Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Isnuggle down in the opulent nest that my new pack has woven out of their clothes in the center of the glamorous presidential bedroom.
I clasp hard onto the collar of Zero’s coat, which sparkles with silver thread.
I can’t believe that he’s sacrificed such a stunning coat to create a nest. Yet Piper has also built it up with an entire heap of punky clothes, as well as star shaped fluffy cushions and velvet and silk sheets.
The plushie lion that Lionzio bought for Zoe, Roar, sits on the pillow next to my head. It’s adorably soft with blue eyes and a tuft of black hair. Added to the suit that it’s wearing, it reminds me of the cutest toy version of Lionzio.
Sadly, I imagine the nest that Bird and I tried to build for ourselves in the dorms.
My eyes burn with tears.
What’s happening with Bird?
Is he truly okay? He shouldn’t be spending the holidays with some Alpha owner of a model agency as a heat Omega.
Will the Alpha care whether a HO is unwell? Control himself if Bird faints?
What if my brother needs a doctor?
What if he…?
I can’t think it.
Bird is my brother, best friend, and partner in crime.
The Will Scarlet to my Robin Hood.
Despite the perfect pack and nest (maybe because of them), I am still awake in the early hours, as my mind buzzes with worry at the thought that my brother is in a presidential suite just like this one, only he hasn’t received a HEA like I have.
Except, until I am standing in that board meeting and can look my stepmom in the face as I steal everything from her as she once stole it from my dad, I won’t have my true fairy tale.
Until I can then share that wealth with the rest of the staff.
Robbing from the rich to give to the poor is going to be fucking satisfying.
I pull a crisp shirt to my nose, sniffing Lionzio’s citrus scent to calm myself.
The large bedroom lies in shadows.
Moonlight breaks through the open drapes from the arched window that leads at the far side out onto a balcony. It lights the black and white chessboard tiles on the floor, oversized bronze chandelier, and original antique furniture.
A vast canvas, painted by Leo Knight, hangs on the wall of a simple, elegant birdcage but without any bird inside; the door is ajar, as if the bird has just flown to its escape.
The giant bed has a tall, upholstered headboard, which is printed with repeated snowflakes, as if we’re caught in a snowstorm.
Piper is wrapped around Icarus like a tiny koala bear.
His silver curls are splayed out on Icarus’ chest, and his nose is firmly pressed to his new Alpha’s scent gland.
He’s lightly purring as he sleeps.
Adorable.
My lips twitch.
Piper may be naturally a leader, but I’ve been around a lot of Omegas, and Piper also has strong Omega instincts. I love how open and accepting he is of them. He can be strong without feeling that he needs to reject his inner Omega.
I frown, however, as I assess the dark bruise, which is turning to black down Icarus’ side.
When the other pack members saw it, they froze.
Zero paled, laying his fingers carefully on it, as if mapping out the ghost of the hit that Icarus took. “A cane. Thick too.”
“I hate that you know that.” Icarus caught Zero’s hand between his.
“Me too,” Zero muttered.
“Who am I killing?” Lionzio’s gaze hardened.
“No one anymore, remember?” Piper patted Lionzio on the back. “Do you need to do the breathing exercises that I taught you? Or go over the rules about not shooting our enemies again?”
“But we can destroy them.” Lionzio met Icarus’ gaze, and they exchanged a look between them of two Alphas who were finally understanding each other. “There are plenty of ways to do that without a gun.”
Unfortunately, I also know that Lionzio is right.
It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow.
Everything within this hotel balances on Icarus and my plans over the next two days. Now, I have so much more to lose than I did before. So much more that can be destroyed.
A soulmate, scent match, and Beta as well.
A new family and pack for Zoe, Icarus, and me.
I take another hurried breath of the shirt, glancing at the naked Beta who is sleeping between Lionzio and me.
My guts churn.
This is the life that I could have.
Tomorrow I need to find a way to talk to Icarus alone, and somehow, my brother, Hatton.
Unexpectedly, Zero’s arm twitches. Then his eyelashes flutter.
I drop the shirt and turn toward him.
He appears to still be deeply asleep but dreaming.
Wait, having a nightmare.
Sweat is beading on his forehead. His brow scrunches, as if he is in pain.
Zero’s neck strains. He whimpers.
“Please, sir,” Zero whispers.
His voice sounds younger and terrified.
Chills run down my neck. My skin goosebumps.
I edge closer to him, laying my hand on his arm to wake him up from whatever hell he is caught in.
