Chapter Twenty Leo
Leo
It is my right to make him pay—for every time I cried, every time I screamed. For every cut, every burn. For every broken bone, every torn muscle. For every minute, I spent cold, hungry, exhausted. For every rip and every tear. And for every single fucking minute of the last five years that he stole from me. From us.
Leo hears those words ringing in his head—a litany of horror—and he can’t make them stop. Change them. When he’d learned about the choices Erin Christie had set out, he fully expected option A: lie.
If a Costas lawyer said they could get away with it, and it was the safest option, then despite his twinging conscience, this was absolutely the best choice for Leo’s pack.
The safest for Nix, certainly. They could coach him through harrowing testimony, add a military-grade scent blocker, and Hayes would see a long twenty years in prison or–hopefully–a nice short few months if Gideon’s connections could arrange a cell mate who didn’t like assholes and knew his way around a shiv.
If option A weren’t something Finn or Jay could live with, then surely there were other, more qualified Weres in this house than a traumatized, fresh-from-a-coma, not-fully-bonded, teeny-tiny Nix Rena. Even Leo’s sweet-mocha-mate Luca was scrappy and–when pissed–could fight dirty—Leo has a scar under his chin to prove it.
After Nix’s impassioned speech, he spins on his socked feet and strides out the left wing entrance, heading for the stairs.
Behind him, his mates stand on the precipice of an explosion.
Gideon’s rage crackles through the room, his scent thick with lightning and rare sulfur, tangled with petrichor. This has to be the exact opposite of what Gideon had wanted—what he’d expected—despite Nix’s previous trip up that tree.
Rowan has Grayson in his arms as their sensitive enigma cries—quiet, hitching sobs of fear shaking his shoulders—his face blank.
Finn, too, is pale. Leo imagines their caregiving alpha’s brain is rerunning that first day when their omega was bloody and broken in his ER.
But it’s his pack alpha’s face that truly breaks Leo’s resolve.
Jay sits down heavily on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, hands locked together instead of covering his face. His breath is shallow and sharp as if he’s trying to hold something in that threatens to break free.
Luca is on him in an instant, pressing against him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“How am I going to let him do this?”
“Just tell him he can’t,” Rowan begs. “You’re the pack alpha. The law says you get to set the proxy. Just tell him he can’t and that Gideon wants to do it.”
Gideon had told Leo that day outside the hospital that Hayes would meet the devil by Gideon’s hand. Leo had never had reason to doubt him before and certainly wouldn’t start now. Gideon looks at Jay like he agrees—like he’s expecting to hear the assurance that he will get his chance.
Luca shoots up, fists clenched at his side. “You can’t just take his choice away! That fucker took everything from Nix. Everything. And broke him down to where we almost couldn’t find all the pieces. If Nix says it’s his right—then we have to help him.”
But it’s Gideon who breaks. “Luca, what does that boy know about murder? About killing? About causing pain? About making that wolf pay with his life? Tell me.” Gideon’s voice is hard in a way it never is with his Luca.
“It’s not just about making him pay. What if Hayes hurts him? What if he’s in danger? It’s combat—to the fucking death.” Grayson says what Leo has been thinking, too.
Luca stomps his foot, his breath coming fast and sharp. “Listen to me! Fucking listen, all of you.”
His voice trembles, but his conviction doesn’t waver. He turns on Gideon, eyes burning. “You ask what he knows of pain, Gideon? It’s all he’s known. Loss and suffering.”
His hands clench into fists. “He doesn’t talk about it, but don’t you see him flinch when the door lock engages? Don’t you see how he avoids the fruit bowl? How he never, ever asks for fucking anything?”
His breath hitches, and he swipes angrily at his tears, but they don’t stop. Leo feels every missed clue like a dropped stone in his stomach.
“If you take this away from him, if you forget that he has paid for everything with his pain, and you choose for him, then he will never forgive us.” Luca’s voice cracks, raw and pleading. “And I can’t lose him, Gideon. I just found him.”
He shakes his head, frustration and desperation colliding in his chest. “I promised myself—him—that I’d make sure he always felt loved here. That I’d protect him.” His lips tremble. “He was sleeping when I said it, but it still counts.”
Luca turns to Jay and crouches down, eyes searching his. “Your family chose for you,” he says softly, voice laced with conviction. “They took something from you all those years ago, and we are all still reeling from that. Don’t you see?”
His breath shudders as he shakes his head. “We can’t think we know best. We can’t be as bad as they are.”
