20. Caspian
Caspian
I took the stairs two at a time, leaving Sin to race after me. Each of us had a thick stack of flat-pack boxes under one arm.
Kai had a Selection catwalk he’d been preparing for months that he couldn’t miss. It was better he didn’t come to Mel’s flat. We all knew for a fucking fact that no matter what he said, as soon as he saw her, he was going to try to fuck her. Then we’d get nothing done.
The paint on the thin metal railings came off in my hands, and the cement steps were so old they had dips in the centres. The dingy lights flickered, and there were stains on the walls that I was pretty sure didn’t just come from the water leaking from the ceiling.
I nodded to the corridor, telling Sin to go ahead. He still wore a full black suit, even in the middle of summer, but I had a feeling she was going to like that more than my deep red shirt and khaki shorts.
I hated how tense I was. It was fucking dumb.
I wanted Sin to go first, not just because he was our pack lead, but because I didn’t want to have to deal with seeing her without him. I could chuck Sin at her and then get on with whatever fucking business she needed us to do.
The entire thing was a joke, but Sin and Kai wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone until I agreed.
I wished I could just stay in the gym, and punch away the cloud of pain which suffocated me now that Camille really was leaving.
I didn’t know what to do, and Kai’s solution was to irritate the fuck out of me until I said Mel could stay with us. Temporarily.
She was only allowed to come to our pack house if she stayed in the room at the farthest end of the house and didn’t come within one hundred fucking feet of me.
We had two events left, then the deal was over. Dinner with our parents next week, then the Selection Ceremony, then she was out .
Sin said we were going to her nest, and I hated that my alpha instincts were getting all amped up. Because if she invited me in there, it was basically like she was saying she trusted me.
Which was the dumbest fucking thing she’d done since she walked into our heat suite.
The moment we reached the third door down, brandy enveloped me. Ten metres away, calling me like a beacon in the misty ocean. Dark spices, rich taste, her gorgeous scent asking me to drink her in and lick the last of the dregs from her skin. If she perfumed for me, that was it.
Who was I kidding? One fresh whiff straight from the source and I’d be gone.
We both saw the big box sitting outside her front door, and Sin almost smirked as I twisted my lips.
Kai had made us both sit in the bean bag chair for hours yesterday before he told us what it was for. He tricked me just like he had with that blanket days earlier.
I should have got the fuck back instead of hovering behind Sin like a devil on his shoulder as he knocked.
My mate eyed my shirt. He knew what I was planning when I wore red, and he normally disapproved. But this time, he had a determined look, and I knew we meant business.
The soft footsteps echoed inside, and a small crash had all my muscles tensing. Before her scent grew closer, stronger, so powerful I was already buckling.
I shouldn’t have even fucking come. I was bouncing from foot to foot as nerves danced from my stomach to my throat. That was a sign enough that I had to stay away from her.
There was a pause before the lock clicked and the door opened. It was only a crack, stopped by a golden chain, but it was enough for me to take a deep breath and growl.
Mel flinched, her gorgeous brown eyes lifting to Sin’s. He threw a glare at me before returning to her.
Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks pink, and her lips plump.
She’d been fucking crying. And the only reason my heart clenched was because I was an alpha standing in front of a distressed omega. It wasn’t about her.
“Can we come in?” Sin said. Her gaze darted to me, biting her lip and nodding, nearly fucking flooring me in the process.
Mel leaned back, closing the door so she could unlock the chain. Sin reached out, giving my hand a squeeze, sending me some of his cooling aura. Because it wasn’t time yet.
I forced my shoulders down, made myself relax as a gloved thumb stroked my palm.
I gave him a nod of thanks, even though I hated to admit how much she’d affected me already.
His hand fell away, and I straightened to my full height as the door swung open.
But his aura was fucking useless as I finally saw her again.
Because this time, it wasn’t a pastel dress and black leggings or a sleek gown Kai had designed to be infuriating.
Glued to her thick thighs and wide hips were a pair of tight jean shorts, the leg riding so close to her pussy that I could push them aside and take her right there.
It was complemented by a yellow string vest shaping her curves, the black cups of her padded bra hiding her nipples from me.
Her stuttered breath as she flicked me a glance told me they were already hard as fuck.
