12. Garret
Chapter 12
T here are worse ways to be woken up than getting smacked in the head with my beta’s clothes. I’d have rather it been her naked body, but beggars can’t be choosers. Also, they can’t really blame me for stuffing her sleep shirt into my duffel bag before we leave…especially if they don’t see it. But I need her, and I need to be close to her, even if this is the only way.
It wasn’t a bad idea for her clothes to smell like us while we’re gone. Maybe it’ll keep that great hulking beast away from her at school.
That’s unfair.
He didn’t actually seem like a bad sort.
But my inner alpha is obnoxiously protective and possessive of our little beta .
Plus, she’s so small.
Betas aren’t as weak as omegas, generally speaking.
I should have gotten her a taser while we were out yesterday.
A can of mace.
Something.
Her eyebrows draw down as she looks at the clothes Sam and Steve are rehanging when she comes out of the shower. “Why is everything I own now wrinkled? Guys come on, I need to get to work, I don’t have time to iron anything…and I don’t iron. Ugh , forget it.” She huffs, snatching a polo shirt from the pile on the bed and slipping it over her head. “Whoa, guys…no worries about anybody getting close now. Wouldn’t it have been easier for me to just borrow one of Sam’s jackets? Dang!”
Sam and Teddy just look smug, while Steve picks up one of her T-shirts with a pirate flag wearing a straw hat on the front and steps into the bathroom. I’m now unsure if this is a jealousy thing because of their scent, or if he just wants to steal her clothes. He’s lucky he’s still so underweight, and she likes baggy shirts.
She lets out an exasperated sigh before quickly kissing Sam and Teddy, and then coming over to wrap me in a tight hug. “Gimme a call or stop by the shop before y’all head out, or whenever you find out if you gotta wait till tomorrow. I gotta get gone, but please …if you do leave, please be safe.” She throws a mildly annoyed look at my brother as he comes out of the bathroom wearing her T-shirt under his over-shirt. Then she tu rns and walks off, thumping down the stairs while Sam and I finish packing our bags.
Teddy follows her out, and I hear the soft susurration of their voices before the front door opens and closes again. It didn’t escape my notice that he smells like lilacs and sex, but that, at least, would be an excuse to get me out of bed early any day. Of course, the three alphas were up late painting the nest last night to make sure it had time to air out before we got back. So, it’s not a huge shock that those two woke up before us.
Steve looks down at his stolen shirt before turning to Sam. “So, do you have time to show me how to install the floor in the nest so I can take care of that while you’re gone? I’d like to have it ready when you get back.”
Sam pulls him into a quick hug. “Sure thing. It’ll still need the baseboards, but if you do get the flooring down, I sure would appreciate it. But take Kelly’s shirt off first. She doesn’t have many, and I don’t want it gettin’ ruined. I got a few work shirts up here that’ll be fine for you to use when shit’s messy.”
He leans into the closet and grabs an old worn flannel shirt covered in paint splatters and tosses it over to my brother. Steve holds it up to his nose for a deep inhale before carrying it back to the bathroom to change out of my beta’s top and snuggle into Sam’s shirt. When he comes back, he looks like a kid dressing in his dad’s clothes. Sam smiles a bit, watching him roll the sleeves up so they don’t hang off over his hands.
Teddy walks back in, his eyes darting between the two of them before he walks over to give them each a kiss. “Mmmm, you smell like my two favorite alphas, Vee.” He nuzzles into my brother’s chest.
Undeterred by the lingering scent of Kelly, Steve grabs his face and tugs him in for a deep kiss before pulling back and meeting Teddy’s eyes. “I don’t want you to go…I know you have to, but I just got you back. You’ll be safe? Sam, you promise?” His gaze flicks over to Sam, who smiles at them both and nods in reply.
The big alpha’s hands come down on each of my pack mates’ shoulders. “Now, let’s get everybody fed.” He looks over at me, nodding to make sure I know I’m included. “And I’ll show Steve how to install flooring while we wait for the clerk’s office to open. If we do leave this morning, he can stay here and work on that while we head over there, then hit the road.”
They both nod, leaning against his bigger frame, and I’m once again left feeling like the odd man out. I don’t want Sam or Teddy, not like that. But the ease with which they’ve come together still stings, especially with Kelly already gone to work. My hand tightens on the handle of my bag where I stashed her shirt. I don’t know if my clothes will start to smell like her, or if her shirt will smell like me by the time we arrive, but at least it’s something.
Not waiting for the cuddly trio, I carry my stuff downstairs. I’m taking pretty much everything I own with me, since I barely brought anything to start with. I do leave one of my button-downs hanging in the closet, in case Kelly needs it while I’m gone. She didn’t ask, and there’s no way to be sure, especially since she’ll have most of Sam’s and a few of Teddy’s things here too, but I don’t want her to feel abandoned either.
I snag my phone from the charger in the kitchen. There’s no point in keeping it on hand since the damned thing doesn’t work right now. I should have looked into that yesterday too, but I was so focused on getting the house stuff and getting home, I completely spaced. It’s not like I have a way to pay for service anyway right now.
Teddy walks in and sees me staring at my stupid screensaver. At least I can use the damned thing to log onto Sam’s Wi-Fi—or the one at the mall yesterday—but it’ll be pretty much a useless brick when we’re out on the road. Maybe Teddy will let us borrow his for the trip, so if we get separated, we can still get in contact.
Heaving a sigh, I set my phone down on the counter and go about fixing myself something for breakfast. Sam said he would make breakfast, but really, what kind of alpha am I if I can’t even feed myself? Honestly, I’m only even going on this trip because we don’t have any other options if we want to try to get into our old place.
I’m not quite ready to give up everything I own if there’s a slim chance of getting things we can use here, like my clothes or the furniture. Shit, even things that we can sell to help out until we can find work. Though I don’t know who in their right mind would hire someone with only the start of a residency. I’ll need to get in touch with the school as well to see about getting copies of all my records .
Fuck me.
I couldn’t even work on it last week, because everything was shut down for spring break.
Should have called yesterday.
I am so fucking useless sometimes.
Sam stomps into the kitchen, pulling me out of my spiral before it gets too deep. “Nope, no, nada. I remember the soup. You, outta the kitchen. Go…fix a cup of coffee or something.” I leave the room as he grumbles to himself, pulling leftovers from last night together and a big box of eggs out of the fridge.