The fight in him deflates, and he plops down on his butt, the wind knocked from his sails. He looks down for a moment, pulling in a steadying breath—then lifts his head, jaw set.
Because if he has to fight his whole family to fight for Nix, he will.
“No. I will not fucking stand by and see him throw any more of his life away on that fucking waste of space. Don’t ask me to do that. Hayes belongs to me. To me. ” Gideon turns, hurling the knife he has been holding this whole time straight into the living room wall. They all jump as it is embedded to the hilt. He walks quietly out, and then they hear his room door close almost silently.
The silence is deafening.
No one breathes.
Jay still hasn’t said a word, but when he rises to his feet, it’s like he’s aged a hundred years in the span of a breath.
“I need to think. I’ll be in the studio.” His voice is rough, dragging over the words. “I need some time. Just…don’t let him leave. Please.”
He exhales sharply, rubbing a hand over his face before turning to Leo. “Can you do that?”
Leo nods. He doesn’t envy their leader this decision. Not one bit.
Jay’s fingers ghost over Luca’s hair, lingering for half a second before he turns and heads for the right-wing—disappearing into their home studio.
Finn slips onto the floor and gathers the crying Luca up, whispering in the beta’s ear and rubbing his back.
Leo speaks for the first time since Riordan told them everything about his born omega—his very pregnant omega. About the four others they’d found scattered across the world—and the possibility that there were more.
When the room settles, when the weight of it all sinks in, Leo finally exhales and pushes himself to his feet. “I’m going to find Nix and give him the spare room. Should have done it days ago.”
He glances at Finn. “You got this?”
This. Meaning the now-heartbroken, sobbing Luca, whose soulmate had effectively shut him out. The first time that’s ever happened. Since the day they met, Luca and Gideon have always been in sync—never at odds like this, never on opposite sides of something this massive.
Finn nods. “Yes. Find Nix.”
Leo takes the stairs two at a time and comes to a halt when he finds Nix on the floor, propped up against the balcony wall, his grand exit having led nowhere fast. Leo thinks for a second that they should put a bench there for as much lurking gets done these days.
“Hey, Nix.”
He can’t ask if their omega is okay—because that would be a waste of breath. No one is fucking okay.
He’d obviously overheard the discussion, and Leo isn’t surprised when he meets his eyes, probably trying to read where he stands on the issue.
That’s the thing. He’d been sure it was their job to protect Nix, and that included the hardest parts of life, but hearing Luca talk about choices and how Nix has the right to his own agency makes Leo feel a niggling shame.
Would he deny Grayson, Rowan, or even Luca the right to choose? Would he expect the same considerations for himself ?
“I didn’t have anywhere to go.”
It’s whispered. Small. The only real sliver of negative emotion Nix has let slip after fighting for his life.
And fuck, that’s what hits the hardest.
That their mate—their mate—has been untethered. And while they’ve been so caught up in finally being them that they never even thought about it.
The one thing each of them treasures—the solitude and autonomy of their own space, a place to breathe, to just be —and Nix hasn’t known that luxury for five years.
And that?
That is shameful.
“Come on.” Leo holds out his hand—and hopes, against hope, that Nix will take it.
And then, with no hesitation, Nix’s fingers close around his.
There’s trust in his eyes—trust Leo hopes to earn, to deserve.
He hauls him gently to his feet, offering a small, reassuring squeeze. “Let me show you something.”
He glances around. “Did anyone even give you a tour?” A soft tsk tsk escapes before he can stop it, aimed entirely at himself.
At his tiny shake, Leo leads him down the hall all the way to the end. The bedrooms run along the backside of the floor facing the backyard and gardens, and the hall along the right the front. There are windows gently illuminating the hall, and the late afternoon sun doesn’t reach this side of the east-facing dwelling.
When they’re almost at the far end, he points. “That’s the rut room, but no one really uses it. But here, this is for you. We should have done it right away, and I’m so sorry.”
The room is smaller than the others’ spaces, but it has warm wood floors, a double bed, and a small desk beside a floor-to-ceiling window framed with bookshelves. Grayson had decorated it with guests in mind—Rowan’s mom visits three or four times a year and stays in here. It’s geared toward the “impersonal welcoming aesthetic,” as Grayson refers to it.
Nix stands just outside the door. Hesitant.
“You want me to stay in here?”
It’s whispered—uncertain—and in an instant, his vanilla scent curdles into burnt cookies.
