21. Sin
Sin
I had to apologise to her. I wanted to make it up to her in some way.
Even after all the carefully prepared gifts to court her with, after hours of searching and organising, I’d thought she would contact me.
But Kai endlessly teased me about how she would message him after every delivery, and I hadn’t received a single word.
So I didn’t know what else I could do now except to apologise to her myself.
Because I’d never experienced anything like the jealousy that raged through me when she called Kai for help, and not me.
Even watching Melanie and Caspian gaze at each other was something in itself.
Her aura vibrated with tension, as if she expected him to attack her at any moment. She was on high alert, but her arousal was even more intense, which was the complete opposite of what she was like for me.
But I guessed I could settle with the fact that, despite the issues it had caused, she had slept with Kai and me, yet Caspian was left wanting.
And today was too tumultuous for her. It wasn’t the time for me to push my agenda onto her, no matter how much I wished to talk to her about biting her again.
No one in our families ever talked about it, but when Caspian’s sister presented, something similar to this had happened. Except Lily returned from work one day to find her entire nest excavated and redesigned by Zania to prepare for a photoshoot for The New Omega magazine.
And we didn’t see Lily for three weeks. Until she came home, gaunt, malnourished, her skin more translucent than Camille’s. It took her months to recover. I was certain it had created the same amount of damage as forcing her into a mating bond with her current alphas the night she presented.
And for Melanie to have to suddenly empty her nest because an alpha threatened her safety must have been equally shocking.
I hadn’t told my mates I’d explicitly asked Melanie to join our pack, only to be rejected. Mainly because barely an hour later she had exchanged bites with Kai, reigniting my hope.
I was still attempting to work out where I had gone wrong in my approach.
“Melanie,” I said, pulling her attention away from my mate as he stormed off.
I had to interrupt. I couldn’t imagine how long she might wistfully stare after him when I was right behind her.
Her head turned slowly, meeting me with cautious eyes. I wanted to immediately apologise, to beg, to do something which meant she wouldn’t look at me as if I’d failed her.
Though Caspian seemed to have no qualms about flirting with her, I had already broken Kai’s faith in me once by sleeping with her. I didn’t want to give him further reasons not to trust me.
Melanie avoided my gaze. It wasn’t hard to guess whether the pink riding her cheeks was from me or Caspian.
“We need to pack,” she said coldly, sweeping past me and back into the kitchen.
I stood there, drawing in her scent, trying to quell the excitement threatening to take me over.
My instincts were driving me wild. All the ways we could integrate her into our home spun through my mind once again.
In business negotiations, as soon as the other party made a concession, I knew I could win. It had taken her four days to call us. Though unplanned, it meant there was room in her heart for us, and she would be our mate eventually, so long as we were patient.
I disliked plotting it out as if she were a conquest, but there was no other way to keep myself calm around her. If I did not have a concrete approach to how she would become our mate, I could make another mistake and push her away.
Now that Kai was ‘Team Brandy’, as he called it, all that remained was Caspian overcoming his own stubbornness and submitting to our fate.
“Sin?” she called. “What are you doing?”
I drew in a ragged breath as I turned to focus on the kitchen again.
It was cramped enough for me to stretch my arms and touch the cabinets on either side, but long enough for an oven, counters, and a sink.
And at the far end, Melanie squatted in front of an open cupboard, reaching into the back to grab whatever remained there. But all I saw was the strip of smooth skin of her lower back as her vest rode up and her shorts rode down.
Her back arched, her gorgeous ass pointed out. I pressed my hand against my mouth as I watched her.
I might attempt to be a gentleman, but it was impossible when she wiggled her ass, muttering along with small moans of frustration as she reached farther into the cupboard.
“Caspian was right, you know,” I said, my voice low as I moved to stand over her. “It’s dangerous to be wearing those shorts in front of hungry alphas who are craving you.” And I already knew how delicious she was to eat.
