Chapter 34
There it is.
The realization.
It’s like every human emotion ever defined flits across her beautiful, tear-stained face at the same time.
Fear.
Excitement.
Adoration.
Devastation.
Confusion.
Fear again.
And finally, tentative acceptance.
“There you are,” I whisper, reaching out to cup her face. “Dr. Alex Shields is back.”
Her dark eyes are still a little hazy, but her voice is stronger now.
“A bond that is not accepted can cause severe adverse side effects,” she whispers, leaning into my hand.
“Including, but not limited to, several emotional distress, migraines, seizures, vomiting, nausea, cardiomyopathy, and in severe, unlikely cases, death.”
I nod, humming under my breath. “Is that so? ”
“I threw up.”
I chuckle softly. “Nerves can do that to you.”
She wrinkles her nose, her waterline glimmering with silvery tears. I can tell this is going to take some time for her to process.
I’m not going to pretend like this is something she consciously did. I know that this was all Omega instinct. She has made her opinion on being with me, with us, clear. I told her to let go, to let her hindbrain control, and control it fucking did.
Now I am the owner of a pretty little bite under my ear and a small, but thriving bond in my chest.
When her teeth first sank in and the bond flared to life, violently yanking my orgasm out of me, I nearly passed out. I never imagined I’d feel anything like it, much less from Alex.
I knew immediately I was accepting it. Not a single part of me wanted to push it out.
I knew it was an accident, but I cemented it anyway. Maybe that makes me a bad person. I’m sure that I should have checked in with her before I accepted it, and given her the opportunity to tell me it was an accident and she wanted me to reject it.
I still could, if I’m being honest. It’s so new that, while it would fucking hurt us both terribly, I could make it happen if I really wanted to.
I don’t, though. Want to, that is. So I won’t reject it. Not unless she explicitly says the words.
“This is so fucked,” she mutters, clutching at my shirt. “This is so so fucked.”
The Alphas are standing around with their thumbs up their asses, unsure of what to do as they watch Alex come to terms with her new life. I can smell the jealous tinge to their scents, but it doesn’t seem to have registered with Alex yet.
And I hope it never does.
She doesn’t need to deal with Alpha posturing while she’s processing this massive change in her life, in her plans.
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her. “Together. We’re a team now.”
“Together.” I can’t tell if her words are a plea or an omen.
I wrap my hands around her forearms and gently pull her to standing.
“Here’s what we need to do. The Alphas have built you a nest and installed a new lock on your trailer.
I’m going to take them out of here because I can tell you’re about to crash, so you’re going to go get your nest all cozy and see if it’s missing anything that I can get you tonight.
I’m going to get them out of here, then I’ll come back and sleep over, okay? ”
“They built me a nest?” Her eyes dart between the Alphas, who all have various shades of pink blush staining their cheeks. “Why would they do that?”
“You’re our Omega,” Jude says, his voice rough. “And my people fucked up your nest. You deserve a nest you can feel comfortable in.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she insists. “Really, I would’ve been fine.”
Dario takes a step toward her, but stops himself. He rakes his fingers through his hair, a pained expression on his face. “Do you think ‘fine’ is what we want for you? We want you to be happy and content. We want to care for you, Alex. You just have to let us.”
For a moment, it looks like she’s going to move toward him, let him comfort her.
But she doesn’t. She turns to me with a slight shake of her head. “You don’t need to stay over. I need to be alone. I need to figure out what to do about this.”
I slowly lead her to her room and open the door.
“Nothing to figure out, certainly not without me. We’re in this together now, you and me.
A team. So go rest, and I’ll see you soon, okay?
” I turn her around with gentle hands on her shoulders before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
Her body momentarily goes rigid before it softens. “Okay?” I repeat.
She nods, eyes glassy. She’s had a hell of a few days, and she needs time to recover. Truthfully, she needs me and the Alphas to help her through this, but I don’t think she can handle that in her current state.
