Chapter 4
Charity
When I woke up, I noticed that the warm chest vibrating with a deep purr that I was laying on was no longer there.
I blinked a few times, adjusting to being awake, before sitting up a bit.
Matthias was sitting at a desk on the other side of the room, focused on his laptop and whatever work he was doing.
"Matthias?" I asked groggily. I spoke so quietly I didn't think he heard me, but he quickly turned in his chair to face me.
"You're awake," he said, smiling. "I had to get some work done since we're working on a rescue mission, but I'm just about finished.
I would work in bed with you, but I think I'd get too comfy.
You're welcome to pull up a chair or sit on my lap if you'd like.
" He turned back to his screen, which was fully covered by his broad shoulders.
The offer enticed me. My omega relished in the idea of being on his lap and letting him take care of everything.
I carefully got up and walked over, satisfied at how much better I already felt.
I stopped by his chair, and without so much as looking up, he grabbed my hips, pulled me up, and placed me on his lap.
I straddled my legs over his and wrapped my arms around his neck, burrowing my face into his shoulder and breathing in his comforting scent.
He placed one of his hands on the back of my neck and kissed the crown of my head a few times.
We sat like that for what felt like an indescribable amount of time.
Then a knock sounded on the door, before it opened quietly.
I looked up, watching as Marcel walked in.
His light brown hair was frizzy, and I remembered how he had been constantly running his fingers through it when Dr. Kaiser was here.
His cold face relaxed when he saw me. "Ch-Charity," he choked out, like he was thinking of something else, but my name was what came out instead. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked, his voice firmer and less questioning.
"I am," I told him. "Matthias made me a smoothie and then I took a nap. I woke up not too long ago." He smiled softly, a tenderness filling his eyes, and I hoped it was my words that calmed him.
"Well, you took a very long nap," he said. "The club closed a couple of minutes ago, so we're planning to head home now." Matthias lifted one of his hands to give Marcel a thumbs up.
Marcel then walked over to us and placed a hand on my head, playing with my hair. I hadn't noticed it before, but up close, I could see a feralness in his amber eyes. Somehow, the rich honey color of them darkened as he looked down at me, the veins in his under-eyes turning a dark purple color.
His scent blasted at me, smelling like a tropical paradise.
It was salty like beach water and sweet like golden kiwi and grilled pineapple.
My eyes bore into his as all my focus landed on him and him only.
I arched up, stretching my muscles from sitting for so long.
Matthias ran a firm hand up the side of my body, goosebumps following his touch.
Marcel reached down and pulled me up by my underarms. But he didn't put me back down. He let me wrap my arms and legs around him like a koala before walking us out.
"I see you've got our clothes on," he said. "They look very nice on you."
"Thank you," I replied, blushing. He placed a kiss on the crown of my head before carrying me downstairs. There were still some people littering the rooms and hallways, and my brows furrowed. "I thought the club was closed?"
Marcel nodded. "It is closed. The after-hours for our VIP members is beginning now. So once all of the non-VIP guests leave, the club will go into after-hours."
"Then why are we going home if it's still open? Isn't that...dangerous?" I asked. How could they trust random people to be in here by themselves?
"It would be if we didn't have extensive background checks on them. We know everything about every VIP member we've ever had, and we bring in our night shift bodyguards, since the day shift ones have to go home," he explained.
At the bottom of the stairs, I noticed the day shift bodyguards ushering the non-VIP guests out.
Atticus stood outside his office, watching intently, his face calculating and impending.
Marcel walked us over to him, and he tucked my face into the junction between his neck and shoulder, effectively making it look like I was fast asleep.
When we reached Atticus, Marcel put me down, but held my face close to his chest. It seemed like he was trying to conceal me from the view of the guests, so I took a deep breath and remembered that I have five alphas that want to protect me.
"You can gather the others and get the car started.
Xavier will likely take his motorcycle, so just make sure he knows we're heading home.
And you can leave Charity with me. I've missed her today," Atticus said, reaching forward to grab the back of my shirt--or, his shirt, I guess--and pull me backward to him.
I reacted quickly and turned to face him, looking up at him through my eyelashes and smiling widely.
"I missed you, too," I told him softly, and he cradled the back of my head with one of his hands, looking down into my eyes. I could just barely see Marcel moving across the floor to find the others.
