Chapter Seventeen
Liam held Ollie’s hand tightly as they stepped out onto the balcony. The lights up there had been lowered and, in the hour since they’d gone to get changed, things had really gotten started in the venue. The room downstairs was filling with people. Music was playing but under it was the excited chatter of the crowd.
He and Ollie were kitted out with radio headsets. Davyn was on the other end of Liam’s radio, down in the crowd. Ollie was working with one of the other shifters. Everyone seemed at ease, seemed to know what they were doing. Even Davyn sounded in an unusually good mood.
“He likes this part,” Ollie said in an undertone. “The humans get so excited about the whole thing. Plus, he gets propositioned a lot.”
Liam’s eyes went wide at that, but Ollie just shrugged. “We don’t find a match for everyone. Plenty of people will settle for some fun if they don’t find something more serious.”
“Do you ever…”
“Sometimes. With the right person, if you know what I mean.”
Liam was a little stunned at the idea of an omega taking the initiative like that, finding themselves not love but company, for a few hours, for a night.
They turned their attention to the floor, circling right around the balcony once while Ollie orientated him to the layout of the room, the zones, and the tables. There was a hurried revision of numbers which Liam had had only a vague idea of before the den but luckily Eve had taken the time to teach him a few weeks back.
And then they positioned themselves in one spot and just watched.
Liam stared down at the room, at all the people milling about, and felt overwhelmed. How could he do this? How could he see anything in this crowd, this noise, this chaos? He glanced up, briefly, and found Jensen watching him from the opposite balcony. There was a confidence in the alpha’s gaze that had Liam smiling and turning his eyes back to the crowd. This was no different to what he did back at the den.
He let himself get lost in the atmosphere, zoning out on the sounds of the music and the buzz of excitement. Distantly, he was aware of Ollie speaking into his microphone and staff moving through the crowd, taking people by the hand, and leading them across the room.
But Liam only had eyes for the humans in the crowd, drinking them in, looking for the telltale pull between two that meant something. The first connection he noticed was odd. He tapped Ollie on the shoulder.
“That guy in the red zone, cowboy hat. And the girl two seats away from him, with the feather in her hair.” From how everyone was talking and laughing, the group knew each other.
Ollie leaned over the railing to look, nodding slowly. “Yeah, well spotted. That’s more common than you think. Friends to lovers.”
“Oh.” Liam didn’t know there was a name for it.
“Well?” Ollie said. “Aren’t you going to radio it in? Don’t keep them waiting.”
“Oh, right.” He radioed Davyn, the other man snorting when Liam explained where the two people were. Liam kept his eyes on them, watching Davyn walk up to the guy with the cowboy hat and tap him on the shoulder before ushering him a step away. Liam saw the expression on the girl’s face fall until Davyn reached for her hand, placing it into the guy’s.
The two stared at each other, speechless, their friends watching. Then the guy grabbed her, spinning her around and yelling. “I knew it!” Laughing, she kissed him.
One down, many to go.
At some point, Liam stopped checking the connections he found with Ollie. He was just so certain of what he was seeing with his own eyes that he found himself radioing Davyn almost on autopilot.
The reactions were different each and every time. At one point, there were tears from one girl as she was pushed face to face with a guy who seemed starstruck. At first, Liam was panicking. Had he made a mistake? But after a moment he realized she was crying because she was happy. Did people do that? Cry because they were so very happy that it brought them to tears?
Jensen pulled him aside for a break after two hours, handing Liam a glass of something cool and sweet that he chugged down in a few gulps. After, there was a wrap filled with chicken and salad that he munched down, finding himself ravenous.
“I should get back out there,” he said, cleaning his fingers on a napkin and pushing to his feet.
“Stay with me a minute,” Jensen asked. Liam moved to sit back down but the alpha caught hold of him tugging him into his arms. It was a lovely feeling, being held. Not restrained, not trapped, but comforted, protected, shielded.
“Liam.” Eve’s quiet voice interrupted them a few minutes later.
“I’m coming,” he said, detaching from Jensen.
“Only a few hours to go,” the alpha said into his ear, helping him up. “And if you need another break, just say the word.”
The room was by no means empty but it was emptier than it had been at the start. People who matched were encouraged into an adjoining room, leaving those unmatched together. Everyone there was aware that the chances of being matched varied hugely depending on who was there at any given event. Eve had shown him the statistics over the two decades they’d been operating. They were popular because they were successful. There was no such thing as guaranteed love or happiness but the people they brought together were more likely to have lasting relationships.
He went back out, taking a position on the opposite side so he could get a new view of the room. Ollie was a few feet away, straddling a chair he’d grabbed from somewhere. Liam’s aching feet made him think Ollie had the right idea. He turned to search out a chair of his own only to find Jensen a step ahead of him, chair in hand. He sat, setting his folded arms on the railing, and resting his chin on them. In some ways, with fewer people, his job was easier. But in others, it was tougher. They’d weeded out the more obvious connections and were now looking for ones that were harder to see.
