Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Harlow
I prop my hands on my hips, and stare down the Alpha standing in my doorway.
After the day I had yesterday, I do not want him killing my good mood.
The morning started out horrible when I was fired, but turned into the hottest game of truth or dare. Then Lachlan made me food, and we spent the day cuddling on the couch. Once Cae left for work, Quin joined us.
I made them watch action movies, though. Nothing that might have any filthy, and semi questionable sex scenes.
I even let Quin cuddle me in bed for a little while before Cae got home. He claimed he needed the company because he would be lonely going to bed alone, but I think he just wanted to be close to me.
At least that's what I’m telling myself.
“Date time, beautiful.” Cae smirks.
“What? No way!” I cross my arms over my chest, shaking my head. Cae is that last of the resistance keeping me from making a fool of myself. If he manages to break through my walls, I’m going to throw myself at three men who can’t possibly want me…despite what yesterday's activities suggest.
“You know the rules, you date each of us once and then the pack. This is my turn. And since you don't have a job to get to–”
“Wow, Caelum. What a great argument,” I snap, becoming more irate by the second.
“I didn't mean it like… shit. Let me start over.” The Alpha walks further into my room and takes my hands in his, swallowing thickly. He starts to speak but his voice cracks, and he glances around the room. “Smells good in here,” he murmurs, and I glare harder, trying to yank my hands free.
“Shit sorry…uh…” Cae drops to one knee in front of me, looking up into my eyes, that cocky smile nowhere to be found. He looks vulnerable. “Harlow, would you please accompany me tonight. I have everything planned already. All you need to do is get ready and meet me in the living room at three.” His normally neat light brown hair is in disarray as his amber eyes hold mine.
I can't help but watch Cae with a suspicious eye. Why is he kneeling? “How should I dress?” I ask, and then get a big sniff of his scent, looking for any signs of a trick.
“Wear something cute and comfortable.” Cae’s cocky smirk finally peeks out. “We're going to be outside for an hour or so and then head to dinner.” He climbs to his feet, but doesn’t release me. It’s already noon, but I slept in today, so I’m still in my standard t-shirt and booty shorts.
Cae leads me into the kitchen and grabs something from the counter, spinning to face me. He finally releases my hand so he can pass me the coffee mug.
The fact that he knows how I like my coffee is surprising. He should have brought the coffee with him to my room. Although, I still would have been suspicious.
“Alright.” I take a sip of the coffee, just to have something to do and moan. Shiiiit, this is a good cup of coffee. I’m ignoring the flutter in my chest and the butterflies in my stomach. “This isn’t a real date. It’s just for the charity,” I clarify, and Cae watches me with his stupid sexy smirk.
“Sure, Fireball.” He turns to the fridge, grabs something, and then places a plate of sliced apricots and strawberries drizzled in honey on the counter.
My instincts don’t know the difference between this plate of food, and an Alpha offering to provide for me.
This is too much. I grab the plate and take my coffee back to my room, thanking him as I go.
This is odd behavior from the Alpha.
I take my time getting ready. Showering, doing my hair and makeup, and by the time three rolls around, I’m nervous as hell.
I went with a pink crop top, my favorite blue jean high waist shorts, and my black tennis shoes.
I don't know why I'm excited. This is Cae, after all. What could he possibly be taking me to do? I bet he took what my mother said seriously. He said we'd be outside. He's not taking me to go hiking, is he?
We're not exactly close, obviously, but I thought by now he knew me better than that. I don't expect him to know everything about me, but he did somehow know my favorite flower was a tulip. After we finished putting together the chocolate covered strawberries, Cae put the tulips in a vase for me, and I've been keeping them watered and on the bedside table. Quin keeps his roses in the kitchen, but I don't want to share my tulips with them for some reason.
Just like I don't want to share my blanket. Even though Quin shares his with me whenever I sit on the couch with him.
Part of me feels like I should have dressed up right now, and the other part of me feels like I should have just worn something boring. Do I really want Caelum to think I look pretty?
