Chapter 22
Juniper
The remainder of the week goes by without incident, though that doesn’t stop me from jumping at every unexpected sound, looking over my shoulder constantly, and searching every nook and cranny for people lurking in places they shouldn’t be. The phone calls I made to Mac didn’t help, either, for he is a dick who thinks I should ovary up and push on with my life without another thought for the stranger that got into my head. As great as I find the man, he gives the shittiest advice known to all alphas, betas, and omegas alike. It’s worse when he doesn’t have the full story, which I haven’t offered. The less people I tell about the fucked up pack I was born into, the better.
Come Friday, it’s evident that Munro has finally reached his limit.
“Right. That’s fucking it,” he snaps, practically slamming our tray of food down with a glare. His pack around us stare with wide eyes, a mirror image to the expression on my face while we all completely ignore the way I damn near jump out of my skin.
Despite the guys’ best efforts to relax me, to ensure that I feel safe and comfortable, I haven’t been able to shake off the fear that still clings to me like Saran Wrap. I’ve been stressed for days, lacking in any kind of heat spikes, and notably cranky, although the guys keep calling it ‘adorable’ and I’m about ready to tear the word out of the fucking dictionary. I mean, how can anyone consider glaring adorable?
“What the hell is your problem?” I blurt, eyeing the guy like he’s a few screws short of a toolbox.
“You. You’re my problem. And when it’s not you, it’s that pastel-haired pain in the ass. But I haven’t seen her today, blessed be the fucking stars, so that leaves my problems narrowed down to just you,” he grouches, sitting and crossing his arms as he stares into my damn soul.
“Gee, thanks. Love that for me,” I mutter, rolling my eyes and dragging the tray with two bowls of mac and cheese, and a plate of garlic bread, toward me. I mean, if he’s going to be an asswad today, then I might as well fill my stomach while he does so.
“Damn, bro. That’s no way to talk to your other half,” Aero snickers, sliding up beside me and slinging his arm over my shoulder like I’m some wounded omega who needs coddling. I don’t remove it because the comfort kind of feels nice, but I’ll die before I admit that much.
Still glaring at me, Munro snaps, “Well, if my other half wasn’t such a pain in the damned neck, then I’d be nicer.”
“You’re never nice,” Rage and Haze blurt before snickering at the same time, and my lips twitch, because they’re wrong. The only person Munro is ever nice to, or at least close enough to being nice to, is me. It’s like we’re twins that were separated from birth and he’s finally claimed his long-lost sister. Which is why I let him get away with talking to me like he has a pineapple wedged up his brown star.
“I’m nice,” he snaps, sending a scathing look at his packmates, before he snaps his glare back onto me.
Glaring back, I damn near growl, “You’re as nice as a papercut, you asswad. What the hell got into you today?”
Clenching his jaw, it takes a moment for him to answer. “Juno, I can smell how stressed you are from here, and I’m a fucking beta. You’ve smelt like it all week, ever since you ran into that creep outside. If I can smell you, the others surely can, so I want to know why you’ve been lying to me about being fine all week when you’re clearly not.”
The silence around our table suddenly seems too loud, and I risk a glance at the others. Sure enough, Haze and Rage are looking down at their plates like they’re the most interesting things at the table, and that raises my hackles. But it’s Aero that snorts and answers, “Well, hell, I could answer that, you dumbass. You’ve spent enough time around me to know when I’m cranky and why.”
Munro frowns, and I look over at Aero. “What does that mean?”
Aero smiles, clocking my chin gently before he asks, “You been getting frisky lately?”
“Oh my god,” I choke on my bite of mac and cheese, coughing roughly while I stare wide-eyed at the intrusive omega beside me. As soon as I’m no longer on the brink of dying via cheese inhalation, I blurt, “I have no idea why that’s a question that just came out of your mouth, nor do I know why it’s relevant, but I’m not answering that.”
“You don’t need to. Based on the way your cheeks just flamed red and how your eyes almost bugged right out of your head, I’ll bet my life on it the answer is no, you haven’t. You’ve been a grouchy, but cuddly, little omega without wanting intimacy, am I right?” Aero chimes, taking a bite of my food while I stare at him with my mouth agape and my mind stalling harshly.
