Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Rio
I could punch Max in his annoyingly beautiful face. Polly was walking around subdued, her scent edged with something burnt and sad, contrasting with the sweetness of her oncoming heat.
She’d been happy. We’d made her happy. Hell, I’d seen her face when we suggested we bring August into the Pack too—like I’d given her a puppy, a kitten, and a lifetime supply of chocolate all in one day.
Then Max had gone and ruined it with the harsh realities of fucking life. If I could save her from the ugly things about the world, I would. Max and I had argued about it, after she’d gone off to bed with Llew last night.
He said she’d been lied to for her whole life; she deserved the truth. I argued that she’d seen enough of the evilness of humanity, and didn’t need to be subjected to more. It was an impasse, and we’d gone to bed angry.
I hated that too.
When we found this fucking Homestead, I was going to burn the whole fucking thing to the ground. I couldn’t even go to the VA and talk through the growing anger in my chest, because we’d propositioned August and he still hadn’t given us an answer. Talking to anyone else about it would feel almost wrong.
Sighing, I slumped back on the couch. It didn’t help that my Alpha was so close to the surface that it was a constant battle for control. Riled by the proximity of Polly’s heat and the ongoing threat to her safety, I felt like I was ready to crawl out of my skin.
A knock on the door had me groaning and getting to my feet. Checking the security cameras on my phone, my heart thumped harder in my chest at the sight of August at our front door. Had I summoned him with my thoughts?
Fuck, he was beautiful. Delicate and sturdy at the same time. My Alpha just wanted to chase him, run him down, and fuck him into the lawn. Chase, bite, bond.
Dammit. Maybe I shouldn’t open the door, and instead go and have my third cold shower for the day.
Another knock had me gritting my teeth and pushing the Alpha down. I was in control. I sucked in a deep breath before I opened the door, but it was useless. As soon as his scent hit my nose, the Alpha roared back to the surface.
I growled deep in my chest, making August’s pupils blow out. His scent surged up at the sound, and I stepped back, giving us a both a little space before I reached out, grabbed him, and kissed the fuck out of him.
He cleared his throat. “You okay, Rio?”
It was only practiced vulnerability with August, a trust built over months of therapy, that had me saying, “No, not really.”
Worry shadowed his gaze, before it was gone again. My Alpha huffed that he was being weak in front of his Omega, but the man knew that it wasn’t a weakness to have feelings. If anyone had taught me that, it was the Omega in front of me.
“Can I come in? We can talk about it.” August reached out, stepping closer to me, and I held my Alpha tightly. His Omega scent washed over me, calming the Alpha, and giving me space to breathe.
“You’re welcome here anytime. Just walk in.” And never leave. Stay forever. I led him through to the kitchen. “Do you want a coffee? Max is out, and Llew and Polly are still sleeping.”
August nodded. “That would be great.”
I put a pod in the coffee machine and sucked in a deep breath. Don’t fuck this up for us , I chastized myself.
While the coffee brewed, I turned back around to face August, pushing the worry down. Instead, I reveled in the happiness of seeing August in my kitchen. I couldn’t pinpoint the moments he’d gone from someone who was helping me through the worst parts of my life, to someone who I looked forward to seeing every week, to someone I missed when I didn’t see him, but it had been gradual. If Max hadn’t felt the same way about him, I’d worry that I was projecting my healing onto the Omega in an unhealthy way. But there was something about August that just meshed with us both.
I’d had fantasies of making him ours for so long, had imagined knotting him and marking him so many times in the shower, that it would be way too embarrassing to ever admit.
“What’s happened?”
I kept my voice even and professional as I told August about what Max’s tech guy had found. About the murder of Alpha teens. About survivors wanting to see her. Her spiral. My fears. My argument with Max. It all just poured out of me.
I gave him a sad smile. “We have more baggage in this Packhouse than JFK.”
August stood, stepping in front of my chair until his legs were between my knees. And then he pulled my head to his stomach and hugged me. Pulling me tight against his hard abs, he buried his fingers in the short lengths of my hair and just held me. His breaths were even and regular, his scent so reassuring that I could feel the anger, the turmoil, just floating away.
