Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Rhys
Breakfast is a specialty of mine, so I’m a little disappointed that the others beat me to the kitchen this morning. Knox and Percy are both okay in the kitchen, but their meals pale in comparison to mine. I don’t want Belle to think she has to get used to their lackluster meals.
She does seem to have brought the group’s average up a level, though, because the breakfast they fixed is admittedly edible. Pretty good, even.
The eggs are too fluffy and lack the appropriate salt levels, but for three enthusiastic amateurs?
Not bad. Not bad at all.
“Mmm,” I exaggerate my yummy noises to help boost their egos.
I don’t want to hurt any feelings about their cooking skills being inferior to my own. The best way to encourage them to keep working on their skills is to stay positive.
Knox and Percy have enough experience to know they fall short in the kitchen, so they don’t need my approval as much. But Belle? She keeps sneaking peeks to see my reaction to her cooking. She wants to impress us, and that knowledge lodges a warm and fuzzy feeling deep in my chest.
I want her to feel proud. Needed.
After all, I’m responsible for any self-consciousness they might feel about their skills. I’m excellent at cooking–just like I am at, well, everything I do. I’ve raised the bar so high that my cooking skills are practically untouchable. I’m honored that Belle and my pack would make any attempt anyway, knowing they would fall so short.
I am the culinary sun, bright and devastatingly magnificent, and they’ve dared to fly toward me on wings made of mediocrity.
“You did a great job with the waffles, Belle,” Percy says, following my lead on overdoing the praise.
I nod along with as much sincerity as I can feign. Percy is a better actor than me. There’s not a flicker of revulsion on his face as he takes another bite of his waffle, even though the batter is a little bland. If I didn’t know how much he prefers my cooking, I would think he’s truly enjoying his breakfast this morning. I’m sure in his mind, he’s pretending that his plate is filled with goodies crafted by my expert hands.
When I get some alone time with Belle again, I’ll try to give her a lesson on spices. These waffles would be better if she added half a cup of cinnamon.
As much as I hate to settle for lesser meals, we’ll have to figure out a new cooking schedule now that we have Belle. I don’t want my omega to feel as if she’s not contributing to our pack and household, and she does seem to enjoy cooking. Depriving Knox and Percy of my delicious meals regularly will be tough at first, but we’ll get used to making do to make Belle happy.
Her happiness is the top priority for our pack now, as far as I’m concerned. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure we keep it that way.
I choke down my food as quickly as I can without looking suspicious. As I’m taking my last bite, I glance up and catch Belle quietly pushing her scrambled eggs around her plate. My chest tightens.
At first, I think she’s finally noticed the difference in quality and that her plate isn’t as satisfying as yesterday’s breakfast. Her face grows pink, and I’m gutted by the possibility of her feeling embarrassed. She did do her best, I can tell. My poor snow bunny. Not everyone can wield a spatula like a wand.
This is all my fault. I’ve upset her by presenting her with five-star meals during her first days with us, and now she thinks she can’t live up to the standard I set.
But as I continue to watch her, desperately trying to summon up the right words to reassure her about her cooking, I start to think I could be wrong in my initial assumption...
“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Knox grunts out, signaling the end of his morning time with us. He picks up his cleared plate, then pauses to lay a kiss on Belle’s head, lingering when she leans in to his touch. Reluctantly, he pulls himself away after a moment to rinse his cleared plate in the sink before abandoning us to head off to his workshop for the day.
His scent clings to her even after he disappears. Seems like they must have shared a moment before I woke up. And by moment, I mean that it’s obvious they banged each other’s brains out.
I’m proud of them.
Percy stands and plants his hands on the table, leaning over to smile teasingly at Belle. For a second, I’m horrified that he’s about to get too honest about this morning’s breakfast.
Instead, he says, “I better get going, too. There’s a mess on my desk waiting to be cleaned up.”
Belle chokes on the tiny bite of eggs she just put in her mouth, obviously understanding the innuendo in his words.
I can read between the lines, too. Knox and Belle must have gotten down to business in the library this morning, which Percy seems to be taking all in good fun. If I weren’t so secure in our dynamic as a pack, I might pause to feel jealous about all that I missed out on this morning by waking up late.
Percy chuckles as he goes to clean his plate before heading down the hall to his office. Belle’s gaze follows him, a yearning deep in her eyes as she watches him like her heart is tied to him by a string.
Looks like I have some catching up to do.
And then understanding dawns on me: the blush, the dazed look in her eyes, and the way she’s barely touched her food... those things aren’t about the breakfast at all.
“Snow Bunny?”
“Hmm?” Belle’s eyes slide over to mine, glassy as I expect.
She seems disoriented and maybe even a little... sad. I’m gutted by the display of emotion. She can’t be sad, the idea is too devastating.
“Is everything okay?” I stand and walk around the table to kneel by her. Without waiting for her response, I press the back of my hand to her cheek to check her temperature.
She’s warm. Too warm.
Fuck .
I think my little bunny might be having a heat spike.
