Chapter 21 – B R O O K L Y N
The rain stops sounding soheavy while Denver’s cock softens inside me. The harsh pounding reduces to a light pattering, and the light from the mouth of the cave has paled from charcoal to a soft gray.
I feel better now, too. The painful cramps vanished once I felt Denver’s knot inside me. His muscular body feels hot against me, telling me that my fever has started going down, too. My heat isn’t over, but thank God, it’s somewhat satiated. I almost feel like myself again.
I expected to be panicking by now. The heat clouded my thoughts, making me forget everything except how much I needed an Alpha. Now, my mind is free to obsess over everything else that’s gone wrong. My shelter, my home, probably burned in the wildfire. I don’t know how long I have to find contraceptives before the consequences of the past day take effect. Worst of all, I just gave Denver my word that I’d let him bring me back to my so-called family, where only pain and torture awaits.
Yet for some reason, I’m not scared. I should be, but instead, I just feel safe. Surrounded by Denver’s warm steel scent, my pulse is slow and my limbs are heavy. Curled up next to him, I get the sense that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I’ll figure it out. I won’t let Papa and Grayson hurt me again.
Denver’s cock is soft enough that it’s slipped out of me, and his seed mixes with my slick on my thighs. It’s messy and wet, but I’m not disgusted. In fact, I have the strange urge to press it all back into me with my fingers. Like I want to keep all of Denver inside of me. The very idea of it makes my face flush with embarrassment and desire.
I listen to his heavy breaths, and realize that he’s fallen asleep. He’ll never know. I roll off of him and slide my hand down my body, gathering our cum on three fingers. My inner walls clench in satisfaction when I slide my digits inside. I push as much of his seed back inside me as I can, almost purring from satisfaction.
For a long time, I lay quietly next to him, enjoying Denver’s warmth and nearness. The rain slows to the occasional drop, no longer shielding the sounds of the forest outside. I hear the sound of bird wings flapping, and I know they’ve been startled by something walking beneath them.
Camden and Memphis.
I can make out their scents from here, distant but getting closer. Mountain pine and wild mint mixed with sea salt and sweet clover. They’re safe—thank God, the storm didn’t take them.
Quickly, I get to my feet, pulling Denver’s shirt and jacket over me. They’re long enough on me that I don’t need to add the flannel pants. I rush to the cave entrance, eager to greet them. My heart beats rapidly with excitement and worry. What if they’re injured? What kept them out there in the rain for so long?
From the mouth of the cave, I can see them approaching. Memphis comes first, broad and dark, his slightly-squinted brown eyes clocking everything around him. He’s scowling, but instead of scaring me like it once did, his expression makes me smile. It’s just so him. My chest fills with warmth, seeing that he’s okay.
Then, he shifts direction, and I’m able to see Camden behind him. I gasp, my hand going to my heart.
My Alpha’s hurt.
A long, angry gash runs from Camden’s hairline, through his left eyebrow and onto his cheek. I rush toward him, my bare feet pounding against the wet ground. I take his face in my hands and examine the wound. There are a few loose stitches holding it together, but blood seeps from the edges.
“I’m fine,” Camden says. His crooked smile isn’t dampened at all by the injury. “Looks worse than it is. Head wounds just bleed a lot.”
I wish I could believe him, but it would be just like the easygoing Camden to play down a serious injury so nobody worries. Too late—I’m fucking worried.
“How did this happen?” Denver asks. His tone is brisk and businesslike, a military commander asking the troops for a report, but his body language tells a different story. He hovers just behind me, physically closer than he’s ever been to me around the other Alphas. He’s marking me as his territory, and I’m not quite sure how to feel about it.
“Damn ravine and the log bridge,” Memphis says.
“The log fell apart while I was crossing,” Camden explains. Behind me, I feel Denver tense, like he was still perched above the water and rocks. “Fortunately, with the rain flooding the river, I got out with just a scratch. I swam to shore and waited for Memphis to come get me.”
“He was passed out,” Memphis tells Denver. “Took me a good hour to climb down and find him. Put him on concussion watch.”
