Chapter 33
CONNOR
Shit.
My big mouth opens, the words fall out, and Wren stares at me for a split second, blinking rapidly. Then she flies out of the room as fast as her little Omega legs can carry her.
Brennan glares at me. “Nice work, superstar.” His tone is drier than a desert.
“What? You and I both know it needs to happen.”
He puffs out his cheeks and tilts his head back to the ceiling. Probably praying for strength not to torch my contract right before my eyes. Yeah, I coulda been a little more tactful about it, but…
“This is a lot for her to take in.”
“No shit. You don’t say.” I chuckle and gesture at both of our groins. That earns me the most disapproving look to ever exist. “Oh, c’mon. That’s funny. Take the compliment and lighten up, old man.”
He looks ready to punch me square in the jaw but flexes his hands instead and then jerks his head in silent instruction for me to follow. Her scent is like a beacon, leading me the few paces to her closed bedroom door.
Brennan knocks softly, being the politest fucking gentleman caller to ever exist. “Wren?” The guy must be losing his shit over this scent match thing.
If I’m feeling this churned up, I can’t even imagine how he’s keeping a cool head.
Or not simply giving in to the feral impulse to pin her down.
“Scotland is an idiot. We both agree on that. Can we come in and talk?”
Something thuds inside the room.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. No point tiptoeing over eggshells.” I push the handle, and the door swings open.
Wren has her suitcase flopped open on the floor, and is half-dressed, or half-undressed, I’m not sure what to call it.
On her bottom half are sweatpants, and on her top half is the dress she wore to the bar tonight.
She scoops an armful of underwear out of the top drawer of her wardrobe and tosses it all in.
“Don’t know how much you know about going through a heat, lass, but I doubt you’ll be needing those—ooooft.” My smirk dissolves into being doubled over, as I take an elbow straight to my guts from Brennan.
Followed by a bra being slung at my face with the force of a pitcher unleashing a fastball.
“Get out.” She glares at me. “I made the biggest mistake of my life coming here. Why did I think I could just live a normal life? They’re going to kick me out of this scholarship anyway, so I might as well just save them the hassle.
” Another drawer gets emptied straight into the open bag as she mutters under her breath.
“Sweetheart, take a second here… we just want to talk,” Brennan says gently, immediately going to her. The guy is fucking good at this whole nurturing and soothing thing. Much better than me, at any rate. Probably a good thing he’s scent-matched to her.
She stands there with a pair of fluffy pink socks in one hand and a blue sports crop in the other.
Her bottom lip starts to tremble, our tough little Omega tries to shake her head and silently tell him to leave her alone, but there’s a reason Brennan was a pro athlete in his day.
There’s a reason he owns the Wolves team.
The guy is steadfast when he has a goal in mind.
Right now, taking care of her is his only objective.
“I don’t need your help.” Her teeth pinch the inside of her cheek as she has to tilt her head right back to hold his gaze.
“Probably not. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to offer it anyway.”
“You’re his father,” she hisses. “Not to mention all the other bullshit rules.”
“You think I don’t know all that?”
“Then you agree this can’t happen.”
“No.” His voice stays low, and I find myself crossing the room, needing to be close to her even if she doesn’t want me anywhere near right now.
“I agree that it’s complicated. I agree that we have to tread carefully for the sake of your scholarship.
I agree that your well-being is a priority.
To my eyes, anything else is irrelevant. ”
Her eyes glisten in the dim lighting. “How can you even bear to look at me… after…”
That makes both of us growl in dissatisfaction.
“Wren, we all have pasts. Yours doesn’t shape your future, and it certainly doesn’t change how I…” Brennan shoots a look at me as I slip into a position seated on the side of her bed. “How we feel about you.” He includes me like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
As if we’re already a pack.
Yeah, he’s much better at this than me.
Running my palm to smooth out the top blanket beside me, it’s velvety and plush beneath my calluses, perfectly cozy for an Omega.
But this bed is made for an elf. I feel like I’m gonna break the damn thing if I shift my weight around too much.
Wren deserves a goddamn fancy giant bed like I’ve got at my place.
The kind of specialist foam thing our team trainers and physical therapists make sure we all have.
Are those bamboo sheets? Or some kind of silk fiber?