“Thanks for coming,” she said to Sin, her voice hoarse.
The fucker must have done something so bad that she’d cried enough to taint her fucking voice.
Kai didn’t give us the whole story. He was too busy lording it over us that he was the one she’d called. He’d done a complete one-eighty after whatever had happened between them at the party that led to his bite, and it was driving me nuts.
Especially when all Kai had done since the party was feed his need for her into our bond. Like he was trying to brainwash us. And it probably worked.
“I’ve already packed as much as I could,” Mel said. “I’m really glad you brought boxes, because all my bags and suitcases are full.” She stepped aside to reveal a room overflowing with them.
Sin stopped briefly in front of her to drop a kiss on her forehead, and a bolt of jealousy flew through me.
Even though his face was neutral, there was still smug satisfaction oozing from Sin, especially when she leaned into him, sighing as she took in his vanilla scent. Bastard.
“Where should we start?” he asked her softly.
“Kitchen first,” she replied, her demeanour changing from misty-eyed to business-like in a second. Which was hot as fuck, considering all I’d seen of her was a meek, begging omega who only wanted my cock.
She turned, ignoring me as I swept past, clicking the door shut behind us as she led me to a room on my left.
I assumed it was an invitation to follow her, so I trailed after her, scanning the room, bathing in the pure rush of being in her nest.
She waved her hand in a circle. “I’ve done the bathroom and most of the living room. How much car space do you have?”
“Enough,” I said sharply, distracted by the bursts of colour hitting me from every angle.
It was like a festival was contained in her small living room.
Not just the rich colours of the walls and the furniture, but the bold patchwork blankets, the painted flowers and vines creeping across her wooden table and chairs, the way the light brightened every corner of the room, reflecting new beauty with each sweep of my gaze.
Warmth filled me at the sight of the room, with the passion and energy that vibrated from every inch.
Sin told me I had to be respectful, like I was a fucking idiot who didn’t know if I messed up inside her nest, she might go crazy like Kai and start hurling stuff at me.
I’d been so generally fucked off with her that I hadn’t made a single effort to find out what kind of person was writhing her way into our lives.
Because she’d already bewitched Sin and Kai, and I was determined not to give in. But seeing how much life filled her nest after learning that Camille was leaving had my fucking instincts softening because I actually wanted to learn who she was.
“We have a van, but Kai’s bringing it later,” I said, following her to the door on my right. Even the fucking door frame lit up with her personality, and I smiled at little ducks and chickens painted across it before I caught myself.
I ran my fingers over the drawings, getting close enough to see how detailed they were.
Kai’s nest was messy, loud, and drenched with chaotic colours, but hers felt like a home where everything had been organised, even in the piles of bags and boxes.
And it was a punch to the fucking gut that we were dragging her from it.
Not that it was our fault she’d ended up like this. But one of the reasons I agreed to her staying with us was that she might never have presented if she hadn’t met us.
Which I thought was bullshit, but Kai was happy to lie through his teeth to get what he wanted.
“Caspian?” she called, popping her head through the door. I could tell from the way her eyes widened she hadn’t expected me to be standing right under the frame.
She swallowed as she stepped into full view in those sinful shorts.
Then it was just Mel and me standing face to face. She was inches from me, and it was still too far.
She stared at me blankly. I wanted to say something to show her I gave a fuck.
But then her chest swelled, her breasts lifting. And I was so intensely aware of how Kai’s bites splashed across her neck and collarbones.
He’d told us he bit her, and her presence was even stronger in our bond now they had fully exchanged bites, but seeing the marks was a whole other story.
My jaw clenched at the black bruises and red circles that came from where he plucked her skin and bit down. The only bruise that wasn't fresh was the yellowing mark on her cheek.
I was two seconds away from furiously rubbing them to get those marks off of her, so there wasn’t any proof she was connected to us.
It was meant to be four fucking weeks and four fucking parties, but it had blown out of control and there was no way of getting back.
Especially when, in the summer heat of her flat, a drop of brandy-flavoured sweat ran along the line of her collarbone and disappeared between her breasts.
I couldn’t deal with it. I snapped, slamming my hands on the doorframe, caging her in.
“It’s a crime to be wearing something like that, you know?