Camden waves a dismissive hand. “I’m fine. Really, it’s just a scratch.”
We all shoot him exasperated looks. Nobody buys it.
“Sewed him up enough to get him back here safely,” Memphis grunts. “He’ll need better care from you, though.”
Denver moves around me to examine the wound more closely. “I’ll put in some more stitches, and we’ll need some antibiotics. It’ll probably scar, though.”
For the first time, a flash of unease crosses Camden’s face. I doubt he’s a vain guy, but the wound is pretty large. Despite his gorgeous blue eyes and uneven smile, from now on, when people look at him, the scar will probably be the first thing they see. My heart floods with sympathy and indignity for him.
“I like scars,” I declare, my voice sounding louder than usual. All three men turn to face me. Camden looks relieved, like my opinion of his looks means something to him. Denver’s expression is even more intense for some reason.
Then immediately, I’m blushing, remembering the scars that riddled Denver’s back and chest. Later, I want to take my time touching and kissing them all. Based on his darkening eyes, Denver’s probably thinking the exact same thing.
The big man clears his throat. “Well, then, let’s get you stitched up.”
Denver brings Camden back to the tarp to take care of the wound, and my attention finally turns to the tracker looming in the cave entrance. Memphis’s eyes are dark and narrowed, his nostrils flaring. I know exactly what he’s scented—the cave reeks of sex. There’s no hiding what Denver and I have been doing.
It only takes three long strides for Memphis to be at my side. He grabs my wrist, lifting it to his nose. I think I see disgust in his rich brown eyes as he smells it—I’m positively covered with my slick and Denver’s seed from earlier. Suddenly, the fact that I’ve fucked these three Alphas hit me. They must think I’m some kind of slut, spreading my legs for everyone. Memphis is going to be repelled by me all over again.
I’ve just started to freak out when Memphis shocks me by putting all three of my fingers in his mouth. His soft tongue laps against them, sucking off the fluids.
It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Then, he takes his time, putting each finger in his mouth until it’s licked clean. He doesn’t release my wrist just yet, though. First, he slides his leather bracelet off and slips it over my hand. It’s way too big on me, but he’s able to finagle the leather tie to pull it closer.
“Don’t take it off,” he says, sounding deadly serious.
I nod. He doesn’t even need to ask—I wanted this bracelet from the moment I saw him wearing it, and now, it means even more to me, because it’s his.
“We got you the herbs,” Memphis adds, taking off his backpack. “We’ll make tea for breakfast. Managed to get some rabbits, too.”
As if on cue, my stomach growls. “Need help preparing them?” I offer.
He just shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll do it. You need rest. Your body’s still recovering from everything.”
I cross my arms, feeling stubborn. “Well, you two walked for miles last night, looking for herbs to help me. Not to mention, you had to pull Camden out of a goddamn river. You should be the one resting.”
The corner of his mouth twitches, like he’s trying to suppress a smile. “Don’t you worry about my stamina, sunshine. I can keep going for hours without slowing down.”
Well, that’s new. Strong, silent Memphis is actually flirting with me. He runs his eyes over my body, and I realize how exposed I am, wearing just Denver’s oversized t-shirt now. I’m pretty sure he can see my hardened nipples poking through the fabric.
To my frustration, I’m blushing again. Now that the fever’s low enough that my face is its normal olive color, apparently my body is determined to alert the Alphas whenever I’m even remotely turned on. I grab the herbs stuffed in the side pocket of Memphis’s pack.
“I’ll make the tea, then,” I declare.
“Make plenty,” Cam yells over. “It’ll help your heat symptoms, but it should work as a rut suppressant, too.”
Breakfast is a celebratory affair. Memphis butchers the rabbits, which Denver fries up with some dehydrated eggs, once he’s done stitching Camden back up. We all sit around the fire, enjoying the warm food and the feeling of being dry.
Camden uses his injury to insist on sitting next to me. “If I pass out, Brooklyn will catch me,” he jokes. “You two would probably blame me for my own concussion and let me fall.”
In response, Memphis insists on being the one to serve up my breakfast on his own tin plate. He saves the biggest pieces of rabbit for me and nobody argues, even though each of the Alphas weigh close to twice what I do.
