CHAPTER EIGHT – Nicolette
World War III didn’t happen while I was in the shower. Surprisingly. The house was intact, the meat cooked, and the table set. Were Kodiak and Ezekiel stalking around, growling, and staring each other down? Yes, but neither of them looked like they’d thrown a punch.
Being compatible with two Alphas was the last thing I’d expected. While it happened for my friend Callista, I would have guessed the chances for such a thing happening to me would have been even more impossible. Her men were good at sharing, but Kodiak and Ezekiel? They had been ready to kill one another. Over me.
It blew my mind. What was worse was the fact they both were so amazingly hot. I couldn’t choose between the two of them. Maybe they could learn to share?
Ezekiel was there beside me as I came to the table, and he pulled out a chair for me. His smile made my stomach quiver and my thighs clench. “Here you go.” The dogs sat beside me. Atka whimpered as he eyed the food on the table. Ezekiel clicked his tongue and pointed to the living room. “Come on, you two. No begging at the table. Go lie down.”
He led the dogs away, and Kodiak swept in with a platter of mouth-watering steaks. “You get the first choice. Pick any one you want, baby.”
Damn, all I could think about was his mouth on my pussy. I bit my bottom lip and forced my gaze to the meat. The meat on the platter! “Thank you. They all look so good. I usually don’t eat too much meat, so I’ll take the smallest one there.”
Kodiak raised his brows as he used tongs to pick up the littlest steak—which was in no way tiny at all—and set it gently on my plate. “We eat a lot of meat here. Moose being the number one type. Veggies and fruit are hard to come by, especially in the winter.”
I mostly ate fruit and veggies, but that steak looked incredible. The grill marks were perfectly charred into it and the redness of the meat seeped rich smelling juice onto the plate.
“Savva, that’s Kodiak’s dad,” Ezekiel placed a glass of red wine next to my plate and sat down on my right with his own. “Is trying to get his greenhouse going. A lot of folks around here have greenhouses to grow fruit and vegetables throughout the year.”
Kodiak put the biggest slab of moose on his plate and set the platter farthest away on the table from Ezekiel. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took the seat on my left. “Dad won’t do it. He might fix up the building, but all his thumbs are black. He’s even killed a cactus.”
“Have more faith in Sav.” Ezekiel said nothing about the steaks and stood to stick his fork into one and flop it onto his plate.
“He’s my dad. I know him better than you,” Kodiak huffed and held out the bowl of mashed potatoes to me, refusing to look Ezekiel’s way. “Would you like some? I can scoop them for you.”
“Thank you, just a little.” I bit my tongue, not interjecting into their argument. Weren’t all three of the Alphas raised by Savva? “I love the idea of a greenhouse. Maybe I could help out. I always liked helping the gardener when I was young.”
A little scoop of potatoes was a quarter of my plate. Once those were on, Ezekiel was offering me a bowl of mixed veggies. Both of the men only looked at me. And despite how good the food looked, the tension was smothering my desire to eat anything. I picked up my wine and sipped it just as the front door swung open.
Freezing wind blew in through the house and made the napkins on the table flutter. The dogs bounded up, barking, and wagged their tails to see Silas. He didn’t look an ounce friendlier than when he left earlier. He’d be a drop dead gorgeous Alpha if he didn’t have that scowl on his face all the time.
Not that I needed to be looking at any other Alphas. I had two hunks sitting with me at the table that I wasn’t sure how to handle.
“You’re just in time for dinner,” Ezekiel greeted Silas and stood to fetch another plate for him. He motioned to the only empty seat at the end of the table opposite of me. “Did you go into town?”
Silas slammed the door shut and walked in with his wet boots, tossing his coat onto the couch. He left pools of water behind him. “What the hell? Are we eating at the table? We never eat at the table.” He flashed a narrow-eyed glare my way. “There’s a game on.”
Ah, so he was still going to be an ass. I took another sip of my wine and refrained from rolling my eyes.
“We’re eating at the table tonight,” Kodiak grunted and stabbed his steak with his knife before cutting off a piece. “I grilled the steaks, but Nicolette made the rest. So you’re going to sit down and eat it.”
