Chapter 14
chapter
fourteen
I’m a dick.
After spending ten years telling my packmate he was either crazy, pathetic, or some morbid combination of the two…
Shit.
I’d wait ten years for her, too.
This fact obviously stuns Remi. She blinks at Cassian in complete shock. The scent of honey-cakes gets richer, the lavender even more of a tease.
Good sweet God.
“You—I?—”
She shakes her head, her dark curls bouncing. “I don’t understand,” she whispers. “We were just friends. I… I thought I irritated you. You were always annoyed with me, telling me I wasn’t being safe.”
I watch Cassian’s gears grind in his skull. His lips part, but the only sound that escapes is an unintelligible huff.
I laugh. “Classic Cass. Let me guess, he snarled and grunted at you all the time?”
“Yes,” she giggles. “It’s not his fault, though. I was… annoying. I followed him everywhere when he was at the home. And I woke him up most mornings before the sun even came up.”
Oh my God, she is so cute. I want to rip her out of Cass’s arms and cuddle her forever. Instead, I lift my hand to touch her cheek.
“I can’t imagine you ever annoying any of us, sweetness.”
Her perfume is perfect. And knowing that burst of sweet sin came from something I said? My knot swells, ready to fill her until neither of us can move.
Drawn by forces beyond my control, I shift closer, not stopping until my shoulder is pressed against Cass’s. Our quietest packmate snarls softly, his face pulling into a pained look.
“Can’t let her go right now,” he mutters to me. “Sorry.”
Then to her, “Sorry, butterfly. I know you must want Damon, too. But it’s taking all I’ve got not to claim you right now.”
She looks startled again, but her scent stays purely sweet. “I’m so confused,” she whispers, looking back at him. “You… want me?”
Cassian is fierce when he wants to be. Fire snaps in his eyes as he stares back at her, scowling. “Not just that. I want to take you home. The same way I wanted to take you home every single day when neither of us had one.”
Part of me wants to pout. Leave it to Cassian to be a grumpy asshole, and yet somehow kick my ass in the romance department.
I don’t think I even care. Because Remi’s beautiful face softens in awe. And the tears shimmering in her blue-gold eyes make me weak.
Her lip trembles while she blinks at Cassian. “Y-you did?”
He did. I can vouch for him.
Getting our pack a real home always meant more to Cass than it did to me, or even Smith. I never connected the dots, but it makes sense.
He didn’t want a home for himself.
His Alpha wanted one for her.
My heart cramps, aching as I watch the two of them relearn each other’s faces. After a beat, I cup my hand around Remi’s, turning her attention to me. “What do you say, pretty girl? Come home with us?”
Remi looks between the two of us. She shrinks down a bit, uncertainty filling her face. “That’s what you want?” she asks. “You want— but your alpha has to say yes first, right?”
Oh. Fuck.
Right.
As if Remi somehow summoned him, I hear a clipped voice in the hallway, along with some shuffling. Leave it to Smith to delay getting his uppity ass in here so he can review paperwork with Balls Of Steel Celine out there.
I don’t know how our sweet omega can sense that the leader of our pack is about to come in, but she straightens, turning to the door and quickly smoothing her pretty pink skirt. I’m not sure I like the apprehension and anxiety on her face.
Why is she so nervous?
Smith is going to eat her up.