Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
Ax
Two months ago
“ W e need an omega,” I said, leaning my head against the seat as Enzo drove the three of us home in the pack SUV.
“Why the fuck would we need an omega? We have Issa,” Enzo said.
“We don’t have her. She simply lives with us,” I grumbled. I swore I’d been walking around with a case of blue balls since the day she’d walked through our door with the understanding she was willing to give our pack a shot. And, thankfully, she hadn’t left.
“She’ll come to us when she’s ready,” Cyrus said, turning his upper body to look at me over his shoulder.
“Or we find a male omega for her. She’s comfortable around us but is still wary of other alphas. And we don’t want her to feel as though she’s being replaced or like her place with us is threatened. A male omega wouldn’t be a threat, could actually help her lean into her natural beta instincts, and…maybe rev up her libido.”
“What makes you think she doesn’t have a libido? Not everyone wants your dick,” Enzo grumbled around a yawn.
“Just because I can’t smell her arousal doesn’t mean she doesn’t want me, asshole. And yeah, everyone wants this dick.” I smiled to myself as I dropped my head back again. “But you both know I’m right.”
“An omega wouldn’t scare her. And it would be someone to hang out with while we’re at work. She’s got to be bored out of her mind when we’re out,” Cyrus offered, always the voice of reason.
“She’s scared of being alone, too. She won’t sleep in her bed unless we’re home,” Enzo pointed out.
“See? If we found an omega, there would be another body there so she wouldn’t feel alone. And omegas tend to be more outgoing and could help her break out of her shell.”
Cyrus nodded. “She’s been doing a lot better with her nightmares, but mainly when she coerces me into sleeping in her bed.”
“Oh, I’m sure there’s a whole lot of arm twisting there,” I said with an eye roll. I had to bully my way into the room and declare a pack cuddle just to have her pressed against my body.
“She didn’t freak out at the grocery store the last time she let me drag her along,” Enzo pointed out.
The first time she left the house after she’d escaped the claws of her former alpha, she’d nearly had a panic attack when a trio of alphas moved down the aisle toward where she and Cyrus were shopping.
She really was doing an amazing job at working through her trauma, but we would all prefer she saw a licensed therapist, someone who knew how to help her with the kind of issues she suffered after her fucked up bonding with Antonio.
“Do you realize how fucking rare male omegas are?” Enzo pointed out as if I hadn’t already thought about that.
“We have time. Not like we’re in a rush to create heirs or some shit. We put out some feelers, maybe even approach an agency, then find the right person for her. We let her decide. If she’s not up to another member joining the pack or doesn’t get along with the omega, we throw the whole plan out the window,” I said.
Exhaustion was settling in my bones now that we were finally on our way home for the night. And we had actually taken the next two days off to spend more time with Issa.
We’d been working nonstop lately, and I wanted to try to get her out of the house again, but this time on a date, maybe to a nice restaurant or something. Especially after all the grumbling she’d done about not needing the fancier clothes since she didn’t go anywhere.
Personally, I was dying to see her in one of the dresses I’d bought her, especially one of those I knew would cut high on her thighs and give me glimpses of her cleavage.
She was comfortable around us, had even changed in front of me – while keeping her tits and lower half covered under panties and a bra – and was fine with puppy piles. But that didn’t mean she was ready to take anything further than that.
But fuck me if I wasn’t more than ready to feel that body under my hands, to finally feel how soft her lips would be against mine, to taste how sweet her cunt would be on my tongue.
Reaching down, I adjusted my cock before it ended up punching its way through my slacks and tugged on my pants to make room for my half-swollen knot.
Enzo pulled the SUV into the secured garage and killed the engine. We ambled toward the door, the twelve hours we’d put in at the club weighing us all down. Even though Issa was a beta, her soft scent had permeated the house and I could smell her the second we stepped into the mud room that doubled as a laundry room and through the kitchen.
She was asleep on the couch, the blanket over her legs, the tank top she’d donned for bed riding up her stomach and showing off a slice of skin that I wanted nothing more than to reach down to run my fingers over the olive hued skin…then follow my fingers with my lips.
“Told you,” I said.
“Told me what? I was the one who pointed out that she’s uncomfortable going to her bed when we’re not here,” Enzo grumbled before rounding the couch and gently touching her shoulder to wake her.
She hadn’t even bothered turning off the lamps or the TV, just dozed off while binging a show we’d seen her watch a few times. Something about two brothers hunting demons and monsters and shit. I had a feeling she was watching for the dudes, but whatever…I was hotter than both of them combined.
Cyrus had attempted to lift her and carry her to her room the first time we’d found her asleep on the couch, but she’d woken up screaming and swinging her tiny fists. Not that she’d actually hurt Cyrus, but she’d felt terrible after.
So now, we all made sure to wake her carefully and gently, purring for her so she woke peacefully.
