“That’s Derek!” I said, both me and Payton perking up as we watched him talk with one of the bartenders. “He promised to come look for us.”

“So he’s a friend of yours?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah! He helped us get away from our clan. Our leader… Kent… He tried to stop Payton from leaving with me, but Derek fought him so we could get out of there.”

“H-he even gave us money,” Payton added.

“Yeah,” I said, and gave the phone back to Lucas. “Would it be all right if we… But you told us not to contact any of them…”

“You want to meet him?” Lucas guessed.

“I… I mean… But you said we’re not allowed, so… It’s fine. We just wish we could tell him we’re all right now. He’s probably worried…” I muttered.

Derek… I really wanted to see him, a familiar, friendly face, but… Rules were rules…

Lucas watched us with a light frown on his face, but then he let out a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Really?” I asked, perking up again. “It would mean so much to us. If we could just let him know we’ll be fine, and maybe… Maybe say a proper goodbye… He did so much for us, and I’d hate to let him think something bad happened to us.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but don’t go searching for him on your own,” Lucas told us sternly. “He isn’t technically banned from coming to my bar – yet – so… I can find him for you, and bring him here.”

“That would mean so much to us,” I said. “You’ve done so much for us already, so we hate to ask for one more favor, but… He did so much for us, too.”

“I’ll see if I can find him,” Lucas said.

“Thank you so much,” I said quietly, and he nodded.

“I should get going. I’ll contact you if I manage to find this Derek,” he said and stood up.

My heart dropped a little. “Oh, uh… Sure. And thanks again. For everything.”

“It’s all good. You two take care of each other, all right?” he said, and after both Payton and I nodded, he waved shortly, and left.

I could only watch after him until he vanished through a door behind the bar counter. I slouched back and let out a sigh. Even my omega was sad that the nice alpha had left. It had really wanted to say hi to his alpha… But I guess they just weren’t interested in us…

I felt Payton’s hand on mine, but I didn’t really want to look at him. I knew he could tell how sad and disappointed I was if I looked at him…

“At least we may get to see Derek again,” he said softly.

So he didn’t even have to see my face to tell I was disappointed…

“Yeah,” I said, and chose to be happy about that, so I sat back up and smiled. “I hope he’s all right. I really want to talk to him.”

“I’m worried that Kent is treating him horribly because he let us leave,” Payton said.

“Yeah, so do I…” I said in worry. I slouched back against my seat. “Now I feel terrible… I haven’t really thought about him, or how he’s doing…”

“At least he’s walking around, and he did seem fine,” Payton said.

“Yeah… Well, if Lucas can find him, we get to ask him if everything is all right,” I said. “I’m… I’d like to know how things are going with the clan…”

“Yeah… Anyway, we came here to have a fun night out, right?” Payton said, trying to act cheerful for me. “There’s a group of alphas there.”

I tried not to make it obvious when I glanced at the group he was talking about, but I was still too disappointed to find them interesting, so I turned back to Payton.

“Do you see anyone you’d want to say hi to?” I asked him.

He leaned back a little and shook his head, wrinkling his nose. “Not really.”

I chuckled a little, then sighed. “Me neither.”

“So… Do we still want to stay or…?”

I shrugged, but then pulled myself together. “Or we could stay for a bit and try to enjoy the night? We have a little bit of money now, too.”

“Sure,” he said. “I’m not in a hurry to go back home.”

“Yeah,” I said cheerfully. “And later we can go get those hot dogs we never got.”

“Oh my god, yes,” Payton groaned.

“And when we get back home, we can go see if there’s any ice cream left,” I added.

Now that cheered us both.

We actually did have fun. Neither of us wanted to try alcohol, but Lana made us a few non-alcoholic drinks. She also gave us a large bowl of salted peanuts, which were quickly becoming my favorite snacks. We did check out a lot of alphas, especially the mafiosos, and had fun trying to spot the perfect ones. Most of them were quite old already, but there were also plenty of younger ones, too. A few of the non-mafiosos did try to come say hi to us – to Payton specifically – but neither of us felt like giving any of them a chance. A few seemed reluctant to take no for an answer, but they did end up giving up without a fight.

I did let myself feel discouraged by their lack of interest in me for a little bit… Because maybe there just wasn’t a true mate for me… Or a mate at all. I couldn’t even get pregnant, so… Maybe I just had to get used to being alone.

I gave myself a moment to wallow in sadness before I pulled myself back together. I was nineteen. I had plenty of time to find my mate. And there still was a chance that… Maybe Lucas was just a busy man. He was a mafioso and a bar owner, after all, so I had to stay positive.

A few hours later, when we were heading back to the hotel, we went to get those hot dogs we’d been dreaming about for a while now. We got a little carried away and bought four of them with all our favorite toppings.

