Chapter 59
chapter
fifty-nine
*The Dumbest Assholes Alive*
Tristan
How is our omega today?
She woke me up at dawn and kept me in bed until I had to leave at nine.
Has she needed more?
Spencer
I took her for two hours after you left.
She’s with Jonah now.
Avery
if I wasn’t about to murder you all, I’d be impressed
Jonah
water.
Spencer
Serena needs water?
Jonah
NO I NEED WATER
our omega fucked me to death
Tristan
Then how are you texting?
Avery
I’ve decided I *am* going to kill you all
Jonah
jealousy isn’t very demure or mindful, ave.
Tristan
You already booked your night with her after your fight tonight, Ave
She’s very excited about it.
Avery
that’s cute as hell
I might let you live
Spencer
Everyone please be gentle with her
She’s very sensitive today
I made her take a break after three rounds with me in the shower because she felt faint and she got upset.
Avery
I’m going to kill you.
Jonah
aaaaand we’re back.
This must be a circle of hel l.
The jeers, the lights. The thousands of different scents.
And mine, getting worse by the second .
My heat should start any day now, and I’m basically a lunatic—climbing the guys like a horny spider monkey, crying over every tiny thing, and losing my ever-loving shit if any other omega even looks at one of my alphas.
After class yesterday, I thought Spencer would have to call for an exorcism when a bonded male omega student came to his office to drop off papers. I spun out so completely, he only managed to calm me down by knotting me against the office door, then carrying me to his leather sofa and holding me against his chest until I passed out to the sound of his purrs.
When I woke up, I was at home, in my bed, with Tristan rubbing my feet, Avery nuzzling his face into my belly, and Jonah ready to force-feed me chicken noodle soup.
So maybe we’re all a little nuts?
Especially the usually-composed Tristan Thorne.
He’s barely left my side for three days, and he still has a very I’ll-rip-off-another-alpha’s-head energy. According to Spence, this is normal for pack leaders after knotting their omegas for the first time. He also thinks the half-bond is making Tristan extra possessive and protec tive.
After spending three nights with Tristan’s cock and knot buried in me until late morning, the guys finally put their collective foot down.
Avery practically rolled his pack alpha out of my bed, then proceeded to spread my legs and dive in for a morning feast. After which he spent hours lying with his head on my sternum and his chest pressed into my belly, purring to break up my pre-heat cramps and snarling at anyone who dared to wander within a foot of the mattress.
Afterward, Spencer took a bath with me. He let me have his knot while he cleaned me, tutting his disapproval for all the bruising bite marks littered across my skin. As if he isn’t the worst offender of all—a fact he proved when he sucked his own mark into the opposite side of my throat.
Jonah seems determined to feed me up before my heat starts. Today, after Ave left to go prep for his fight, Jonah made enough comfort food to sustain a family of ten. He put me in his lap and sweetly massaged every bit of my body he could reach while also feeding me mashed potatoes and fried chicken.
By the time we all had to leave to get to the arena, Tristan was practically vibrating. I still feel his impatience and feral protectiveness throbbing through the half-bond as we walk into the arena.
When I glance up at his face—square jaw loose, dark brow smooth—I don’t see the cool mask he’s giving the world. I only see the mania in his eyes.
They snap to mine immediately. Almost like he was just waiting for me to look at him.
His gaze slides to his healed bite mark, then back to my face. And, I swear, I can feel how much he wants to send me a thought right now.
But there are about thirty cameras trained on us at the moment, so he just nods at the Octagon.
I force my head to bob up and down, ignoring the way my skin crawls when my ponytail brushes my bare back. The dress Trista n defiled at the store is sexy, but the tight fabric mashing my breasts down hurts .
Flashes pop around us while people call their names. Senator Thorne. Tristan. Jonah. Professor .
Some of them shout questions about the fight: How is Avery? Is he ready? What’s his headspace been like lately? Have we seen the odds?
Others have different questions.
“Senator Thorne, is this your omega?”
“Where’s your bond mark, Senator?”
“Where are her bond marks, Senator?”
Tristan only winds his hand around mine and keeps staring straight ahead. Jonah wedges his big body between me and the cameras, blocking me from view as Spencer steers us toward our ring-side seats.