I flinched when a yell broke out in the crowd of guests. Atticus gripped my hair tightly in his hand, keeping me from being able to turn my head and look at what was happening. A few more yells rang out, and I stepped closer to him.
"Stay," he growled, putting a slight bark in his words. My whole body froze in place, and in that moment, all I could do was breathe. It seemed like every muscle in my body was paralyzed, but my omega wasn't scared of it. She felt calm and safe, relaxing at the hint of his bark.
After a few minutes, the yelling stopped and footsteps ceased shuffling.
"Come," Atticus said, his bark creeping in, and my whole body relaxed, but without thinking, my legs carried me over to him, acting on what seemed like their own conscience.
I stopped before him, my eyes locked on his.
"Such a good omega," he praised, before giving my forehead a soft kiss.
A smiled up at him, giddy over the fact that I pleased him.
His eyes flickered down to my neck, like they were imagining something there. A beat of silence passed between us before he cleared his throat and moved to place a firm hand on my lower back, leading us out of the building.
Outside was a beautiful matte black Porsche Cayenne.
Atticus opened one of the backseat doors and helped me inside.
Marcel grabbed my waist and placed me between him and Zade, who grabbed my seatbelt and buckled it.
Atticus got into the driver's seat, with Matthias sitting in the passenger seat beside him.
I noticed a midnight purple Yamaha R6 on the other side of the car, and I lifted my chin to get a better look at it through the window.
I watched as Xander walked up to it, in a black wifebeater and black sweatpants.
He put his helmet on and pulled on his gloves, but his lack of protection concerned me.
"Why isn't he wearing more gear? Isn't that dangerous?" I asked to no one in particular. Zade placed a hand on my thigh, moving it up and down slowly. I did my best to ignore the butterflies that erupted in stomach at his touch, laser-focusing on his words.
"It would be if he wasn't a part of Pack Hartwick. People know who he is just from his bike, and know they'd be better off letting him ride freely," Zade explained. Xander turned his key into the ignition, and a loud hum filled the air, even through the car's exterior.
"How do people know who he is if he has a helmet on?" Xander pushed off of the ground, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him as he began walking his bike out, not yet accelerating.
"Look at the license plate, love," Zade said softly, and my eyes shot to the back of Xander's bike, where a license plate hung, spelling HRTWCK.
"I-I see it now," I whispered, and I sucked some air in after I realized that I had stopped breathing.
I craned my neck, watching Xander for as long as I could until he was out of my line of sight.
I didn't even notice when Atticus turned the car on and began driving us home, smoothly pulling onto the road.
After some time, we turned onto what seemed like the longest driveway I'd ever seen, made of cobblestone and lined with cherry blossom trees and grass greener than what seemed possible.
My jaw dropped, and then my eyebrows raised as the house came into view.
It was huge. Built from gray brick, it had sprawling windows and what I could only describe as wings.
I didn't think I could take it if they said that the bedrooms were in the "east wing. "
Realizing how crazy I probably looked, I closed my mouth and sat up straighter, clearing my throat. "You h-have a v-very beautiful house," I croaked, forcing words out even while I was lost for them.
"Thank you very much. We designed it ourselves," Matthias said, a tender smile gracing his face.
Atticus pulled into the garage, which seemed to be below the main level of the house, and I noticed four other cars, as well as Xander's motorcycle.
Each of the cars were of some kind of obscure luxury make that I'd never heard of.
After Atticus parked and turned the car off, Zade opened his door and helped me out.
He interlaced his fingers with mine, leading us to the entrance of the house.
Marcel, Matthias, and Atticus followed behind us, and when we made it inside and up the spiral staircase to the main floor, I was hit with a flurry of scents so strong I almost passed out. I could suddenly distinguish every individual scent, my omega perking up at how good it smelled.
My core tightened and my knees buckled, but before I could fall onto my face, Zade caught me and scooped me into his chest. "You okay there, love?" he asked. I nodded, swallowing roughly.
"Mm-hmm. I'm okay. I don't know what came over me," I answered, keeping from him the fact that it was definitely their combined scents that nearly sent me head over heels...literally.
I pretended I didn't notice the look he shared with Atticus, like he was confirming something. "Let's get you to your room," Matthias said, catching onto whatever hidden conversation Zade and Atticus were having.