“Hey,” she whispered, her voice groggy as she pushed up to sitting and rubbed both eyes with the heels of her hands. “You’re home.”
“We’re home,” Enzo said. And I didn’t miss how soft his face and voice got anytime he dealt with her. I’d caught him more times than I could count simply staring at her with a love sick expression when she didn’t know he was watching her.
We all wanted her. But we’d all agreed anything that might happen would be decided by her and on her timeline.
She stretched her arms over her head with a yawn, that damn tank top raising higher until my knot became fully engorged, and my dick tapped the back of my zipper as though to remind me he still hadn’t had any loving.
For the first few days she’d been here, I’d fucked Cyrus – and vice versa – damned near daily. It had been more of a necessity than a luxury. She was used to us walking around with boners now , but none of us had wanted to make her uncomfortable by showcasing the tents in our pants or boxers when she had first moved into our home.
Even when I woke up with my rock-hard cock pressed against her ass, she didn’t react or say anything. Though she was usually still sleeping by the time I rolled out of bed for a quick breakfast, work out, and dance practice.
We all waited until she was on her feet and heading toward the stairs – more like shuffling toward them – before we all filed behind her.
“Pack bed?” I called out behind the other three.
“That works for me,” she said before yawning again.
I hoped someday she would feel comfortable and safe enough to go to her own bed when we were out. We had alarms everywhere, cameras pointing toward every inch of the house and property, even sensors to let us know if our property was breached from any direction.
As the three of us headed to our bedrooms to wash off the day and change into clean boxers or shorts, Issa headed toward her bedroom where one of two pack beds was located. The other was in the empty and never used omega quarters. But if my plan worked, perhaps it wouldn’t be long before five of us were cuddled together in a puppy pile every night.
“What about this one?” I asked, turning my laptop toward Cyrus and Enzo.
All three of us sat at the kitchen table with the local Omega Center’s page open, scouring through the omegas interested in finding a pack.
Enzo leaned to the side and scoured the page. “Nope. See there? He’s not interested in a pack with betas.”
“Fuck him, then,” I said, clicking through the one page of male omegas.
Omegas were rare enough. Male omegas were as rare as female alphas. But hey, one of our bartenders, Aryn, was a female alpha. Therefore, I was determined to take that as a sign from the universe that we were meant to have a somewhat abnormal connection with the various designations.
Cyrus didn’t even glance at my laptop, his face mere inches from the screen in front of him. Dude refused to see anyone about getting glasses for computer or close up work .
“I think I found one,” he muttered, almost to himself.
Even though we’d gotten in late, we had all snuck out of the bed at the butt crack of dawn this morning so we could do some digging while our sweet Issa was still asleep.
Enzo and I pushed our chairs closer to him on either side. There was only a head shot of the male omega, but from what we could see, he was hot. Unbonded, unclaimed. Still living with his parents, only omega child with three younger sisters. No information on his family pack. A few hobbies and interests listed.
But what got all of our attention was the fact he had zero limitations on his preferences in a pack, meaning he didn’t care whether it was all alphas, all betas, or a mix. In the spot about willingness to carry a child for his future pack, he entered willing to discuss . That wasn’t a deal maker or breaker for us since we’d never really bothered having that conversation. Personally, I wasn’t in a hurry to become a parent. I was having entirely too much fun.
He also lived fairly close.
Before the other two could say a word, I lifted my phone and dialed the number he’d added to his profile. Although, it could very well be the number to the center, but I didn’t care. I wanted to try to get in contact with this man and see whether he’d be willing to do a casual meet and greet with us and Issa, see if she liked him, if they would get along.
And I wanted to try to make it as organic as possible.
After leaving my name and number on a generic voicemail, I turned a grin on my packmates.
“She’s going to hate the whole blind date thing,” Cyrus said, his attention still on his screen as he scrolled through the exact same list the three of us had been scouring. There had only been a few that looked remotely interesting, but nothing as intriguing as the one omega I’d contacted.
“So we don’t tell her. She’s finally getting out of the house. We convince her to join us at the club. She caught me working on some new choreography again— ”
“She didn’t catch you. She heard the music and rushed through the house to watch,” Enzo said with a smirk.
That first time I’d found her watching, she’d looked shocked and in awe. After that, she didn’t bother hiding her approach as she made her way down the stairs to plop herself on the floor in front of the mirrors to watch me. And if she noticed how hard I got from her eyes on me, she never made a single comment about it.
“Whatever. We tell her I want her to see the full show. Tell her she needs to finally wear one of those dresses or whatever. Get her out of the house. Introduce her to Aryn and the rest of the crew so she’ll know she’s completely safe even if we have to retreat to our offices or tend to other business.”
“When did you become so…mature and organized?” Cyrus teased.
I lifted my hand and flipped him the bird.
“And poof…he’s a man child again,” Cyrus mumbled with a soft laugh.