Chapter 20
twenty
“Where are we taking her?”
Asher absorbs my low, anxious words without breaking stride. Dair charges ahead of us, issuing barks and threatening scowls to every person we pass.
Luckily, Maytown Manor is sleepy this Sunday morning. We only encounter a valet and two members of the housekeeping staff as we stalk from the collection of medical rooms on the first floor back up to our wing.
Ivy protests weakly when we hit the stairs, but the way her cold fingers dig into my shirtless shoulders makes a liar of her. She doesn’t want to walk—and she definitely doesn’t want any space between us.
I can scent that on her—the lovely, sugared aroma deepening into something golden and buttered. When I nuzzle my cheek against her crown, a shiver races down her spine and slick wets the fabric between her sweet center and my abs.
Holy. God.
Both of my packmates glance over at us, their jaws taut and eyes bright. I fight the urge to bare my teeth at them, gritting my molars. “Hurry.”
No matter how much I’m enjoying this angel clinging to me, wetting my skin with her slick… she’s in need. Which means she’s in pain .
I don’t recognize myself right now. Normally, I’m the one with a quick joke or an amused observation. But I can’t find a smile for anyone aside from the poor omega bundled in my arms.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers into my collarbone. Her dozenth apology in two minutes. “I’m so?—”
I rub my cheek over her forehead, deliberately scent-marking her. Fuck, we smell good together. Her fresh-baked goodness and the salty-sweet of toffee. It’s like a miracle.
“Shh,” I whisper. “You’re doing me a favor, angel. If I had to put you down, I’d be in agony.”
Her legs tighten around my waist. A quiet whine echoes behind the breasts pressed to my pecs, her nipples hardening through Dair’s oversized T-shirt.
I know the feeling. My cock has been at full mast for hours .
Ignoring the pulse beating in my knot, I duck into our wing behind Asher, noting the sour tartness emanating from Dair’s pores as he holds the door open.
Concern looks odd on him. I’m not sure he’s ever made a face quite like this one before—amped up and intense, but soft, too. When he catches me staring, he’s barely able to muster a pale shadow of his usual snarl. “Fuck off.”
I hide a smile against Ivy’s rumpled hair. “Hear that, angel? I think His Grumpiness is worried about you.”
Ivy chuckles weakly. “I told you that nickname is rude, my lord,” she says in a voice reminiscent of her sweet teasing in the garden.
And, just like that day, hearing her call me “my lord” simply because she knows I don’t want her to…
God, how can I possibly get harder ?
I remember thinking she was the perfect blend of softness and wit. A good girl, begging me to break the rules. Everything that makes my blood roar.
Now I know why.
She’s my mate .
I kiss her forehead, turning toward my bedroom. It’s the only one left open, and?—
Asher barks quietly, freezing us all in our places. “ No. My room .”
Uh…
No one is allowed in His Highness’ bedroom. The guy has serious personal issues with privacy—well-deserved, after a lot of childhood trauma with the paparazzi. I’ve only seen the inside of his room once or twice and we’ve been living here for months .
Yet, as he stands beside his door, jaw grinding, I think I might understand.
This is different.
She’s different.
He wants her in his space. Maybe in a way I don’t even fully comprehend.
This whole time, was the poor guy’s self-imposed exile some sort of penance? Has he kept his room—and his life—empty because he was waiting for her ?
Damn. I almost never understand Asher, but I get that .
Amazed, I tuck my chin to peer at Ivy’s face. Her closed eyes, the fan of silver-blonde lashes, and the faded freckles along the bridge of her nose.
It’s only been an hour, but she’s already bringing our pack closer than we’ve been in years. Helping me relate to the parts of my packmates that have always baffled me.
I even understand the slight growl vibrating on every breath Dair manages to take. My Alpha is raging, too—and Dair’s has always been harder to control than most. The fact that he’s trying so hard gives me new respect for the guy.
All because of Ivy.
The missing middle we’ve been looking for.
“You really are an angel,” I murmur against her hair.
She stirs, bleary eyes blinking. They’re glassier than they were in the hallway, likely because this place smells like all three of us blended together. I track the way she winces. Her body stiffens as a new cramp hits her.
I don’t even have to think about it—on my next breath, a purr springs to life. Ivy startles, her eyes flying up to mine.
It’s my turn to cringe. “Do you not like it, princess?”
Her lashes flutter in bewilderment. “I—no, I do. I just… Why do I like it?”
We all pause. Asher meets my eyes, then Dair’s. And I see the exact moment it sinks in for each of us; our omega has absolutely no experience with any of this. It’s our job to teach her.
Lucky for Ivy, Asher was born for this shit. He should have been a professor instead of a prince, and now he has a perfect pupil.
“You like it because it means your alphas are here, ready to take care of anything you need, darling,” he murmurs. “Our purrs relax your Omega because she knows she’s protected.”
With a shaky exhale, he reaches over to cup her cheek. “I’ll get you some books to read,” he adds, then stops himself. Something unspoken passes between them before he amends, “Or I’ll read them to you, if you’ll let me.”
