Chapter 87
THEO
“Iunderstand completely. Thank you for your time, sir. I appreciate the call.” As the line goes dead, I rub my eye socket with the heel of my hand.
Wren is curled up in my bed, freshly showered, after her heat finally broke sometime around four in the morning. I want her to sleep, but there are a thousand things I have to do today to prepare for this weekend’s final, and the last thing I want is for her to wake up from her heat and be alone.
Lowering my weight gently to the side of the mattress, it dips ever so slightly, and her disheveled appearance makes me smile.
Our girl looks blissed out even while still dreaming, and at least the pink sitting high on the apple of her cheeks is thanks to finally being cleaned up properly in a hot shower.
The sweaty, eyes-glazed-over, mouth-hanging-open-on-a-moan version of Wren is a pleasure to witness and take care of in those most vulnerable moments.
But right now, she’s finding new ways to make me fall in love with her, without even trying.
“Sweetheart…” I bend to kiss her forehead. The warmth there feels almost cool after how roasting hot she runs during her heat.
“Mmmm.” She makes a noise in the back of her throat, eyelashes fluttering as she stirs.
“How are you feeling? I’ve got some painkillers here that I need you to take for me.” As I reach across to the water and pills I had already set out beside the bed, Wren stretches like a cat.
Her blue eyes find mine.
“There she is.” A smile pulls on the corners of my mouth.
Those big doe-like orbs start to water. Her bottom lip wobbles. The spike in her emotions, turning to shock and guilt, slams into me down our bond.
Fuck. This is exactly why I knew one of us needed to be here. I could never abandon her to surface after such an intense few days without having her Alphas to help carry that emotion for her. “Shhh… no, please don’t be upset. Everything is okay. I promise.”
“How long?” Wren chokes out.
“Only three nights this time,” I reassure her.
“Three?” She shakes her head, refusing to accept the truth.
“It’s all perfectly normal… you were perfect.”
“I’m a nightmare.” She tries to disappear back under the covers.
I catch the sheet and pull it off her with a chuckle.
“Nope, no hiding from me, beautiful.” This time, I hand the glass of water and the pills over.
“You’re such a smart girl. You’re my smart girl.
I’m so proud of you. You’re going to take this, you’re going to get up…
and you’re going to eat some breakfast before I have to leave for work. ”
Our little Omega blinks at me. Then does as I ask.
“Good girl.” I lean in to kiss her slowly. One final taste of her before the chaos of life rushes back in and makes moments like these a rare indulgence for the foreseeable future.
“What happened? Oh my god… Ace.” Her worry is palpable.
“He went to the judicial hearing yesterday and was cleared to play. They called me just now to let me know.” I brush my thumb over the wetness forming at the corners of her eyes, then stand up beside the bed.
“All that will happen now is that he has to pay a fine, which is complete horseshit, but I believe it was their way of saving face after realizing his red card should never have been given in the first place. I negotiated that the fine could be paid to a certain local dog shelter.” With a lopsided grin, I reach for her to help keep her balance steady while getting to her feet.
“And Coach? He knows. This is a train wreck.” She wobbles a little, but I’m right there to catch her as she finds her center of gravity.
“Truthfully? He already knew about you and me. I’d started to explain some things in confidence to him, when I thought I’d have more time to get our strategy in place before it became public knowledge…
at the right moment,” I add hastily when I feel her emotions start to spiral in panic.
“Coach Robinson is a man of his word. I’d trust him with my life.
We’re going to win this final, you’re going to finish school, and you’re going to have it all, my birdie girl. ”
I seal that promise with another lingering kiss, because I simply can’t help myself.
As I angle our mouths together, I continue holding her as tight as possible.
She’s so soft and delicate beneath my hands, making the sweetest little sound of relief into my mouth.
My Omega is the most special thing I could have ever hoped for, and I intend to treasure her, along with the gift of my packmates that she’s brought into my life.
Wren Murphy has given me a whole life to fill the empty space I’d been existing in.
Now I not only have her, but I have Connor and Ace.
“Getting to have you all is beyond my wildest dreams, the perfect pack to be tackled by unexpectedly.” I let out a contented sigh.
“I love you, Theo Brennan.” Wren’s energy hums with that sentiment.
As I hand her a hoodie to wear and offer to carry her to the kitchen, she stubbornly shakes her head but allows me to take her by the hand. We might all be dead on our feet, limbs heavy and shaking after such a grueling heat, but I’d do it all again right this second if we needed to.
I tried to shoulder as much of the load as I could, to keep Connor and Ace’s level of physical exertion to a minimum.
My body feels like I’ve been run over five times, with the type of deep tissue bruising and stiff joints I haven’t had to manage since my playing career.
