Chapter 19 – Bennett
CHAPTER NINETEEN
BENNETT
When Arin bought the townhouse as our London base, he did it with the intent of every member of the pack having their own space.
However, it quickly became clear there was no point in Seth and I not sharing a room.
We didn’t start out as roommates in college, but the more classes that overlapped between mine and Seth’s schedule, the closer we naturally became. It only made sense to transition to an apartment together, and then our half-cooked ideas of a liquor business grew legs and suddenly became a sprawling brand with rum and mixed drinks. There’s always a new avenue to go down — and it’s easy — like everything else with Seth.
I don’t regret biting him, especially not when I can feel in my chest how earnest he is about the omega across the hall.
I love him, but it doesn’t prevent the worry that I’m holding him back from spending time with June — maybe Seth would be happier if he wasn’t burdened by my mark on his throat. Maybe our relationship is shifting again.
Or maybe I’m being a complete idiot and refusing to acknowledge how much I want her too.
I shove another one of Seth’s shirts into the dresser and sigh, hanging my head for a moment. The pile is all expertly folded — courtesy of Theo, as always — but the methodical task of putting our clothes up can only do so much to keep my mind off the memories of last night. Seth’s loud laugh echoes through the hall and I turn, glancing at the door as a burst of excitement and lust hits me in the chest.
We normally keep the bond suppressed — it’s easier than fighting the urge to constantly rip his clothes off — and I’m rocked as the emotions hit me at the same moment that my beta comes barreling into the bedroom.
He doesn’t give me time to ask what the fuck is going on before he grabs me by the back of my head and jerks me down, crashing his lips to mine in an attack. The kiss is hot, heady, and heavy, and I groan against his lips, grasping onto him as my tongue darts out, sliding over his lips and into his mouth, tasting the familiar notes of chocolate — but twice as sweet, laced with honey and an herbal tea flavor. He tastes like eating a bar of dark chocolate after drinking a warm mug of green tea.
He tastes like sex. He tastes like June .
I jerk back, groaning as I look down at him. “Is that?—?”
Seth gives me a shit-eating grin, licking his lips. “She tastes as good as she smells.”
“ Fuck .” I whine and grab him again, kissing him harder. The alpha in the back of my mind is going feral , everything in me trying to get more of her, more of him, more of her taste on him. It’s the perfect mix, saccharine sweet, unbearable to let go of. It was bad enough last night, slamming into Seth knowing that she was behind us, watching the entire thing. I wanted her so badly it took a concerted effort not to come the second I smelled her arousal.
Her perfume lingered for hours after, stuck in my brain until I ended up with Seth’s hand wrapped around me, then his lips, trying to take the edge off before I charged across the hall and begged her to at least give me a single kiss.
If I’m not careful, I’ll end up in a rut — and that’s the last thing any of us needs. She’s here for her own safety, not to have an alpha out of his mind chasing her down every corner of the house.
But the back and forth might break me.
“I don’t have time.” Seth whispers the words against my mouth as I fumble with his jeans, trying to get them off of him. His hands slide over mine as he kisses me softer. “I’m going out to get what she needs to nest, okay?” He moves his lips to my jaw, making me grunt when he stops my hand from snaking into his boxers. “I really need you and Arin to make sure the nest upstairs is alright for her. I know we never go into it, but she’s going to need it — she needs us , Bennett.”
The words bring me back to Earth as I hold onto him a little tighter. My stupid, impulsive beta, with the biggest fucking heart known to man, the man that I love with everything in me. “ Yes ,” I mutter, half hoarse as I kiss his jaw and look down at him, pushing the feeling toward him through our bond.
Seth’s lips twitch, and he slides his hands over my chest, slowly bending at his knees and sinking to the floor. “You might as well use me too, alpha, remind me what you do to betas who fuck around.”
I groan, deep in my throat as I look down at him. His brown eyes twinkle with mischief as I fist my hand in his hair and smash his cheek against the hard length of me, straining against the fabric of my jeans. “Finish what you started, troublemaker.”
His grin is wry as he reaches for the zipper. He has me out in seconds, his tongue sliding over my skin, wrapping his lips around the tip as he braces his hands on my thighs. I growl, throwing my head back as I breathe in and out heavily, trying to keep my wits about me as instinct takes over, thrusting into his throat to the hilt.
He doesn’t even wince when I pull his hair, or when I mutter curses and chase the feeling of being on the edge, my brain supplying images of him on his knees for her , his mouth on her — and I’m done in record time as I snarl, breathing hard as Seth pulls back and wipes a thumb over his lower lip, patting my thighs.