Because, despite my reluctance to answer, he’s right. I haven’t been intimate at all with the guys, nor have I had any heat spikes since the incident that has me stressed out of my skull. I’ve been lapping up cuddles and snuggles like a kitten weaning off of milk, been kind of needy in the way of wanting attention from the guys, and sort of clingy. But they haven’t seemed to mind. In fact, it’s almost like they’ve encouraged it, their possessive holds and greedy clutches wanting the closeness as I have been, so I haven’t really paid it much attention.
As for grouchy? Hell, that’s my default mode, though it doesn’t normally happen with the guys. So, I guess that is weird? Maybe?
“What the hell are you talking about?” I accidentally snap, wincing the moment I do.
Aero’s smile only grows until he’s flashing perfectly white teeth at me, a knowing gleam in his eyes. I grow agitated the longer that look remains in his eyes, watching me for a reaction, so I simply raise an eyebrow that makes him laugh.
Thankfully, he takes that as his cue to finally clue me in. “You're due for a heat, little prickly omega. My guess is that whatever stress you’re suffering is preventing the heat spikes that lead to your heat, meaning your hormones are all out of whack and it’s making you crabby and cuddly all at once. Kind of like a porcupine. Cute but prickly.”
I slump back in my seat and cringe, because that actually makes sense, though I wish I’d have realized it sooner. As much as I want my guys, and by Gods do I want them, I haven’t been in any kind of mood for what I love to chase after. I’ve had zero heat spikes, and it’s obvious to us all that my moods are only worsening as the days pass.
“Well, shit,” I grumble, slouching deeper into my chair while I snatch a piece of garlic bread from the plate and chomp into half of it with loud crunches.
Munro looks as bothered as me, because if I’m a dumbass who didn’t notice my issues sooner, then so is he, too, for not putting two and two together. I mean, he lives with an omega. Sure, Aero is a guy, but apparently, it sounds like we both are very similar in genetics if we’re cranky before a heat.
Swallowing the last bite of garlic bread, I mutter to my grumpy best friend, “Looks like we’re both stupid.”
His lips twitch, mine twitch, and suddenly the tense atmosphere is broken and the twins laugh as they glance in our direction .
“Easy to miss, really, when you don’t have regular heats,” Aero shrugs, like it’s no big deal that he knows this isn’t a common thing for me. He catches my horrified curiosity, and snickers before explaining, “I can smell you just as well as you can smell me, hon. That’s all it is. It’s an omega thing, I guess. When you learn a little more about yourself, I’m sure you’ll pick up on things like that, too.”
“Omegas are weird,” Munro mutters under his breath, tone teasing.
“You’re weird,” Aero and I volley, in sync with matching degrees of offence, which isn’t much at all. It does make Munro grin and the twins roll their eyes, so there’s that, at least.
“So, what has you stressed, Juno?” Haze wonders, eyeing my garlic bread, though he makes no effort to steal it like Aero keeps trying.
Swatting the omega’s hand away and lifting the plate off the tray, I slide it over to the twins and delve into what has me all out of sorts. It isn’t a long story, so my words come out in a rush to explain it all relatively quickly, so by the time I’m done, Haze and Rage are only two slices each into my sacrificed bread of the gods.
“They don’t have any updates?” Rage questions intensely, scowling over at me though I’m fully aware I’m not the reason behind it.
Shaking my head, I take another bite of my mac and cheese before Aero steals the rest like a dirty little thief, chewing and swallowing like a lady before I say, “Nothing. Creek has been checking almost daily, but there’s just nothing that can be done.”
“And you didn’t know who it was?” Munro wonders, offering me some of his garlic bread.
I take a slice. “I didn’t even recognize him, man. But he knew my name. Clearly knew where I’d be in order to fabricate a chance encounter. And, on top of that, he gave me some serious heebie-jeebies. My instincts have never led me wrong with people, and that guy gave me the creeps long before I even bumped into him. ”
“What did he look like?” Haze questions. “If you give us a description, we’ll keep a look out. We’ll show Pace, too.”
So I do, offering every inch of detail I can summon from my less than stellar memory. Munro even whips out a pencil and sketch pad I know he uses for his architecture classes, drawing the face of the man that is still haunting me despite hearing or seeing nothing of him since that one encounter.
By the time I’m done and Munro and his pack are all up to date on the ins and outs of my life, lunch is over and I’m forced to push on through with the rest of my day. I try not to let my stress get the better of me, but I clearly fail, because Munro has my arm linked with his as he walks me directly to my car without uttering a word.
