Chapter 24 Ren
TWENTY-FOUR
Ren
“How long do you think they’ll be?” Laz asks while he scurries around the kitchen, buzzing with nervous energy.
Despite his usual confidence, the pacing and hair tugging prove that he’s anxious.
Although he and Faye had a great date at the arcade, he’s still plagued with worry over saying the wrong thing and accidentally upsetting her.
If he just relaxes and acts like his usual self, he’ll be fine.
Laz is the pack jokester, and Faye will love him for that.
“However long it takes.” I grin. “Our omega is needy.”
Cole told me to rest, but it’s easier said than done when I’m living on pure adrenaline. Being with Faye was incredible.
Knotting is more than a physical act. It’s emotional, and the fact that she picked me to be her first means more to me than she’ll ever know.
Belle wasn’t the first person to make me feel inadequate.
I have two alpha dads and being their only child, they both encouraged me to pursue sports, wanting me to follow in their footsteps.
Being a reader doesn’t exactly give him the same bragging rights as their friends.
They’ve always supported me, but they’ve never been able to fully mask their disappointment.
However, Faye has never made me feel like I’m not enough of an alpha for her.
I tilt my head to listen when Laz puts a finger to his lips. Faye and Cole’s loud love making seems to have quietened. “Sounds like they’re taking a breather.”
“We’re so lucky.” I smile, thinking of the way Faye looked beneath me. “She’s perfect. For all of us.”
“Speak for yourself,” Damon grunts from where he’s scarfing down ice cream sprinkled with salted potato chips.
“That’s gross, dude.” Laz wrinkles his nose. “Who eats chips and ice cream?”
Damon empties the entire packet into his bowl to make a point. The only thing that would make this moment even better would be an improvement to Damon’s mood. He’s stubborn as hell. And he’s been sulking since Laz persuaded him to stop swinging an axe around in the dark.
Damon has ransacked the cupboards, his binge eating worsening as Faye’s moans filled the house.
“Do you think this is enough food?” Laz inspects the feast he put together on the countertop that’d feed an entire party. He even cut fresh fruits up into cute animal shapes.
Damon points at a melon that looks like some kind of bird. “What the fuck is that supposed to be?”
“It’s a swan!” Laz picks it up, cradling his little swan melon. “Do you think it’s too much?”
Damon snorts.
“No, it’s fine,” I assure Laz before Damon makes another snarky comment. Just because Damon’s making every effort to ignore his connection with Faye doesn’t give him the right to shit on everyone else parade. “She’ll love it, Laz.”
Laz smiles, carefully placing the swan melon on a bed of strawberries. He’s more sensitive than he lets on, choosing to hide his insecurities behind jokes.
“I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss.” Damon shakes his head. “She’s just an omega.”
“She’s not just an omega,” I correct him. “She’s our omega, and the sooner you get your head around that, the better.”
“She may be yours,” Damon scoffs. “But she sure as hell ain’t mine.”
“How much longer are you going to fight it?” I cross my arms, leaning back against the counter. “I know you’re drawn to Faye like we are. Look, I understand that you’re worried after—”
Damon hurls the empty ice cream tub across the room, the spoon landing with a tinny thud. Cole will have a fit when he sees ice cream splattered everywhere.
“I’m not fighting or worried about anything!” Damon snarls. “Why are you so brave all of a sudden anyway? Did knotting an omega for the first time make you feel like more of a man?”
“Enough, dude, okay?” Laz’s face reddens as he steps between us. “Now you’re just being an asshole.”
I suck in a cleansing breath so I don't retaliate, letting Damon’s comments wash over me. Damon’s first reaction to anything uncomfortable is to get defensive or smash things. Unfortunately, it’s a trait he inherited from his father, and it’s a tough one to break. Hurt people hurt people.
“I didn’t want to be here, remember?” Damon throws up his arms. “You made me stay, and now I have to sit and listen to you rail her in the nest! Cole may have forced me to come to this cabin, but he can’t force me to be happy about it. I’m going to chop more wood.”
“Fine, go get eaten by a grizzly! They’ll need a big meal to bulk up for winter anyway!” Laz yells to Damon’s back as he storms into the night. “I give up with him.”
“He’ll come around.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Laz drops down onto one of the breakfast stools, staring wistfully at his fruit art. “Ren, I don’t know if we can live without Faye.”
“It won’t come to that.” Damon is fighting his own inner demons, but he can’t deny what his alpha needs forever. “Damon just needs time.”
I have to believe that he’ll come around. Finding an omega should be something that brings a pack together, but as I gaze out the window at the inky tree line, I hope it doesn’t tear us apart in the process.