Chapter 13
JUNE
The leather couch creaks as I shift, hyperaware of Seth’s thigh mere inches from mine. Across from us, Kai and Carter occupy the other sofa, and the weight of what I just revealed hangs in the air between us like morning fog over the mountains.
I’m an Omega.
Three words that change everything.
“I knew it.” Kai leans back, arms spread across the back of the couch, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “From the second you bumped into me at that photo shoot, I knew you were an Omega.”
“Well, aren’t you clever,” I tease, arching an eyebrow at him.
His grin widens. “I also knew you were meant to be with us.”
I can’t stop smiling at his sweet words.
All three men are staring at me now. Seth’s intense gaze from beside me. Carter’s curious one from across the coffee table. And Kai, looking at me like I’m the answer to a question he’s been asking his whole life.
“It’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” Carter murmurs, then winks my way, melting my heart.
I clear my throat and grasp for anything to redirect this conversation before I combust. “So. You all ready for the rodeo tomorrow?”
Carter’s lips twitch like he knows exactly what I’m doing, but he plays along. “Born ready, darlin’.”
“I’ve been riding horses for too long,” Seth adds, his deep voice rumbling beside me. “One more competition isn’t going to shake me.”
Kai throws a pillow at Seth’s head, which he catches without even looking. “The man’s made of granite.”
I find myself grinning at their easy banter, the way they rib each other. This is nice. Normal.
Seth pushes to his feet, and the other two follow suit like they’re operating on some unspoken signal. “We hold a ritual before each rodeo. We need to head out.”
“A ritual?” I sit up straighter.
The three of them exchange looks, smirking. Seth’s expression remains stoic, but there’s something playing at the corner of his mouth that might be amusement on anyone else.
“Can’t tell you,” Kai says. “Sacred tradition.”
“Very hush-hush,” Carter adds.
I stand from the couch. “Well, seeing as I’m meant to chaperone you three…”
“Yeah?” Kai’s voice dips, and he takes a step toward me. “You want to join us, doll?”
My knees wobble. Just slightly. I lock them in place and lift my chin. “Someone has to make sure you don’t end up in jail before tomorrow.”
“Such confidence in our judgment.” Kai is close now. The glint of his eyebrow piercing catches my attention, the individual strands of dark hair escaping his tie, the bold lines of tribal ink disappearing under his sleeve. “I like that.”
“Kai.” Seth’s voice cuts through like a blade as he heads for the front door and opens it. “Give her room to breathe.”
Kai steps back, hands raised, but his grin doesn’t fade. “Just getting to know our Omega.”
Our Omega.
I’ve spent years hiding from the world, running from, building walls against. And yet… the words coming from his mouth, from all of them, it doesn’t feel like a trap but more of a homecoming.
Which is absolutely terrifying.
I grab my jacket from the hook by the door, mostly because I need something to do with my hands that isn’t reaching for one of them. “Let’s go before I regain my common sense.”
“Can’t have that,” Carter adds, falling into step beside me, close enough that I catch traces of his tempting scent.
“For the record,” he murmurs, quieter. “I’m glad you’re coming. It’ll be better if you’re there.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I just tuck a curl behind my ear and follow Seth out into the night.
We pile into Carter’s pickup truck, the massive red beast that looks like it could survive an apocalypse and still have gas left over.
I end up in the back with Kai, while Seth claims shotgun and Carter takes the wheel.
The space feels smaller than it should, Kai’s broad shoulder warm against mine, his presence filling up all the air in the cab.
“Comfortable, doll?” He stretches his arm along the seat behind me. Not touching. But close enough that I feel the heat of him like a brand.
“Perfectly.”
His low chuckle vibrates through me.
Carter pulls onto the road, and the ranch disappears in the rearview mirror, swallowed by the endless Montana darkness.
Out here, there’s nothing but open land and sky so big it makes you feel small in the best way.
Stars scattered across the black like someone spilled a bucket of glitter and decided to leave it there.
Twenty minutes later, Carter pulls off onto a dirt path I would never have noticed.
We wind through a cluster of trees until the road opens up to reveal a river, its surface gleaming silver under the bright moon.
A few streetlights dot the area farther up, but here, we’re tucked into shadows and starlight.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe. I step out of the truck with the guys, cool night air washing over my heated skin.
The river stretches before us, its surface gleaming silver under the fat full moon.
