Resistant Omegas 5: Dewey by Joyee Flynn (book club suggestions TXT) 📕

“Umm, anyone else know what they were talking about?” I asked when everyone simply sat there.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Tristan answered as he leaned over and ruffled my hair. “I was basking in the glow of my great negotiation skills. I think they really have improved. I mean, I impressed myself this time.”

“That’s not easy to do,” Jared said as he, Cameron, and Rhyce joined us in the backyard. “What did you pull off now, our little magician?”

“Bite your tongue, shorty,” Tristan threw right back with a wink. “Taggart’s the new Alpha of the dire wolf pack now that he’s proven he can handle himself in a fight by kicking his Betas’ asses. Oh, and he admitted he was even holding back. That was impressive in my book as well. The contracts for the new inner circle are in my e-mail, with a bunch of perks for our new Omega friend, including but not limited to his stipend being transferred into an account of his own.

“Also, given the stress to Dewey and Taggart, along with the trauma the dire wolf pack has undergone because of crazy ass old Alpha with the boy-toy harem, I got the High Council to forgo the normal claiming ceremony. They all sign, and take as much time as they want to consummate with their new Omega however they want. The only rule is that Dewey have all three of their mating bites by the time they move to Wichita. So go me, give me a medal.”

“Wait, whoa, huh?” I gasped as I moved out from under Percy’s head. I got to my feet but it seemed all that news was a little much for me in new shoes because I started to go right back down. Tag had to have moved faster than a speeding bullet because he had been at least twenty feet away and suddenly he was there catching me.

“Dewey? Are you okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

“Yes? No, not really,” I admitted as my legs gave out. Tag lifted me into his arms as I clung to him as if he was the only solid thing in my world. I looked over at Tristan, whose good mood had faded. “I’m so sorry. I know you did this for me, for us but it’s just too much too soon. I need a moment to breathe.”

“You take all the time you need, pint size,” Tristan said, giving me a wink and a smile. “I shouldn’t have thrown it all on you like that. I just got excited that you didn’t have to go through another claiming ceremony.”

“I will be too, when I catch up.” I reached out for him and Tag got the idea and walked over to Tristan. The moment he was within reach I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good friend. I appreciate everything you’ve done. I’ll thank you for real later though.”

“Good deal.” He did his typical ruffling of my hair. I couldn’t look at Percy or Azyle… Who was still unconscious so I was pretty sure it made me the worst person ever. I just needed a moment to catch my breath. I couldn’t breathe. I was clutching my chest when another hand moved under mine.

“I’m here,” Tag whispered in my ear. I nodded, looking around to see we were in my room. How had that happened?

“You’re always here when I need you.” I stared into his eyes and my heart started to calm back to its normal pace. I realized Tag had been so focused on saving me and doing what was best for me there was a question neither of us had ever asked. “Is this what you want? Do you even want to be Alpha of the dire pack?”

He sighed as he laid me down on the bed and joined me. “It’s weird to be honest. I mean, I was doing it at first because I want you more than anything and I’d do anything to be with you for real, as your mate. But then talking with the High Council and taking the Alpha tests, something just fell into place. This feels right. These people need a leader who cares and an Omega who will love and help them.”

“And it’s your birth pack that your father was Alpha of,” I added, letting him know I understood how hard this was for him.

“No, there’s more than one dire wolf pack.” I stared at him with big eyes and Tag simply shrugged. “People don’t talk about it because we’re almost as rare as Omegas. There are a few small dire packs on the outskirts that recognize the High Council as the ruling body but keep things internal. I don’t think they really ever check in, choosing to live off the land in remote areas. That’s where I grew up, in the middle of nowhere.”

“How did I not know that?” I was shocked. We’d talked about so much in our time together. I knew it was normal for people to be together for decades and still find out new facts about their partners. I kind of just thought by now I knew everything about Taggart that was basic like where he was from.

“You had a screwed-up childhood and I didn’t want to go on and on about mine when it was a good one.” He gave a one-shoulder shrug and kissed my cheek. “I had loving parents, two great sisters, and a good pack. It seemed crude to talk about it when you went through hell.”

“It’s not like you were going to rub your good childhood in my face, Tag,” I said quietly. “But to know you I have to know everything about you, like the fact you grew up in the sticks.”

“Fair enough.” He was quiet a moment as we both gathered our thoughts. “To answer your question, yeah, I’m happy with the path we’re on. If we had run like I wanted, I don’t even know what would have happened when I freaked out