Kodiak chewed on his meat as he reached over and picked up a roll, placing it on the edge of my dish. Ezekiel filled a small bowl with salad and sat it beside my very full plate. I smiled at both of them, loving the attention and at the same time dreading the tension building.
Silas snorted as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer from within. His boots thumped with each step. “So this is how it is. Both of you falling to your knees, rushing to please her.” He pulled out his chair, scraping it along the floor, and sat down. He twisted off the cap and took a gulp of beer. Burping loudly, he then added, “You don’t know how idiotic you two look.”
I startled at his burp and wrapped an arm around myself. So rude. He had no manners, and there was no way anyone could say it was because he spent his days in the woods. Kodiak and Ezekiel were civilized. Well, they were glaring at their friend with silent snarls at the moment, but I didn’t blame them.
Setting my wine down, I picked up a knife and fork. I wasn’t going to let this lout ruin the meal. “They’re just being gentlemen.” I cut a piece of moose and popped it into my mouth. A ripple of pleasure went through me as I moaned softly. It was seasoned just right with a hint of lemon, and it tasted like the most tender of prime rib. If the meat they had here was mostly moose, I wasn’t going to complain at all. “Delicious.”
All three of the Alphas were staring at me. And their gazes were hungry, but not for the food.
“I knew you’d love it, baby.” Kodiak grinned and reached to give my knee a squeeze. Desire shot up my leg, relighting the fire at the juncture. One touch was all it took to make me want him between my legs again.
“Gentlemen,” Silas scoffed and messily filled his plate. “You’ll quickly discover they’re nothing of the sort. Maybe you think you can change them, make them into stuffy pompous asses like the dicks from where you’re from, but it isn’t going to work.”
I had no intention of doing anything of the sort, and he was a jerk to presume it. Why was he here sharing a table with us when he clearly didn’t want to be? What was more, he was provoking not just me, but the guys too. I didn’t want them to fight, and while I was glad Ezekiel and Kodiak weren’t facing off anymore, I didn’t want them ready to throw down with Silas.
“Si, back off.” Ezekiel’s low tone had an edge, but he remained calm. “She’s here to stay, so get used to it.”
“Damn right she is.” Kodiak seconded that between bites and scowls.
Something in me swelled with happiness that they were defending me. They wanted me to stay, and I would be content to sleep sandwiched between the two of them and chase away the chill on cold nights, which there were a lot of this far north. Ezekiel’s mouth hard on mine and Kodiak sucking on my breasts, each of them taking turns fingering my eager pussy.
Oh God. The hot image was so vivid. I could come with the want of them alone.
“Holy fuck,” Silas said with a full mouth and shook his head. “Can you guys even see yourselves right now? She’s hooked you both already. How’s that going to work? A big happy family bed? Maybe create a schedule to see who gets to take a dip in that fake little pussy each night?”
I nearly choked on the bite in my mouth. How dare he!
“Hey!” Kodiak barked and swung around to fully face Silas. “Don’t you fucking talk about her that way.”
“Apologize to Nicolette.” Ezekiel gripped his utensils tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white.
“Make me.” Silas smirked and spread his hands, provoking them further.
When all their chairs slid back and the guys got to their feet, I had to do something. With my heart racing, I stood and squeezed my napkin in one hand. “No. Stop it. None of you are fighting.” All three intense gazes turned to me and the weight of it nearly plowed me over. My stubborn temper pushed back. These were huge strong Alphas, and every one of them could likely pick me up with one hand. But I wasn’t going to be ignored, insulted, or be made the damsel in distress. I sat back down and spread the napkin on my lap. “We’re going to sit down and have a nice dinner getting to know one another.”
Silas tore off a chunk of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. “See? She’s already bossing us around.”
Kodiak snarled at him, and Ezekiel leaned toward Silas like he was about to leap on him. “You haven’t apologized yet.”