I tug his head back, my nails scraping his scalp as I raise an eyebrow at him. “Good boy.”
His grin is unabashed. “I know.”
It takes me way too long to get my head back on straight after Seth leaves with a brief kiss that’s softer and gentler compared to the fumbling ten minutes ago. I press my thumb against his throat before he goes, touching the bond mark as I murmur, “I love you.”
The bond hums happily as Seth throws me a little smile. “I love you too.”
It’s been almost five years since I bit him — and in those five years, we went from business partners to bonded, to part of a pack with Arin and Theo.
I walk downstairs after gathering myself, passing by June’s door, shut and quiet inside. The smell of her perfume clouds the air just outside, more potent than it’s been in days, and something instinctual tells me it won’t be long before the heat fully sets in.
I don’t have much experience with omegas — my father is the only one I’ve been around consistently — but I’ve been out of the house and doing my own thing since college. My mothers and he always spent my childhood reminding me I could do whatever I wanted in life, and I’ve never really looked back.
Barring Seth, I never really found myself looking twice at anyone, regardless of designation. I know a lot of alphas find solace in other alphas, but my designation has always been the least interesting thing about me. Now though — affection tugs at my chest as I hear a small snore through the wall.
I just want to help her.
There’s a satisfaction in it, something base, quieting the alpha inside me who only wants to care for someone. But there’s more — I like her — she’s whip-smart, tenacious, and stunning. I would be an idiot not to recognize that I’m probably the last on her list of people in this house to court, but it doesn’t make me want her any less.
I could be okay with her and Seth having something without me, I could be okay with anything she wanted, as long as I can still have a genuine friendship with her. Her presence makes life feel brighter.
The foyer is quiet when I step off the final stair. I turn, glancing down the hall where Arin’s office door is open, following the lingering scent of Theo’s perfume. He’s not here, I’d be able to hear them arguing if he was — but that doesn’t stop me as I step into Arin’s office.
My prime looks up from behind his desk. His glasses are tilted to one side, off-kilter as he rubs his under-eyes. I don’t say anything as I take a seat on the small couch that Seth found Arin and June asleep on yesterday morning — Arin hasn’t said anything, but I know it affected him.
He might be the pack alpha, but he tends to push off taking care of himself in lieu of making sure the rest of us are alright.
“I think we should talk.” I broach the subject gently, crossing my legs as I look over at him.
Arin shuffles papers on his desk, dipping his chin at me as he mutters, “I recognize it’s probably past time for us to have a pack meeting, but I’m worried that this is the wrong place for her.” His voice softens as he glances at the door. “Are we what she needs? Is she going to get the care she deserves here?”
I soften considerably, it hitting me that Arin’s never been in a situation where he’s seen an alpha, or alphas, take care of an omega properly. The Mohans are betas — and what I know of Theo’s family has been against my will. I generally ignore the Clarke alphas unless I absolutely have to interact with Theo’s shitty fathers.
“It’s not the wrong place.” I clear my throat, giving him a serious look. “I take full responsibility that I did this without your initial input. I know Seth was the one to seek her out and give you the last minute heads up, but Seth and I are fully prepared to help her with whatever she needs. If you don’t want to be a part of that, it’s fine — if Theo wants to fuck off somewhere for a week, that is more than fine too.” I stare at him, making sure he knows how serious I am. “But I am not sending her away, Arin.”
He freezes, and I see a flash of panic in his eyes at the suggestion. “I wasn’t going to send her away —”
I hold up my hand, stopping him. “You know as well as I do that calling for a heat service would be more trouble than it’s worth. We have no way to validate who would be here in days’ time and I feel like introducing unfamiliar alphas into the dynamic would be a recipe for disaster.”
The heat services are good for unbonded alphas to satisfy their need to care for someone, the need for intimacy, just as it’s good for omegas to have a safe place to spend a heat — but in this situation? I can’t fathom letting another alpha near her, I’m having a hard enough time not ripping Theo’s head off when he looks at her.
Besides, half the facilities are as sterile as the center she just came from, run by the same people. The others aren’t regulated enough for me to ever trust them with Juniper.
The mere thought makes my lip curl as I stare at Arin.
“Whatever your reservations are, get over them now or make your boundaries known to all of us.” I clear my throat, my words firm and my decision made. “I am helping her through this, without you or not. Seth won’t take no for an answer either, and —” I pause, choking on the words.
Arin’s full attention is on me now, catching the pause. “And?”
