Manix by Grace McGinty

8

Naja

No sane human being could function at four a.m. especially when they were only functioning on three hours sleep. But here I was. Travel mug filled with the strongest coffee known to man, a whole bag of snacks, and breakfast for a hungry toddler, and I was set.

I loaded up the car, leaving Luisa asleep in her crib for as long as possible. Then I grabbed a groggy but still sweet-as-pie little girl, and strapped her into her carseat. I’d strap her to my back for the morning, and we should be done by eleven. Then we could come home, curl up on the couch, and watch princess movies for the rest of the day. At least until I had to head to the club tonight.

I sighed, already exhausted. I hit the remote on the garage door, and when it rolled up, a figure was standing there. I jumped, squeaking out a screech of surprise before the figure stepped into the garage.

Gatlin.

“Jesus fucking Christ, asshole. It’s four in the morning. You scared the shit out of me.”

He bowed his head. “Apologies, Omega. I was just checking that you were okay.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I have to go to work, because some assholes robbed me of an entire night of tips last night. So now I have to be up at the asscrack of dawn, working with a toddler, because you guys decided you needed me so you just took me.”

Yep, I was fucking pissy when I hadn’t had coffee.

“I apologize again,” he said, and I huffed.

Striding toward the driver's seat, I just growled. “Whatever. Stop apologizing. I just need to get to work.”

Gatlin did an elaborate whistle, and then Seven appeared, silhouetted by the street light. “We shall come with you,” the Alpha said, and I froze.

“Uh, no. Thank you.” But Seven was already sliding into the back seat with Luisa. “You guys don’t do ‘no’ very well, do you?”

Gatlin stared down at me, his face unreadable. “Your scent is nearly unbearably strong now. If there are any hunting parties lower down in the mountains, they will scent you. I would feel better if you were protected at your workplace.”

“I’d feel better if she just stayed home with the doors locked,” Seven said, but he said it in a high-pitched cooing voice as Luisa, suddenly wide awake, babbled at him incomprehensibly. He looked toward me. “I think she likes me.”

I groaned and started the car, backing out of the garage. “Fine, but you guys loiter out of the way. I don’t need my boss knowing you guys are stalking me, and then getting it in her head to call the cops or something. Even better, pretend you’re florists or some shit.”

Seven snorted but no one argued. I looked at them in their jeans and tees, and I had to agree with him. No one was going to believe that they were florists.

We drove up to Missoula, and the early morning traffic was non-existent. I sipped my coffee, feeling less murderous by the second. But with the caffeination came the scent of the guys, and by the time we pulled up to the markets, I was actually sweating.

Grabbing my tote bag and the baby carrier, I reached into the back of the car for Luisa who had been wooing the gruff Manix the whole way here. Knowing the drill, she moved with me as I slipped the harness around from the front to the back. I reached into the bag and gave her a yogurt pouch, and looked up to see both men staring at me.

“It's time for you two to make yourself scarce,” I pointed out. Gatlin looked between me and the baby carrier on my back.

“We can watch your cub for you, if you’d like?”

I scoffed, picking up my tote and swinging it over my shoulder. “Gee, should I leave my toddler with two strange men? That's a tough one. Uh, no.” I walked toward the market’s rear entrance. “I finish at eleven, then I intend to go home and nap on the couch until the sitter gets there at nine tonight. Then I’ve gotta go to the club. So you guys can, I don’t know, clock out or something. I promise no one’s going to steal me from the middle of the flower market.”

Gatlin narrowed his eyes at me. “To insinuate we would do anything to your child is abhorrent. A child’s life is worth more than ten adult lives in our society. They are the future. Years of potential. We would lay down our lives for her protection.”

My heart thudded in my chest. “Luisa isn’t Manix, remember?”

Gatlin shook his head once, viciously. “Doesn’t matter.”

I paused at the doorway. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

He waved a hand. “You didn't know. Not just humans have innate cruelty to their young. Even shifters can be vicious with children.”

I swallowed hard, pushing back memories. “You have no idea.”

I disappeared inside the doorway, closing it softly and taking a breath. Walking quickly to Tasmin’s stand, I saw she was already busy unloading her trolley of flowers from the back of her truck.

She smiled when she saw me. “Hey, girl. Hey, cutie,” she cooed at Luisa. “Big delivery today. Some high society wedding up in the mountains. Their florist is coming to pick us over so I brought the best blooms I could find. I want to beat out that dickhole Henry’s peonies. We both know mine are better than those sickly little plops.” She waved a few of the aforementioned blooms like a scepter.

I grabbed them and put them in a bucket. “Well, we better get the rest of this unloaded then,” I prompted before she could start a rant about Henry the flower farmer. Or as Tamsin liked to call him, Henry the flower fucker. Which was good alliteration but not exactly anatomically possible.

We worked for the next hour, loading up Tamsin’s stall and making it perfect. She’d gotten the inside scoop that the bride wanted pink and white blooms, so that’s exactly what we were, a sea of taffy-colored confection.

Then the doors opened and there was no more time to think as I got to work, taking money, talking to customers, and feeding Luisa. I was so lucky that she was happy to just watch the bustle of the morning market with its bright colors and noises. Eventually, she fell asleep against my back, exhausted from the early morning and the constant activity. It wasn’t the first time I’d brought her, but I preferred not to drag her around if I could help it. Once again, I was so fucking grateful for her. She made it hard, but she also made life worth something. I’d be lost if I didn’t have her, or if we were still stuck in Mexico with him.