As they were all about to open their mouths to yell at one another, I held up my hand. We were going to find some way for this to work. This had to work. “No. Fighting,” I repeated sharply. “Silas, you have the right to your opinion. I know you don’t like me, and you’re assuming the worst, but you’re wrong. You don’t know me. So stop provoking Ezekiel and Kodiak.” My opinion of him wasn’t flattering, so we had something in common. I had enough on my hands dealing with the fact I was compatible with two Alphas, never mind one jerk who was determined to screw everything up. “Also, don’t talk as I’m not here. If you want to say something, say it to me.”
Ezekiel favored me with a proud grin while Kodiak kept right on glaring at Silas as he ate his steak.
Silas shrugged his shoulders as if none of this was a big deal and kept eating too.
Why couldn’t he be happy for his friends? It wasn’t an everyday thing for an Alpha to meet a compatible Omega. If he was jealous, he needed to just suck it up and be a supportive friend. My temper roiled as I ate. The food was amazing, but the thickness in the air was making each bite weigh heavily in my stomach.
Darkness had fallen outside. I wanted to have a conversation, try to get to know them better, but any opener that I thought of felt not right in the moment. Kodiak finished his dinner first, even with a heaping second serving.
Rubbing his hands together, Kodiak stood and grinned. “Now it’s time for my second piece of pie today.”
Heat flared in my cheeks. I barely managed to swallow what was in my mouth and had to wash it down with the last of my wine. Add the alcohol to the fact my body was buzzing with Ezekiel and Kodiak on either side of me, my emotions and hot desires were threatening to get the best of me. Especially when Kodiak said that.
“Fuck no.” Silas suddenly stood and pushed away from the table, shaking everything on it. “You two already did it? Jesus fucking Christ. Everything’s in the pisser because of her.”
Kodiak lurched toward Silas as Ezekiel rose from his chair with a growl. I grabbed the forearms of the two Alphas closest to me, letting my anger run over the rush of lusty need.
I wanted to scream that we did not do it. Well, unless he counted oral sex as doing it, but I didn’t. And if I did, what business was it of Silas’? I wasn’t his. And no matter how Ezekiel and Kodiak were acting, I wasn’t theirs either. All this Alpha posturing was infuriating.
“If you have a problem with me, Silas, you talk to me. And you two sit down. I can defend myself.” I huffed, my head swimming more with wine and fury and throbbing heat. Marching around the table, I glared at Silas, determined to stand on my own in front of him. Though Kodiak placed himself in front of me. All that sexy protective Alpha muscle tense and hot…
“Look at you,” Silas snapped and shook his head. He leaned in, and I could almost feel his breath on my face. The musky scent of him made my heart beat harder and my panties wetter. “This is me talking to you now, Omega. You’ve made a mess of things. Pitting brother against brother. Think how you’re destroying us when you have one or the other buried between your legs, you hussy.”
Silas snatched his beer and stomped away to his room. The door slammed, echoing in the cabin.
Why did I want to run after him and comfort him?
I swallowed hard, not being able to process that last word. Why did it hurt so much? No one in my life had ever called me such a thing. I’d been ready to jump Ezekiel earlier, and then I let Kodiak eat me out. I could plead I had no control, that my heat was making me do these things. But it would be a lie. I wanted both of them. If I could have them together, filling me with their cocks, I would do it in a second.
“I’m going to kill him.” Kodiak seethed, breathing heavy.
“Not if I do it first.” Ezekiel was walking around the table, his sights on the hall toward the bedrooms.
“No.” The word came out softly, just a little more than a breath. My hands were shaking. “No. Don’t fight anymore.” I didn’t want to be the one that made them hate each other. Kodiak raised his arm to put it around me, but I moved out of his reach. I wanted him and couldn’t allow myself to do so. “I need some time alone to clear my head.”
Before either of them could say anything, I took off down the hall and locked myself in my room. Tears of anger and confusion wet my cheeks. Slick had soaked my panties. A cold shower was what I needed. The shock would be good. I’d be able to think more rationally.
I stripped off my clothes and left them on the floor before heading to my third shower of the day. Silas’ opinion shouldn’t matter that much. His words shouldn’t hurt like that.
Damn him. Was he right?