13. Rune
Chapter 13
Rune
S he was comfortable around us.
How else would she have fallen asleep during the movie, her head slumped against Walker’s shoulder as she dozed, snoring lightly? He looked down at her with a good-natured smile.
“I’m not the only one obsessed with her, right?” Blaze asked in a pointed whisper.
“I think we all are,” Walker admitted ruefully. “But for now, we can’t even think about it.”
“Why not?” I growled quietly.
Walker leveled me with a cool glare. “We would be taking advantage.”
His words felt like a punch to my gut, making me slump back. I knew they were true, hell I had thought them myself, but it still hurt to hear out loud.
“But we aren’t!” Blaze insisted.
“She’s got nowhere else to go. If we come on to her now, is she really going to have any option but to agree?”
“I mean, it's kind of obvious that she's just as into us as we are into her. Every time we’re near, the smell of her perfume is obnoxiously amazing,” Blaze pointed out.
“He’s not wrong,” I agreed. Sunny was giving off all the signs that she was just as into us, much to my delight.
Walker looked down at her and sighed. “Yeah, I agree. If we're going to do this, though, we need to do it right. Let's wait until she's settled in her own place and she can make the choice completely of her own volition.”
“I suppose I can see your point.” Blaze pouted. “That doesn't mean I don't fucking hate it, though. This is the first time we've all loved the scent of one omega. She's basically a unicorn, and I think we should be grabbing on to her and refusing to let go.”
“Oh, we will be keeping a close eye on her and keeping her safe.” Walker smiled. “I have no intention of letting her walk out of this firehouse without knowing exactly where she's going to be.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “So, we're all in agreement. We like her, and we're going to do this properly?”
When Walker and Blaze both nodded, my heart stuttered with joy. We were going to officially court Sunny when the time was right.
“Until it's time for us to make our move, I guess the best thing we can do is be good friends. When she sees how sweet and amazing we are, she's going to have no choice but to fall in love with us.” Blaze cackled.
Walker rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips.
He totally agreed.
We were just about to click on the next episode when the alarm blared, loud and echoing throughout the house.
Sunny startled awake, looking around in surprise. “Fire?” she asked in a sweet, sleepy voice.
I winced. “Yeah, it’s a fire, Cher. Sorry the alarm is so loud.”
She frowned, a cute, sleepy, haze-filled expression.
“You need to go?”
Walker shook his head. “Nope, the other guys are already on their way out. Not on shift, remember?”
“Oh. Yeah.”
She slumped back into her seat, her eyes already half closed.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Walker muttered as she quickly slipped back into a deep slumber.
I loved having Sunny near as I made food. Something about it soothed that almost primal itch to care for the omega.
It was the next morning, and the pretty omega had joined me while I made lunch for everyone. We were officially back on shift, but all our gear was in order and we didn’t have any more checks to complete, so we were all doing our own thing.
We had managed to find an old high chair for Luka, so he was sitting at the table, currently eating a few cut-up strawberries and making a mess. Every time he caught my eye, he would grin widely at me, showing off his few baby teeth like he was proud of his mess.
It was amazing.
Sunny was sitting next to him on one of the dining chairs, her legs tucked underneath her as she tapped away on her new phone.
Well, as far as she was concerned, it was an old phone of Walker’s that he didn’t like. Truthfully, it was a brand-new phone we had ordered for her and taken out of the box in a pathetic attempt to make it look at least a little used.
“How’s it going?” I asked as I stirred the gumbo.
“Really well. This thing is state of the art… are you sure Walker doesn’t want some money for it?” she asked, looking up at me and biting that plump bottom lip.
She did that a lot, biting her lip. I both loved and hated it, because it gave me an excuse to look at her mouth, but at the same time, I should be the one biting that tempting lip, not her.
I had accepted that I was obsessed with her. Now that my pack was in agreement that we all liked her, it was like an emotional floodgate had opened. Before, I had been obsessed with figuring out if she was okay, how she was feeling, what I could do to help her. Now that feeling was stronger and more intense.
We were going to behave but enjoy spoiling the hell out of her in the meantime.
Picking up the phone, she snapped a quick photo of Luka as he ate his food. “The camera is amazing!” she said, checking the picture.
“Good. You should get as many photos of him as you can while he's small, because I have a feeling that boy is going to shoot up like a weed.”
Sunny snorted. “I'm sure, one day, he's going to be taller than me, and I'm not sure how I’ll cope with that.”
Sunny was a fairly short woman, anyway, so the chances were, even if her son was a beta, he was going to be taller than her.
“Was his father an alpha?” I asked.
Sunny nodded. “Yep. I’ve probably got a little alpha on my hands,” she said with a sigh. “God help me when he hits puberty and doesn’t want to listen to me.”
I hid my wince by looking away. Alphas could be complete assholes during puberty. The changing hormones and the rapid change in their physical size made for a cocktail of crankiness. Usually, alphas had a family member who was an alpha keeping them in line while they were going through those troubling years.
My gut soured as I thought of Sunny going through that alone. Even though that was never going to happen, because we weren't going to allow it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't tell her that. She would probably think I was a psychopath.
She needed to get used to me before she understood the true level of my obsession with her. Considering we had only known her a few days, I knew I sounded like I was losing my mind.
Strange thing was, I couldn't find it in me to care. Sunny Sanderson was worth being a little cuckoo over.