“Sorry,” I grumble, feeling irritated with myself.
“Don’t be. I get it now. We’ve got your back, okay?” he assures, not an ounce of anger coming from him.
Offering me a side hug that I return, Munro waits for me to climb into the truck and taps on the window. I roll it down a fraction, and he says, “I want a text when you get home so I know you’re safe. God knows I’ll have Silver bitching in my ear otherwise.”
Snickering, I offer him a salute of agreement, and he rolls his eyes with a shake of his head. It’s only when I’ve pulled away that he disappears, meandering away with his cell in hand, appearing for all the world that there isn’t a single care weighing his shoulders down.
The ride to the guys’ house takes no time at all, so I write a quick text to Munro before I jump out of the truck and use the key Creek forced into my hand the other day to let myself in.
“Honey, I’m home,” I call sarcastically, kicking my shoes off and placing them on the rack near the front door and discarding my backpack by the couch as I pass the living room.
Silence answers me right before I hear a door open from upstairs. I trudge my sorry ass to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge while I wait for whoever is home to find me.
By the time a shirtless Evron rounds the corner, I’ve already inhaled three strawberries and two cake pops left unsupervised on the counter.
“Hey, Blue,” he greets, rounding the island counter just as I steal another cake pop, stuffing it in my mouth with a half-assed greeting that doesn’t go missed. Snorting, Evron crowds my back with his tall and lean frame, banding his arms around me snugly. I’m blissfully assaulted by the sturdy and comforting scent of oak and hazelnut, and despite my bad attitude and grumpy emotions, my body instantly sinks into his with a sigh.
“That’s better,” Ev mutters softly, kissing the side of my neck while I pathetically eat sugary confectionery and wish this bad mood would go away already. “So, what has my little omega out of sorts today?”
I shrug a shoulder, because there’s nothing other than the obvious that has me in a bad mood. A bad mood I can’t shift, no matter how much I try. So, with a shrug and a swallow of the delicious sugary baked goods that I low-key want more of, I turn in Evron’s embrace and mutter, “I don’t know. I’m just grumpy.”
He raises his eyebrow playfully and I roll my eyes.
“Fine. I’ve been grumpy all week, and it was pointed out to me that it has something to do with my heat or whatever,” I grumble, crossing my arms under my breasts and leaning into Evron, inhaling his scent deeply and relaxing into the way it soothes my mind and soul.
Ev runs his hands through my short strands of hair, blunt nails scratching gently at the nape of my neck, and I shiver against him as he asks, “What about your heat, sweetheart?”
Dropping my forehead to his chest as he continues to turn my insides to mush as he plays with my hair, I mutter, “Apparently, the stress I’ve been feeling has screwed with my omega hormones and is delaying the heat spikes that would inevitably lead to my actual heat. Because my body isn’t getting the relief it needs through the heat spikes, it’s making me into a hormonal and painfully miserable omega.”
“Hmm,” he answers thoughtfully, his free hand running up and down my back in soothing motions that almost have me falling asleep standing up. My eyes close and I take another hit of hazelnut and oak, my shoulders relaxing that little bit more.
Evron doesn’t say anything for a long moment, and I’m more than content to drown in the affection he’s pouring over me in silence. Moreso when he slowly starts to purr, the sweet rumble vibrating beneath my head as his chest rattles softly. His hands are steady and sure, gentle and warm, and just as I’m about to stop resisting the urge to fall asleep against him, he startles me when he says, “I think I know a way to lift those spirits. How much do you trust me?”
“With my life,” I answer instantly, words slightly slurred with a tiredness I hadn’t felt before the guy started purring prettily for me.
Evron’s purr deepens with satisfaction, and I smile sleepily against his chest, loosening my arms from under my breasts and banding them loosely around him.
“Then how about I take you on a date?” he asks softly, an undercurrent of excitement in his words that piques my interest.
Lifting my head from his chest, I squint up at Ev and wonder, “What did you have in mind?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. So, what say you? Up for an adventure with me?” he probes, pretty, green eyes glistening with barely concealed hope and anticipation.
His excitement for a potential date only sends a bolt of the same emotion through me, and I don’t bother battling the smile that forms on my lips. “I’m always up for an adventure with you.”