It was about nine a.m. when I felt eyes on me. I searched the market, but it was bustling, just like Tamsin promised. I tilted my nose to the air and I could smell them. Manix.

As if the action was an invitation, Raiden appeared in front of me. His pouty lips were turned up in a smile, and even his eyes were smiling. He was happy to see me, and though I would never admit it, I was kind of happy to see him too. “Naja.”

Tamsin stopped, whistling through her teeth. “Are you here to check out the flowers or the girl?” she asked, but there was no accusation in her tone.

Raiden grinned, and even I could admit it was enough to make any red-blooded woman swoon. “The girl. I’m trying to convince her to come on a date with me.”

Tamsin fanned herself, but I noticed Raiden left out that the date would probably turn into an orgy. Actually, no. That would only encourage Tamsin more.

My boss just nodded. “Fair enough. She could use some fun.” Then she walked away to serve another customer, the traitor.

I rolled my shoulders, the weight of Luisa on my back starting to make my muscles ache. Raiden’s blue eyes watched the movement carefully, his brows drawn together in a frown. “I can hold her. I promise I’ll stand just there where you can see me, and it will give you both a break.” He pointed to the little stool where we normally sat and had a rest in the mornings if things slowed down. I hesitated, but he was right.

A part of me inherently trusted Raiden—hell, trusted them all. And that was part of the reason I was so hesitant. You couldn’t trust people, no matter what your gut said. Prepare for betrayal and hope for the best.

Luisa squirmed, and I knew she wanted out. A two-year-old wasn’t meant to stay still for so long, and her legs needed a break. I chewed my lip a little more, weighing up whether it was worth the risk. In the end, Luisa made the decision for me, squirming and reaching out to Raiden, this perfect freaking stranger to her.

He grinned at me, shrugging. “It’s an Omega thing,” he said, and I sighed in defeat.

“Fine. But just there. You don’t move anywhere else with her. Got it?”

He crossed his heart and held out his hands. As I unclipped her, Luisa launched herself into Raiden’s arms. He laughed and tossed her in the air, catching her easily but still making me want to scream. She giggled too, and something in my heart shattered. I didn’t play with her enough. It was all work to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Paying the sitter. Keeping the heat and electricity on. There was never enough time to just play.

I was a shit mother.

“Hey, stop.” Raiden was looking at me now, his hand halfway to my face like he’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to touch me. “You’re doing the best you can, and that is enough.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked rapidly. Huh. Pollen must be bad today.

Nodding at Raiden, I went back to work, keeping half an eye on him. He’d gotten her a snack from my tote and was feeding it to her, listening to her babble a million miles a minute, her little hands flailing as she jumped and bounced wildly.

I got through a few more sales, straightening haphazardly strewn flowers, until another scent stopped me.

Manix. But not one I knew, not that I was an expert on their scents or anything. I looked up, and continued looking up. The man in front of me had to be close to seven feet tall, and he was just as broad. He was like a mountain, craggy and rough like one too. His lip had a scar—or maybe it was a sneer—pulling it up.

“I thought my Beta was lying, but here you are. I can scent you myself. A female Omega. An impossibility.”

Raiden was in front of me in a second, thrusting Luisa into my arms and pushing us both behind him.

“You aren’t wanted here, Wilkie,” he growled, and it was kind of impressive.

But the big Alpha—because there was no doubt to me that this monster was an Alpha—laughed in his face. “No one asked you, Omega. Though, I wouldn’t mind a two-for-one if I can. Save your sister from having to take so much cock all the time.”

Raiden paled but his jaw tensed. “Not if you were the last fucking living being on the planet, you Neanderthal.”

Just as suddenly as Wilkie had appeared, so did three other Manix I didn’t know. I jumped as gentle hands grabbed me from behind. “Come, Naja,” Ellar whispered, and I went with him. I was relieved to see Gatlin and Seven appear from between the flowers.

I looked over at Tamsin, whose wide, confused eyes held fear. I could never come back to this place, to this job. I was relieved to see Henry the flower farmer in front of her though, protecting her with the huge bulk of his body. He wasn’t as huge or as powerfully built as a Manix, but he was fit and strong for a human. It was a weird thing to fixate on as Ellar hustled me out of the market.

They’d been right, and I’d been too arrogant to see it.

“A little further, Omega. It will be okay,” Gatlin murmured from behind me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Raiden rested a hand on my spine as they led me to my car. “Seven, take the van with Ellar and head back to Naja’s house. We will meet you there. Raiden, in the front with me. Finlo in the back with Naja and the babe.”

No one questioned him, everyone just jumping to do what they were told. Even me. I strapped Luisa into her seat, noting that she’d gone silent and still. It was a throwback to our old life, and I fucking hated it. Hated everything about it, and I wanted to scream.

I slid into the car, belting myself in as Finlo slipped in the other side. Gatlin and Raiden slipped into the front, and seconds later we were tearing out of the parking lot of the market. I wanted to cry but I held my shit together—I would cry later when I was alone, and no one would see my weakness. Finlo looked behind us, his eyes taking in everything, but eventually they settled on me and then Luisa.

He reached out a hand and placed it on her tiny body. She looked like a newborn in comparison. I could feel the swell of his Alpha power, the one that promised protection, and her tiny stiff body finally relaxed.

So did mine. He reached across the carseat and grabbed my hand. “It truly is okay, Omega. Wilkie is an arrogant fuck, but he won’t chase us down. He might try to steal you, but he won’t break the rules to do so.”

That was not as reassuring as he thought it was.