“So good…” Payton groaned a moment later with his mouth full of food.

I agreed with him. We kept walking while we ate, too hungry to wait until we got back home. The hot dogs were so good that I even forgot to be sad about Lucas. Better food, better mood, as my mom used to say.

The hotel was just a few blocks down the street, but we’d finished our first hot dogs by the time we arrived at the main entrance. The backdoor was so annoying to get to from this side of the building, so we decided to use the door behind the desk instead.

We were halfway through the lobby, waving at the woman behind the computer, when the elevator opened behind us. Loud yelling filled the otherwise quiet lobby, and we all turned to see a drunken couple stepping out of the elevator, fighting with each other. Payton immediately got scared and took a few steps back to the door. I could feel his omega’s distress.

“I told you! I’m just getting a pack of smokes!” the man slurred and shoved the woman away quite harshly.

“Fucking liar! I know you’re getting more beer!” she yelled once she’d managed to get back in balance. “I told you to stop drinking already! We have a meeting tomorrow!”

“Who cares!” the man yelled, and grabbed her by her arm when she tried to stop him.

It was clear things were about to escalate. I wouldn’t have really cared, but they were scaring Payton. I didn’t really stop to think when I shoved our bag of hot dogs to Payton and marched to the couple. I heard him calling my name in fear, but I ignored it.

“Hey! No fighting!” I shouted on my way to the couple. “And keep your voice down!”

“I’m not fighting! This crazy hag isn’t letting me go get smokes!” the man shouted at me, and pushed the screeching woman away again.

“You both need to calm down right now!” I said sternly. “We’ll call the security if you don’t!”

“I just want my smokes!” the man said, but quieter this time, and turned to glare at the seething woman.

“He’s going to get more booze! But whatever! I’m done with this drunk!” she said angrily, but she, too, was quieter now.

“What?” the man suddenly said and blinked at her.

“You heard me! I’m done!” she said, and marched back to the elevator.

“But… But honey…” the man said and hurried after her.

I chose not to follow them. I stood there, watching as they got into the elevator. The man’s attitude had completely changed now. Once they were gone, I wished them both luck, and turned around.

Sabine had appeared out of nowhere and just stood there, watching me in silence. Payton hugged our hot dogs a few steps behind her, looking timid and pale.

“Sorry,” I said with a grin. “They were just arguing over smokes…”

“You know you should leave these things to our security,” Sabine said. “You could get yourself hurt if you try to deal with them on your own.”

“It was just a married couple's problems,” I said with a shrug.

“Still. You never know what they can do, especially when they’re drunk or on drugs,” she said.

“Sorry… I’ll be more careful…” I muttered.

“Good,” she said sternly, and stepped closer to me. “But I do admit, you’re quite something.”

“Uh… Thanks,” I said.

“But don’t do it again,” she said, shaking her finger at me. “Now. Go home. I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and hurried past her to grab Payton’s hand.

I could still feel her eyes on me as we hurried to the door behind the front desk, but I didn’t dare to look back. Payton stayed silent all the way until we were in our apartment and the door was closed.

“She was right, you know,” he spoke, his voice and posture still timid.

“Thankfully, everything went fine,” I told him soothingly, and hugged him gently. “I couldn’t let them keep scaring you.”

He tensed a little, but then relaxed, and hugged me back with one arm. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. You’re the only one I have left…”

Oh, his voice was so small and shivering that it broke my heart…

“I’ll never leave you. You know that. And I promise, I’ll be more careful,” I told him. “I just want to protect you.”

He sniffed a little, then nodded. “Just don’t get hurt, please…”

“I promise, I’ll be more careful,” I repeated gently, and hugged him tightly. “Come. I’m still hungry, and those hot dogs smell divine…”

He nodded and straightened his posture, his eyes still gleaming a little.

“We’re all right,” I told him with a smile.

He nodded and tried to smile as well. “You’re so much braver than I could ever be…” he murmured.

I chuckled lightly. “That’s because I want to protect you,” I said, touching his chin. “Now, food.”

He nodded and went to put the bag down on the table. I watched him with a smile for a little bit, then followed him.

To be honest… I couldn’t really understand what the fuss was about, but I guess they were right. Things could’ve turned out badly if that couple had been the wrong kind of people. I’d try to be more careful from now on, though I still needed to protect Payton.

Because he was the only person I had left, too.

*****

Ream subscribers can now read the newest Shaded Harem smut one shot! This time it's starring Joni and Payton, and it's an alternative universe version of Chapter 7, in which Payton helps Joni through his heat to the best of his ability, and things get hot and steamy in a fluffy way ;)

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