Matthias pulled me out of Zade's arms and into his, carrying me to some mysterious part of the house.
We reached a wooden door with beautiful designs carved into it, and he led us inside, before placing me on the fluffiest, comfiest bed to ever exist.
"The bathroom is stocked with toiletries, and if you decide to shower, you can just let us know by pressing the silver button by the bathroom door or on your bedside table and we'll bring you another set of our clothes," he told me. I glanced over at one of the silver buttons he was referencing.
"So if I press it...what'll happen?" I asked, curious how it worked.
"When you press it, it'll page to the phones of whoever is in the house, which, right now, is all of us.
It's like a phone call, and you'll hear one of our voices go through the speaker next to the button.
To respond, you'll simply press the button and hold it while you speak.
Please do not be afraid to use it. Does that all make sense? "
I nodded, smiling softly. "Yes, thank you," I said quietly.
"Of course, sweet girl." I stayed silent as he watched me, not necessarily looking at me, but looking intome.
After a long moment, his jaw clenched and he crossed his arms. "I'll leave you be now.
One of us should be back up here in about an hour, which should give you enough time to get settled.
" I nodded once, and he nodded back, turning and leaving the room before closing the door behind him.
~~~~~
Matthias
I quickly walked back down the steps and into the living room, where the other guys were.
Atticus was sitting in his chair, legs spread wide as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Zade and Xander were next to each other on one of the couches, and Marcel was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, probably counting the number of steps between each pivot.
I sat down on the couch opposite Zade and Xander and placed my elbows on my knees, leaning over a bit.
"Can we all agree that her collapsing wasn't a coincidence?" Xander asked, wanting to get straight to the point. Atticus nodded.
"Dr. Kaiser told me that now that she's around us more, she'll start exhibiting signs of her first heat, since she's about five years behind schedule," Atticus said, pulling out his phone to read through the texts Dr. Kaiser sent him.
"Is there a timeline for it, or are we just playing the guessing game?" Marcel asked, concern lacing his voice. The only omega he knew growing up was his mom, and she died when he was in middle school, so he didn't know much about omegas and what their needs were.
"We have to look out for the more urgent signs, and once those hit, then we'll know it's coming soon.
So I need everyone to keep an eye out for fatigue, mild fevers, cramps, and consistent whines," Atticus told us, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"As her heat nears, her omega will be more in control of her actions, and she'll likely nest without us needing to ask her.
So we'll just let that happen when it does. "
"Let's say her heat arrives in two weeks," Xander began, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips, "do we tell her about our...preferencesbeforehand, or should we wait until her next heat?" We all looked at our head alpha, waiting for his call.
"Dr. Kaiser mentioned that her first heat could last up to two weeks, and for the sake of keeping us sane during that time, I say that we subtly hint at our preferences between now and then," he explained, before giving us examples.
"You could touch her neck a lot, have her sit on your lap, praise her for small things, do random things for her," he listed, trailing off. "Just do whatever calls to you."
"So we're resorting to manipulation tactics...?" Xander said bluntly, skeptical of Atticus's idea.
"We're not manipulating her, you clotpoll," Atticus asserted, sighing softly.
He had been over Xander's antics since he accepted him into the pack.
"We're simply guiding her from the shallow end to the deep end.
We want to be at the slope between the two.
We shouldn't ask too much of her for right now, but I want her to be informed about us and what we like. "
"So should we wait about a week, if we have that long, and then tell her in detail about what we like so she knows?
And we can explain to her anything she's confused about, so she can make a decision about whether or not she wants to implement those things during her first heat?
" I asked, offering a suggestion. "And we can couple it with those small hints, so she can get a taste of what it would be like? "
"Definitely," Atticus said, agreeing with my idea.
"Thank you, Matthias." I nodded, knowing he was probably very tired from his day and from not being with our omega all day.
My alpha was completely calm in my chest, but I could only imagine the level of self-control he and Xander were exhibiting. I didn't envy them that feeling.
"So tomorrow, start thinking of ways to spend time with her and give her those subtle hints, and also compile what you want to tell her about your preferences," Atticus told us. "We'll decide as a pack when it's a good time to tell her."
A/N:
that's chapter 4!! I'm trying to get a feel for the pacing, so please let me know if it feels appropriate!
I'd love to hear your thoughts!!
Happy Reading ??