“You did this deliberately, rescheduling my visit so I’d be forced to come along to this…thing.” He flung his hand at the dance floor. “We’ve been here for freaking hours, and it feels like every omega in the building has stopped by to say hello. What the hell is all this about?”
“It’s Omega Night,” Bullet grinned, not at all upset with Cord’s attitude. “A chance for you to meet and mingle with some cute little omegas, or not so little if you’re that way inclined. Frankton has a very active and supportive omega community. I knew they’d be interested in you, the little darlings.”
“Why?” Cord rubbed his head. “Why would anyone here be interested in me? They don’t even know me.”
“That’ll be part of your appeal.” Bullet smiled and nodded at a cute guy with pink highlights in his hair who sashayed past and flicked him a wink. “Look at how many people came over to say hello. You’re a hit, or you would be if you did something more than sitting there and brooding. Tall, dark, and mysterious looking will only get you so far. At some point, you need to talk to someone.”
“What did I ever do to you?” Cord groaned, resisting the urge to bang his head on the bar counter. At least that was solid, which was more than he could say for his current friendship, which was veering onto shaky ground. “I’m not one for dancing and schmoozing.”
Bullet leaned in close. “You can’t live as a recluse for the rest of your life,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I know that lastmission we were on was rough on you more than anyone, but you have to learn to put those things behind you, otherwise you’ll go feral. Me and the boys were talking about it, and seriously, you need to get out more. Start looking for that special someone in your life.”
“I had someone special. Look where that got me,” Cord muttered. Although thinking about what Rapid had done didn’t hurt as much as it had.
“No, you fell for the first conniving asshole who was blown away by the size of your bank balance during a time when you were the most vulnerable. You gave into one fuck, and he thought he was set up for life. He spent the next six months turning you inside out just to get his own way.” Bullet pushed closer. “Rapid’s gone. He got transferred out of the team, and he’s someone else’s problem now. In the meantime, you’ve got a lot of love to give a genuinely special person.”
“I don’t know…” Cord looked over at the dancefloor. Everyone seemed to be having such a good time.
“Look, no one’s asking you to get your cock out,” Bullet said. “In fact, that sort of thing is frowned on at an Omega Hearts event. The whole point of these meet and greets is that omegas get the chance to meet up with and chat with alphas in a safe setting. If an alpha wants to see a particular omega again, then they have to arrange a date with them.”
Cord frowned. “Why would any omega want to date an alpha who wasn’t their mate?”
“It’s called networking, you fool.” Bullet chuckled. “They get to be taken out, usually for a meal which the alpha pays for, confident in the knowledge that they will be protected by their date for the evening. Most alphas are part of a larger friend group, like us and our team, and an omega would date us if theyfound us interesting, and wanted to meet those friends. Face it, alphas do the same thing. We all want to meet up with new people in the hopes that one of them might be a mate.”
“It would be nice to find my mate,” Cord agreed. Realizing he was rubbing his chest, he quickly dropped his hand into his lap. “I just don’t see how I could possibly scent one person with so many people here.”
“Sitting at the bar and brooding isn’t the way to go about it. That’s why you have to mingle, my reluctant friend.” Bullet pulled him to his feet before Cord realized what was happening. “We dance, we sniff, we have a bit of fun. Honestly, it’s not that difficult.”
“I do know how to dance.” But Cord let himself be tugged along, finding himself in the middle of a group of omegas of all genders who were dancing and having fun.
He made a point of not dancing with any individual in particular, noticing Bullet did the same. Cord knew what it was like to be led on, and he wouldn’t put anyone else through that hurt. When someone danced just a little too close, he would smile, close his eyes and turn to the side. A couple of feet shuffles, and he was dancing with another group of people.
Alphas and omegas were evenly matched in numbers, which again was surprising. Maybe there was something special about Frankton after all. Unlike the alphas Cord had come across in the past, who usually bristled and tried to flood another alpha with their own pheromones as a means of proving their strength and power, the alphas at the Omega Hearts event were all friendly and intent on their own good time. The fact they were doing that around so many omegas was a shock in itself.
And fun. Cord was surprised at how much fun it was to dance and not have to worry if he was making a good impression ornot. Quietly musing about Bullet’s smug grin and how he was likely to be teased rotten when they left, Cord stumbled and fell lightly against another smaller man.
“I am so sorry,” he said quickly, making sure he hadn’t knocked the pert man to the floor. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine.” The omega’s smile was wide. An otter shifter, if Cord wasn’t mistaken, with a love of pink highlights. Cord recognized the man as the one who’d winked at Bullet earlier.
The sniff was a habit. And then Cord sniffed again. The omega’s scent was pleasant enough, but that wasn’t what had Cord’s wolf snapping forward in an effort to get out. It was the other scent that lingered on the man’s shoulder. “This is going to sound like the weirdest question, and I apologize in advance, but…” he sniffed again. “Have you been sitting close to someone recently?”
Chapter Three
“Sitting close to someone and you like that scent enough to ask about it?” The attractive blond tapped his chin, and then his eyes widened. “Hang on a minute.” Holding onto Cord’s arm, he turned, scanning the crowd. “Tristan. Tristan, come here quick.”
Another small man with a mass of blond curls ducked around the dancers, coming closer. “What’s up, Cece? Why are you hanging onto that alpha as if you’re scared he’s going to run off? That’s not how mating works.”
“No. No. He’s not mine. I don’t think he’s yours either. Stand next to me, shoulder to shoulder.” Tristan stood at Cece’s side. They were of similar height. “No, the other side.” Rolling his eyes, Tristan ducked around Cece’s other side. “Now sniff in between us,” Cece ordered, pointing between himself and his friend as though it wasn’t obvious enough.
Cord leaned forward in Tristan’s direction, wondering if he was about to be hit over the head, or if this was part of some hazing ritual he’d never heard of before.Not him.Then he checked Cece’s scent again.Not him, either.Then Cord focused on the scent where the two men’s shoulders were rubbing together. His wolf jumped forward so fast that Cord had to step back.
“That one,” he stammered, waving his hand up and down in the air. “Bullet, I need a hand here.” Despite the merriment going on obliviously around them, he didn’t have to yell. “Bullet?”
“Right here. Stand down. Settle.” Bullet’s hand landed solidly on his shoulder, giving Cord the grounding he needed. “What’s up? You got a scent?” He looked between Tristan and Cece. “Which one? Both of them?”
“No. No. No disrespect, but no.” Cord shook his head. He couldn’t believe the sensations running through his body. “The third one. The one in the middle.”
Okay. That probably sounded like Cord was totally spaced out because Bullet, Cece, and Tristan all laughed. “If you’re talking about a third person in the middle, they must be really, really tiny,” Bullet said when he’d recovered. “Do I need to take you in to get your eyes checked?”
