22. Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
Wren
A soft purr rumbled me awake, my body held down by several sets of arms and legs. I had hard, warm bodies pressed against me from all sides, their scents wrapping around me like the most beautiful blanket while awakening a fresh wave of slick.
What would they do if I started rubbing myself along their bodies, covering myself in their scents, wrapping my hands and mouth around their–
Scrambling to pull away from the giant puppy pile, I stood on the side of the bed and peered down at the pack. My pack.
Except someone was missing.
Raece wasn’t in the pack bed. And, although I was still angry with him, it made me a little sad he didn’t feel comfortable joining the rest of us. It felt incomplete without the surly alpha in here with us.
He had been trying, he’d apologized, had invited me to hang out as a pack to watch movies. We’d all spent time snuggling on the couch, even if he kept his distance from me.
Maybe it was my turn to try to make amends; let him know he was allowed to join the rest of the pack in my bed. In the pack bed.
Sneaking into the bathroom to relieve my bladder, I donned a pair of sweats I found on the floor that smelled heavily of Winter, then tugged on a t-shirt that hung to my knees. Yep. Coated in Matteo’s fresh rain signature. It felt like they were both hugging me, holding me.
Winter was another who had stayed at arm’s length. Maybe now that he realized I fully accepted Doran as mine, he would no longer feel as though he would hurt the beta or like I would try to tear them apart. That was the last thing I wanted.
Huh. Up until a few days ago, I’d resented the fact this pack had chosen me, that I was the omega to a group of men, that I was a possession.
But they didn’t treat me that way. They had taken me shopping and let me cut my hair and pick out clothing that felt more like me than the crap the Center made us wear or even the girly, pastel clothes Raece had provided.
Out of dozens of omegas, they had chosen the older omega who’d been described as spirited .
Man, I would have loved to get my hands on my file, to see what else the headmistress said about me. Did the pack have a copy? And would they be willing to let me peruse it?
Smiling to myself at how quickly my life and even my thoughts had changed, I quietly padded down the stairs and straight to the kitchen in search of coffee and food.
What could I say? I’d expended a lot of energy with the orgasms Doran had wrung from me. For someone who’d never been with a woman, he sure knew how to push all the right buttons.
My socked feet slid as I came to a stop the same time Raece turned and looked at me over his shoulder.
“Good morning,” he said, returning his attention to the carafe that was filling with the liquid gold I needed so badly.
“Morning,” I said, then started fidgeting with the bottom hem of my borrowed shirt.
It took a moment, but his head slowly raised, he turned to glance at me again, and his nostrils flared, no doubt scenting the entire pack on me.
As though I needed to explain myself or was worried he would judge me, I held up my hands. “We all slept in the pack bed. Well, except you. I only had sex with Doran yesterday.”
His brows drew together a little. “Why…You look scared. Or worried.”
Was I? He’d tried to get me to let him mark me, had used his bark to force his bite on me, and they’d all been pretty vocal about somehow leaving their scents on me from day one so the Omega Center wouldn’t drag me away.
Yet, I was still worried about being judged, as though Raece or any other member of the pack had their own little file they were keeping on me, writing notes about my behavior.
“I just didn’t want you to think…I don’t know.”
“You’re allowed to have sex with your pack, omega.”
I winced at the title. He turned back to the counter and poured two cups of coffee, doctoring mine to perfection before carrying it to the table and setting it in front of me.
Struggling to keep from both leaning closer and pulling away when he sat in the chair directly beside me, I focused my attention on the coffee, listening to the clink of the spoon against the sides as I stirred.
“Are you happy here?” he asked after a few quiet moments.
Oh no. Oh shit . He was angry. He was going to ask if I wanted to return to the Center, if I wanted a new pack.
“At first? No. I didn’t have a choice. But…yeah. I am. Or I’m starting to become happy here. Everyone is treating me with respect I didn’t know was possible from alphas.”
His brows slammed together, and a deep grumble tore from his throat. “Were you mistreated in the past?”
My own brows rose in surprise. “I came from the Omega Center. What do you think?”
“Names.” His voice was deeper, laced with anger.
“Excuse me?”
“Names. I want names of the alphas who mistreated you.”
A laugh huffed from me as I gaped at him. “What are you going to do? Kick in the doors to the Center and beat up the alphas who trained us?”
His chest rose and fell as though he had just gone for a run. His cozy, Christmasy scent took on a burnt edge.
“ Trained you?”
“Morning,” Dean said around a yawn as he shuffled into the kitchen like a zombie.
“Answer me, omega. What does that mean?”
Dean stopped mid-step and turned a glare on his pack lead. When he stomped closer, the anger on his face mirroring Raece’s, my heart jumped into my throat.
I didn’t have more than a split second to shout out Dean’s name before he yanked Raece from his chair and shoved him against the wall.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to like that?”
Matteo entered the kitchen in time to pull them apart as I lunged to my feet and put space between myself and the three huge guys who were so close to throwing punches.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Matteo bellowed, pulling Dean away from Raece, then stepping between them, a hand on each of their chests. “What the fuck is going on?”