I wonder if I can sneak a look at the label on this bedding in order to try to get hold of some if this is what she likes to sleep in.
“Brennan is right. I don’t give a fuck about any of that… in fact, I’m a selfish asshole, and I’m glad they fucked up badly enough that they lost you. Now come and put this on.” I hook her WFU hoodie out of the pile of clothes and hold it out.
She looks at me like I’ve got three heads.
“I’m not wearing a bra.” Her arms instinctively fold across the front of her sexy-as-hell dress.
“Do I need to remind you that I’ve seen just how pretty your pussy is? I’m out here counting the seconds until I can add worshipping the rest of you to that list.”
Wren snatches the hoodie out of my hands with a groan.
“This is only because I want to be more comfortable.” She turns and gives us her back. “You interrupted me getting changed before, barging in here like two snorting bulls.”
“Would you like help?” Brennan clears his throat, but can’t take his eyes off her, and neither can I. My cum has dried inside my briefs, but my dick certainly is very interested in another glimpse of our Omega.
“No—yes.” Her head tips back in frustration before roughly scooping her long hair to one side, revealing the hidden zipper running along the lower curve of her spine.
You could hear a pin drop in here; every single ounce of breath gets sucked out of the room the moment he steps up behind her.
It’s the hottest goddamn sight, watching the way he towers over her, and those big hands of his are so careful.
A guy who I know for a fact could put in the hardest hits in the league when he was at the top of his game.
Yet in this little bedroom that swirls with the delicious scent of peach and jasmine, he’s so attentive, carefully tugging the tiny zip, while his Adam’s apple bobs.
It makes me imagine a different scene. Of what it would be like to stand in his place instead.
Of how it would feel to have her small body pressed between Ace and me.
To have him stroking her hair, as I peel her out of a silky dress, and to feel our hands both on her at the same time.
To have my touch on him at the same time as hers.
Fuck. I’m getting hard over here, and this isn’t the moment to be fantasizing about how I can try to fold Ace into this equation.
Goosebumps flock down her arms, and just as the thin straps slump down her shoulders, she catches the material against her chest.
“Thanks.” Wren quickly gulps before stepping out of arm’s reach.
It’s fast, but evidently, I don’t have a gentlemanly bone in my body, because I devour every second she lets the fabric flutter quietly to the floor.
My goddamn hungry eyes trace the slope of her spine and the tiny freckles on her right shoulder.
I spot the slightest hint of a curve at the side of her breast as she raises her arms and slips the forest-green hoodie over her head, covering up all that smooth skin.
Glancing at Brennan, he looks like his brain has just blinked offline. He’s got one hand scrubbed over his mouth, and there’s evidence bulging in the front of his jeans that guarantees his dick is just as hard as mine.
When our girl spins back around, her blue eyes are filled with steely determination.
“I’m not going to be that Omega who throws away her life. A trophy hunter, who has no ambition.”
“We would never think that.” I pat the bed beside me, trying to encourage her to come close. Secretly, I’m hoping that if we both sit on it at the same time, and it breaks, then it’s even more reason for her to no longer live here. Maybe I should convince Brennan to sit down, too?
“You might not… the rest of the world? The media?” At least even though she’s running inside her mind, she plonks down beside me, tucking her legs up, and I greedily swoop in on the opportunity to pull her into my side.
Wren doesn’t fight me this time, and it makes my chest puff up about ten sizes that she’s willingly allowing me to hold her like this.
“If it got out, Finch could lose everything,” she murmurs softly, twisting her fingers in the hem of the oversized hoodie. “It’s better if I… if I stay away.”
Ahh. There it is. Hidden away underneath all that fierceness and fight is the girl with the purest heart, who will think about others and put them before herself.
“You do that, and you’re gonna find the Wolves will be without an owner, and they’re gonna be needing a replacement fullback.” I chuckle.
Wren softly slaps my thigh. “Stop it. This isn’t a joke.”
“I’m serious.” Tucking her head tighter into the crook of my shoulder, I look up at Brennan, who nods.
“This is happening, Bambi. Wherever you go, we’re there to support you.
So we’re either all packing up our lives and following you halfway around the country, or we’re going to make a plan for you to move in with us and figure out the logistics later. ”