Angus laughed softly, murmuring, “I missed you too, dolt,” before I heard them exchange a quick kiss.
I was missing the introductions but didn’t care. After a couple of minutes, though, I withdrew, aware I was being rude.
Everyone had gathered in front of the house. I thought that, even if the seven omegas hadn’t congregated apart from the three therapists, I would have been able to tell who they were. Something about them called to me. That was the only way I could explain it.
Grabbing my hand, David said, “Come on!” and I had just enough time to turn to Colt and point my finger at him, warning, “Don’t you go anywhere,” before David propelled me toward the newcomers.
“I thought you were the shy one,” I said to him, amused.
“That’s why I need you with me,” David whispered back.
When we approached, all seven of the omegas stopped talking and turned to stare at us.
“You’re omegas, too,” the tallest boy said. Not reallyboy—all of them were only a few years younger than David and I were—eighteen or so.
Nodding, I said, “I’m Ben Angel, and this is David Angel.”
“Are you brothers? You don’t look alike,” another of the young men said. I guessed him to be Japanese-American, and whenthe boy beside him spoke and I turned my attention to him, I realized they were identical twins.
“That sounded rude, but Riku is just curious. I’m Ren. You can probably tell we’re brothers.” He smiled crookedly. I immediately liked him.
“That’s okay,” I said. “David and I are friends who mated into the same family.” I gestured to where Angus, Colt, and Maddox stood talking with Laura, Nova, Eric, and three others I guessed were the therapists. “The older man with the dark hair and the man beside him wearing a blue shirt are Angus and Colt, my mates. The more muscled guy in the khaki shirt is Maddox, David’s mate and Angus’s grandson.”
“Two mates?” a fourth omega asked, looking at me with pretty doe eyes. He was almost as tall as the first one and had wavy, nearly black hair underneath a blue baseball cap and skin the color of an acorn. He wore a Yankees t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and a beat-up pair of navy Converse.
I felt myself blush. “Yeah. Alphas.”
The boy’s mouth dropped open. “Both of them?”
I nodded, and the tallest boy said, “I’m Campbell. You can call me Camp. Mr. Nosey there is Solomon. This little one is Elliott,” he gestured to the shortest boy among them, who grinned at us. He was cute, with dark blond hair that kept falling into his inquisitive green eyes.
“Elliott Rittenhouse the Third,” he said, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms over it. He held the pose only a few seconds before deflating and falling into laughter. “I know, big name for someone my size.”
I smiled back at him. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Zeke Ballinger.” Another young man stepped forward and shook David’s and my hand in turn. He was slightly taller than I was, athletically built with broad shoulders and a slim waist, andhad hair the color of the dark bay horse David had been petting a few moments ago.
“And I’m Keane Thompson,” a studious-looking young man beside Zeke said. Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing blue jeans, but a pressed pair of brown pants coupled with a button-down tan shirt and shiny loafers—not exactly the proper attire for a ranch. The wire-framed glasses he wore over his dark eyes completed his conservative look.
Maddox called us over, and we were introduced to Dallas Murphy, Gail Lindstrom, and Ace Winters, the three therapists, before we all trooped inside to sit in the newly renovated and furnished living room where refreshments had been set out.
My attention was drawn to Ace because he was bigger than Maddox, both in height and breadth. He also had an intricate tattoo on his neck that was really cool.
Later, when Eric took the three therapists to see their cabins, Angus asked, “See something about that beta you liked?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Not exactly. He had a cool tattoo.”
Angus grumbled something, and Colt leaned in and said, “Don’t forget whose initials are tattooed on each side of your cock.”
“Colt!” Shocked, but still laughing, I pushed him away. “Are you kidding me? You two are jealous!”
Standing, Laura asked the group, “Are you guys ready to see where you’ll be living?”
Elliott looked worried. “We aren’t going to be separated, are we?”
“No, no. There is a large, communal cabin where all of you can stay together,” Laura assured them.
All seven omegas appeared relieved at that.