Chapter Twenty-Five
Booker
Booker sat staring into space, something he’d been doing more and more since…
He rubbed at his face, the sound of his beard rasping the only noise as he inhaled Frey’s scent.
How have I gotten myself into this situation?
Our fox is not a situation.
Fuck you! You aren’t the one suffering here!
Outside Booker’s office, there was a noise before someone knocked and he called out for them to come in, needing a distraction because he was going out of his mind.
Taylin stepped in looking as fresh as a damn daisy, all pressed and glowing with happiness. He glanced at the seats in front of Booker’s desk, his nose twitching .
“Who you looking for?” Booker questioned, sitting back in his seat, making it creak as he worked on acting calm and collected. He was neither of those fucking things, with his cock rock hard after his flirty fox had left mere minutes ago.
“You,” Taylin replied, shutting the door behind him. “Although it smells like Frey in here.”
“He works alongside me and what the heck do you think you’re doing sniffing at him?” Booker reacted, defending why he’d had Frey in his office. That he’d had the little fox practically living in there was no one's business and definitely not Taylin’s. His irrational brain was not computing why Taylin would notice Frey’s beautiful smell, so he glared at his brother.
Taylin chuckled and held up his hands. “I don’t sniff him. It’s just impossible to ignore him when he smells of chocolate and spice, isn’t it?” he asked, giving Booker an innocent look that didn’t fool him.
Yet, that didn’t stop him rising, his protective urges towards Frey triggered, his eyes boring angry holes into Taylin.
“You’ve got the hots for Frey,” Taylin accused.
“Give the fuck over. ‘The hots’? What the hell kind of adult thing is that to say?” Booker put on the act of not giving a fuck, shrugging despite his guts being twisted into a mess. He did not want Taylin letting on to his brothers that he’d fallen hard enough to break bones over the little fox.
Weeks had passed since the day he’d found Frey by the lake. Since the day in his apartment when…
Breathe. Breathe and don’t fucking think about…
“The only kind that fits with your over the top reaction,” Taylin replied, dragging him back into the conversation he would sell his left testicle to avoid.
Booker took his seat, working to contain his frustrated growl. “What do you want?” he asked testily, picking up a pen for something to do with his hands and tapped it on the arm of the chair.
“The trip back to the hellhole, is it necessary?”
Not really what Booker wanted to talk about after how upset Frey had gotten earlier over the incoming information from Minnesota where the head of security had stayed. Their legal team was there, working to keep the divergent omegas safe. Something that was proving harder with the supporters kicking off and putting cash behind the fuckers who’d imprisoned them.
Those shitheads were free, which was why Booker had spent an hour of his morning with Frey on his lap, rocking the inconsolable fox. He had such a big heart. Something else to add to the ever-growing list of reasons for Booker’s attraction.
“Unfortunately, yes. They want us back there to go over our statements in person. Amatus’ lawyer is requesting in-person meetings with me, you, and Rue.” He threw the pen on the desk in disgust at how they were trying to manipulate them, reaching to pick up a sheath of papers and wave them at Taylin angrily, temper flashing in his eyes at what had come via email to him.
“We don’t have to go,” Taylin pointed out. “Legally they can’t make us. ”
“No, they can’t, or not yet. But…”
“It’s the right thing to do,” Taylin finished for him.
“I’m arranging for the jet to fly us tomorrow morning, as we have this family thing tonight.”
Taylin frowned. “Family thing?” he questioned, “I wouldn’t call dropping off some baked goods that Hollis made for Popi tonight, a family thing. Hollis could do that himself, without me.”
Booker burst out laughing. In fact, he laughed so hard his chair creaked alarmingly, but he couldn’t stop when he was nowhere near fooled by Popi’s reasoning for inviting Hollis’s parents around for dinner without letting Taylin know.
“What am I missing?” Taylin asked, deep furrows appearing as he stared at Booker, looking wholly unamused.
“Popi invited Hollis’s parents over for dinner to get to know them and to talk about how cute you two are together,” he choked out, continuing to roar with uncontrollable laughter.
Taylin flew out of the office and Booker had to take several deep breaths, wiping his eyes twice before he got himself under control.
It won’t be so funny when it happens to you, his bear pointed out smugly.
What… no! Popi can’t invite Frey’s parents over, he has no contact with them.
Yet. He’s safe now. He’s ours, we’ll protect him so he can go see his family.
All humor disappeared at how his bear projected something else. Revenge. As in ripping the alpha who harmed their fox a new asshole and shoving his head up there.
You really should learn some control.
Are you saying you don’t want to do the same?