We need to give her some time to come to terms with everything. Alex is fiercely independent, and if she feels smothered, she’s going to pull farther away than she already has.
Honestly, this accidental bond is a blessing because it means, regardless of what happens, at least I’ll always be able to know if she’s okay.
If she chooses to leave us, it’ll hurt like a bitch, but at least I’ll feel that she’s alive.
And maybe I can use it to track her down if she refuses to see reason.
Alex nods and slips through the door to her room. I close it softly behind her and spin around, nearly buckling under the weight of four Alpha stares.
“Outside,” I hiss as Quinton opens his mouth.
“All of you.” I’m no stranger to asserting my dominance on an Alpha, and they listen to me, dutifully filing out of the door, their faces dumbstruck.
As I slip past Jude, he takes a not-so-subtle sniff of my scent, which has already begun to change with my bond to Alex.
“You smell like a chocolate croissant,” Quinton says once we’re outside and he’s wrapped his arms around my waist. “All sweet and buttery. I’m obsessed.
In love.” He dips his head, dragging his nose down my neck again.
“Can’t wait to taste you two together. Please tell me you haven’t washed your cock yet. ”
Dario makes a choking sound as I push Quinton away, groaning. “Not the time, Q,” I hiss, though his words have my stomach flipping with desire.
“Why did she bite you?” Dexter asks harshly. “Why did you let her?”
I don’t want to have this conversation outside, and I know Alex wouldn’t want me to, so I stride off without answering, heading back to Jude’s trailer.
Once inside, the answer to Dexter’s question becomes clear to all of them.
“Holy shit,” Dario whimpers, palming his cock through his shorts. “It smells so fucking good in here.”
“I told you guys!” Quinton exclaims gleefully.
“When I came to get them, I thought my cock was going to explode. It took everything I had to back out and not run in there and join them.” He throws himself back on the couch, adjusting his crotch.
“If I had, maybe I’d be the one with a bite right now.
But that’s okay, because I’ll get mine next.
” He holds his hand up in front of his face, turning it around.
“Maybe I’ll have her bite my wrist? I’d love to be able to look at it all the time. ”
“What makes you think you’re getting one at all?” Dexter asks, leaning against the kitchen counter. He’s breathing heavily through his mouth, clearly trying to avoid smelling the lingering perfume of our tryst.
“Because she claimed my Beta. She’s ours now.
She gave in to the scent match. And I’m going to take her on the next date, and get my bite.
” He chomps his teeth before relaxing with a smug smile.
His shirt stretched tight across his chest as he reclines on the couch, and his thighs are spread wide.
His eyes are a little bloodshot, meaning he had to smoke some while he was setting up the nest, but I can see the tension leaving his body the more he absorbs Alex’s lingering pheromones.
Jude pulls out a chair from the table and spins it around, resting his arms on the back of it as he plops down and narrows his eyes at my partner. “No, if anyone gets the next bite, it’s me. I’m the Prime Alpha.”
“Just because you’re the Prime Alpha doesn’t mean shit,” Quinton replies, narrowing his eyes at our showrunner. “It makes the most sense for me to be bitten in next, since I’m also scent matched to Matteo. It’ll let me feel the bond with him, too.”
Alphas can’t initiate bonds any more than Betas can, but if an Alpha and a Beta are connected through the same Omega, they can forge a lighter, more fragile version of the bond.
I never thought I’d have that with Quinton, but now I want it more than anything.
“Why can’t it be me?” Dario asks from the bedroom doorway. He’s propped up on the frame, clearly soaking up the smell of Alex’s slick. “Since you two can’t decide, I’ll take her on the next date.”
“You? You’re barely more than a stranger to her. She doesn’t even know you,” Quinton says dismissively.
“She does know me,” Dario insists. “We’ve had moments!”
Q ignores him, barrelling through the conversation. “It’s gotta be me. I need it the most. Have we forgotten the Rot?”