My cock sprung to life as she edged back, freeing herself from the cupboard, her jeans-clad ass bumping against my shins. I could have stepped away, but I wanted to touch her in whatever way I could. And I could hardly be blamed if she was the one rubbing against me.
Her chin tilted back, craning her neck so she looked up at me between my spread thighs.
We watched each other, the curve of her throat completely exposed, and all of my thoughts went straight to the sounds she would make as I sunk my teeth into her.
How easy it would be to add a bite to the tapestry Kai had already created across her chest.
Melanie sighed as she leant forward, her bright gaze vanishing for a second before she twisted on her feet to face me. She pushed herself from the ground to travel up my body and stand, meeting my restrained stare with a glare. Now she was so close, I swore I could feel her breaths inside me.
Melanie eased back against the counter, and I followed her, my hands flat on the surface, caging her hips.
Kai had shouted and raged at us for long enough to drive home what would happen if we disappointed him. And Caspian had fallen at the first hurdle. I refused to take it further, no matter how strongly she smelled of slick.
Her face hardened as she folded her arms.
“You slept with me without your omega’s permission,” she said, cutting through any sexual tension I had imagined.
The air around us tightened. I could sense she was as turned on as I was in her presence. But I had to focus.
“I am truly sorry. I can’t use my instincts as an excuse here. I knew what I was doing when I slept with you.”
She blew a breath out the side of her mouth before pressing her lips together.
I did not expect to be let off with a simple apology. I doubted Kai would forgive me anytime soon, and I expected the same from her.
Except her tense shoulders dropped, her gaze softening as she replied.
“That doesn’t mean I’m innocent. Even though we were taken over by our scents, I could have stopped us. I’m just as guilty as you are.” She glanced back at me, her concern clear.
“Yet I’m responsible for taking care of you. And I am sorry for not taking your feelings into consideration.”
And I couldn’t exactly point out that my invitation to live with us came true, anyway. I could be tactless, but there was a line.
“I think you mean the feelings of your pack. I wasn’t the one who hurt the most.”
In my mind, I was taking care of my omega. But Melanie was not truly my omega, and I had left Kai when he needed me.
Even though I was irritated that he’d attacked the Hiscoxes, there really was no excuse for it. And it was a shame on my part. From Kai’s response, I was not the alpha he needed me to be.
Only through biting Melanie did he open up to the fact that our treatment of him bordered on poor at times. And it was absolutely unacceptable that Caspian and I had behaved that way for so long.
I’d believed I was protecting my pack by ensuring all factions of our business were handled properly, and the result was negligence of the people I loved the most.
I was their pack leader, yet I’d allowed Caspian to remain wrapped up in Camille, and assumed Kai’s neediness was simply his omega nature.
If I was going to improve as a mate and become the kind of alpha both Kai and Melanie deserved, then I had to address my own behaviour first.
She cleared her throat. “So, um…Did you talk to Kai?”
She peeked up at me from under her eyelashes, and I could see exactly what was on her mind. Because she had bonded with my omega and not seen him since.
I held back the part that had landed me in trouble with both of them. The selfishness which made me hide Melanie away that night so I could keep her all for myself.
I wanted to be selfish again. To have more time with her before she split her attention among the three of us. As soon as Caspian and I bit her, thoughts like stealing her away and trivial things such as jealousy would dissolve as the four of us bonded.
“‘Talk’ is not the right word in this situation,” I replied. “It was more that Kai ensured we knew how furious he was, and the steps I’d have to take to earn the right to be with him again.”
“And what kinds of steps are they?”
“Steps such as making sure I don’t do anything without his permission,” I said as my gaze danced across the soft lines of her face.
A luscious smirk crossed her lips as her thumb swept across my stomach, and I drew in a harsh breath.
She held me captive as she walked her fingers up my chest, my heart growing tighter, my restraint already reaching its breaking point.
She gripped my tie, pulling me down to her, a teasing smile on her lips. Her back curved, her breasts pressed out towards me, and a purr rumbled from her.
“And what did Kai say about helping me pack?”