14. Levi
Levi
T he house feels different when I walk through the door at six PM. Lighter somehow, like the walls themselves are celebrating what happened this morning. River’s in the kitchen making himself a sandwich, completely at home despite this being my and Elijah’s place.
Elijah’s sprawled across the couch with a book, but he looks up when I enter.
“Why did you let this riffraff in here?” I ask, gesturing at River with mock disgust.
“He brought food,” Elijah says simply, not looking up from his page. “I’m easily bribed.”
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you,” I tell River, though there’s no real annoyance in it. He’s been doing this since we were kids.
“You’re glowing,” River says without looking up from the mustard. “Like, actually glowing. Good day at work?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “We helped Sadie with the photo shoot.”
“We?” River turns around, grinning. “As in you, Caleb, and the architect? All together?”
“Her supplier truck broke down. She needed flowers.” I grab a beer from the fridge, trying to play it casual. “We just happened to all show up.”
“Right. Just happened.” River takes a bite of his sandwich, studying my face with amusement. “And how’d that go? Three alphas, one omega in crisis?”
“Better than expected, actually.” I sink onto one of the kitchen stools. “We worked together. No territorial bullshit, no competition. Just focused on what she needed.”
“Huh.” River’s eyebrows raise. “That’s either really mature or really telling.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean most alphas would be pissing on trees by now, marking territory.” He leans against the counter. “But you three are coordinating instead of competing. That’s either very evolved behavior or...”
“Or what?”
“Or pack instincts kicking in.” River shrugs like he’s discussing the weather. “Your omega, your pack. Biology’s got its own logic.”
My phone buzzes before I can process that fully. Text from Sadie. Would you all want to come over for dinner? My place, seven-thirty? Shop’s closed tomorrow so we can actually relax. After this morning, I owe you more than just thank you.
I stare at the message. She’s inviting all three of us. To her apartment.
“Oh damn,” River says, reading over my shoulder without shame. “She’s inviting all three of you over? At the same time?” His grin turns knowing. “Dude, I think she might just be your omega. And you might be getting a pack out of this too.”
My pulse quickens. “You think?”
“I think she just made a very clear statement about what she wants. And what she wants is all of you.” River finishes his beer. “So you better figure out what you’re bringing besides your pretty face and excellent timing.”
My pulse quickens as I read the message again. A whole evening with her. With all of us. In her space where she feels safe enough to let her guard down.
“What should I bring?”
“Wine’s classic. Something good enough to show you care, not so expensive it feels like you’re trying too hard.” River finishes his sandwich. “And maybe that poetry notebook you’ve been working on. Might be time to be a little more direct about your feelings.”
An hour later, I’m standing outside her building with a bottle of red wine and my poetry notebook tucked in my jacket pocket, watching Caleb approach from one direction carrying a six-pack of craft beer, and Reid from another with what looks like a bottle of expensive tequila.
We converge at her door like we planned it, though none of us texted about timing.
“Interesting,” Reid says, taking in our simultaneous arrival and the alcohol we’re all carrying.
“Natural,” Caleb corrects, and there’s something in his tone that suggests he’s as affected by whatever’s happening between us as I am.
I knock, and when Sadie opens the door, the scent that hits us stops all three of us in our tracks.
Honeysuckle and vanilla, but deeper now. Richer. With an undertone that makes my cock thicken in my jeans and every alpha instinct I have purr with recognition. She’s wearing a soft sweater that hugs her curves and jeans that make her legs look endless, but it’s her scent that affects me most.
“Hi,” she says, a little breathless, pupils already dilated from catching our combined scents in the small hallway. “Come in.”
Her apartment has been transformed. Candles flicker on surfaces, casting warm light across cushions she’s arranged around her coffee table. The lighting is softer, more intimate than usual. Wine glasses sit ready, and something that smells incredible simmers on the stove.
“This smells amazing,” Caleb says, following her toward the kitchen.
“Beef stew. Comfort food seemed appropriate after this morning.” She accepts our offerings with flushed cheeks, setting the wine and beer in the kitchen, but her gaze lingers on Reid’s tequila bottle with interest. “I wasn’t sure what everyone would want to drink, but it looks like we have options. ”
“Tequila for later,” Reid says with a slight smile. “When we’re feeling brave.”
