Chapter 13 #2
“You looked much better than the swing,” Bellamy confesses.
“Taking a break on the mural?” I ask, glancing at it again. It appears to be half finished.
“Yeah. I think I need to eat. I got a little dizzy up on the ladder,” Bellamy explains.
Now that I have permission to enter, I do just that and check the fridge. Ahh, their smoothie stash is gone.
“I see the predicament," I tease them. They’ve been keeping food down well, and have been starting to explore more food. Just yesterday, they happily ate tacos.
The smoothies are more to help them gain weight and keep it on.
“What are you in the mood for?” I ask.
“Ugh, I really want pizza, which is completely not on the diet,” Bellamy sighs.
“It’s not a diet, because losing weight is the last thing we want to see,” I explain. “It’s just a food plan to ensure you’re eating when you don’t feel like it.”
“Pizza does sound good,” Winter agrees.
“Cool. Now, what do you like on your pizza?” I ask.
Together, we plan out our toppings and I order the food from my phone. Cassidy is downstairs for a little while before she has to meet with some of our business associates. She’s scary when she wants to be, and she’s the one who suggested I head upstairs.
Me
I ordered pizza and I’m building a swing for our omegas.
Cassidy
Good. I’ll bring the pizza up before I leave. How are you on drinks?
Me
I need to restock them. They’re painting a mural that’s fucking stunning, Cass.
Cassidy
I found a sketch book in the kitchen. I think it may be Winter’s. Is the mural a forest?
Me
Got it in one, baby.
Pocketing my phone, I get to work on the swing. It’s the size of a sofa, and I imagine it would be awesome for reading, sketching, or napping. The rafters aren’t super high in the attic, just tall enough for me to stand up without knocking my brains around.
Twenty minutes later, the swing is safely hung and secured. I think Bellamy let himself get distracted by Winter, and I don’t blame him.
The swing has a dark gray sturdy base for the cream cushions, and then knotted rope for it to hang from. The most difficult part was securing it properly.
“This is a great couch,” I grin, stepping back to look at it. “What do you think?”
“I’ve always wanted something like this,” Winter says softly. “When we presented together as omegas, Bell and I planned out our nest. We just didn’t get to have it until now. I still can’t believe it.”
“What can’t you believe?” I ask, facing them.
“That this is real life and you actually want us,” Bellamy says for them.
“We could have met a million different ways, and we’d still want you,” I confess. “Scent matched or not, you’re both gorgeous. Not only that, you’re talented as fuck. The way you work in tandem is incredible. Winter, you sketched this mural out right?”
“I’m not great at it,” she sighs. “Bell is much better with paints. I needed to be able to show him what I wanted.”
“Cass says you’re amazing,” I say honestly. “What did you want to do with your lives before all of this?”
“We wanted to go to college, but it seems silly now,” Bellamy admits. “I don’t think we have anything in common with people going to college. We’d feel out of step the entire time.”
“You’re not going for other people,” I correct him. “You go for you. Why did you want to go to college?”
“I wanted to get an arts degree,” he says.
“I kind of wanted to teach English at a high school. I don’t think I want to do that anymore,” Winter sighs. “The loud noises as the bell rings to change classes, the crush of people, I think I might have an anxiety attack and cry every day.”
“I’d appreciate not having to burn down a school because it made you unhappy,” I say unapologetically as she bursts out into surprised laughter.
“God, I think you actually would too,” she says.
“You betcha,” I say. “Are you knitting something?”
“A weighted blanket,” Bellamy says. “I want our nest to be full of things we made. That’s something we’re worried about…”
Letting the subject of college slide, I nod. I’ll come back to it another time. They have time to figure it out, but I don’t want them to throw away their dreams.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“We don’t know how long the injections Bret gave us are going to last. What if we spontaneously have a heat?” he asks.
“Riley wants to swing by to discuss that with you actually,” I say. “He wants to test your blood to see what your hormone levels are. There has to be an expiration period on whatever Bret gave you. How often were the injections?”
“They were supposed to be monthly, but the place was raided not long after we joined Slick Dreams,” Bellamy says. “Madam Clara managed to get her hands on his cocktail and kept dosing us until we ended up getting sold.”
“Ahh. So it could be built up in your system. It’ll be a good idea to have Riley test then,” I decide. “There aren’t any trackers on your body that you know about, are there?”
“No,” Winter says, shaking her head. “I don’t remember anything like that, and um…”
“We thought what if it was done at some point while we were sleeping, so we may have ordered something online to see if we had a tracker,” Bellamy says, red faced.
Oh they're so cute.
“I probably would have felt really uncomfortable if I didn’t know too,” I shrug. “You can order flamethrowers online, why not tracker detectors?”
“You cannot!” Winter squeals.
“You can,” I say, sitting on the ground.
“We have the couch. Why are you sitting on the ground?” Bellamy asks.
“Because it’s your couch,” I say with a chuckle.
“It’s huge,” he says, glaring at me. “It’s also supposed to hold up to six hundred pounds.”
“No shit!” I exclaim, glancing at it suspiciously.
“Yes. Now, sit.”
Well, how am I supposed to say no to that?
Standing, I sit cautiously in the swing. While the fucker creaks, that’s more because this house is old than anything else. I hung it correctly, it should be fine.
Winter and Bellamy join me, and the swing doesn’t complain again as we continue to talk.
“Speaking of trackers,” I drawl. “Everyone in my pack has one. The idea is that in case anything goes pear shaped, we can find each other.”
“Is that how you knew where Cassidy was when she went to The Hug Project?” Bellamy asks. “I remember telling her the door was locked, and then you just walked in like it was no big deal.”
“Picking locks is something I’m very proud of,” I say, smirking. “I hadn’t heard from Cass in a few hours, and I was concerned. It’s very difficult for me to give her space, but I’m realizing I unfortunately made her feel very alone in doing so.”
“Oh,” Winter says. “You should take her out on a date.”
“That’s my plan,” I say. “I want to go on a group date to the City Market. There’s murals on the walls, amazing food, and boutiques with handmade items you may enjoy. I was thinking tomorrow?”
I’m an alpha who thinks on his feet, and this is one of those times. Yes, I’ve been wanting to go on a date with my pack, but the location wasn’t something I’d decided on yet.
Not until I stepped into their nest and found out some of their interests.
“We accept,” Bellamy says, to which Winter nods. “Can we get trackers too? That is, it’s too easy to get lost, and I don’t think either of us could handle that again.”
My lips press together because it's such an innocent statement encompassing a fuck ton of weight. Bellamy and Winter have been more than lost. Society simply forgot they existed because their aunt chose to sell them.
There was no one to check on them since they’d both graduated from high school, no one else to hold Matilda culpable.
“You’re ours,” I say, keeping my emotions locked down tightly. “Of course we can get you trackers.”
It may take some time for them to really understand what that means, but it’s no less true. I do not share what’s mine, nor will I accept losing them.