Leo’s stomach twists. “You don’t like it?” He keeps his voice soft and careful. “We can change anything you want. Grayson decorated it like this for guests, but it should reflect you. Do you want to look at some stuff right now? We can order whatever you want.”
Nix tilts his head, and for the first time, his voice shakes—just slightly.
“You’re not locking me in here because I said…” He waves vaguely toward the hall, unable to finish the sentence.
And then, just as quickly, he forces out a dry little laugh.
“Oh. That’s good, then, ha. At least it’s nicer than the closet was, that’s for sure.”
His mate’s joke falls flat, and Leo’s ass hits the edge of the bed as he slides to the floor.
The closet. Their sunshine mate was locked in a fucking closet? It’s worse than Leo could have imagined. It makes his stomach churn and scent turn cinnamon-smoke rotten.
He thought Leo was going to lock him in? Oh. Goddess.
Nix is inside the room now, though, with a reserved eagerness, not paying Leo any mind. He disappears into the en suite bathroom, and Leo can hear that he’s opening the cabinets only to come out holding a yellow towel to his nose. “This is my favorite color! Hey, why are you on the floor?”
His mate sits beside him, cross-legged, placing the soft towel on his lap.
Leo must smell awful, but Nix—ever empathetic, ever gentle—is quick to reassure him.
“I really like it here. I’m thankful for this, truly. I promise to keep it nice until the visitors need it.”
Leo physically flinches.
“Nix, stop. Goddess. Please.” His voice breaks, but he pushes through. “This—this is yours. We all have our own space, and this is yours. Yours. You can decorate it however you want. It’s…fuck.”
He can’t hold it back anymore—Leo just starts to cry.
Because they made Nix think—what? That they wouldn’t want him close? That they’d force him away, lock him up in this room like some kind of afterthought just because they disagreed? That he didn’t deserve his own room?
It’s too much. Too horrible.
He can’t stop.
His sweet, beautiful mate had been locked in a closet. He’s never had a pretty yellow towel of his own—and now he wants to fight a psychopath to the death.
Leo exhales sharply. Because after everything, after having no choices—none—in anything that’s ever mattered, big or small…
Maybe they should let him.
Maybe they should help him.
“Oh my gosh, did you miss the bed and hurt your bum?”
Even though he’s probably got a hundred pounds on him, Nix puts his arm around Leo and pulls him in so Leo can lean on his thin shoulder. “I could rub it for you?” He makes waggling eyebrows and winky eyes, and it looks like he’s malfunctioning; it’s just silly enough that Leo can force a smile past his ugly cry.
Does their mate even fathom that Leo’s tears are for him?
“Nix.”
It’s heavy, and just like that, Nix stops the silliness—serious in a second. Maybe he understands, after all.
“Are you going to tell me I can’t do it? That I shouldn’t?”
He doesn’t let go of Leo’s hand, but he isn’t looking at him either. His eyes are far away.
“No.”
That gets his attention. Nix turns, blinking fast—stunned.
“You’re not?”
Leo sits up and tightens his grip on Nix’s fingers. “No. But I can’t tell you I’m happy about it.” He holds Nix’s gaze now, making sure he hears this. “If you wanted to let Gideon do it, or Jay, even, I’d be happy to have you safe— happy —on the sidelines.”
Nix opens his mouth to argue, but Leo shakes his head.
“No, listen. If you wanted that, it would be easier.” His throat works around the next words. “I could breathe better knowing you’re safe.”
But that’s not what Nix wants, and Leo knows it.
He hesitates, not knowing how to say the rest.
“But?” It’s quiet and tentative.
“But if you’re sure this is what you want—what you need—then it’s not for me or anyone else to stop you.”
Leo exhales shakily. “You’ve already paid for this in your blood, and if I try to tell you what you can and can’t do, then I’m no better than… him .” His voice cracks at the last word. “I will back your choice. Luca will, too.”
Nix nods, presses a soft kiss to the side of Leo’s head, then offers him his precious yellow towel to wipe his face.
“I heard.” His voice is small. “It’s causing trouble with Gideon and him. I wish it weren’t. They’re both really sad. Hurts.” He rubs the center of his chest, frowning.
Leo sighs. “That’s between them. You know that, right?” He grabs a handful of tissues from the bedside table, blowing his nose before turning back.
“Can I ask you something?”
Nix lifts his gaze, waiting.
“Promise you won’t think I’m being…patronizing and shit?”
His mate doesn’t even hesitate. “I know you aren’t like that. Go ahead.”
