Apparently Chris couldn’t resist. He tackled Tanner to the ground, and they started wrestling as they shouted at each other.
Jessie looked down at them, grimacing. “Men are so stupid. I’m so glad I’m into women these days.” She smiled wickedly. “No offense, Ox. You were good for a little while.”
My eyes bulged.
“As your Alpha,” Joe said as he stepped around us, “I am ordering you never to bring up your history with my mate ever again.”
“Oh sure,” Jessie said. “I’ll get right on that.” She paused, considering. Then, “Which is something I said to Ox.”
She laughed as Joe growled at her.
“Where’s Dominique?” Tanner asked, panting on the ground next to Chris. They’d apparently called a truce.
“Coming with Bambi. Should be here in a little bit.”
Ox squeezed my hand before letting go. He pushed me toward the table. He pulled out a chair near the end and motioned for me to sit down.
It went like this:
Ox sat at one end of the table, Joe at the other.
To Ox’s right was Mark, a position reserved for the second to the Alpha.
To Joe’s right was Carter, the timber wolf lying behind his chair.
I was to Ox’s left.
Elizabeth was to Joe’s left.
It wasn’t lost on me what this meant.
The right was for the second.
The left was a position of trust.
Ox was showing he trusted me.
Rico wasn’t happy as he sat on the other side of the table. Chris and Tanner sat next to him.
Kelly pulled out the chair next to me. He sat down. I thought he was going to reach out and take my hand, but he didn’t. He kept his hands in his own lap.
He said, “Hello, Robbie.”
I was suddenly nervous. I wondered what he’d thought of the breakfast I’d made for him. I muttered, “Hey.”
Jessie sat down next to him. On her other side, between her and Elizabeth, was an empty chair. Rico also had an empty chair next to him. It wasn’t long before they were filled.
The woman from the truck walked in, keys jangling as she flipped them back and forth. Behind her was the Omega from the diner.
I tried not to stare when Rico got a dopey look on his face as Bambi bent over and kissed him sweetly. Then she pushed him away, ruffling his hair.
He didn’t seem to mind.
The Omega eyed me warily but was distracted when Jessie pulled her down into the last chair, smiling widely.
And then it was quiet.
The only sounds came from the forest.