Chapter Eleven – Jess
It’s hours before Mason comes out of his room to scrounge for something in the kitchen. Asher is cooking lasagna after looking up the recipe and finding out we have everything he’ll need to make it from scratch; he just put it in the oven when the über pads his bare feet out of the hallway.
I toss Asher a look. Him and I are sitting on the couch together, having started a movie on a streaming service—an action movie where the omega love interest gets kidnapped by an evil gang and the main lead has to go balls to the wall to get her back.
Asher calls out to his brother, “Hey, come join us. I got lasagna cooking. We just started a movie.” He sounds only a little awkward, and that’s probably because he’s still a bit skeptical about whether or not his brother is dealing with anything.
“No,” Mason harrumphs as he makes a beeline to the kitchen. My guess is he wants to grab something quick and then go back to his room and hide himself away while he does whatever he does when he’s locked in there by himself.
It can’t be fun, staring at the ceiling while making friends with shadows on the wall.
I get up and wander through the living room, ending up in the kitchen just as Mason starts to look in the cabinets for something easy. I lean on the island as I say, “Come on. Sit with us. You don’t have to sit with us all night, but don’t you want a change of scenery from that room?”
He doesn’t even glance over his shoulder at me. “No.”
Pushing off the island, I walk around it and stop only when I stand directly beside him. “Your brother is making lasagna. There’s plenty enough for all of us. Come on—”
“No,” he says again, and this time he looks at me.
The über’s shoulders are slouched, and frankly he’s the opposite of intimidating right now.
His blond hair is a bit greasy, like he needs to shower, and for the first time, I see the faintest traces of bags beneath his eyes, like he isn’t sleeping well.
Why didn’t I notice it before? I guess I was so wrapped up in my own stuff that I didn’t see any of the signs.
“Here’s some advice,” I say, not letting his icy exterior get to me, “I’m not the kind of girl who takes no for an answer when I want something, and right now I want you to come sit with your brother and me on the couch, watch the silly action movie we put on, and eat dinner with us.”
He glares at me, and that glare is accompanied by a sigh that sounds like a half-hearted growl. His wordless way of trying to get me to back off, but it’s not going to work this time.
“And then you can retreat back to your bedroom and pretend we don’t exist,” I finish. “I won’t stop bugging you until you agree, so you might as well save us both some time and come with me.”
Before he can say anything, before he can try to give me a negative again, I reach for his hand. I don’t think he was expecting it; the moment my fingers glide across his palm and curl around his hand, he tenses up.
For an alpha, he has a much softer hand than I thought—not that I care about the level of softness to any part of him or anything. I don’t. It’s just… an interesting tidbit of information.
I pull Mason out of the kitchen, not letting myself linger too long on the softness of his hand. He’s so caught off-guard that he doesn’t resist, and he lets me pull him around the island, through the kitchen, all the way to the couch in the living room.
Asher sees my hand in his as I lead the way and deposit the über on the couch near him. He arches a single brow, but he doesn’t say a word as I finally release his hand and reclaim my spot.
“There,” I say, settled right in between the two brothers. I glance at them both. “This isn’t so bad, is it? We can hang out together while we’re all here. Why not? There are no rules saying we have to stay out of each other’s way. This is nice.” Might’ve laid it on too thick there.
“Yeah,” Asher says, trying to show support, “this is…”
“Weird,” Mason finishes for him in a huff, but still, he doesn’t get up. He remains right where I put him, though I do notice he fiddles with his hands on his lap, running his other thumb over the pad of the hand I’d been holding.
I can feel the awkwardness in the air, a strange kind of heaviness that only gets worse due to the two alphas on either side of me. Before either of them can say anything else, I say, “It’s only as weird as you two make it, so shut up and stop making it weird.”
Under his breath, Mason mutters a single word: “Bossy.” Asher, on the other hand, nods and takes the order seriously.
I want to say things become less weird after that, less awkward, but that would be a lie. I can still feel Mason on edge to my right, while Asher is not good at hiding the would-be discreet glances he keeps tossing his brother over my head.
Sitting there, between them, not overly close but close enough, I feel… a strange sort of peace inside. If this is how omegas feel when surrounded by their alphas, I can see why they’re okay with it.
It’s not bad. No, actually being so close to them gives me an odd kind of satisfaction. Like, I might not be able to smell them, but other omega parts of me aren’t broken or incomplete. My inner omega wants this, craves this.
Really, she wants more than sitting on the couch with two alphas, but I never let that particular side of me escape. What would be the point? Losing myself in another, in multiple alphas, never sounded like fun to me.
Besides, without a sense of smell, attraction is a lot harder to pinpoint.
That isn’t to say I don’t find the two alphas around me attractive. I do. I obviously do. It’s just… different with me. Less instinctual. More over-thinking behind everything.
As night falls outside, the movie actually gets good.
I think both Asher and Mason get into it, and it’s the only reason things start to feel easier, less heavy.
I always figured I’d want to crawl out of my skin when I was around alphas like this, but it’s actually not bad at all.
I could get used to it, provided it was Asher and Mason making the alpha-omega sandwich.
“How much longer until dinner is ready?” I ask as my stomach rumbles with hunger. Turns out, dealing with multiple alphas is exhausting. Who knew?