Everything I've done so far has backfired spectacularly in my face. Like making chocolate covered strawberries with Cae and Quin. Or watching a movie with Quin after getting fired. Playing truth or dare with Quin and Lachlan.
Surely Cae knows what I did with his Omega and his pack mate. It's not like any of us tried to hide it, but I'm sure he could smell everyone. Feel the other two through the bond?
Is that why he's taking me on this date today? The next morning? Does he want to prove that he's still Quin’s mate? That no matter what I do, or what I share with Quin, I'm not pack or their Omega.
Fuck, now I'm more nervous and a lot less excited. Is he planning to humiliate me? Should I fucking bail? How do I get out of this date with Cae without jeopardizing the donation to charity?
“I can practically hear your thoughts!” Cae hollers through my bedroom door. “Stop thinking so hard and get your perky ass out here.”
“I’m not thinking hard!” The second the words leave my mouth, I realize that I probably didn't need to say it that way, especially when I can hear Cae start to chuckle from the hall. I'm so annoyed that I lose my shit a little bit.
I stomp over to my door and yank it open. Cae is standing there, one hand resting against the door frame, the other propped on his hip. His feet are crossed at the ankles, and he has this fucking smirk on his face.
“Is this some sort of trick? Are you planning to humiliate me some more? Take me out in public and convince a bunch of strangers that I'm a psycho who stalks you? Have you already started telling people that the crazy Omega who spent two years in high school going after you somehow managed to work her way into living in your house too? What do you tell them about what I've done with your mate?” I push my palms against his chest, wanting to knock him off balance, so he can feel as out of control as I do.
“Fireball…” Cae frowns, but I step into him, now that he’s taken several steps backward. The rage coursing through my body has an angry growl echoing up through my chest.
“No! Don’t use that nickname on me right now!” Angry tears fill my eyes as heat burns my cheeks with embarrassment and pain. Despair and repressed anger char the scent of chocolate coming from me. The moment it hits his nostrils, he staggers back with the weight of my turmoil.
Cae spent years of our lives being an asshole. We weren't exactly close or best friends or anything, despite our moms’ friendship. I considered him to be a rival for most of our childhood. But when he spread those shitty rumors about me, it alienated me from the other students.
“It was so fucking hard for me to make friends!” I snap at him. I'm not even trying to hold back the tears as I poke my finger into his chest. “Everyone I hung out with before your stupid ass rumors ghosted me! And then you had the fucking audacity to keep the lie going for years! You’ve never apologized or even taken responsibility for what you did!”
“I’m sorry, Harlow. I’m so sorry.” Cae shocks the fuck out of me as he drops to his knees in front of me for the second time today. He takes both of my hands in his, looking up at me with so much guilt in his eyes.
His sugary scent is filling the air with so much regret that I can practically taste the burned frustration. But I'm not falling for his tricks anymore. I yank my hands out of his and glare down at him.
“Sorry isn't good enough, Caelum! Sorry doesn't make up for the years that I spent crying alone in the bathroom, or for the fact that your mate was one of the few people that ever even attempted to comfort me.”
“I know, Harlow. This won't make you feel any better, but I did have a reason. I overheard a group of guys on the football team talking about you. You perfumed early, so you were one of the few Omegas in the school. One of them wanted to fuck you…but it was more than that. They were taking bets on who could fuck you first and who could take your virginity. Who could make you take their knot!” Cae explains frantically. My jaw falls open, and I stare at him with wide eyes.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You could have told an adult! Or me!” I throw my hands up, shaking my head. “You found out a group of guys wanted to fuck me, so your response was to ruin my reputation and make me look like a psycho? How the fuck does that make any sense!?”