Not to be outdone, Denver fetches me water, making sure I drink it all before he even touches his own breakfast. His dehydrated eggs congeal on his plate.
“I think you got a little dehydrated this morning,” he offers as an explanation. The look he shoots me is absolutely filthy. Clearly, he wants the other Alphas to know that he knotted me, too, just before they came back.
Memphis scowls at him, looking murderous. Cam just rolls his eyes and refills Memphis’s mug with more tea.
“Think you need this more than we do,” Cam says cheerfully. Memphis’s scowl deepens, but he drinks the tea without complaint.
We’re all ravenous, and everyone gets seconds for breakfast. While the other guys drink their tea, Camden regales us with the story of what we missed the night before. How he heroically swam out of the river, watching Memphis take his sweet time to get down to the rocky banks below. How he managed to keep the herbs from falling out of his backpack pocket. How he’s pretty sure he did catch sight of a flying squirrel close to camp, even though Memphis thinks it was just a chipmunk.
Throughout, they keep checking on me, making sure I have plenty of food, that I’m warm enough in Denver’s jacket. It’s nice, being taken care of like this. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, and while I’m proud of that, I also can’t remember the last time anyone doted on me. It makes me feel warm inside.
Even though it won’t last.
Once the storm ends and we make it back home, they’ll leave, going back to their lives. Without my Omega hormones calling to them, the Alphas will forget about me quickly. I’ll just be the weird runaway they helped out, once upon a time.
Breakfast turns heavy and bitter in my stomach.
Denver clears his throat. “Memphis, Camden, come outside for a minute. We should regroup and discuss the return trip.”
Already, his tone is different. He’s not the sexy, demanding Alpha who knotted me this morning. Now, he’s all military commander, rounding up the troops. Of course, the troops fall in line. Neither Camden nor Memphis look at me as they follow Denver outside. I don’t like it—I’ve already promised Denver that I’ll go back with him and stop causing trouble. What could they possibly be discussing that I can’t hear?
Carefully, I sneak after them, making sure to stay in the shadows of the craggy rocks by the door. I can’t get as close to them as I’d like, but I can still hear most of their discussion.
“—heat’s fading,” Denver’s saying. “—shift focus to getting her home. The rain’s up—it’s time.”
Memphis says something in response, but his voice is so low and quiet I can’t make it out. Whatever it is, he doesn’t look happy.
“—can’t get attached to her,” Denver answers, and it sounds like an admonishment. “It’s temporary. It was always going to be temporary. We have a job to finish.”
The words hit me like a punch to the chest. Knotting with Denver last night, I felt so attached. Cared for. Connected. And now, he’s dismissing me to the others, like I’m some short-term nuisance, passing as quickly as the rainstorm. My only comfort is that his words seem to piss Memphis off, too. The tracker’s expression is downright murderous.
Unsurprisingly, Camden tries to play peacemaker. His voice carries clearly. “We only have to return her home. She’s an adult. She can decide what she wants for her life after that.”
At least he’s thought about sticking around. Of course, he’ll have no idea there’s anything wrong. Papa and Grayson always were good at putting on a show. I’m confident they’ll play the happy family reunited with their missing little girl perfectly. Trusting as he is, Camden won’t be able to see what’s really going on. If he thinks they’ll let me go once they have me back, he’s horribly mistaken.
“There’s just one thing that’s bothering me still. She’s hiding something,” Denver says. “She doesn’t want to go home and I need to know why.”
A gust of wind makes the tree branches shake, and I can’t make out what they say next. I don’t move, even when they move on to talking about logistics. Apparently, Denver’s going to watch over me for a while so Memphis and Camden can get some sleep. After lunch, we’ll get moving again.
They’re not going to bother consulting me about what we do next, obviously. I’m not one of them—I’m just a job. They want distance, and really, I should thank them for it. If I’m not careful, I’m going to start imagining this is something more than it is.
I’m Roger Castle’s daughter, and they’re his employees. To him, I’m a prize—to them, I’m a job. I’m not a real person to these Alphas.
I’m not real to anyone.