“Don’t,” Lionzio’s whisper startles me.
Lionzio looks like he has just struggled awake and is reorientating himself. He still slips his arms tenderly around Zero in an instinctive way that makes me think this isn’t the first time he has been awoken from his sleep by the Beta’s nightmares.
He gently emits calming pheromones.
He is treating Zero with a gentleness now that it is nighttime, which I haven’t seen him treat the Beta with during the day.
“Why not?” I wrap my arm around Zero as well. “He’s distressed.”
Zero is trembling.
It’s breaking my heart.
“It’s better not to wake him.” Lionzio’s intense gaze meets mine over the shaking man who we are holding between us.
“If you do, then he’ll be disoriented and stuck in his nightmare.
A memory. He may have a panic attack. Zero likes to perform; he rarely stops.
But it’s a defense. I don’t want to trigger… ”
“What?”
“He’ll tell you when he’s ready. He went through things, however, when he was at the Idol camp at the hands of sadistic Alpha instructors that he will always have to live with.
It’s just that he pushes it all down during the day, and it finds him at night.
Things that I am sure your Hotel Omegas would understand. ”
My eyes prick with tears. “Is there anything that I can do?”
“Don’t you understand how much you are already doing by being here in this nest, tesoro? By wanting him? By treating him like he’s a normal Beta and not some object to be possessed or used? By helping us show him what healthy love feels like?”
My voice is thick with tears. “I want that for all of us.”
Suddenly, Zero twists his head side to side more violently.
“Please, please…” Zero’s voice sounds horrifyingly like he’s barely high school aged in his nightmare. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll try it again. Do better. I’ll get it right, I promise.”
To my shock, Lionzio tightens his hold on Zero, before his pheromones become chokingly dominant.
I drag my sleeve to cover my nose.
Lionzio grabs Zero by the hair to hold him still and hisses into his ear, “Do it again. Get it right this time, Immortal. No excuses.”
Outraged, I glare at Lionzio.
What. The. Fuck?
“How can you talk to him like that?” I try to shove Lionzio away, but he’s too strong.
“Because the Alphas who trained him in singing and dancing did more than talk when he made a mistake. And right now, I am replacing his teenage dream self’s terror of blows with harsh words.
I’ve tried everything during these nightmares, including soft words and gentleness.
But in these nightmares, I need to at least play the part of his demons, as much as I hate it.
But I’d do anything for him.” Lionzio’s expression gentles. “Trust me.”
I relax back into the nest.
Trust means a lot to Lionzio. It’s not easy for me, after what has happened in my life with Alphas.
But I can start here.
“Yes, sir.” With a final whine, Zero settles back into Lionzio’s arms.
Tremors are still wracking him, but his breathing has steadied, and his expression is once more peaceful.
“This must be hard on you.” I slip my hand over Zero for Lionzio to take.
He entwines his fingers with mine, giving me a surprised but pleased smile.
“I have a fourteen month old, after all. I know what it’s like to have interrupted sleep most nights but still have to struggle through functioning the next day with a smile. ”
“I’m not sure that I always smile.” Lionzio plays with my fingers. “It’s harder for Zero. I’m happy that I can do this for him. As much as I don’t have any idea how to handle him during the day, at least at night I’ve worked it out.”
“I think that you have a better idea than you know.”
“Icarus and you are serious about wanting to be with us, right?” In the early hours, Lionzio is stripped back and raw.
He searches out my gaze in a startlingly vulnerable way that makes my stomach twist that I am hiding the secret of the heist. “Even if I wasn’t wealthy?
Even if we weren’t anything special or elite?
Just some normal, hardworking pack? You would want to be with us because of us…
? It’s just that Zero has been through such a lot of shit, only wanted for his fake celebrity image, and Pip has been bullied for most of his life because of his Wolf name.
And I…I’ve been alone, thinking that I would never have a pack of my own.
It would break me, mio tesoro, to be treated as worthless by you like I was by my own biological family.
So, if it’s going to happen, then please, just let it happen now. ”
I can’t hold back any longer.
I push myself up onto my elbow, leaning over Zero and capturing Lionzio’s lips.
I kiss the Alpha, soft and tender and long enough for him to understand that I will not reject him.
I am not going anywhere.
He is not worthless.
Slowly, I pull back.
Lionzio looks like I have kissed every thought out of his mind, as he struggles for a moment to do anything but blink at me.
I smirk, rubbing my cheek against his. “Answer your question?”
He hums his agreement, licking over his own lips like he’s chasing after the taste of me.