Chapter 88
WREN
The girls have flooded our group chat with every dirty meme about being split in half they can find. What’s more, to my horror, Lark has been added to the conversation. So in their intensity of lovingly roasting me, her arrival has upped the ante.
I ignore them all and attempt to leave the chat.
Nikita immediately adds me back in, no doubt cackling with glee as she does so.
As I fill out my scholarship form, to advise of my second heat in what is an unconscionably short space of time, I wince and press the submit button. Just as I do, there’s a knock at the front door, and I puff out my cheeks, tipping my head back with a groan.
Of course, it won’t be enough to simply taunt me over text messages. The girls will be here to lay it on me in person. One Omega on toast, coming right up.
More knocking echoes instantly through the house, as I shuffle as fast as my poor, sore limbs can carry me.
“I’m coming!” I squeak, throwing the door open with a flourish.
Except it’s not two Omegas with salacious grins on their faces.
It’s the last person I want to see standing before me.
My brother.
All the blood drains from my body as Finch slowly blinks at me, confusion raging like a storm in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, except his features harden the longer we stand on the threshold in a silent face-off.
I’m surely going to pass out. My brother cannot be here unannounced. He can’t bear witness to the immediate aftermath of my heat.
“Wren?” His throat dips, a muscle pulses in the side of his jaw. “What are you doing here?”
My brain goes blank. I stumble over figuring out what to say and come up short. All I can do is gape like a fish on dry land.
“Wren. Tell me why you are here.” His voice is dangerously low.
“Why are you here?” I grip the door handle so hard my knuckles turn white.
“I’m looking for Ace and Connor…” He folds his arms across his chest. “I’m looking for my friends and teammates, because things have felt off with the two of them for a while now.”
I can’t help trembling. My brother’s eyes immediately catch it, snagging on my unsteady hands.
“I’m here because I wanted to clear up whatever weird shit was happening at training, and since this week is so important to the team.”
That’s when I lose it. Fat tears roll down my face uncontrollably. “I know. I know this week means everything to you all.”
“Fuck. Tears? Really, Wrenster?” he groans, the icy look on his face thaws immediately, and he drags me into a trademark Finch hug. “You know I can’t handle you or Lark being upset. This feels like some prime Omega blackmail going on.”
I sniffle against his T-shirt, probably leaving snot all over him. “Can we talk inside?”
“Am I about to have a heart attack when I learn why you answered this door like you own the fucking place?” His chest vibrates with the low growl in his voice.
Pinching his arm, I escape his hug, then swipe away the wetness from my face with my palm.
“Probably a good idea if you’re sitting down.” I point at the living room.
“Jesus Christ.”
“If anyone ends up suspiciously maimed or with a black eye, I’ll know it was your doing.” I chew the inside of my cheek.
Finch sits on the edge of the couch, leaning forward with his head in his hands. “Give it to me straight. No fucking bullshit. I’m already imagining the worst, so you don’t need to sugarcoat it.”
I pace up and down, with arms wrapped around my stomach. There’s every chance I might throw up. “You’re right on the cusp of the final,” I whine.
“Wren.” His exasperation thunders across the room.
“I never meant for any of this to happen. You’ve gotta know that. Please don’t blame them.” The string of words tumbles forth.
“Why do I already hate everything about this, and you haven’t even fucking told me?” Finch’s mortification is muffled by his hands covering his face.
“If you leave now, we can pretend like there’s nothing to see here.”
“So help me… Wren Murphy, if I have to discover whatever fucked-up situation you’ve gotten yourself into from a random–”
“Okay, okay,” I cut him off. With a resigned sigh, I stop pacing and plonk my ass on the coffee table in front of him. “Promise to listen and wait until I’m finished before you lose your shit?”
“I’m gonna end up in jail, aren’t I?” he groans.
I take a deep breath and decide to plunge over the edge.
No brakes. No parachute. Just total free fall.
I blurt out everything to him. The whole story.
From the moment I bumped into Connor, to Atlas knowing about our scent match and keeping his distance, to Theo being the most unlikely of scent matches I could ever encounter.
I let him know how they’ve protected me and looked out for me when we’ve been threatened and ensured I can safely finish studying.
While I leave out the details of my heats, I vaguely mention that Theo built me a nest here and leave him to fill in the blanks.