The comment hangs in the air, loaded with possibility, and I watch Sadie’s pupils dilate further.
We settle around her coffee table with bowls of stew and wine, the intimate setting making every interaction feel charged. When she reaches for the salt, her fingers brush mine.
“I still can’t believe we pulled off this morning,” she says, tucking her legs under her on the cushions. The movement makes her sweater ride up slightly, revealing a strip of skin that makes my mouth water. “This morning I thought the photo shoot would destroy my reputation.”
“This morning you were spiraling in your own head,” I say gently. “You just needed to remember what you were really trying to create.”
“Which was?”
“Home. You wanted people to see your arrangements and feel like they’d found where they belonged.”
Her breath catches, and her scent sweetens with something warm and appreciative. “Is that what you felt this morning? Like you belonged?”
The question hangs between us, vulnerable and honest. Caleb and Reid both look at me, waiting for my answer.
“Yes,” I say simply. “Working with you, with them. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.”
“Even though you barely know each other?” she asks, glancing between Caleb and Reid.
“We know enough,” Caleb says quietly. “We know we all want the same thing.”
“Which is?”
Reid leans forward, his bergamot scent mixing with the wine and candlelight. “You. Happy. Taken care of. Safe.”
The words land like a physical touch, and I watch her scent spike with arousal and surprise. Her cheeks flush pink, and she reaches for her wine glass with trembling fingers.
“All three of you want that?”
“All three of us want you,” I correct, because hiding behind euphemisms isn’t getting us anywhere. “The question is what you want.”
She sets down her wine glass carefully, like she needs something to do with her hands. “I don’t know how to want three people. I don’t know the rules or how it’s supposed to work or?—”
“There are no rules,” Caleb interrupts gently. “Just what feels right.”
“And what feels right to you?” Reid asks.
She looks between the three of us, something shifting in her expression. More confident, more certain. “This. Tonight. All of you here with me, taking care of me after I spent years thinking I had to do everything alone.”
“You don’t have to do anything alone anymore,” I tell her, meaning it completely.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
The conversation flows easier after that, wine loosening tongues and lowering barriers. We tell stories about growing up in small towns, about leaving and coming back, about finding the courage to want things that seemed impossible.
Sadie curls against my side as we talk, her warmth seeping through my shirt. When she laughs at something Caleb says, I feel the vibration in my chest. When Reid refills her wine glass for the third time, she thanks him with a smile that makes his pupils dilate.
“I have an idea,” she says around ten o’clock, when we’re all pleasantly buzzed and the conversation has turned to embarrassing teenage stories. “Truth or dare.”
The suggestion hangs in the air like a challenge. Reid raises an eyebrow. Caleb grins. I feel my pulse quicken with anticipation.
“Are we twelve?” Reid asks, but there’s interest in his voice.
“Are we brave enough to find out what we really want to know about each other?” she counters.
“I’m in,” Caleb says immediately.
Reid considers for a moment, then nods. “Why not?”
All eyes turn to me. “Yes.”
“I’ll start,” Sadie announces, settling back against the cushions with wine-bright eyes and flushed cheeks. “Reid. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“What’s the real reason you’ve been walking past my shop every morning for two weeks?”
Reid’s smile turns rueful. “Because I saw you through the window one morning and couldn’t stop thinking about you. I’ve been inventing reasons to walk past ever since.”
The honesty hits like lightning. Sadie’s scent spikes with surprised arousal, and I can smell how much his confession affects her.
“Your turn to ask,” she says breathlessly.
Reid’s gaze moves between Caleb and me before settling on Caleb. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Kiss her hand.”
The simple dare shouldn’t be as charged as it is, but when Caleb takes Sadie’s hand in his larger ones and presses his lips to her palm, the air crackles with electricity. She makes a soft sound in the back of her throat, and I have to adjust myself in my jeans.
“That was sweet,” she says softly, her fingers tracing where his lips touched.
“Sadie,” Caleb says, his voice rougher than before. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Let Reid sit behind you. Get comfortable.”
She glances at Reid, who nods encouragingly, then settles back against his chest with a contented sigh. His hands rest lightly on her shoulders, and I can see her relax into his warmth.
“Better?” Reid asks softly.
“Much better,” she agrees. “Levi, truth or dare?”
My heart pounds. “Dare.”
“Come closer. I want you where I can touch you.”