the pretty little Omega because I already have her. That’s my girl, my Omega, so if you don’t mind, see that sloth behind you? Yeah, I’m about to win that for MY Omega,” he growls, making me so fucking hot, I whimper.
Finn raises the hammer and brings it down hard, making the little metal thing shoot up and hit the bell hard. Finn tosses the hammer down on the ground next to the gaping Alpha’s feet. “I’ll be taking that,” Finn says, grabbing one of the sloths from the stand and bringing it over to me.
“For you, Sunshine,” Finn beams at me. My pupils are blown, my breathing is harsher than I’d like, and I’m almost positive people nearby can smell my perfume.
I take the sloth from him and partially moan. “Thank you.”
Finn is spun around fast, Knox gripping the back of his head and smashing his lips to Finn’s. He kisses him hard and dirty, getting a few gasps from people who pass by.
“That was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” Knox growls against Finn’s lips. “Seeing you not only defend our Omega, but claim her and defend yourself... damn, Finny, confidence looks so hot on you.”
Finn swallows hard, and Dom clears his throat.
“As our Little Omega said before, family friendly place, remember?”
“Right,” Knox says, nodding his head, then gives Finn a smirk. “Later, babe.” He winks at Finn before coming over to me. “Come on, Kitten. I can smell your cream from here, and I don’t want anyone else to.” He pulls me down the path, making me laugh as the others trail behind us.
We found a few more rides that didn’t make me wanna puke just by looking at them before playing some more games. Sawyer won me this life sized bag of cotton candy, and I can feel the sugar rush just by looking at it.
“I can just see the sore belly now,” Knox sighs.
“We can hold her hair back while she pukes,” Finn adds, making Knox snort a laugh.
“Oh, come on. It won’t be that bad. It’s not like I’m gonna eat it all in one sitting.” I roll my eyes as the others lead me into another line. “And be nice, or I won’t share.” I stick my tongue out at them, making them laugh and me smile.
But it drops when I see what line we’re in. The Ferris wheel. Fuck.
“I saved the best for last,” Tristan says with a big smile. “I love riding the Ferris wheel. It was one of my favorite things to do as a kid.”
This is my worst nightmare right now. I do something stupid and look up to the top of the ride and feel my stomach drop.
“Little One,” Dom says, stepping up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “You can say no. You can always say no.”
I could. I want to so badly, but the excited looks on their faces make it extremely hard to do that. I avoided a lot of rides today, and didn’t go on a lot of the ones they were excited for.
But this is our last ride before we go home. Do I sit this one out like all the others, or suck it up?
Then I remember back earlier when Finn overcame his shyness and didn’t let that Alpha make a fool out of him.
If he could do that, then I can overcome my fear of heights, at least for tonight... right?
“Hold me?” I ask, not just meaning right now, but when we get on the ride.
“Always, Little One. But don’t ever expect for me to let you go,” he purrs.
I never want him to.
The line moves way too fast for my liking, and before we know it, we’re next. “You three,” he says, pointing to Finn, Sawyer and Knox. “On one side. The rest on the other, to even out the weight.”
Letting out a small sigh of relief that I’m sitting with Dom, I grasp his hand and squeeze it with a death grip as we step onto the ride.
I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing and pretending that my feet are flat on the ground.
I’m sandwiched between Tristan and Dom, and it helps me a little bit. That is until the ride starts to move, making me grip Dom’s hand harder. “Hey there, Little One. Shhh. It’s okay. I have you, nothing is going to happen. Breathe.”
I nod my head, forcing myself to suck in a breath.
“Kitten, are you okay?” Knox asks.
“Yes,” I say quickly on a breath.
“No, you’re not,” Tristan growls, making my hand shoot out to grip his thigh in surprise. He grunts as I dig my nails into him as the ride jerks a little.
“Kitten,” Knox says softly as if not to frighten me. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Yes,” I whimper. “Really fucking terrified.”
“Then why on earth did you come on this?” Knox asks. “Fuck. How did we not see this? We should have skipped this ride.”
“Let’s see if we can get the worker’s attention and get off,” Tristan says.
“No!” I say. Forcing my eyes open. “No. No, we’re on here now. Let’s just enjoy it.”
Sawyer snorts. “Pretty Girl, you look like you are enjoying this as much as you would getting your nails ripped off.”
“And thank you very much for putting that image in my head,” I grumble, shuddering at the idea.
But then my eyes look out to my right to see the stunning sunset. “Wow,” I breathe. Where my line of sight is, I can’t see the ground, only the water reflecting the pinks, oranges, reds, and even a bit of purple. “Okay, this makes it worth the pounding of my heart,” I say. “I’m too afraid to move, so can one of you take a photo of this?”
After I get a good look of the horizon, I shut my eyes again as the ride does its few loops around after everyone’s gotten on.
Thankfully, the little circles Dom and Tristan are rubbing on my thighs help distract me, and I even sneak a peak when Finn and Knox share a really sweet kiss at the top. And I can’t help but get one of my own from the two Alphas sandwiching me. But of course, that leads to Sawyer grumbling about being left out.
“Want a kiss too?” Finn jokes, making Knox growl.
“Chill, dude. I’m not gonna steal your man,” Sawyer says. “The only dick I’d be interested in is if it’s attached to our Omega.” Sawyer grins. I know he’s joking... I think, but the look on my face has his expression turning to worry. “I don’t like that look, Pretty Girl.”
“What?” I say innocently as the ride stops. “You don’t wanna be fucked by my cock?”
There could not have been a worse time to say those words because just as they leave my mouth, a family with three kids step up to take our place on the ride.
My guys all burst out laughing while my face heats up like an inferno.
They are damn lucky I love them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
TRISTAN
Today is my day alone with Tia. I’ve asked the guys if they minded if we came back to the house for our alone time, and other than Sawyer joking about them most likely being hard all night, listening to the two of us, they were fine with it.
Tia has been on the go non-stop since getting to Calling Wood. Two weeks of nothing but stress while trying to find her Alphas before her heat, along with trying to get to know us as much as she could before going into heat.
Then having only Knox and me to help her through it when our little vixen is, clearly, going to need all five of us from now on.
After her heat, between school and her time with us, she hasn’t really had time to just breathe.
So, today for our date, because I really don’t care what we do as long as we’re together, I planned something more laid back.
“Tristan?” Tia’s musical voice breaks me out of my own thoughts as I finish getting ready.
“In here, Love,” I call back, grabbing a t-shirt from my dresser.
“Are you sure I can wear anything? I don’t wanna clash with...” her words trail off. I smirk when I see her standing in my doorway, her eyes slowly eating up my body. I’m shirtless, and by the way my Omega is perfuming right now, she likes what she sees. I almost hate to put my shirt on and lose that look on her face.
“Little Omega,” I growl playfully, and her eyes snap up from my abs to my eyes.
“I’m sorry, what was I saying?” she asks with a blush.
“I don’t know, Love.” I chuckle. “Something about clashing?” I ask, putting my shirt on. She gives me a little pout, making me chuckle again. “You have nothing to worry about, Little Omega. You look perfect,” I tell her, taking in her outfit. She’s in a black top with a black and white layered skirt. The front stops just above her knees, while the back flows closer to her feet. “And I love that you wore your hair down,” I tell her, stepping closer. She sucks in a breath as I crowd her space. “Gives me something to grab onto while you're on your knees, begging for my knot.”