“What makes you think you can fight and win? You said earlier that you can do it, that you’re made to do it. Forgive me, but you are such a petite thing.” He encircles the tiny wrist with his fingers, and they overlap.
“ Let me show you something, okay? You’re strong, right?” Nix grins, tipping his head.
“Sure. I mean, not by Jay or Gideon—or especially Rowan’s standards, but I work out.”
Leo throws in a salacious eyebrow wiggle, and flexes, putting on a decent gun show with his biceps.
“You sure do…” Nix hums in agreement, eyes going hazy as he cups Leo’s arm, running small fingers over the muscle. “Mmm, these are very, very nice, Leo.”
His tongue catches between his teeth, and suddenly, it’s just like the day they met.
“Mmm, so nice.”
The blush floods Leo’s cheeks so fast it burns.
For a moment, they just sit side by side, Nix’s tiny hands still flexing around his arm as if memorizing the shape of him.
Leo clears his throat, desperate for a distraction. “You, uh…wanted to show me something?”
“Oh. Ha. You are distracting.” Nix blinks, then brightens like he just remembered. “Let’s arm wrestle.”
Leo stares. What? His gaze drops to Nix’s tiny but shapely biceps. “…Baby, uh, are you sure?”
Nix grins wickedly. “Come on. Play with me. I promise to go easy on you.”
Leo laughs outright this time. “Sure you will.” He shakes his head, amusement curling through his chest.
They make their way to their fronts on the floor in the classic arm wrestle position, and when they’re ready, Leo looks into his mate’s face and his charming grin. “You ready? Give me your best shot.”
To say he is shocked to be overpowered in that instant is an understatement, and even more so when it’s every single damn time after that, as well. Nix enjoys holding them frozen at the top, letting Leo push and wiggle their grip until he quickly tips the scales and Leo’s hand is flat in the blink of an eye.
Leo breaks a sweat, and after the first time he gets beat—hands down, literally—he gives it everything he’s got.
Nix laughs, and his vanilla scent is ice cream on a hot day. It is joy, and Leo wants to smell it just like that forever.
“See?” he whispers. He sits up so they’re cross-legged on the floor, facing each other. “I’m strong. Crazy strong. Arlo said omegas were the original protectors of packs.”
Leo stares, still catching up. “How did you figure it out? Because, Nix, that’s insane. Holy shit—I wonder if you could kick Rowan’s ass.” He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “This changes things. Come on.”
He grabs Nix’s wrist and pulls him up, dragging him toward the door. Down the hall, down to the main level.
The others—except Gideon and Jay—are huddled on the couch. They stand when they see them, expectant faces tinged with lingering sadness.
“Hey, come with us.” Leo heads back toward the gym.
Someone—Jay—has cleaned the room, clearing away the destroyed heavy bag and propping the door just inside against the wall.
Oh. The door.
Didn’t Nix take that door down?
Well, that would definitely give him an inkling about omega strength.
Leo spins them around just as the others enter.
Grayson’s eyes and nose are red from crying, and Finn still has his arm around Luca.
Rowan smells extra spicy, his scent still simmering with anger.
Nix flinches a bit at his mates’ obvious distress up close, but he snaps his spine straight and tries not to meet anyone’s eyes. It hurts to see that he fears their emotions as much as he does being locked up or even cast out, but Leo thinks they can fix that with a demonstration.
“Bear with us.” Leo pulls Nix over to the weight bench and gestures for him to kneel, and Leo mirrors his position. “Watch. Okay, Nix? Just do what you showed me before.”
“I trust you. I’ll use my other arm if that’s okay?” It’s his non-dominant arm, and in theory, it should give Leo an advantage.
“Why am I watching my baby arm wrestle when I’m dying inside?”
“Luca, just give us a minute. I promise. Ready, Nix?”
When Leo moves to use both his hands, Grayson protests the cheating and the potential to injure his soulmate. “Leo, no.”
But Nix wins.
It’s silent for a moment as they all process, and Rowan catches on the quickest. “Let me.” He changes position with Leo and exudes cockiness because, without a doubt, their baby alpha wins more contests of strength than he loses, no matter his opponent.
“Hi, Nix.” He smiles a tiny smile—doing his damnedest to keep his earlier frustration and fear under wraps.
“Hi, Rowan. You okay?”
“Not so good, if I am honest, but I am going to win this.”
Nix takes the offered olive branch. “You think? Bring it, baby.” It’s said in a low voice, and Rowan’s spicy rum scent swiftly changes to reveal how attractive he finds this competitive version of their mate.