Steps thundered through the house, then Winter and Doran were suddenly crowding in the kitchen. Winter held a gun. Doran looked like he was ready to snap someone’s neck.
And they were both butt naked.
I wasn’t sure what was currently freaking me out the most now – the fact two of my packmates were ready to beat the crap out of each other, the fact two of my packmates had rushed into the room completely naked and ready for a fight, or the fact Winter looked hot as sin with his heavy cock hanging between his legs and the gun in his hand.
“What the fuck is going on?” Winter barked.
The pale haired alpha had been so soft spoken and gentle. It felt like seeing a completely different persona appear right before my eyes.
“He was yelling at Wren,” Dean said, his body vibrating with rage as he jabbed a finger in Raece’s face.
“I wasn’t fucking yelling at her. Someone hurt her and I was trying to find out who,” Raece yelled back.
It felt like the air had been sucked from the room as every head slowly turned toward me.
“What?” Dean whispered.
“Who?” Doran asked.
Well, shit. I’d thought it was scary when they had all looked like they were going to tear each other apart. Now, I was almost scared for anyone I named.
And no, I didn’t plan to name anyone. It wouldn’t do any good.
This pack was wonderful, they were nice to me. But, in my experience, a majority of alphas were mean and dominant and controlling. Even if they killed every single alpha employee at the Center, there would be more like them to step in and take over.
My gaze bounced from one man to the other as they all watched me and waited for an answer.
“I…” My heart raced and my breathing now matched Raece’s. And Dean’s. And shit…they all looked full of rage.
But not at me. For me. They were willing to go toe to toe with any known person who harmed me in any way, even before they’d met me.
“You’re freaking her the fuck out,” Doran said, finally snapping the alphas and Dean out of their hormone filled rage.
The room had grown stifling as their scents turned bitter and burned and made my omega release a whine as I fought the urge to cower.
Dick swinging, he pushed through the pack and made his way to where I was now standing behind the island as though it would shield me from…what, I didn’t know. I knew the pack would never hurt me intentionally.
But I’d also seen alphas lose their shit and bowl over anyone who happened to be in their path. That had been one of the milder lessons we’d learned when we’d been tossed into a room full of rutting men while our perfume clouded the air. We were supposed to learn to stay out of their way and use our omega superpowers to calm the alphas.
I had never quite mastered that skill and had been knocked down more times than I could count.
Even though Doran was naked, he still moved to my side and pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight.
Even being squeezed like I was prey to a snake, I felt protected…safe.
These men would never hurt me.
I didn’t know them, not truly. But little by little, they’d each shown me I could trust them. They hadn’t forced me to lie down and spread my legs at their beck and call. They made sure I had plenty of soft, squishy things that appealed to my omega side while letting me set the pace of our physical relationships.
The softest purr rumbled from Doran, not quite as distinct as an alpha’s, but it still put me at ease.
Dean shoved Matteo’s arm away and began to pace the kitchen, his hands roughly going through his hair, and I swore I could practically hear him counting in his head as he tried to calm his anger.
Raece turned a frown on Winter. “Put the gun away and put on some pants.”
Winter glanced down at his hand like he’d forgotten he was still holding the pistol before leaving the kitchen.
When he returned, he’d donned a pair of sweats and carried another pair for Doran, tossing them across the island for the beta.
Matteo looked intense as he closely watched everyone, his head turning on a swivel as he checked on each of his packmates. Raece was pack lead, but I swore Matteo held the most dominance, and was the biggest by several inches and at least fifty pounds of thick, corded muscle.
One by one, they each took their seats, but their attention constantly flitted to me as though checking I was still here. Not like I was going to run out of the room. And I knew if I even acted like I was going to run through the front door all five of them would catch me before I could make it to the damn driveway.
“You okay?” Doran asked in my ear.
I nodded, though my heart still thumped like crazy in my chest.
“No one’s mad at you,” he whispered.
It was so odd, him being the one to put me at ease after our rocky start. But once he explained why he’d been so concerned about my presence in the pack, that he’d not only been afraid I would steal away Winter but that his attraction to me freaked him out, we had forged a close bond.
And last night had only cemented that.
Since the moment he’d finished inside of me, I’d felt his presence through those little threads in my chest so much stronger. He was no longer an echo but a physical, beautiful presence deep in my heart.
“I know,” I said. But that didn’t stop the rush of adrenaline.
“I’m sorry,” Raece said, his eyes dropping from my face a second before rising again. “I shouldn’t have…I just…”
I waved my hand in the air to save him from having to find the words to how he felt or why he’d gone all alpha.
I got it. I really did. It would take me more than a few weeks to get used to having men like these guys in my life who actually cared about me for more than carrying babies or existing solely as a warm body in their beds at night.
“It’s fine. But no, I won’t tell you anyone’s name. It doesn’t matter. Won’t make a lick of difference.”
Matteo watched me closely. “He said they hurt you?”
My shoulders shrugged up. “All part of training an omega.”