Before an omega truly enters their heat state, they can have occasional spikes. Most of the time, they occur randomly. Having a heat spike is uncomfortable, especially if the omega doesn’t have anything like suppressants or other medical interventions to ease the effects.
The only way to decrease the effects is… a physical solution.
It’s not unheard of for an omega to enter a heat out of their regular sync once they’ve met their scent match or matches. Staying with us could be the cause of her spike, and we may need to worry that she’s drawing close to a heat.
What will she do if she starts her heat here? Hide in Knox’s room and ride it out alone, painfully?
That would be awful. It’d probably send all of us into rut, too.
Belle tries to shake her disorientation off. “I should clean up,” she murmurs, already rising and moving toward the sink as if a distraction can chase away what she’s feeling.
But I know better, and there seems to be more than just a heat spike going on with her. I’m determined to fix whatever the problem is. My girl can’t deal with a heat spike and being upset all at the same time. Unacceptable.
I follow her to the kitchen area and move behind her where she stands at the sink. She’s hand-washing the dirty plates from breakfast even though the dishwasher is open and ready to be filled.
I rest my hands on her hips, and she instantly sinks back against my chest to accept my comfort.
Omegas near their heat tend to become more emotional anyway. Between the accident, losing her memory, and being home with us, Belle has been through a lot already. With the combination, she has every right to be struggling, and I need to figure out how best to help stat .
Belle drops the plate in her hands back in the sink and tightly grips the countertop in front of her.
“You can talk to me, Snow Bunny,” I coo to her. “I’ll try to fix everything for you however I can. Anything you want or need.” I would do anything within my power for her... And I would happily break laws to do things outside of my power for her, too.
Her tense shoulders relax as she sighs an admission, “I feel pathetic.”
Pathetic?
Doesn’t she know she’s the greatest thing on this earth? Her very existence alone nearly knocks me to my knees. Every move she makes is perfect. Every feature of her face and body is angelic. She’s otherworldly. A goddess.
“Goddesses can’t be pathetic. Sorry, Snow Bunny, that’s a rule.”
A small giggle escapes despite her sad mood, and I try to memorize the sound.
“It’s just,” she whimpers, “Knox and Percy left .”
Sad Belle makes me feel like a fist is squeezing my heart.
“I miss them and they’ve only just left,” Belle reveals in a whisper, her voice shaking like she’s scared to tell me.
Oh, my poor snow bunny. I nudge her hips so she’ll turn and face me, and then I pull her head to my chest before doing something I’ve never done for anyone before.
I purr.
Instantly, I feel the residual tension drain from her body.
“That’s not pathetic, Belle. Those feelings are natural,” I tell her.
“Maybe.” She tips her head back to look up at me cautiously. “But I miss them so much when they haven’t even left the property, and I barely know them. I feel like I’m falling for all of you so quickly, and we’ve barely scratched the surface of getting to know each other.”
Guilt stirs in the pit of my stomach.
Misleading her seemed like a good idea when I first found her with her car crashed into a tree. I figured she would fall deeply enough for us in a few days that we would lower the risk of her wanting to return to her own life once her memory returned. Now I’m realizing that my lies have limited her ability to get to know us. Which I guess is what Knox tried to warn me about in the first place...
She really might not forgive us when the truth comes out. The thought is gut-wrenching.
My spiraling thoughts of impending doom recede to the back of my mind as Belle begins to rub her face against my chest, scent-marking me.
Oh , I like that.
She seems to simply be seeking comfort until the rubbing grows more aggressive.
A heightened smell of cinnamon assaults my senses, and I realize her spike must be peaking. No wonder she’s extra emotional and feeling out of sorts about being a short distance away from her other two alphas.
Belle moves from snuggling roughly against me as if she can burrow inside my chest, to standing on her tiptoes to run her nose along my collarbone.
“You alright there, Snow Bunny?” I ask with a forced sense of calm so she doesn’t sense any judgment from me about her chasing her instincts.
She startles, realizing what she’s doing. “Oh, shit. Rhys, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“ I could ,” I retort automatically.
Wait.
That was sleazy.
I mean, yes, she would look great covered in my cum, but I should be less intense with my approach. Then again, I wouldn’t consider my words a hollow offer... I clear my throat since there’s no hope of clearing my dirty thoughts.
“What I mean to say is that judging by how warm you feel and the flush of your skin, I think you might be having a spike.”
Leaning down to her, I rub my nose against hers. Butterfly kisses. A silly gesture, but the affection feels special.
Belle giggles as she reciprocates. “I think you might be right.”
I tilt my head to kiss her.
We shared a stolen moment in the hall her first night, but this kiss feels like two worlds colliding. All of the stars in my universe shine brighter now that they get to orbit her.
My lips move against hers, gently at first, us testing one another.
I hate to pull away as the kiss deepens, but my omega has needs. I want to make sure we’re both on the same page and not just assume that I know what she wants from me.
“I can help you,” I offer. “However you’ll let me; I can make you feel good.”
She grabs me by the neck and drags me back to her mouth, her eyes a little wild and frenzied. She whispers against my lips, “You better.”