Nix wins—again and again.
“Want to use both hands?” He props his head on his free hand like he could do this all day. Their mates have drawn closer, and Luca has taken to weakly cheering Nix on despite him not being the underdog at all.
Finn is observing a few paces away, mental wheels turning.
“What do you think, Finn? He’s strong—says omegas are built that way. Arlo told him they were the original protectors of the pack.”
“There’s nothing in those books about it, that’s for sure, but I’ve already texted Baz and asked for a meeting.” They’re watching Luca team up with Rowan, and together, they still can’t beat Nix, who should have tired by now but is only enjoying it more.
Leo nods. “Maybe we can find out more of what he can do. I have to admit I am less worried about him than I was when I thought he was…”
“Frail? Me too. But Leo, strength is only part of it. There’s all the trauma. He couldn’t even think about Hayes a few days ago without puking his guts up. He told Erin Christie he didn’t want to testify.”
“You’re right…maybe with a bit of time, we can…”
“What the fuck is going on?”
Gideon is standing in the doorway, ready to go a round with the new heavy bag. His hands are only lightly wrapped—he wants to feel it, wants to bleed a bit.
“Just watch for a minute. Rowan, show him.” Leo nods at his mates.
Nix’s eyes are a bit wary, and Luca is once again crying softly, mocha scent gone burnt-coffee-in-the-pot because his soulmate won’t look him in the eye.
The room has gone to shit in a minute or less.
Leo is grateful both boys give it their all, or in Nix’s case, not much at all. They go twice, then three times, and still Gideon just watches.
“Enough.” As usual, Gideon is unreadable.
He just heads over to the heavy bag and starts hitting it. Boxing forms. Jab. Cross. Left hook. Right hook. Left uppercut. Right uppercut. Lightning fast and with absolute precision.
The others stand aside. The only sounds are Luca’s quiet cries and the rhythmic thud of fists hitting the bag.
Leo isn’t particularly brave, but in the past twenty-four hours, he’s faced down Rowan’s horny wolf, endured Jay’s Alpha-Voice, and now he’s going to turn the dragon’s gaze on himself for the good of their pack.
Usually, he thinks there’s merit in a cool-down period, but his family is in crisis, and they don’t have a lot of time if Erin is to be believed.
Gideon stops his rhythm to add two kicks and then goes back to his boxing drill.
“Gideon. Come on, at least talk about it. You saw how strong he is. He isn’t ?unarmed. We can help him.”
The next hit cracks so loudly in the room that Leo knows Gideon has broken the bones in his hand, but he doesn’t stop—he just keeps hitting the bag harder and harder.
Luca jumps up and grabs him around the waist.
“Gideon. Stop.”
Jab. Cross. Hands bleeding, he gives no reaction to the broken bones hitting the bag.
“Stop! Please!”
He’s shouting now, and Nix looks like he’s seen a ghost.
Finn has already left to fetch Jay, who arrives at a run.
“Gideon, enough, love.” Jay approaches slowly, and Gideon only hits the bag harder, his jaw clenched hard.
No one sees Nix step up on his blind side, and when the next left cross is aimed at the bag, his palm intercepts the punch. It’s enough to break Gideon’s concentration.
“Gideon, you’re hurting Luca. Look at him, please.”
That Nix trusts Gideon’s self-control is clear—because Gideon is dangerous.
But never to them.
Gideon does, and Leo sees the moment he locks onto his soulmate, wrapped in Grayson’s arms after his rejection. The rest of his mates are frozen, waiting for him to blow.
The scent of lightning fades just enough, and Luca throws himself into Gideon’s arms. They all breathe a bit easier as Gideon buries his face in Luca’s neck.
“Maybe I should go.” Nix wrings his hands, and his words set off a cacophony of panicked protests.
A sharp whistle has always been one of Leo’s Mama’s best lessons, and it’s appreciated now. “Quiet. Fuck. Nix, you can’t leave.” It hurts to even say the words.
Gideon finally speaks, voice rough and raw. “Kitten, you’re not going anywhere. I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t—” He exhales sharply, shaking his head. “Fuck.”
Before anyone can react, he drops into a crouch, his elbows braced on his knees, bloody fingers yanking through his hair.
“Oh, Goddess.” The words barely make it out, hushed, like a confession or a prayer.
A prayer for guidance or strength, maybe—Leo doesn’t know. But Nix answers.
