Chapter 36 #2
Ambrose scoffs. “Jackson is trying to convince our pack to take his last name because it’s the ‘coolest’.”
“Well, to be fair to him, it is,” I say, and Jackson claps his hands together with glee. “Not that I really understand the significance of picking a name for your pack, so maybe the coolest name isn’t the best metric to use.”
“It’s not,” Ambrose says drolly. “We’ve debated this for years and have yet to settle on anything. It’s one of two points of contention in our pack.”
“Is the other one me?” I ask, letting out a nervous laugh.
“No.” River’s deep voice startles me and I look up as he enters the living room with a tray of assorted drinks. “It’s me being closed off and not always expressing my feelings.”
“Oh. Right.” A heavy awkwardness hangs in the air between the four of us, Dolly the only one seemingly unaffected.
“Don’t be so self-absorbed, dude,” Jackson says with a dismissive hand wave that cuts through the tension. “That’s not the other issue. It’s the old man’s taste in music.”
River’s lips quirk. “Ah. True.”
“Yeah, yeah, make fun of me all you want,” Ambrose grumbles.
“Do they gang up on you like this a lot?” I give him a sympathetic smile and he nods.
“All the time. I’m so glad I have a sweet omega now to comfort me from the pain of their bullying.” He sighs and squeezes my thigh.
“Hmm, that depends on what kind of music we’re talking about.”
Ambrose removes his hand from my leg and places it on his chest with an affronted gasp. “Not you too.”
“I’m not here to get in the middle of things,” I reply with a shrug. A moment later, I realize how incorrect that statement is, and clear my throat awkwardly. “Speaking of which…you wanted to have a chat?”
Jackson sits up straight and places his palms on his thighs. “Right. Yes. Time for serious business.”
“Is that even possible with you?” Ambrose mutters, and I giggle.
Jackson scowls. “Hey, I heard that!”
“Enough.” River doesn’t raise his voice, but the dominance is clear in his tone.
My omega takes notice of how the other two sober and nod, recognizing that River must be the leader of their pack.
“I know you said you wanted water, but I brought some other options just in case.” River sets the tray down on the coffee table in front of me and I blink, taken aback by the assortment.
“Oh. Uh, thanks! That’s very thoughtful of you.” I smile up at River, who gives me a curt nod. I almost miss how his cheeks burnish under my attention.
“Of course.” He points out what each drink is and, not wanting him to think his effort has gone to waste, I choose the fizzy pink sparkling juice instead of the water.
I expect him to sit across from us, used to our work dynamic, but after he passes drinks to the others, he sits down next to Ambrose, where the sectional juts out so I can still see him.
Ambrose kisses River’s cheek as he settles in, and my chest squeezes seeing the obvious love they have for each other.
“Thanks guys, that’s a good place to start,” Jackson says as he observes the exchange. “The biggest thing to address is probably intimacy when we’re all together.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I’m fine with most things, as long as it doesn’t bother anyone else.” My eyes dart over to River, but I pull them away just as fast, flushing.
Ambrose’s hand returns to my thigh. “We’ll each say what we’re comfortable with. Don’t worry, sweetheart, it’s not all on you to decide.”
His reassurance helps with my unease, and I nod.
“Yeah. Of course. In that case, I’m fine with casual touching and kisses in front of others, and seeing other people do that in front of me.
” My face heats as I continue. “I’m also alright with more, uh, intimate things as a group.
Like they were during my heat. But I don’t have to do that!
” I tack on the last part quickly, my focus once again going back to River, worried about him feeling excluded.
“Oh, we’d definitely like to do that again,” Jackson chuckles. “For my part, I’m down with everything Camille said. And my limits are the same as before for the guys. Kissing and some touching in front of me is fine, but I don’t want to see you fuck.”
River rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry, we know you’re not interested in that.”
The slender alpha takes a sip of his water, and I watch his throat work with far too much focus to be polite, wondering what he’s going to say. “I’m fine with anything you want to do in front of me. For professional reasons, sex while I’m present would be inadvisable, but if it happens…”
River hesitates, eyes widening like he didn’t expect those words to come out of his mouth, and he runs a hand through his hair with a soft huff.
“I’m a realist. Eventually, there’ll be a point where Camille needs Ambrose, and he needs me.
That’s what happens with packs. So me refusing to be present for that isn’t an enforceable boundary if we want this to be a permanent thing. ”
My pulse spikes at his words, and the thought of River being there while I’m naked and writhing on his mate’s knot. Perfume floods from me, and Ambrose groans softly as the scent hits him.
“I’m the most flexible,” the older alpha says, voice thick. “I’m fine with anything and everything, as long as everyone involved consents.”
Jackson raises a brow. “Everything?” I have to assume he’s talking about the whole daddy thing that came up during my heat, but there’s something else in his voice that makes me think there’s more to the question.
Ambrose levels him with a calm gaze. “Yes.”
There’s a moment of silence before Jackson replies. “Okay. River’s right. I amend my personal rules. If we’re all there, and things get, uh, intense, I’m alright with seeing River and Ambrose together.”
Ambrose seems entirely unshocked by this change of heart, but River’s brows narrow at the beta. “Don’t be flippant. It’s a real possibility.”
Jackson scowls. “I’m not being flippant!
I was there with Ambrose during Camille’s heat.
If I can see him fucking her, then I can see you fucking him.
” He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not homophobic, dude.
I just didn’t want to make things weird.
But you’re right. This sort of thing is unavoidable with an omega in our pack. ”
There’s another long, weighted silence. I sit in it, trying not to get more turned on by the talk of all four of us being together.
“So, to sum it up… Ambrose is fine with everything. Jackson would prefer not to see Ambrose and River together, but is fine with that if we’re all there. River would prefer not to be there while I’m being intimate with either of you, but it isn’t a hard limit. And I…”
I wrestle for a second with my omega, who wants to say I’m also fine with everything, including me being intimate with River, even though that isn’t on the table.
“I’m fine with being with both Ambrose and Jackson, and River, uh, being present or him doing things with Ambrose.”
“Hell yeah, go team!” Jackson says, reaching out to high five me.
I laugh, appreciating how he’s able to make this very awkward conversation less tense. River gets a high five next, then Ambrose, who rolls his eyes a little at the beta, but doesn’t leave him hanging.
“Alright, who wants to help me finish getting ready for dinner?” Jackson asks.
I open my mouth to offer, but Ambrose stands up. “I’ll help. You two stay here and chat.”
It’s a blatant setup to make me and River interact, but I don’t argue because what am I supposed to say? No, don’t leave me in here alone with your packmate, he makes me nervous and I’m afraid that I’ll do something wrong and ruin the tentative peace we’re establishing between us?
“Sounds good,” I say, trying not to show River how not good I feel about that. It’s oddly comforting that he has a matching false smile on his face as he nods.
Ambrose and Jackson head off to the kitchen and I cling to Dahlia, hoping she can help me get through talking to River without making a fool of myself.