Getting Close to the Omega (2 page)

heat in the oven. Shawn laughed as he came in. “I came to

see if you needed any help, but it looks like you have

everything under control.”

Dean ducked his head but not before he took a good look at

the Alpha Mate. Shawn had been quite slim when he first met

Kane, his years of being on the run from hunters keeping him

lean and unsettled. Now as Kane’s true mate, the Shifter

Guardian had found peace and it showed in his good looks.

Shawn was about six foot two inches, a good six inches taller

than Dean. His long black hair hung straight down his back

and the man had more than enough muscles to handle himself

in a fight.

Shawn’s crystal blue ice eyes never missed anything, and his

full pink lips sat neatly in a triangular face. In Dean’s eyes

Shawn was one of life’s beautiful people and the man’s manner

matched his stunning looks. He was also the only other person

in the pack that actually loved to cook, although Diablo was a

passable cook too – but his mate Griff kept him busy with their

security company.

“I had a bit of time today,” he said quietly, never really

comfortable when anyone’s attention was on him. “And I knew

you would be busy with Kane, so I just rustled up a few

things.”

“A few things?” Shawn laughed again, as he checked the oven

and noted the gravy simmering slowly on the stove top. There

was a freshly made salad on the kitchen counter along with

what looked like homemade rolls. The roast venison in the

oven smelled succulent and the roasted vegetables looked

crispy and done, just how everyone liked them. Then Shawn

looked across at Dean, who was scuffing his feet against the

polished wood floor.

“What is it, Dean?” Shawn said, coming to stand in front of

him. “Are you worried about the new men coming into the pack

tonight?”

“A little,” Dean admitted. “I just got this feeling, you know, like

something is going to happen and it’s making me a bit edgy,

that’s all.” Dean had a problem meeting new people and he

tried hard to stay in the background whenever the pack had

visitors. He worked at Kane’s Custom Rides business, and

Kane was good at making sure that Dean stayed out of sight

then as well.

The fact that the dinner that evening was to welcome two new

men into their gay only wolf shifter pack, was something Dean

had been trying not to think about all day. He woke up with

what he called his ‘edgy tummy’ and had been trying to pass it

off as just nerves all day. Hence the cooking. Cooking and his

art were the only two activities he could do, that would take his

mind off any problems he had. But ignoring the warning signals

in his gut was a little harder to do. He had learned long ago

that it paid to pay attention when his body was telling him

something, but he couldn’t tell Shawn that.

Shawn threw his big arm over Dean’s shoulder and Dean took a

moment to savor the man’s comforting scent. He knew he had

nothing to fear from Shawn, or the other men in the pack, but

the thought of meeting strangers, didn’t make him feel so

good.

“Just remember, every man here will protect you,” Shawn said

softly. “You never have anything to fear here on pack lands.”

Dean gave himself a shake. He knew he was safe here,

although the recent incidents with Kylan had made everybody a

bit on edge. Still, he was a grown up now, not a frightened

child with no support, and it was about time he started acting

like it. He owed Kane and the others a huge debt of loyalty –

they became the family he had always dreamed he could have

– and he wasn’t going to let a stupid thing like shyness or a

reluctance to meet strangers upset everyone else.

“I’ll be fine,” he said mimicking the softness in Shawn’s voice.

Turning his back on Shawn so that he could get the roast out of

the oven, he said, “can you call the others in for dinner and I

will get this out on the table?”

Giving him a quick hug, Shawn left, presumably to Kane’s

office where he was meeting with the two newcomers –

Matthew and Josh. Dean kept himself busy putting the food out

on the table, and making sure everything was in place. When

he heard voices coming down the hallway, he struggled with

the thought of disappearing into his room, but this was a pack

meeting disguised as a dinner, but a meeting nonetheless, and

he knew he had to attend or explain to his Alpha why he wasn’t

there.

He did dash out to the kitchen. He had forgotten the salad and

although he knew most of the wolves in the pack didn’t eat a

lot of greenery at all, he always made some type of salad to go

with a meal. Today he had made a macaroni salad with bacon

and cilantro and he knew from experience that the dish made

an interesting side accompaniment to the roasted venison.

Venison was such a strong meat, something that wolf shifters

adored, but the blandness of the macaroni, with the saltiness

of the bacon, in Dean’s mind at least, formed the perfect

counterpart.

Dean grabbed the bowl off of the bench and headed back out

to the dining table. In his absence the pack had arrived and he

was momentarily embarrassed as Kane looked up and smiled

at him. His Alpha was a big man, with long dark hair, a

handsome face and amazingly deep blue eyes.

“Dean,” Kane said those blue eyes warm and caring. “You’ve

done us proud this evening. Come and sit down. I want to

introduce you.”

Giving a small smile, but keeping his head down, Dean scurried

to his place at the table, and slipping into his seat next to Troy

and Anton. He would rather everyone just ignored him and got

on with their meal, but Kane had held his hand up and was

speaking.

“Okay everyone, these two men sitting at the end of the table

are Matthew Carmichael, and Josh Francis. Josh, Matthew, this

is Griff and Diablo, Troy and Anton, Jax, and Dean, our Omega,

and the one responsible for the wonderful meal this evening.”