An easy decision to make in the face of their bodies needing to be primed for a grueling final coming just around the corner.
You name it, I thought of it, where attempting to take care of pro athletes and a heat at the same time is concerned.
It wasn’t easy, but the guys are in better physical shape than after the previous heat.
If struggling with a creaking body and feeling a hundred years old is the price for me to pay personally, then so be it.
We reach the kitchen, and I can sense that she’s bursting with relief to see Ace’s broad shoulders, but also horrified.
“Oh my god, Coach knows, and you had to face a hearing, and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You were supposed to be focused on the final, and I ruined everything.” Her voice catches as she flings her arms around him.
“Hey, heyyy…” He pulls back to cup her face in both hands, with concern lining his brow. “You didn’t ruin anything, peaches.”
“But—” She tries to argue with him, except Ace preempts that by reaching down to catch her hand in his own, then presses her palm over the spot where they’re now bonded.
“This doesn’t feel like anything remotely like ruin, teine aulelei.” He smiles down at her. “It only feels like I already won.”
A raspy chuckle escapes me as we all sense Wren’s perfume.
“We worked out a plan to make sure Connor and Ace could both go to recovery and train. Coach was very helpful in making sure the times they needed to be there were slightly staggered.” I run my hand over my hair and start to fuss around with her breakfast, to set everything out on the kitchen island.
“My brother? God, I feel lightheaded just at the thought.” She winces.
“Still none the wiser.” Ace dips to kiss her gently. He’s always the most careful with her after a heat, being ultra soft and deft with his touches with the way he handles her, I’ve noticed.
“Okay,” she breathes.
“I have to go into the office. Connor is already doing media this morning, and Ace will be catching a ride with me. We couldn’t get them out of some community outreach stuff, but now that you’re awake, do you think you’ll manage for the next few hours just sleeping and resting, sweetheart?
Con and Ace both have a heavier training schedule tomorrow to prepare for the weekend, but since it’s the final, Coach doesn’t want to push anyone too hard. ”
I realize I’ve been rambling while Wren has gone into a sort of trance.
Our bond flutters with a kaleidoscope of emotion, as she seems to be attempting to fight a feeling of involuntary arousal.
My eyes follow the direction where hers have landed, curious as to what has gone and gotten her riled up.
When I take in what she’s locked on, it takes everything I’ve got to keep my grin hidden. So I continue keeping busy by making coffee for all of us.
Ace will be able to feel her down their bond for himself.
I can’t help but wonder if he secretly planned this whole moment.
She swallows hard, eyes bouncing all over his bare chest, following the V of muscle dipping beneath the fabric wrapped around his waist.
“I… uhh…” She stares at the patterned cotton hugging every inch of his muscled ass and thighs, pausing at the place where it hangs loosely just below his knees.
He chuckles, absolutely able to sense where her mind is going. “Eat something, peaches.”
Wren’s face says I’d quite like to eat you, but I watch her shake off the heat-brain residue to dispel those internal thoughts.
I mean, the poor girl wakes up from a three-day heat, walks into the kitchen, only to find her Alpha shirtless, with nothing more than a thin covering of material wrapped around his waist. It’s no wonder all I can feel down our bond is the Omega equivalent of holy fuck.
“I haven’t seen you wear this before.” She slides her ass onto a stool. Eyes wide and appreciative.
“It’s called a lavalava.” He rests his ass against the bench and leans back on his hands. “Vermont isn’t exactly the islands. When it’s cold as shit over here, I won’t usually wear it, but in the warmer months, it’s most comfortable.”
A big, burly man with material clinging low on his hips? Wren’s expression says that she’s suddenly looking forward to a long, hot summer like never before.
“It’s from Samoa?” She wets her lips while studying the geometric design.
He nods, brushing his hands over the bunched fabric around his hips. “My father sends me some each year. The design is based on siapo… or tapa cloth. This is cotton, but if you’re ever at a wedding or something, it would be made with tree bark and hand-painted.”
Wren takes her coffee in both hands, enjoying a long sip.
“When was the last time you went back to visit?” Her tone is soft.
Ace scratches his jaw, taking a moment to think. “A few years. Too long ago, really. My dad will be the first to tell you that.”
As much as I want to allow them time to talk like this, I check my phone and give him a quick nod to let him know that, unfortunately, he needs to get dressed, and we gotta head out.
Already, my mind races with the future possibilities of our pack being able to spend time going to visit his family on the other side of the world. We might not be able to jump on a plane tomorrow, but I don’t see why we couldn’t escape to a place where we wouldn’t be recognized.
“A few years is definitely too long.” I kiss Wren’s bond mark before starting to collect my things. “And I think we should change that, Palamo.”