“You can’t force it,” Ollie called over to him. “You risk seeing connections that aren’t there, that you see just because you want to. Relax and let it come to you.”
Ollie dragged his chair over and they sat side-by-side, double-checking the next few connections with each other.
Liam’s eyes were growing tired and he let them close for a moment. He woke to a hand stroking his cheek, Jensen’s scent filling his nose.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” Liam said, yawning widely, and sitting up. “Have I been asleep long?”
“Only a few minutes. There’s one last thing the matchmakers usually do, just to be sure they haven’t missed anything. Only I’m not sure you’re feeling up to it.”
Liam sat up straighter. “What’s that?”
“A walkthrough,” Ollie said from behind him. “We walk through the crowd and see if there’s anyone we missed. It’s fun and we’ll have people with us the whole time.”
Liam nodded eagerly. He wanted to be down there, in the crowd, feeling their energy, their excitement. He turned to Jensen. “You’ll be there, right?”
“Of course.”
Downstairs, they slipped in quietly through different doors so as not to attract attention. The atmosphere was a little more subdued than it had been initially, some of the excitement having faded as fewer and fewer matches were made. Liam stuck close to Ollie, Jensen a few steps behind them.
At first, the noise was overwhelming, and he grabbed hold of the back of Ollie’s shirt. The other omega slowed to a stop, and they just looked around the room for a while. Ollie seemed to see something and darted away through the crowd toward the green zone. Liam was about to follow when someone caught his eye and he found himself drifting toward the blue lights. There was a girl sitting at a table, a drink in front of her. She was looking around, a smile on her face. But Liam could see the smile didn’t reach her eyes and she struggled to keep it in place. Every so often, the mask would crack, her face falling into a frown before she caught herself. Keeping up a brave face.
Liam walked right up to her, feeling confident knowing Jensen was only a few steps behind.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” Her smile was bright but dimmed quickly.
“Have you been here before?” he asked her.
She nodded, her voice cracking a little as she spoke. “It’s my fifth time, third city. I just want it so much. A fool and her money, huh?”
“Not a fool,” Liam replied, simultaneously flashing his staff wristband while reaching for her hand. “Someone who believes in love.”
Her eyes went wide, and she started to shake as she took his hand.
They crossed the room to a corner of the dance floor where a man was leaning against a pillar. There came a point where the only person they could have been walking to was him and he straightened up, looking from him to the woman in surprise.
“Is that him?” she whispered.
“That’s him,” he replied. “Ready?”
“So ready.” She threw a grin his way and closed the distance between her and the man. They both looked back to Liam who gave them a thumbs up before crossing his hands over his heart. The connection between them was like the undercurrent of a river. You wouldn’t feel it by dipping your toes in but wade right into the water and you’d be caught. He hoped it would work out for them.
Jensen was at his shoulder when he turned around. Arm in arm, they circled the room, meeting up with Ollie on the other side, next to the dance floor. The other omega was giving a final few glances around but shook his head. He wasn’t seeing anything else. Liam was the same.
“Are we done?” he asked, shouting a little to be heard over the music. “I can’t see anyone else.”
“I can see one more,” Ollie replied.
“Where?” Liam asked, glancing left and right.
“Right here.” Ollie poked a finger against Liam’s chest, taking his hand, turning him around and placing his hand into Jensen’s. “There, we’re done.”
Liam giggled, Ollie’s playfulness infectious.
The music changed, a new song starting, and an eager Ollie tugged him toward the dance floor. Jensen’s hand slipped from his grasp and Liam glanced over his shoulder, looking for him. The alpha was right there, reaching for him.
Ahead of them, Ollie started dancing, quickly finding himself a partner. Liam watched him with fascination, he’d never seen that kind of dancing before. Or much dancing at all. Jensen’s hands sliding around his waist startled him and he whirled around to face the alpha.
“Would you like to dance?” Jensen offered.
Liam nodded breathlessly. He didn’t have to worry about not knowing what to do. Jensen’s arms encircled him, tugging him closer, and the alpha started to move. Liam moved with him, focusing on matching his rhythm since he couldn’t see what the alpha was doing with his feet.
“Don’t think. Just feel the music,” Jensen murmured into his ear. Liam closed his eyes and did just that.
The music switched to something slower and Liam crowded closer. He felt emboldened after everything and lifted his head, looking into Jensen’s eyes.
“Will you be my alpha, my mate?”
Jensen stopped moving, staring back at him. He cupped Liam’s cheek. “I would like nothing more.”
He pressed a kiss to Liam’s lips.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll be your alpha. I want you to be my omega, more than anything I’ve ever wanted.”
Liam opened his mouth to reply but all that escaped him was a cry of happiness as tears slid down his cheeks.