Still, she couldn't resist peeking around his back as soon as they were inside. There were over a dozen alphas in the room. Some were clustered around the pool table, others lined the bar, but at the moment, all of them were staring straight at her.
Mia didn't feel totally comfortable being the center of attention, but she wasn't afraid. All she had to do was tighten her grip on Ty's arm, and she felt totally safe.
It also helped that when she looked at all the alphas, she only saw curiosity. There was no malice in their eyes. No anger.
Mia managed to lift her head high as Ty led her toward the hinged gate in the center of the bar. A hint of a smile flashed on the face of the dark-haired alpha serving drinks.
"You must be Mia," he said.
She recognized the alpha's voice from her porch days before. "And you must be Samson."
His smile grew. He picked up a bar towel and slapped it over his shoulder. "It's nice to finally meet you face to face."
"You too."
Samson addressed Ty. "Heard you talking out there. You really think they're leaving for good?"
No matter how many times Mia experienced it, she was amazed by how finely tuned the alphas' senses were. It made her wonder at their limits. How far they away they could hear, smell, and sense.
"Christie's been good to his word so far," Ty said with a shrug "I have no reason to doubt him."
"Well, I won't be happy until every last one of those bastards is back over the boundary line," one of the alphas sitting at the bar grumbled.
"Fuck, Zeke, you ain't ever happy," one by of the pool table laughed.
"That's 'cause I'm stuck looking at your ugly mug every time I come for a beer."
Laughter filled the bar.
Mia had to admit that the mood was lighter than she'd expected, but she still wasn't totally comfortable here. Just like the first time she set foot in Ty's cabin, it was clear that she was out of place. She couldn't escape the feeling that she didn't belong.
"Listen up, everyone," Ty's booming voice filled the room.
Instantly, the place went quiet. All heads turned his way. Mia tensed as Ty pulled her toward the center of the bar.
"This is my omega, Mia," he said. "She's going to be with me here from now on."
Wait. What?
Mia stared up at Ty with a mixture of shock and horror. She didn't know the first thing about working in a bar, let alone an alpha bar.
"What about Nicky?" the pool-playing alpha asked.
Ty shrugged. "What about her?"
"You still going to welcome her and the girls here every Friday?"
The room fell silent again. Mia felt their expectant eyes on her.
Really? They wanted her permission to let the sex workers come to the bar? There was still so much about the alpha/omega culture that Mia didn't understand.
Even so, she was painfully aware of how rare omegas were. There were no dating apps in the Boundarylands. No clubs or coffee shops to meet that special someone. Just Nicky and her girls.
And Mia didn't think it was right to take away the alphas' only opportunity for intimate encounters. That wouldn't fair to the alphas—or to the ladies who were just trying to make a living.
"You're all adults," she said. "As long as you don't make a mess or a spectacle, I don't care what you do."
A roar of approval went up among the men. Obviously, that was the answer they'd been hoping for.
Ty kissed her on the cheek, whispering in her ear, "You're a natural."
* * *
She was a natural.
There was no denying it.
As they moved among the alphas and took their places behind the bar, greeting the customers and accepting their congratulations, Ty watched the doubt vanish from Mia's eyes. Sure, she didn't know how to make a drink—she couldn't even pour a beer from the tap without spilling all over the place—but she was funny and charming with his alpha brothers.
They took to her instantly. Accepting her as one of their own.
It wasn't surprising. Since Mia had been claimed, her confidence was naturally growing. She was opening up, the way someone only could when they truly felt safe and secure. Maybe for the first time, the full force of her true personality was shining through.
And it was a magnetic one—strong, resilient, accepting.
She would be a perfect addition to Evander's Bar. A calming force. A steadying energy.
Even so, it was clear that the bar wasn't her favorite place to be. She breathed a sigh of relief when he took her in back to show her the storeroom.
"Wait," she said, registering surprise at the shelves stacked with dry goods, non-perishable groceries, and other merchandise. "This place is also a store?"
"Of course."
She shot him a look over her shoulder. "You say that as if I shouldn't be surprised."
"Well, where did you think everyone out there got their supplies?"
"Somewhere other than the local bar," she shot back, making him smile at her sass. "I used to get mine at the grocery store."
"Well, we don't have one of those," Ty said. "Evander's is the closest trading post to the beta world around here. Pretty much all of the southern territory of the Pacific Boundarylands comes here to stock up."
"This place is important, isn't it?" Mia said thoughtfully.
"That's why everyone got riled when it shut down for a few days."
She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just trying to guilt me into liking the place."
"Is it working?" Ty asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall.
She shook her head even as that pretty pink blush spread across her cheeks. "Not in the slightest."
"You're not supposed to lie to me, remember," he growled.
She came over and wrapped her arms around his waist. She had to tilt her head back to let him look into those beautiful blue eyes.
"And you're not supposed to parade me in front