Of course he did. Frey was nothing like what Booker imagined. He was an alpha virgin. And that alone kept all the urges that ran through Booker tightly reined in. There was no way he wanted to scare Frey. He’d rather stab his own heart first. And it was feelings like that which had him absolutely terrified of what came next.
He’s ours.
Additional time with Frey outside of work— dating, we’re dating —meant that every day, Booker had no place to hide. His bear’s insistence matched his own feelings, he couldn’t lie.
He looked for his pen, for a distraction. Seeing it on the floor, he scowled, reached for it and went back to the long list of things he needed to organize for the trip back to Drinkwater, Minnesota, tomorrow. Frey was coming with them. He’d debated for all of five seconds before he’d reasoned that Frey needed to see the improvements they were making to the omegas' lives.
His little fox never stopped mentioning them.
Booker sighed and reached for the list.
Pissed because his bear remained annoyed at him for not inviting Frey to dinner tonight, Booker looked for a distraction when his dads’ and Hollis’s parents left the room at the sounds of a car outside.
“What’s the betting Taylin has done something rash?”
“Rash,” Laken asked from his lounged position on the other side of the room.
“Yep, rash,” Booker said, listening out with half an ear to the conversation coming through the open doors.
Silas rose, tugging at the sweater he wore. “What do you know that we don’t?”
Booker chuckled gleefully. “I kind of let slip that Popi had invited Hollis’s parents for dinner tonight.”
“Sneaky.” Jupiter laughed, looking impressed. “I like it.”
“Trust you,” Kodi muttered, also getting up. “Let’s go rag on Taylin. We don’t get many opportunities now he’s living with Hollis.”
Up and following, Silas leading the charge, with Kodi, Laken, and Booker right behind. They heard Hollis’s mom announce, loud enough the next town would hear, “Oh Hubert, look! He’s engaged!”
They all gasped and made a dash for the door. Booker hadn’t thought Taylin would go that far—or had he?
Would he?
A ball of anxiety formed in his gut as he went rushing out with his brothers. They barely stopped plowing into each other as they vied to get closer to see if it was true. One of them had finally taken the big plunge into coupledom bliss .
Taylin stood next to Derick, grinning foolishly at everyone. “You need to thank Booker”—he looked directly at him—“for spilling the beans about tonight.”
“Jackass,” Booker grumbled, working to control the heat wanting to climb into his cheeks at being called out in front of his dads. He knew he was in trouble when Popi spun towards him, tutting and wagging his finger.
“Were you trying to cause trouble, young man?”
Oh damn. He was gonna kick Taylin’s ass for this.
“He always does,” Kodi supplied, laughing, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“Shut up.” Booker cast a warning look at Kodi, only Popi stepped between them and hooked his arm through Booker’s.
“For that naughtiness, you can help me bring in what Hollis made, which you won’t be getting any of.” When Popi made a threat, he meant it wholeheartedly.
“What?” spluttered Booker, while doing exactly what Popi wanted.
On his way into the house, Booker muttered crossly at thoughts of missing out on the divine smells coming from the boxes. “Isn’t it supposed to be a celebration? I mean, maybe I pushed Taylin to pop the question, isn’t that what you’ve been angling for?” he groused, feeling hard done by.
Popi gave him a smile no one else saw before he nudged him towards the kitchen. “They make a lovely couple. Imagine how cute their babies will be. Although I imagine you’d make cute babies, too. ”
Booker gawped in shock, and nearly dropped the boxes he held as he stared openmouthed at Popi, who walked off.
“No Popi. No, I wouldn’t,” he said in a strangled whisper, for fear his brothers were there to listen to this nonsense.
He’s right. Cute little foxes with pointy ears.
Don’t even start with me. We haven’t got to the naked stage yet.
We have. And he loved what he saw.
His internals were at boiling point for many different reasons. Booker felt the steam getting ready to come out of his ears as he stomped into the kitchen, slammed the boxes on the counter, and glared at everyone for good measure.
Bessie smiled at him from the stove as she’d done a thousand times before. Their family housekeeper was as much a part of their family as Booker. “Whose upset, my big boy?”
“He’s been naughty and isn’t getting dessert,” Popi stated, all innocence.
“Popi!” he coughed in outrage.
“What? It’s true.”
Bessie waved the spoon she picked up at him, her eyes gleaming with delight. “So when do we get to meet your beau? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you skipping out of here all smiles.”
Booker shoved the boxes to the side and dropped his forehead on the counter when Popi arched a brow at him. His hands rubbed at the sides of his hairy cheeks and shut out the two laughing hyenas.
“Never,” Booker muttered. “I ain’t bringing anyone home, you hear me?”
Who the fuck was I kidding?