Chapter 45
chapter
forty-five
Listening is not my strong suit.
If I weren’t so shit at it, I might have snapped this whole thing together a lot sooner.
Jonah bitched all day about how bad he felt. I thought he was just old —and too stubborn to admit it. But Serena… she suddenly woke up today and needed to start on her nest.
Why today? When her heat isn’t for another week or two, and she isn’t really a big “planner”?
It was also weird that she wanted to leave the game and come straig ht home. We were supposed to go to dinner, and Jonah was supposed to come home, change, and meet us.
Yeah.
I suck at this.
All the signs were there, but as soon as we walk into the kitchen, my hackles fly up.
Jonah is here, which means he beat us home. There’s no other way to explain the thick haze of s’mores globbing up the air.
Which pins my kitten in place the second she steps inside.
Oh fuck .
Her green eyes fly wide, a little shriek catching her throat before she stops it, reaching up and fisting her necklace while her gaze darts around.
“What?” Spencer asks.
“ Jonah ,” she whispers. “He’s?—”
A low growl from the living room cuts her off. Spencer snaps out a vicious curse. “In a rut .”
He and Serena look at each other, then both of them turn to?—
Tris.
Oh FUCK .
He’s standing in front of the closed elevator, gripping the black metal trim like he’s about to rip it off the goddamn wall. His chest heaves under his navy shirt, panting so hard I think he’s about to pop some buttons.
Serena freezes even more, locking herself into the perfect stillness of a hunted animal.
I know all about that shit now; all her nature documentaries have taught me what prey looks like before it’s about to be eaten.
Pretty much this.
The scent of her fear fills the kitchen in seconds. A deep snarl answers from the other room.
Fuuuuuuck .
As soon as his Alpha senses her freaking out, he’ll be clawing throug h all of us to get to her. I know the motherfucking feeling—since I’m actively muscling it back right now .
Usually, I have an understanding with the rabid beast inside me. We like each other. And, yeah, I don’t exactly keep him on the shortest of leashes.
But right now?
Fuck that guy.
I didn’t even know two alphas in the same pack could go into rut at the same time—we’re not adding a third fucker to this situation.
Spence seems to agree. He whips his focus from his brother to his best friend, then down to our trembling omega.
Shit .
“Is it me?” she quivers. “D-did I do something to?—”
He shakes his head, eyes blazing. “No, darling. You didn’t do anything wrong. Jonah has been on edge since he came off his rut-blockers. I know the two of you were taking things slowly, but waiting so long might have been too much for him.”
Serena doesn’t move a muscle, but her eyes slide to our pack leader. “B-but?—”
“The half-bond would make it virtually impossible for an alpha to know his omega was about to be rutted by someone else without forcing a rut of its own.” Spencer shakes his head, getting more intense. “This is not your fault , Miss Swanson. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Professor,” she answers.
Which—
I’m going to have to unpack later.
Because the second one drop of her sweet arousal touches her scent, Tristan gives a serrated growl, and Jonah fucking roars . He suddenly tears into the kitchen, sightless black eyes snapping right to her.
My body moves on instinct, stepping up to block his path, jostling him back. On her other side, Spencer does the same to Tristan, holding him off to give Serena room to make a decision .
A full-body shiver shimmies down her spine, a fresh burst of perfume winding off her. When our eyes meet, I see the scared baby kitten and my fierce little fighter, all swirled together. Layered with some hesitation that doesn’t make any sense until it hits me?—
“You want them.”
Her teeth sink into her lower lip. Spencer frowns in disbelief, nodding at Tris. “ Both of them, omega?”
“I-is that even possible?” she whispers. “Won’t they both want to knot me at the same time? I-I’ve never—I don’t think I could take two the first time.”
Spencer reaches over and skims his thumb across her mouth, freeing that bitten-up lip. His hand slides down, fingers flexing over her throat. “You trust me?” he asks, then flicks a look at me. “ Us ?”
Serena nods right away, transfixed on his swirling brown eyes. He nods, pure alpha approval rolling off him. “Very well, Miss Swanson. Let Jonah take off your clothes. I have a plan.”