“Of course we haven’t,” Jude scoffs, “but that doesn’t mean you get the next bite. You’re doing just fine for now.”
“For now,” my Alpha drawls. “Just fine for now. But I could be better. ”
“You come on too strong,” Jude argues back. “You’ll scare her off. It needs to be me. She’ll get better faster with my bond.”
“I’ve already got a date planned!” Dario butts in. “So I’m going to take her on it. Tomorrow. She can bite me next.”
“Not if I take her out first.” Quinton crosses his arms petulantly. “She’ll pick me over you, easy. I built her first nest, you know.”
“We know!” Dario and Jude groan in unison.
Dexter and I watch their argument like a sporting event, our heads bouncing back and forth between the three Alphas as they argue.
“They did this while nest shopping,” Dexter hisses at me. “Over fucking candles.”
Is this what our future as a pack is going to look like? Dario, Jude, and Quinton constantly bickering while Dexter and I watch on? I can feel Alex’s contentment, like she’s a purring cat, sleeping in the sun, in my chest. She doesn’t need me to rush back any time soon.
So I decide to throw fuel to the fire.
“Maybe it should be Dexter,” I say thoughtfully. “She does feel safe with him.”
“Why the fuck would it be me?” he stutters, eyes wide with betrayal as he stares at me. “I don’t want a bond!”
“Not to bond, for the next date. It’s the least amount of pressure.”
Dario finally steps out of the doorway. “No, absolutely not. He could scare her off, and she’s already skittish. Jude is intimidating, and Quinton is too clingy. It needs to be me. I’m the logical choice.”
“Too clingy?” My Alpha shoves himself to his feet. “It’s not clingy to want to be around my scent match!”
“You’ve been humming the wedding march since you met her!” Dario snaps back. “The last thing she needs is you to take her out and present your neck to her immediately. She’ll run for the hills.”
Quinton presses forward, crowding the other Alpha. “Her Omega marked me from the beginning. She won’t run.”
“I still hear no valid argument for why it shouldn’t be me, so I’ll go let her know I’m taking her out tomorrow.” Jude hauls himself out of the chair and turns for the door, but Quinton dives for him, wrapping his arms around the massive Alpha’s waist and dragging him to the ground.
It’s honestly impressive how quickly Jude’s bulk hits the ground.
The Prime Alpha roars, flipping onto his back and shoving Quinton off of him. “What the fuck, Q?”
“You don’t get to stomp out of here and make the decision for all of us!”
“I’m the Prime Alpha!” he roars.
“Prime asshole, maybe!” Does my Alpha have a death wish? I think he might.
Dario, not one to be underestimated, is slinking around the side of the room while Quinton and Jude tussle. Jude is definitely holding himself back, knowing that Quinton, despite how good his spirits seem, is still suffering from the Rot, but Quinton is giving it his all.
The tattooed twin is almost at the door before Dexter snags the back of his shirt. “Do not go out there.”
“Why not? Why can’t I be the one to take her on the next date?” Dario snaps back. “You said you’d try!”
“Of course, I said I’d try! What does that have anything to do with you going over there and begging for her bite?”
The trapeze twins fall into a heated argument, and I stand between the two pairs of Alphas, struggling to hold back my laughter. They’re acting like animals, all of them, their instincts pushing them to claim, to be the next person to join Alex’s pack.
When Quinton pulls away from Jude, panting, and stares at me, my stomach drops, and my mouth goes dry.
His eyes are foggy, and his skin is flushed. He’s clenching and unclenching his fists rapidly.
A look at all of the other Alphas reveals similar stances, and the realization hits me.
I fucked up.
I really, really fucked up.
I brought a bunch of Alphas, desperate to claim an Omega, to a trailer saturated in the scent of her slick, and let them argue and fight and tussle.
And now I’m staring at four Alphas all on the verge of a rut.
Fuck.