” I growled at her, my cock standing to full attention as I took a good, long inhale of the scent I’d been missing for four days.
Her chin tilted up, craning her neck all the way back so she looked up at me between my spread arms. “You knew what you were doing when you put those on.”
Her ponytail fell from her shoulder, her lips parting a touch as she pulled in a breath.
“They’re the only clothes I have left.” The corner of her mouth hitched as she leant forward. “What are you going to do about it?”
I pressed into her, her breasts skimming my chest, tension rising between us as she met me head on.
My fingers delved into her silky hair as a purr rushed between us.
As soon as I touched her, I knew I needed Kai. I had to have both my omegas to keep me together.
Plus, Kai had to be here to beat the ever-loving shit out of me for getting so close to her without his permission.
I swooped in, pausing a hair’s breadth from her lips, holding her still so she couldn’t meet me and seal the kiss.
Our breaths merged, so powerful I could fucking feel her inside me, and the lightest moan traced the softest outline over my lips.
I shuddered, my body answering hers, but I’d fucking promised my omega I wouldn’t do this.
I was so crap at controlling my aura and my instincts, but I couldn’t let Kai down again.
“You didn’t come here for this,” she whispered. “We need to pack.” Sadness replaced the heat in her gaze. She tugged at my wrists, pulling my hands from her hair.
She went to turn away, but I shot an arm out, my anger rising as I grasped her upper arm. It wasn’t me who’d put that emptiness in her gaze. It was the prick who thought he could blackmail her into fucking him with threats of stealing her nest.
And that prick thought he could just get away with it.
“Where is he? Where’s your fucking landlord?” I snapped, my fingers digging into her. She flinched back, and Sin was suddenly there. He instantly grabbed my hand, his thumb and forefingers trapping my knuckles.
With a firm squeeze, my fingers bunched, and he forced me to let her go.
“Calm down,” Sin said. “Getting worked up won’t change anything.”
Which might have helped. Until a growl rumbled from the back of Mel’s throat, and both Sin and I looked at her in surprise.
The need I was so shit at hiding flared like a fucking rocket, and the rich lust that poured into my scent told her exactly what I wanted to do to her.
“Ask me nicely,” she kept growling. Seeing her bite back was the biggest fucking turn on there was.
My tongue darted across my lips, and I could feel Sin waiting patiently to see if I would give in.
Kai and Camille were the only people who could ever tell me what to do. Not that she knew that.
I could just imagine Kai’s fucking smirk as he felt me wavering.
The easiest thing to do would be to kiss her. Leave her breathless so she would give me the information I wanted.
Mel edged back, a waft of perfume filling my senses.
Even with all her grief, she was still a horny omega around two alphas who could easily smother her.
I’d explicitly told myself I was going to apologise first for grabbing her neck like a beast in front of the entire fucking party.
Instead, I was seconds away from tearing off that fucking string vest that was doing absolutely nothing to hide her curves. Then I’d destroy her bra and expose her breasts so we could see exactly how many times our omega had bitten her.
The mix of caramel, vanilla, and brandy was intoxicating, and I had to get closer just to hold on to my sanity.
She either told me where her landlord was or I was going to fuck her right against her pretty painted doorframe.
As our auras blended among the heat of our breaths, wisps of brandy curled from her body, and I nearly groaned.
I nudged my nose against her ear, glaring at Sin over her shoulder as I purred. “Pretty please, little omega. Tell me where the prick who threatened you lives, so I can make sure he never comes near you again.”
A whimper escaped her, and my eyes narrowed as I pulled back.
Then it was Sin’s turn to be jealous.
“Top floor,” she said huskily. “It’s the door at the very end of the corridor. You can’t miss it.”
I smirked, loving the reaction I got from her. It was embarrassing how close I was to saying ‘That’s my good omega’.
Until I remembered I was supposed to be furious at her for ruining our lives.
I growled low as I tried to decide what to do, and she propped her hands on her hips, glaring right back, looking sexier than I’d ever seen her.
Which was exactly why I needed to get myself out of there.
I shot her a scowl, heading straight for the front door. I refused to let myself look back at the omega I was desperate to claim, especially when I could smell her deep perfume trailing behind me.