“I did try to tell an adult! I told the football coach. I told him what all the guys on my team were saying, and that you needed to be protected. His fucking response was that guys will be guys. That they were just hormonal Alphas talking shit in a locker room. That none of them would actually do anything to you.” Cae shakes his head, lifting one of his hands and tugging it through the light brown strands. “And I couldn't say anything to you because you wouldn't have believed me! It's not like we were friends back then. You only spoke to me when you were forced to! I didn't know what else to do, and I was just a stupid kid. I panicked! I wanted to protect you. I wanted to keep you safe. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you, Harlow.”
“How am I supposed to believe you? After years…” I step away from him, turning around so I can’t see him anymore. I can’t help but picture the last few years, aching with loneliness, while he had his friends. His pack. “If you were trying to protect me, why keep being such a dick?”
“I’m not perfect, Fireball. The choices I made as a stupid dick of a teenager were more damning than I knew what to do with. I didn’t know how to repair the damage I’d done. Even when you went away to school… Every time you came back and shut me out, I wasn’t prepared for how that made me feel or ready to own up to my mistakes. To admit what my pack knew all along. Not until your mom said you were back… I thought if I could just get you here, then maybe I could fix everything.” Glancing back, I see that Cae remains on the floor, kneeling. His scent is trying so hard to soothe me.
“That doesn’t make any sense either. You have Quin. He’s your Omega. You could have just sent a fucking card!” I huff, spinning back around to face him. “Why bid on me at the charity? Why convince my mother to trick me into moving in here?” I feel like I'm losing my shit. None of this makes any sense!
“It’s not obvious?” Cae asks, frowning as he reaches out, gripping my hips and pulling me closer. He rests his face against my stomach and breathes my scent in deeply. “Quinton needs you in a way he’s never needed me. Lachlan opens up with you in ways he’s been too scared to do with just Quin and me.”
“And you, Caelum? Or do you only want me around for your pack? Am I just an offering to them?” I sniff, feeling so raw and exposed in this damn hallway.
“You make us feel like home. Like a real pack. Something we have struggled with since the moment we formed a pack. Without you, all of this crumbles. I fucked up, and I should have made things right sooner, but I was scared you’d reject me. Reject us.” Cae shakes his head, forehead still pressed into my stomach. “I knew I only had one chance to make you ours.”
I’m dizzy, swaying on my feet, but Caelum’s hands keep me upright as I bury my fingers in his hair.
“How are you going to make it up to me, Caelum?” My words are barely more than a whisper, but my scent changes, sharpening… Caelum groans, his fingers digging into my hips as he nuzzles my stomach. That thread of hope that’s kept me going all these years, grows as his scent thickens, and he looks up at me with desire and determination in his amber eyes.
“Every way I can, Fireball.”
“Mini golf?” I ask skeptically, staring at the colorful sign in front of us. The writing looks like something out of a story book with a dragon painted at the top. Over the fence, I can see the top of a fake tree with a mini house structure hidden in the branches. When we step up to the booth where a young teen boy takes Cae’s money, I am already excited by what I see further ahead. Windmills, tall castles, and volcanoes make up the fairytale theme that carries through the small park. Cae smirks, nodding.
“Yep. I’m incredibly terrible at this, so get ready to kick my ass. No one is worse at mini golf than I am.” Cae shakes his head at himself as we grab our clubs. He takes the time to pick pink and light green balls for us, a pencil, and the scorecard before leading me to the first hole. “Omegas first.” Cae nods.
Starting at the princess castle, I step up to the first hole to place my ball on the little pointy ball holder thing, and just before I swing, Cae calls my name.
When I turn to look, he’s snapping a picture of me. He goes on to do this at every hole. And just like he said, he’s epically terrible at this and even loses his ball at one point. On the last hole, after I’ve beaten him, despite not being great at this game myself, Cae makes me pose for a selfie with him.
I’m frowning up at him in the first one. “Why are you taking so many pictures of me?” Despite everything he said before, I can’t help but feel suspicious of his intentions. Old habits die hard.
“You’ll see,” he says, kissing my cheek. When an elderly couple walks up to the hole to take their turn, Cae asks them to take our picture.