Dean had to look up as his name was called. It would have

been rude not to. He had met Josh before, when Josh was still

working as an enforcer with the San Antonio pack and he

smiled quickly at the tall blond haired man, who was quick to

smile back. Dean didn’t get any negative vibes off the man.

Josh was good looking, and his open face was friendly, which

helped put Dean at ease.

Then Dean looked across at Matthew, and it was as though

time itself had stopped right in that moment. He couldn’t look

away. Matthew was a devastatingly handsome man. But it

wasn’t the man’s long, dark wavy hair, that caught Dean’s

attention, or the fact that the man was built. He had to be

almost as big as Damien, Troy’s brother-in-law and Alpha of

the San Antonio pack. No, it was Matthew’s eyes that held him

captive. Deep, dark and full of a hunger that Dean had seen

too often in his past. He wasn’t sure he liked it.

As he watched, transfixed, Matthew sniffed the air discretely,

and if anything the hunger in his eyes grew. Without thinking

of the consequences, Dean did the same thing, and there,

amongst the scent of his pack members, was the tantalizing

smell of cinnamon, vanilla and aroused wolf. Having met Josh

before, and not even registering his scent, Dean knew the

smell had to be coming from Matthew. His body immediately

reacted and he wanted desperately to drop his eyes, but it was

as though Matthew held him in a trance.

“So Matthew, what do you do for a living?” Kane’s voice cut

across Dean’s confusion. Thankful for his Alpha’s timely

intervention, because Dean was seriously worried he would

embarrass himself by jumping Matthew’s solid frame and

humping the man, Dean immediately dropped his eyes and

focused on his food. Although his erection would not go down,

he was able to eat, keep his eyes on his plate, and tune out of

the conversations going on around him. His wolf was screaming

at him, but no one would know it, looking at his face.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Troy whispered, so the others at

the table wouldn’t hear him. “Are you okay?”

Dean flashed a quick smile at Troy, making sure he didn’t

include Matthew in his gaze. God, he didn’t know what he

would do if he caught that man’s eyes again. “I’m always

quiet,” he said to Troy.

Troy flicked a quick look down the table to where Matthew and

Josh were sitting. “Are either of our visitors worrying you in

any way?” He asked, keeping his voice low.

Dean quickly shook his head. He cared about Troy like a

brother and knew that the man always had his best interests at

heart. But he couldn’t talk to anybody about how he was

feeling at the moment. Not until he could sort it out for

himself.

“No, I’m good,” he said, still keeping his voice quiet. “Just a bit

tired, cooking all day, you know.”

“Its good food,” Anton said, from his position on the other side

of Troy. Dean grinned again, but knew he didn’t have to reply.

Anton, Troy’s mate, was almost as quiet as he was. The tall,

blond ex-black ops soldier never said very much to anyone at

the dinner table. Get him in a strategy meeting and a totally

different side of Anton emerged. The man was an excellent

soldier but lacked a few social skills. Dean could relate to that.

Troy was more like Josh in that he was blond and he had a

friendly, handsome face. Clear blue eyes shone from a fresh

face framed by shaggy blond hair, which Dean noticed Troy

was growing a little longer than normal. Troy was only six foot

tall but he was built like the fighter he was. As a Beta wolf, it

was in Troy’s genetics to want to protect and nurture his pack,

and Troy did both. It was his identical twin brother, Scott, who

was now mated to Damien and Dean knew how hard it was for

Troy when Scott moved to Texas. Now that he had Anton in

his life, it seemed that Troy was a lot happier.

Finishing the rest of his food in silence, Dean quickly cleared

his plate and stood up, planning to put his plate in the kitchen

and then escape to his bedroom. He could come back down

and clear up the plates when everyone had finished eating and

had left the table.

Shawn caught his eye as he headed out to the kitchen. “I’ll

clean up tonight, Dean,” he said with an understanding smile.

“You cooked, so it’s only fair.”

Nodding his thanks, and definitely not looking at anyone else,

Dean scooted through to the kitchen and then headed up the

back stairs to his room. Closing the door behind him, he went

across to his mirror and stared at his pale face. Auburn hair

hung around his face, his eyes a pale grey signifying his

Omega status, thin cheeks and high cheek bones. Dean knew

in the gay community he would be considered a twink because

of his size and his naturally submissive nature, but he wasn’t

pretty by any stretch of the imagination.

What Dean couldn’t help but wonder now, as he looked at his

reflection, was how the hell he could look so ordinary, when he

had just had the most momentous day of his life. He had met,

and scented, his mate, and now, he didn’t have the foggiest

clue what he was going to do about it. The fact that the man

was his new pack member was the least of his problems.

/~/~/~/~/

It had taken every ounce of Matthew’s control to keep his seat

when the sexy little Omega had walked into the dining room,

clutching his bowl of salad. Everything about the little man had

called to him. The way he walked, the shy way he ducked his

head and tried to keep himself invisible, even the way he ate

was adorable. Matthew was almost thankful that Kane had

interrupted his eye fucking of the little man when they were

first introduced. Dean’s pale grey eyes had eyed him like he

could devour him in one sitting, and Matthew knew exactly

why. Dean’s unique scent of tangy lemongrass underlain with

coconut set his blood boiling the moment he sniffed for it. Only

his mate, someone he had been waiting for, for more than one