Counting Stars

Chapter 7

Brian had been surprised at first when he jumped into the car to find Jesse in the driver's seat, though it looked like the other Omega had finished his heat in time to tag along for the party, and to now give them all a lift. Unsure of where exactly they were going and the silence from Vince and Dom, the blonde managed a smile in greeting to the other, relaxing a little bit more at the return nod.

The silence was left unbroken with a still fuming Vince in the front seat and a worryingly quiet Dominic next to him in the back. As Jesse pulled up near the place Tran had led Dom and him to after the race and destroyed his car, the blonde paused in the process of getting out of the car, a nudge from Dom startling him enough to quickly hop out. The Alpha soon got out as well, closing the door before telling Jesse to go wait out back.

Rubbing a hand across his forehead, Brian paused again with a frown as his hand came away with a faint sheen of sweat. However, his attention quickly turned back to Dom as he called back to him to follow. Surely it was just from the warm evening.

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Crouching by the top hatch on the building's roof, Dom glanced up to the trailing blonde, brows furrowing as he noticed the shine of sweat on his brow. Turning his attention back to the job at hand as Vince crouched beside him, he let the other's drop down into the garage first before he joined them, starting to walk further into the garage.

"Yo Dominic." He quickly backtracked when Vince called out, finding him and Brian standing by the open hoods of the cars. "There's no engines."

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He frowned at the empty space in the car where the engines were meant to be, glancing to Dom when the Alpha paused beside him to survey the cars. "They plan on racing with hopes and dreams?"

Hearing Vince chuckle at Dom's words, the blonde quickly wandered away from the overpowering smell of alphas, soon catching sight of stacks of boxes near the front of the garage, too far away to hear Dom talking on the phone until he suddenly called out as lights flickered under the doors of the garage. "Alright, we have company. Spilner!"

He was just raising his head to glance at them before the lights in the garage turned on, only just making his way back around the cars and to where Dom was hiding in time before Tran and his group arrived. Quickly crouching by the car, he felt Dom's hand on his arm as the other tugged him in front of him and properly behind the car, the heat from him crouching so close making his wolf purr, though Brian barely managed to keep his focus on the conversation between Tran and his apparent car parts supplier.

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Watching the man being tackled to the ground, Dom watched the scene with narrowed eyes as the struggling man was finally able to answer. He didn't pay attention from the muttered curse from Brian, leaning back in the hiding spot he had found for himself after pulling Brian out of eyesight of the group.

His focus turned to Vince as he signalled to him to stay before giving a small nod, the trio soon watching Tran and his men head out as one whistled out to his friend. "Yo, who brought an omega along?"

Dom frowned, having focused his attention on avoiding Tran's men from spotting any of them that had kept him from noticing the rising smell of Omega nearby. He was still wondering as the three made a quiet but quick retreat out the back to avoid the lingering couple of people drawn by the scent. Though, as he climbed out before Brian, the smell of preheat made him pause as Brian cursed again, tripping in his haste to climb out of the window. The Alpha was quick to catch him as he fell, meeting Brian's gaze briefly before the blonde glanced away with a murmured ' sorry '. But Dom had been close enough to finally realise the source, one hand reaching out quickly to halt Brian's retreat. "You've been hiding this whole time?"

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He almost decided to duck and run at that moment, but the form grip on his head kept the unsteady blonde in place as he ducked his head. Crap . He should have been paying more attention to the signs, though perhaps finally getting some clues of Tran's involvement was worth the risk. He had cursed as soon as he felt the heat pooling in his belt, hoping to get away without being detected by anyone but one of Tran's men had picked up on it and drawn the attention of some of the others, including Dom it seemed.

And now he found himself facing a surprised Vince while Dom kept his gaze on him as he glanced up, the momentary confusion Brian had spotted giving way to curiousity...and something else, though the blonde isn't too sure about that part. Biting his lip, another curse escaped him before he rubbed a hand over his face, grateful when Dom let his arm go as he took a couple steps back. "I'm sorry man. I just...never got many positive responses to people knowing about it..The last pack I was in.."

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He picked up on the shiver that ran through Brian as he mentioned his past pack, jaw clenched in anger at the unspoken words. Though it made sense now for the blonde's hesitance towards Dom's offer to join the pack, and for all the effort he'd put in to come across as a Beta. Being around Jesse while he was nearing his heat must have dragged Brian's own closer, plus Dom having been in close proximity to him for nearly a week now.

"Brian, it's okay. You being an omega means nothing with us, just what effort you put in to your work around the place." He smiled slightly in reassurance as the blonde finally looked up at the faint sound of shouting from those of Tran's men that had stayed to sniff out the Omega, one hand raising to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Whether you choose to join the pack or not, you are welcome here. Now, let's get you back to the house."