“Oh, of course!” the older woman says sweetly, smiling like we’re the cutest thing she’s ever seen. “How sweet.”
Caelum acts like a complete loon, though, because instead of standing next to me like a normal person would, he drops to his knees before me for the third freaking time today and wraps his arms tightly around my waist.
He quite literally clings to me like he’s a fucking koala.
The old man snaps a few photos, ignoring the horrified look on my face, and hands Cae his phone back once he’s done.
“What has gotten into you?” I hiss as we make our way to the exit, dropping off our balls and clubs.
“If I had to guess? The scent of Quin coming to our bed, smelling like he’d just fucked you. The scent of your slick mixed with his arousal? I don’t think my cock has ever been harder. Ten out of ten best experience of my life. Hmm…” Cae frowns, tapping a finger to his chin. “Or maybe it’s the dreams I had all night. Quin sucking my cock, while you ride his… Lachlan fucking you from behind, while Quin licks your pussy, and I suck his soul through his dick…or maybe I’ve just always wanted you.”
“Oh my fucking god!” I yelp, slapping my hand over his mouth, needing him to shut it immediately. He quirks a brow at me as he pulls me against him, but I release my grasp over his mouth with another startled sound and step away from the Alpha. His scent is heavy in the air, and I clear my throat, needing to escape it.
“Posted,” Caelum says after a few moments of quiet passes between us. I glance back at him, but he looks…somewhere between mischievous and very proud of himself.
“Posted what? What are you talking about?” This Alpha is clearly cracked. I better message his pack mates…
Cae just grins back at me brightly before turning his phone screen and showing it to me. I frown as it takes a second to realize what I am looking at. He’s on a social media app. One that started back when we were in high school but didn’t get super popular until a few years later.
I frown, not understanding why he’s showing me his profile. I blink up at him. Instead of explaining, Caelum moves until he’s behind me, pressing his chest tightly to my back. His arms wrap around my front as he taps his phone a couple of times. I stare at the screen.
“My bio,” Cae says, and I look up at him over my shoulder, squinting. He’s being so shifty…
“Do you have worms in your brain or something?”
Cae snorts, shaking his head. “Read it, Fireball.” He nods to the phone. I let out a loud sigh, reading the bio with trepidation.
Caelum Baker, 21, Chef at Diamond Lakes, Pack Lead of Baker pack, clinically obsessed with the Omega Harlow Grace since tenth grade.
“What the fuck?” I whisper, but he’s not done. He clicks on his first post, which showcases several photos of the two of us and some of just me. The caption is the most shocking part.
Forever thankful, Harlow has gifted me her time and attention. Two things I do not deserve. I’m fucking obsessed with her and everything about her. Call me a simp because Harlow Grace makes me fucking weak.
“You’re out of your mind,” I hiss. “What if Quinton sees this? Your actual Omega mate! He’s going to rip my throat out with his teeth–”
“Quinton might rip your panties off with his teeth, Fireball, but certainly not this pretty throat.” He emphasizes his words with a forceful bite to my neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but my knees go weak for him. “Quinton already approved the post,” he adds, pulling back and clicking at his phone screen for a second, showing it to me.
Cae: How's this? *Sent a photo*
Quin: Perfect. Now you just need to show her how fat that knot of yours is…
“Oh my god!” I gasp, shoving his phone down and blinking up at him. “He’s in on this?”
“He is now. After he came to me with slick dripping down his thighs and saturated in your scent, he was still pretty fucking horny. I jerked his cock while I whispered the dirty things I want to do to you in his ear. He came so hard and so fast. Then he came three more times. All while thinking about you, Harlow.” The deep tone of his voice whispering around my skin leaves me messy and short of breath. Cae moves from behind me, tucks his phone in his pocket, and takes my hand, leading me back to the parking lot.
“This is…crazy. You know that, right?” I ask as I climb into the passenger seat.
“Maybe, but who fucking cares when it feels so good.”
“Fucking hell.”