The prompt is soft, but there’s an undercurrent of power in it. There’s a reason Arin is the prime of this pack. Theo’s bark is strong, sure, but it’s nothing compared to the calm power that radiates from the alpha in front of me. He just has no need to be flashy about it.
“And I like her.” I meet Arin’s eyes. “I know it’s quick, and I know it’s baffling, but I do. And I’m not going to lie to her. She’s had enough of that.” I swallow, leaning forward. “You didn’t see her the day that Seth and I went to the center, Arin.” The memory of the purple under her glassy eyes and the smell of stress and chemicals on her sallow and sunken skin haunts me. She looked at Seth like he was a miracle when he suggested she was safe and didn’t have to keep meeting random packs in the hope one of them would be nice enough to sign a document saying that she, a whole entire person , would now be their responsibility.
I can’t even wrap my mind around the panic it probably caused her to suddenly wake up and recognize her life was irrevocably changed.
“You’re right, I didn’t see her that day.” Arin’s jaw flexes, before his nostrils flare and he relaxes back into his office chair. “But I did see her a few nights after.” He glances away from me, his expression shuttering as he clears his throat. “But it’s best if we don’t overwhelm her anymore. So you and Seth will navigate this and I will remove myself from the situation and handle whatever Theo’s decision is.”
I stare at the side of his face. “Why don’t you just ask if she wants you?”
Arin gives me a dry look. “That would be too simple.”
“Don’t martyr yourself, Arin. It’s a bad look when Theo’s already a recovering asshole.”
Arin’s mouth twists. “We should be courting her. That’s what the situation requires — dating, getting to know each other, making her comfortable with the fact she’s about to experience something she’s never had to deal with before.”
I tilt my head at him, staying quiet, letting him talk it out himself.
Arin’s eye twitches.
“You’re a real asshole, too.”
I laugh, grinning at him. “I’m just waiting for my prime to get the words off the tip of his tongue.”
Arin’s lip curls as he takes his glasses off, scrubbing the lenses with a cloth, his voice thin. “I’ve liked her since I saw her stumble in here .”
“And that’s a problem?”
“It is when she never asked for any of this!” He waves his glasses around, gesturing to the townhouse around us. “I don’t want to force her hand. I don’t want to play the heroic alpha, sweeping in to rescue her. She’s a person . She has the right to decide what goes on in this new and terrifying development in her life. But I can’t deny the heart of me, the part that feels right when she’s in a room. My feelings were instantaneous — and I can’t get that awful phone call out of my mind.”
I cringe, my jaw tightening at the memory of her squawking mother. “We’ll have to cross that bridge if her parents don’t take the hint.”
Arin sighs. “That’s an understatement. It seems like a when , not an if .”
It was inevitable in a society where omegas are such a smaller population that alphas would begin pairing together and then falling for the same omega. Packs are as natural as breathing. But there’s always been a subset of people — regardless of designation — who believe that packs are just a constant orgy of twisting bodies and sex. They’re also often the same people that assume omegas are stupid, weak, and unable to make decisions for themselves.
Judgement from outliers will always exist, but I know what a healthy relationship looks like. I know that both of my alpha mothers love my father more than anything. That they’d give him the world even if he wasn’t an omega, because they love him. People seem to forget that personhood comes before designation.
Love looks different for everyone — why would you waste your energy judging someone else? Why waste your limited time alive on criticizing instead of finding your own happiness?
I glance around the office, my eyes lingering on Arin’s bookshelves, thinking of our library back home in Rochester. I do love this townhouse, but it has always seemed impersonal — this is where business happens. This is where Arin sleeps between trips to other countries, where Theo rests between making deals. This is where Seth and I run in and out of the door, taking care of international distributors and offers. It isn’t home — and I want to show June what life could be if she did find a place of her own with us.
“You don’t have to save her, you know.” My voice softens. “You could just support her.”
He makes a grumbling noise.
I look back at him, my lips twitching. “Why don’t you take her out? Or have a night in? You could see what happens.”
He sucks in a ragged breath. “Are you suggesting I court her properly, instead of sitting here bitching about it?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to use those words.” I push up from the couch, grinning. “But I guess I need to look for a few courting presents to give her before the heat sets in.” As I step toward the office door, I glance back at him. “I’d suggest you do the same.”
Arin shoves his glasses back on, griping something about unruly and stubborn pack members under his breath as I ignore him and walk out, heading straight for the kitchen. I need to make a grocery list and decide what the omega upstairs will eat during her heat. Food is the best present I can give her on short notice.