I miss Avery. He’d never let people shout at me. One flick of his murderous glare and they would all leave us alone .
I’ve never been in a gym like this without him, and I feel stupidly out of place here, in this sexy dress and a face full of makeup. I just want to be back home , in our own gym or in our bed…
Jonah feels me tense up and notices the tears gathering in my eyes. Instead of letting me sit between him and Spencer, he pulls me directly into his lap, where all three of them can reach me.
His chin fits against my shoulder, a deep purr vibrating into my back. “Do you want to go?” he murmurs. “We can leave right now, hummingbird.”
They’ve all told me that a hundred times today. Even Avery, who texted me just three minutes ago to tell me I should go home and wait for him in bed. Naked.
Before we walked into the actual arena, I felt confident I could make it. But now…
“This is so important to him,” I whimper, turning to hide my wet eyes in Jonah’s neck. “Please help me stay.”
Spencer hears me, leaning around Jonah’s shoulder to take my hand. He cuffs my wrist with his fingers, squeezing rhythmically. I don’t know what kind of omega magic he’s weaving, but I can suddenly inhale. The scents of all three of them sink into my lungs.
I crack one eye open, finding Spencer’s intense stare waiting for me. “I’m going to embarrass him,” I whisper. “He’ll be distracted by me. What if I perfume while he’s up there and?—”
I hate that I feel so panicked. Just weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to see Ave in action. Part of me still can’t. But I don’t trust my body right now. And once the heat sets in… I know what the pain will do to me.
In the end, it’s Tristan who stands up.
“ Enough ,” he barks quietly. “This is inhumane. You two stay and watch. I’m getting Serena out of here.”
I protest weakly as he bends and plucks me out of Jonah’s lap. My big man rubs his thumb over my cheek, reassuring me Avery won’t be upset at all. Spencer nods his agreement and promises they’ll stay for the entire fight and keep an eye on my menace.
Instead of wading back through the crowd of cameramen, Tris carries me the wrong way down the tunnel Ave is supposed to emerge from. He doesn’t seem to care much that people are staring. His eyes flash from the path in front of us to my face, concern shifting behind his flawless poker face and swelling through his stomach.
I close my eyes and turn my cheek into his lapel, not wanting to hear the shouts or see the faces blurring past. I only open them again when I hear Avery growling roughly.
“ What the fuck? ”
For a second, I think he’s angry with me for being so weak. Or for being back here, near the locker rooms, at all. Then I feel his taped-up hand land softly on my head, petting my hair gently.
God, he looks so good. The tight black shorts molded to his body display all of his ink and muscles perfectly. They also do nothing to disguise the enormous bulge at his groin.
His fallen-angel face is full of rage as he growls at Tristan. “I told y ou this would be too much. She needs to be home, in our nest. I’ll kick this guy’s ass and then I’ll come knot her myself.”
When I whine, the hand on my head tenderly cups my cheek. His voice loses every last edge as he murmurs to me, “I love you for trying so hard, kitten. But I’m going to be distracted up there, worrying about you, yeah? Go wait for me. I’ll come for you the second this fucker hits the floor.”
I’m a bad omega. A silly little slut who can’t do anything except perfume and ruin everything and make all the alphas hate me and ? —
“Hey.” Avery kisses me so softly, I almost don’t believe it’s really him until he pulls back and his gorgeous face comes into focus. “I want you home and safe and happy, baby. Fuck everyone else.”
That last bit has my lips curling up a little. He flashes his wild, crooked grin. “There she is. You give Tris hell, and I’ll take care of this motherfucker in the cage. Meet you back in our bed.”
He scent-marks my forehead before backing away. Out in the arena, the lights have dimmed and the music pounds as they announce his opponent. Tristan cups his hand around my head to protect my ears, but I still hear Avery call out one last thing as he backs toward the doors.
“Hey, kitten!”
I lift my heavy head and turn to find him, a dark silhouette outlined by the flashes and spotlights beyond the doors as they swing open.
He shoots me one final, feral smile. “I decided on a new name.”
Avery’s preferred metal music screams to life over the speakers just as an announcer intones, “And tonight’s challenger, weighing in at two-hundred-fifteen pounds of rage and ink, Avery Thorne. The Menace .”