The moment I finally stop rambling about our whirlwind story, I feel like a metric ton of weight has been lifted off my chest.
“I love them, Finch. They’re my pack. My bonded scent matches.” The tears threaten to start falling again. “But I can’t see a way out of this mess.”
My brother drags his hands through his hair, then blows out a long breath.
“You know… I had started to worry when they were coming in at different times for training, no matter what Coach was saying about it. Thought there was some kind of rift between them. Then I noticed the dark circles under their eyes, how they looked more worn out than ever this week. I knew scouts had been watching, and it started to freak me out that there was something going on with their contracts.” He laughs humorlessly.
“I’d convinced myself that they were leaving the Wolves and had accepted a transfer to other teams. Here I was having a crisis that my best friends were gonna fuck off and leave me behind. ”
I gnaw on my bottom lip.
We sit in stunned silence at first, then Finch knocks my knee with his.
“I’m on your side, Wren. Despite what you might think, I wish you had told me sooner.”
Am I actually hearing what I’m hearing? My brother is being surprisingly supportive, and I don’t know what to make of it.
“What is this?” Now I truly am blinking away fresh tears. “What is going on here?” With one hand, I wave at him. “I expected volcanic eruptions. Deep-sea earthquakes. Tornadoes touching down. Why are you being… reasonable?”
Finch ducks his eyes, and I swear to god I see his cheeks turn a shade of pink. The tips of his ears go red, too.
He clears his throat, then studies his hands, seeming not to know how to respond. Except his hesitation gets a reprieve, because my phone goes off. I scramble to answer when I see that it’s Theo.
“Hey—” My bond immediately picks up on the strain I can feel coming from my Alpha.
“Sweetheart, you need to come into the office. I’ll pick you up. There’s no time to explain right now, but I can while we’re driving.”
I gulp down the nerves. “It’s okay, I’m with my brother, he can give me a ride.”
“Fuck.” Theo’s curse is loud enough for Finch to hear. His head jerks up.
Mustering the most confident smile I can manage, I reach out to squeeze her brother’s shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re okay on that front. That’s one tiny mountain climbed at least.”
Finch mutters something that doesn’t sound quite as supportive as he promised to be. But it’s gonna be baby steps, I suppose.
“The Wolves board members have called an emergency meeting.” Theo’s voice is steady, but I can hear the stress clearly evident in what he’s not saying.
“About us?” My pulse kicks into a higher gear.
“I’m not certain. But there’s every chance it might be. I don’t want you to be blindsided, but be prepared that they’ll likely have questions for us. Whatever happens, I’m there with you. This is something we will face as a pack.”
“Okay.” My mind reels. “Finch and I can leave now. I’ll text you when I’m outside.”
We say goodbye and hang up, and I go into something of a zombie mode while gathering my things, all while mentally running through all the possibilities of what this might mean for us.
I think I’m officially numb by the time we’ve driven in silence to the stadium.
My brother seems just as lost in thought as I am.
We park, and I undo my seatbelt with fumbling hands. Pulling out my phone, I send a text to Theo and turn to say goodbye to my brother.
He’s already climbing out of the driver’s side.
“What are you—” I ask.
Finch gives me a look as he leans to look through the open door. “I’m coming with you. No way are they going to come for you, or try to kick you out of college over something like this.”
“I’m scared, Finch,” I admit.
“You have no need to be. My sister is a strong, fucking inspirational Omega.”
That makes me laugh nervously. “Lark is all that and more.”
“Oh shut up. You are just as much of a pain in the ass as she is. But you two are my pains in the ass. Come on. I’m right beside you.”
“Thank you,” I mumble.
Once we make our way inside, we arrive on the floor where Theo’s office is located, and the Wolves boardroom doors stand open. There are lots of important-looking people in important-looking suits, seated around a big important-looking oval table.
Everyone looks grim.
This is not good.
Not good at all.
Theo is right there in front of me within the blink of an eye. Following just behind him are Atlas and Connor, who falter for a second when they see Finch just over my shoulder.
Their reaction down our bond is a collision of worry and being prepared to defend me with their every last breath. I mouth quickly at them a silent “It’s all fine.”
“We’re just waiting for the GM to arrive,” Theo says quietly.
“And arrive he has,” a voice comes from behind us.
I spin around, and it takes me a moment to piece together what I’m seeing.
Holy shit. This cannot be real.