“Then let’s do it,” he nods decisively and grins. “Get changed into something a little warmer. And bring your camera. I’ll let the guys know I’m stealing you away for a few hours.”
“My camera?” I question, squeezing him once before releasing him, already missing his body heat and the rumble of his purr that has died down in lieu of his giddiness .
Ev nods, booping my nose as he takes a step back. “Your camera. You’ll see why when we get there.”
With a parting wink, he practically runs from the kitchen, snatching his cell from the counter and pressing it to his ear after a few taps. Before he disappears up the stairs, I hear him whisper shout, “I’m taking her on a first date, sucker.”
Snickering, I steal one more cake pop from the box on the counter before heading to the guest room that has my clothes stored inside, the guys insisting I use it to house my belongings in order to keep my nest comfortable and decluttered for all things other than blankets, comforters, pillows, and cushions.
The moment I’m in the guest room, I head to the closet where my meager belongings are stored, and search through the limited supply of clothing I own. Frowning, I eye the couple of t-shirts, jeans, leggings, a few sweaters, and a hoodie. When I can’t decide what the hell I’m meant to wear for this date, I stride right back out of the room and head for Evron’s that is stationed to the left of my nest.
Knocking, I call out, “Ev? What am I meant to wear?”
“Something warm, sweetheart,” he reminds me, and I frown.
“How warm?” I plead, an accidental whine slipping through my words that I’m instantly annoyed at.
An almost naked Evron is suddenly in front of me, and my brain short circuits for only a moment as he finds me scowling at where his door had been seconds before. Blinking rapidly at the sight before me, the boxers wrapped around Evron’s body doing very little to leave much to the imagination.
“Keep looking at me like that, sweetheart, and I won’t be taking you anywhere but your nest and keeping you there until sun up tomorrow,” Evron teases, and my gaze snaps back to his face rather than the impressive length outlined in the tightest boxers known to man.
Blinking rapidly, I shake my head and blurt, “Sorry, what?”
Ev laughs, a heart-melting sound, and I feel my cheeks warm even as he reaches out for the waistband of my jeans and tugs me toward him, wrapping an arm around me the moment I’m close enough. Honestly, I wish he hadn’t, because I’ll be damned to hell if I don’t feel his cock pressed against my stomach when he hugs me close.
“Now, my little grumpy omega. Do you have a hoodie and jacket? Jeans without those sexy little tears all through them? And flat shoes?” he asks, hands roaming over my back until they hit the curve of my ass.
It takes me a moment to answer, his touch distracting me enough that it almost acts like a factory reset on my frazzled mind. “Uh, yeah. I think so. Are boots alright?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replies with a cheeky grin that does wonders in lifting my spirits. Hell, I don’t even need a date. Just staring at that smile, even with its amusement directed at me, would be enough to put me in a good mood.
Clearing my throat now that I sufficiently feel like a sap, I inhale his scent before almost whispering, “Then I’ll just go get changed.”
“Or we could have a little party right here,” the goofball teases with a waggle of his eyebrows and a squeeze of my ass.
Laughing, I lean in and press a kiss to his jaw. “How about we make it an after party? You owe me a date and I’m much too curious about these plans of yours.”
“I’m good with an after party,” he volleys quickly, nodding rapidly while still grinning like I just offered him the answers to the universe. “Get dressed. I’m all excited and shit now, and I won’t be held accountable for my actions if you stay pressed up against me like that.”
After receiving one last tap to my ass, I snicker and leave him in the doorway, heading back to the guest room and dress appropriately. Once I’m tucked away in my hoodie, leather jacket, and dark blue jeans without the tears, I slide my feet into my Doc Martens and throw my hair up in a puny ponytail, snatch my camera from inside the closet, and leave the room with a pep in my step I haven’t felt all week.
For the first time since the encounter with the strange man who knew my name, I don’t feel so grouchy. It’s nice, and I hold on to that feeling as I head down the stairs and meet a nicely dressed Evron at the front door.
“You look stunning, as usual,” Ev compliments, winking at me as I step closer.
“You’re looking pretty fine yourself,” I offer, eyeing his denim jacket tucked over his crisp white hoodie and loose fit black jeans.
Flashing me another Evron Grin, he holds his hand out for me and says, “Come on then, sweetheart. Let’s get our date on.”
There’s no hesitation inside me when I slide my hand into his and allow him to lead me out of the house.