I admitted something to myself that I would never admit to August for fear of pushing him away. At some point in the last year, I’d fallen in love with him. It was a soft glow in my chest that always turned into an inferno in his presence. I’d kept it hidden, locked away, because he deserved better than a broken Pack and an even more broken man. But it hadn’t stopped me from loving him, wanting him.
As I shuddered in his embrace, I couldn’t help the feeling of rightness that settled in my soul. I was greedy; I knew that. I had Polly, who I wanted with a longing that stole my breath. My feelings for her had struck me like a bolt of lightning.
But my feelings for August had been like a steady warmth in my soul.
It was selfish, but I wanted them both, and I would do everything in my power to have them both. To make them happy and content.
I tilted my head up to look at August’s pretty dark eyes. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across mine. I froze, not moving, in case this was actually a dream. When he deepened the kiss, I leaned hard into it, chasing the kiss until I could taste him on my tongue. He pulled back, and his pupils were so wide, it was like looking at pure darkness. “Forever.”
My heart thundered in my chest. Was he suggesting that he was considering us? Allowing us to court him? God, I hoped so.
His smile was sweet, and I couldn’t help but kiss him once more. I held him tightly to me, unwilling to let him go just yet. “Why’d you come over? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t to hear my woes, for once.”
He laughed and sat in my lap, and I gave my cock a stern talking-to about what was appropriate courting behavior. Stabbing him in the thigh was not appropriate behavior.
“I wanted to check on Polly, and, uh, tell you that I accept your courting suit.”
I whooped, leaping from the chair and spinning him around, even though we were basically the same height, so his feet dragged on the ground. I kissed him again. “You won’t regret this, August, I promise.”
The sound of my shout drew a sleepy-looking Polly and a mussed-looking Llew from his bedroom. He had her tightly just behind him in case of intruders, and I loved that man more than anything.
When Polly saw August in my arms, a bright smile spread across her face, the first one I’d seen since last night. “August!”
She ran towards him, and he caught her easily in his arms. He lifted her up to bury his nose in her neck as she clung to him. She began to scent mark him, though I wasn’t sure she was aware she was doing it. They looked so happy together, that any last fears I had about them eventually becoming adversaries in the same Pack disappeared.
“Beautiful girl, you smell so fucking delicious right now,” August groaned, and I realized he was right. She smelled sweeter, and given the haggard expression on Llew’s face, he’d had to sleep beside that sweet scent all night.
“She had a rough night. Little heat waves, I think, and then she’d settle. But not long now, I don’t think.” Llew went over and kissed August’s cheek. “It’s good to see you, Omega.” His voice was husky, and Polly whined. But not in discomfort at her Alpha kissing another Omega. She grabbed him closer, like she could drag her big Alpha into her Omega cuddle pile.
Fuck, I wanted to be in the middle of that cuddle pile.
When Polly turned her head and kissed August, I swear, all the blood rushed to my dick until I was lightheaded. She kissed him like she wanted to swallow him whole. Their scents intertwined, and I stared at the ceiling, breathing through my mouth so I didn’t go into rut.
Fuck.
August finally pulled his mouth away from hers. “You better get Max back here as soon as possible, because Polly is going into full-blown heat. I give it a few hours, at most.”
I grabbed my phone from my pocket and moved out the back door to the patio. I couldn’t think in there, with the pheromones so thick in the air, I could almost taste them. I hit Max’s number, and he answered almost immediately. “Hey. Everything okay?”
“She’s going into heat. August says get your ass home ASAP.” We were prepared; Max had seen to that. We had snack foods and sports drinks, waterproofed bedding, nesting supplies—basically everything we thought she might need.
Max swore softly. “Show her the nesting supplies in the cupboard. She’ll want to nest. I’ll pick up the instant meals and be home in forty minutes.”
He hung up, and I knew I could leave the details in his hands. I was going to be worse than useless for days now. I only had one objective: to please my Omegas.
With that in mind, I sucked in some clear air and walked back into the house. I had this.