The water moves lazily, catching light in ripples of white and gray.
It smells like pine and clean earth. An owl calls out somewhere in the darkness.
Fireflies blink along the far bank like tiny green stars.
“An amazing spot.” The moonlight catches Carter’s face, softens his edges. “Found it during our last circuit. It feels right to come back.”
“I love it,” I admit, and I mean it with my whole chest.
Kai appears at my side, his presence like standing next to a furnace. “Glad you approve.” His fingers brush my lower back as he passes, brief, barely there, and electricity crackles through my veins.
Something warm curls through me at his touch.
Get a grip, June.
I’m so focused on getting my body under control that I don’t register what’s happening until Kai’s already pulling his shirt over his head.
Tanned skin. Sculpted muscle. The bold black lines of his tribal sleeve stark against his arm. The other guys are doing the same.
Then his hands go to his belt.
“Um. What’s—”
Seth is working his own belt buckle. Carter is kicking off his boots.
Jeans hit the ground. Then more jeans. The moonlight is doing things that should probably be illegal, painting shadows across ridges of muscle and planes of skin.
“The ritual, doll.” Kai grins at me, thumbs hooked in the waistband of his boxers. “You said you wanted to know.”
“The ritual is skinny-dipping?”
“Cleansing in the river before competition.” Carter unbuttons his shirt with deliberate slowness, revealing a chest that looks carved from marble and kissed by moonlight. “Washes away bad luck.”
“Very spiritual,” Seth adds, deadpan, as his boxers join the pile. And I don’t know where to look now.
I spin around so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. “You could have warned me!”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
My imagination fills in the details with devastating accuracy from when I saw him naked the night I picked him up from jail—broad shoulders and narrow hips, muscle and shadow and miles of bare skin. Heat floods through me, pooling between my thighs, and I press them together like that’ll help.
It doesn’t.
“Come on, June.” Kai’s voice is closer now, rough silk against my nerve endings. “Strip down and get in.”
A laugh escapes me, slightly strangled. “You know that’s illegal, right? Public nudity?”
“Only illegal if someone catches you,” Carter says, chuckling.
“Nope. Absolutely not.” I shake my head, still facing away from them. “I’ll leave the skinny-dipping to you three. Some of us have a healthy relationship with consequences.”
“Suit yourself.”
Splashing behind me. Bodies entering water.
Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.
I twist around.
All three of them wade into the river, water rising to their waists, moonlight painting their backs in silver and shadow. Muscles shift and flex as they move. Droplets catch the light like scattered diamonds. Seth’s broad shoulders. Carter’s lean lines. Kai’s powerful build.
My mouth dries while my body temperature spikes high enough that I’m surprised I don’t steam. Between my thighs, slick gathers, my biology screaming Hello, yes, those three, please, immediately.
But my body doesn’t give a damn about boundaries. It only cares about the three gorgeous Alphas currently putting on a show that would make Renaissance sculptors weep.
“Enjoying the view?” Kai calls, glancing back with a knowing smirk. Water drips from his dark hair.
I should deny it. Pretend to be fascinated by the trees. The stars. Literally anything else.
Instead, I plant my hands on my hips. “Well, if you’re going to parade around like that, I might as well appreciate the effort.”
Carter throws his head back and laughs, bright and uninhibited. The sound bounces across the water and settles somewhere warm in my chest. Even Seth’s mouth curves into something dangerously close to a real smile.
“That’s our girl,” Kai says.
Our girl.
I drift closer to the water’s edge and find a tree to lean against. The bark is rough through my jacket, grounding me when everything else feels like fever and fantasy.
The river runs chest-deep at the center, and they’re splashing around, laughing and calling out to each other. Kai dunks Carter’s head, who retaliates with a tackle. Seth watches them with the long-suffering patience of someone who’s seen this exact scene play out a thousand times.
Every nerve ending is lit up, humming, desperate for more of them. The desire is overwhelming. Intoxicating. The kind of sensory overload that makes you understand why Omegas used to lock themselves away during heats.
I’ve been on suppressants for years. They keep my heats manageable—mild discomfort instead of full-blown desperation. But without them, it’s just a bone-deep attraction toward compatible Alphas. The way my body recognizes theirs on some primal level and screams Yes, them, those ones, take us home.
I’ve never felt it this strongly before. Not once. Not with anyone.