I don’t understand what he means, but I hate the way her scent shifts. Not burned by fear or pain… but something saltier.
Sadness?
Asher senses it and flinches, dropping his hand in the process. I follow the instinct to move her further away from him, carrying her quivering body to his bed and carefully lowering her onto the edge.
Dair instantly crowds in beside me, unfamiliar anxiety splashed across his face again. He might not understand what’s happening to him, but he understands her better than we do. As he tilts Ivy’s face in his direction and reads her features, tension pulls tighter at his brow.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he mumbles, kneeling beside her legs. Her mouth visibly wobbles, the scent of fear encroaching on her sadness. Dair’s eyes burn. “Apart from everything I did, I mean. Is there something else?”
Ivy’s hand falls limply to the place above her core, clutching at the spot that aches for an alpha to fill it. “It hurts. And I know I need… I—I need?—”
Dair can’t quite keep the rumble out of his voice. “To get off. We know, baby. We want to help you.”
She pales at that. His nostrils flare as he grinds his teeth, clearly forcing himself to offer, “We can leave you alone if you want to take care of this spike alone…”
Desperation lurches up my throat. I feel my eyes bulge with it, and Ivy’s drawn expression loosens a bit at the sight. Her lips even flicker into a weak half-smile for a second before she exhales and hangs her head.
“I don’t really know what I’m doing on my own. Or with anyone. I—I’ve only done it a couple of times.”
She’s… only had sex a couple of times?
Oh dear, sweet Lord .
Dismay and awe spiral through me, settling into a bittersweet slurry of absolute disbelief . Because… how ?! She’s literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. So sweet and warm and kind and?—
Loyal .
Dair and I both turn slowly, pinning Asher with accusing looks. Unnecessary ones, because he’s had the same thought and arrived at the same conclusion.
She loved him and he sent her away.
But that doesn’t mean she stopped loving him.
She probably spent her few years of freedom missing him… and then she had to come back and take care of her mother. Working day and night. Making herself sick from stress and chemicals and all the bullshit we put her through.
Ivy hasn’t had a single day for herself. Probably in years. She’s been trying to survive . Of course she’s had no time for this . Alone or with a partner.
But it sounds like she didn’t have much inclination, anyway, after Asher broke her heart.
God, how old was she when that happened? Sixteen?
And she’s just been alone ever since?
I’m down on my knees before I finish the thought, winded by it. “Ivy,” I whisper, dropping my forehead to her lap. “Angel, I’m so sorry .”
Ivy’s hand lands on the back of my head. “Why, Sebastian? You were always”—she swallows, her voice rasping as her thighs flex—“so kind. Charming and gallant and…”
Her need is getting hard to ignore. The deeper, richer, sugared warmth has my mouth watering, but I have to know what she’s about to say. I straighten, finding her azure eyes so she knows I’m listening. “And?”
The sheen in her gaze doesn’t seem entirely heat-spike-related. When she replies, emotion clogs her throat.
“My friend,” she whispers. “You’ve tried to be my friend this whole time.”
It’s true, I have. It made no sense to me why I needed to… but now I get it.
My heart cracks. I fit my fingers around her face, swiping at her tears with my thumb.
“I am your friend, Ivy,” I vow. “No matter what else happens, you can count on that.”
Horrible, stinging sadness emanates from her as her eyes slide from mine to Asher’s.
Which also makes sense. Because everything I’m promising her? Wasn’t true for him.
He sent her away and banished her from his entire life so completely, she wasn’t even supposed to work here. Whatever friendship they had at the beginning of their story died when he decided she couldn’t be his queen.
Asher is pale and utterly still—like a statue carved from a block of pure pain.
But, fuck. None of this is about us right now. Ivy hurts .
Dair sees the anxious look I slant toward Ivy’s clutched hand. His gears spin for a moment before he turns to Asher. And barks .
“ Out. ”
A low snarl echoes in the prince’s chest, but he manages to keep his tone level. “Pardon me?”
To my shock, Dair stands and steps away, walking back toward our pack leader. “You and I are leaving. Ivy is in pain, and she needs help. But neither of us has even apologized to her yet. Can’t you sense how sad she is? Because of us . She’s more comfortable with Bast right now. So. Out .”
Well, damn.
Asher processes the command, his expression somewhere between murderous and agonized. Finally, he releases a harsh breath and starts to leave.
Ivy’s little whine is weak enough to shatter my heart all over again. “Angel,” I whisper, clambering to sit beside her and pull her into my lap. “Come here.”
Asher hears her cry and freezes mid-stride. With another softer exhale, he comes back to his bed and runs his fingers down the side of her face, holding her gaze. “I don’t want to leave you, darling. But Dair is right. You need to be comfortable right now. We’ll wait outside while Bast takes care of you. If you need us, just say our names and we’ll come running back to you.”
She looks so heartbroken. I hug her closer and start purring again, giving her a little bounce to get her to smile. “Trust me,” I rumble, “we won’t need them.”