“Makes sense.” Jackal said, not looking away from his work. He knew about my colour blindness since we were kids. I would watch him draw and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between green and red. No one really listened though, and itwasn’t until I managed to create a pack with Severen and Halo that I finally saw a specialist to confirm what we already knew.
“She met someone,” I said, my throat dry. “An alpha. She wants to get to know him. Says she’s drawn to him.” Maybe I was sort of hedging the story, but it felt too big to get into the whole heart transplant angle. And maybe I wanted the unconditional sympathy of someone who wasn’t directly involved in the whole situation.
This time, Jackal did risk a glance away from his work. His distantly familiar toasted sugar scent was an immediate comfort. It brought me back to pillow forts and loud music in big cupped headphones that engulfed my ears and drowned out the yelling. “Oh, man…”
“His eyes are blue.” Jackal was the only person I admitted that too. “His eyes are nearly as shocking and captivating to me as Skye’s. I can’t help but think that’s a sign. Like maybe he’s supposed to, I don’t know… join us?”
“Is he hot?” Jac smirked.
“I don’t normally go for guys, but he’s not bad to look at, I guess. I just…” My words trailed off.
“I get it. Alpha jealousy and possessiveness, or opening up a pack can get messy.”
“Yeah, and Severen’s been a real alphahole lately,” I muttered.
Jac lifted the tattoo gun from my skin and looked at me, his eyes dark.
“Everything okay?” he asked, older brother protective instincts thick in his voice.
“Everything’s fine. It’s nothing like that. He’s just been pulling back. Withdrawing. And omegas need affection, especially Skye, right now.”
“Well, then you have three options. Smother Skye in love, to make up for what she’s missing from Severen. Keep going like this. Or challenge Severen for position of pack lead.”
I scoffed. “So, two options, then.”
“I mean…”
“Severen is a good pack lead. We’re just hitting a fucked up rough spot right now. That’s all.”
“What about the new guy?” Jac asked.
I let out a long breath. “I want Skye to be happy. If he makes her happy, then… I gotta learn to get along with him, I guess.”
“So, what? Are you supposed to court him or something? Like he was an omega?”
I snorted. “No way.”
We fell into comfortable silence, punctured only by the relentless buzz of the tattoo gun. I liked the pain, the feeling of the needle breaking through my skin. I found it therapeutic, like when I had given blood.
“So, how did you meet your omega?” I asked.
“Concert. Scent match. Few months back.”
“She looks like she suits you.” A lazy drawl threaded through my words.
“Oh, man, you have no idea,” Jackal chuckled. “She’s an artist like us, and we taught her how to use her body as a canvas. Made her a straight up exhibitionist.”
“Really?” My brows went up. “Let us know when her next show is.”
“Absolutely.”
The gun fell silent and Jackal wiped down my arm. “Alright, bro, you’re done.”
He applied Saniderm to the area, and walked me to a full length mirror to see his work.
The blue was vibrant, with different shades simulating highlights and shadows. Dark, inky blues, almost black shone like oil on the crow’s wings. The blue bird was rendered in a fairly realistic way, while the crow was an abstract swish of brush-like markings, giving the impression of a blackbird notquite realized or given form, a shadow cast by the blue bird. The heart monitor line was firm, straight, and thin as electrical wire on a telephone pole, a perfect perch for any bird.
“It’s perfect.” I turned to Jackal. “Thanks, Jac,”