Nix sinks to his knees in front of Gideon, hands steady as he gently pries his mate’s fingers apart. He kisses each bruised knuckle, careful of the swollen, broken digits, lips brushing over the torn skin like an apology.
“I’m sorry.” His voice is quiet but sure. “I know you understand more than anyone that my wolf won’t let this go. Of course, I’m afraid—I’m really fucking scared.” His breath hitches, but he pushes through. “You said it before: what do I know about murder? About combat? Less than nothing, but that doesn’t matter because I need this.”
He meets Gideon’s eyes, voice breaking just a little as he pleads, “Can you help me?”
“ Help you? How would it be fucking help? Kitten, this will stain your soul. This isn’t about me thinking you can’t take his fucking head off.
“Do you think I’m upset about the idea of violence? If it were just that, I’d train you and be glad to do it. Fuck. This is about you facing him on that field and knowing he will do everything to break you down. He will hurt you again in ways that don’t heal like fucking broken bones.”
Leo had been so worried about Nix getting physically hurt and the possibilities his strength meant, but as Finn suggested, Hayes can wield weapons worse than claws and teeth.
Their omega holds Gideon’s hands up, kissing the knuckles again, and begins to unwind the tape.
“I know.” Nix’s voice is steady, but his hands tremble slightly as he looks at Jay. “I’ve thought about it—really thought about it. Trust me, I know how bad this will get, of course I’m scared.”
He swallows hard, then presses forward. “I thought…maybe I need to see him before. If I testify first, then it won’t be a shock on the field. Can we do that?”
It’s not what most of them want to hear. Not at all. The tension in the room is thick, their scents laced with unease, but Nix isn’t finished.
He turns back to Gideon. “You said you can train me.” His chin lifts just slightly, defiant but not reckless. “I want that. Can you help me, please?”
He refuses to back down— will never back down. Leo is quickly learning that unyielding determination is just as much a part of Phoenix Rena as his name.
Leo isn’t sure Gideon will agree, but it’s Jay who speaks.
“Nix, when we petitioned the court to make you Were, I told myself I’d be satisfied if you lived long enough to hate me for taking your choice away.” Jay exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t do that again.” His voice is steady, but the scent of burning wood and smoke lingers, betraying the storm inside him.
He swallows hard. “Luca’s right. If we take this choice from you, we’re no better than him. So if you want to learn, and Gideon can’t do it—” he hesitates, just for a breath, then meets Nix’s gaze, unwavering. “I will help you.”
Jay winces, rubbing his temples as if the weight of the moment is physically pressing down on him.
“What! You will?” Grayson’s voice is sharp enough to cut. His scent, normally the fresh comfort of basil, is scorched beyond recognition. “Are you insane? Have you all lost your fucking minds?”
Nix steps forward instinctively, wanting to soothe, to explain, but Grayson backs away, shaking his head. “Fuck, Angel. You, most of all. I can’t believe—” His breath stutters, rage and hurt warring behind his eyes. “I can’t stand here and listen to this.”
He’s gone before anyone can stop him, the front door beeping as it unlocks.
The front door code beeps, and Nix flinches. Luca was right.
Having a soulmate looks like it hurts as Nix watches Grayson leave, his shaking hand pressed to a spot under his ribs.
Leo isn’t surprised, however, when he straightens his spine and asks in a deep voice gone strangely flat, “Anyone else have anything to say?”
No one does; the omega’s burnt cookie smell is so strong that it’s driving every instinct Leo has to soothe into overdrive, and he can’t imagine how the enigmas are managing to keep their feet.
“Alright then. Jamie, may I call Erin and ask her to meet? I hope the world is ready for omegas. I should call Arlo, too. He said they have a plan.” Nix quickly runs out of steam, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll.
“I think I’ll go to the spare room for a quick nap.” He’s all “fake it ‘til you make it” bravado, a small smile, and a stiff spine.
Gideon hasn’t said anything, but he does shift a clinging Luca to one side and opens the other for Nix so he and Luca can hold him close. Leo throws himself onto the tangle of mates, so glad when Rowan and Finn join in—he just wishes the fresh scent of basil were added to the mix.
Leo resolves to find his sensitive Grayson when he returns and gets his fill then.
Jay finally surrounds them with his arms, and there’s the reassuring weight of his alpha’s hot palm on the small of his back.
They surround Nix, and Leo wishes they could continue to shield him in just this way from all the hardships yet to come, but he knows Nix doesn’t want that.
Instead, they will do what they can to hold him up and help him stand his ground.
Leo only hopes it will be enough.