Asher checks his phone. “A few more minutes.”
Ugh. Another thing I didn’t know until now: lasagna takes forever to cook. Or maybe it’s due to how hungry I am, that time has ceased to work correctly. I’m about to voice my complaint when a sound echoes in the house.
Was that… a doorbell?
Asher and Mason exchange looks. None of us are expecting anyone, so it’s clear where everyone’s first thought goes: the police found us. Or, rather, they found me, and they’re here to drag me back to my aunt, who will toss me with a pack as quickly as she can, and I’ll have no say in it.
My heart is suddenly in my throat. “Who’s at the door?”
“I don’t know. I’ll get it.” Asher stands, and Mason is about to stand with him, but he holds out a hand and says, “No, you stay here with her.”
Mason nods, and together we are rooted in place as we watch Asher leave the living room.
Eventually, we lose sight of him and can’t see what’s happening.
I meet the über’s hazel stare as I sorrowfully whisper, “Shit. Maybe it was naive of me, but I really thought this plan would work.” You’d have to be deaf to not hear the desolation in my voice, the utter despondence.
His jaw tenses, and for a few seconds I wonder if he’s going to snap at me and tell me some version of I told you so, but what he says actually surprises me: “We won’t let them take you.”
It’s the last thing I expect him to say, mostly because it’s such a switch from what he said before. And, more than that, he’s so earnest about it too, like he put every ounce of his belief behind each word.
If my heart wasn’t already in my throat, it would be after that.
Just a simple statement. It wasn’t like he just confessed his undying love for me or anything like that, but still—that’s how my body takes it.
I melt, as pathetic as it is. I melt for him even though I know there’s no way in hell he meant it as anything more.
He’s only doing this to protect his brother, not me. I need to remember that. The absolute last thing I need is to get caught up in my feelings for an alpha like him.
Every second that passes feels more like an hour. It’s tense and unnerving, and I feel like I want to throw up as I sit there on the couch with Mason, waiting and waiting for something to happen. For the police to storm the cabin and forcibly take me away.
When Asher comes into view, he wears a strange look on his face, and it takes only a few seconds to know why.
He’s not alone. Behind him, someone else stands, pointing a gun at his back. A freaking gun. But the man doesn’t wear a uniform belonging to any police officer; he wears all black, straps everywhere on his body, along with a multitude of weaponry.
All I can do is stare at Asher’s face, and though we lock eyes across the living room, I know he’s not frightened for himself. No, he’s scared for me, for what this means for me.
It’s why I stand, and because I stand, Mason stands with me.
The alpha behind him growls out, “No one moves a muscle other than the omega. The omega is coming with me.” He doesn’t use his dominance, but he doesn’t have to. With a gun in the equation, things are different.
You can posture and growl all you want, but a gun changes things.
“Like hell—” Mason tries to say, but I’m in front of him, blocking his easy path.
The intruder cocks his head. “Shut it. I’m not here to argue or kill anyone.
My job is to take the omega home, and that’s what I’m going to do.
Come here, Jessica Dryers.” The way he says my name is familiar, but I’m so out of it I can’t think too much about it, just like I can’t really focus on the alpha’s face.
I don’t see a way out, not from here. Shit.
I toss a glance over my shoulder at Mason and give him a look that I hope tells him to not start anything, not with the alpha with the gun.
Not when Asher’s life is in danger. Just because he’s not here to kill doesn’t mean he won’t if the need arises, so we should avoid letting said situation arise.
I have to go with him, as much as I hate to think it.
Though it’s the last thing I want to do, I march across the space. Behind me, Mason lets out a growl, while Asher only gives me a pleading look. His life is on the line, and he still doesn’t want me to give myself up. It’d be sweet if the situation wasn’t so crazy.
And it’s all my fault. I brought this upon them. This is only happening because of me, and I can’t let either of them get hurt.
When I make it to Asher’s side, I give him the same look I gave Mason, and then I take another step forward. The alpha with the gun reaches for me with his other hand, and with a few expert movements, he heaves me up and literally tosses me over his shoulder, like I’m nothing more than a ragdoll.
“Good choice,” the alpha says. “Let’s not make this any more difficult than it has to be. I’m leaving with her, and you two will stay right here if you know what’s good for you. She seems unharmed and unclaimed still, so for your sakes, I won’t be contacting local law enforcement.”
The alpha is tossing them a bone, a lifeline, and I hope they take it. They need to take it. If they try to fight this… there’s no telling what’ll happen.
The alpha carrying me has a firm, strong hand on the curve of my ass. He takes solid steps back, away from Asher. My top half is bent over his back, and I feel so immeasurably hopeless it stings my pride. I hate it, honestly. I frown to myself.
Back to my aunt. Back to the same old shit. Back to her scheming behind closed doors for wealth that doesn’t belong to her in any way. Back to the life I didn’t want, the life I would do anything to avoid.
And I mean anything.
As I have that thought, my gaze fixates on something on the alpha’s lower back, something sharp peeking out from one of his many sheaths.
Hard determination sweeps through me. This is probably going to be a mistake, but I’ll be damned if I let this guy drag me back without putting up a fight.
Not tonight, motherfucker.