“I'm sure it'll be easy for you because you raised such a sweet boy. Just send him to martial arts classes if he starts becoming a bit of a brat in his teen years. It's what my momma did.”
Sunny cocked her head to the side, padding over to me. “Is it? Do you want me to chop some of those for you?” she asked, nodding at the pile of celery, bell pepper, and onion in front of me.
My first reaction was to say no because she shouldn't have to lift a finger when I was around, but I also liked the idea of having her working next to me.
“Sure, I've got to chop up plenty of the holy trinity for the gumbo.”
“Gumbo?” Sunny asked, looking up at me in excitement.
“You like gumbo, Cher?” I asked as she started gathering a chopping board and setting up on the counter next to me.
“Honestly, I don't know. It's something I've always wanted to try, but I feel like most of the restaurants in California would only do a poor imitation. I'd hoped to go to Louisiana after I graduated, but I have this little man to take care of now,” she said, smiling at Luka, who was watching from his high chair.
“Unfortunately, you're right, a lot of the restaurants around here don't get it right. But I was raised in deep Louisiana, and my mawmaw had me in the kitchen holding a wooden spoon before I was even as old as Luka. Prepare for some proper sausage and chicken gumbo.”
“How did you find learning to cook? I imagine most little boys don’t have the patience.”
I snorted. “I didn’t have much of a choice. She made it crystal clear that I needed to be able to take care of my omega one day. The only reason Mawmaw was in the kitchen in the first place was because she enjoyed it. Otherwise, my pawpaws didn't let her raise a finger around the house.”
She sighed wistfully. “It sounds like they really loved her.”
“She was their entire world, as it should be when you're part of a pack.”
Sunny beamed at me as she started chopping. “When did you move here?”
“After my grandparents died, it just didn't feel the same, and then Katrina happened and we lost our family home. I came out here to make a new start for myself.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
I shook my head. “It is what it is. I know my family would be happy that I made a good life for myself out here with a good pack. Actually, Walker is from the same place as me. We traveled here together.”
Sunny turned to me with a raised brow. “Really? I had no idea.”
“You wouldn't. He got rid of his accent long ago and fit right in. Unfortunately, there's no getting rid of mine. I'm stuck with it.”
“You shouldn't try to get rid of it, it sounds lovely,” Sunny said quietly as she started to chop the bell pepper.
The simple fact that she liked my accent made me want to puff out my chest with pride, even though it's something I had no real control over. This close, I got a lungful of her scent with every breath. Her closeness was both maddening and invigorating.
Once we had made our way through the pile of vegetables, the phone that Sunny had placed on the kitchen counter started to buzz with incoming messages. She glanced at the screen and then went back to chopping her final onion, her previously happy facial expression somewhat muted now.
“We only just gave you that phone. Surely you aren’t already getting messages from telemarketers?” I laughed, trying to make light of the topic, but I was burning with curiosity.
“Thankfully, I managed to keep my number, so I'm not exactly starting from scratch,” Sunny said. “Hey, can you pass me the rice? I’ll get it washed.”
I handed her the rice, even though her attempt to change the subject was pretty transparent. I had every intention of pushing, but I was going to wait until the time was right. There shouldn't be anything making my omega sad. I needed to do everything in my power to make her happy.
While Sunny was at the sink, rinsing the rice, another text popped up on the screen, and this time, I saw it before the screen went black.
You’re so selfish. This is why I won’t pay a penny of child support. The brat isn’t mine if we aren’t bonded.
I stilled. Well, that was interesting. Bonding wasn't a requirement to have a child, so why did this guy seem to think so?
“You’re getting more texts,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual.
“They'll go away in a minute, just ignore him,” she said, her voice shaking.
My alpha didn’t like that hint of fear in her voice. In fact, her scent had become somewhat sour, and I hated that with a vengeance. Part of me wanted to grab her and demand she explain everything to me, but I knew if I did that she would likely run and hide.
Sunny clearly had a past that had led her to being in that apartment on her own during the fire. It was blatantly obvious that she was a good person, and sweet. I would bet my left testicle that someone had been taking advantage of her.
“Okay, do you want to help me make the roux?” I asked gently.
“I won’t ruin it?” Sunny asked, worrying her bottom lip.
“Not with me guiding you,” I insisted with a boasting smile. “I managed to teach Blaze how to cook a frozen pizza without burning down the firehouse. I am basically a master of teaching chefs.”
My words had the desired impact, and her face broke out into a smile as she laughed, shaking her head at me. “That is pretty impressive.”
“You ain't seen nothing yet. After dinner, I'm going to make milkshakes.”
“What flavor?” Sunny asked, narrowing her eyes at me. “I will be judging you based on your answer, just so you know.”
I barked out a laugh, preparing for the beautiful omega’s judgment. “I like variety. We tend to do vanilla, chocolate, and when we have cake or cookies lying around, we throw those in. I was thinking those cookies you baked would be excellent in a shake.”
Her eyes widened and she nodded. “Oh yes, they would be excellent in a milkshake.”
“Did my answer pass your judgment?” I asked playfully.
“For now.” She smirked up at me.
This close, all I would have to do was lean down, and I could kiss her. Our chests were inches apart, as if we had gravitated toward each other while discussing the milkshakes. Not that I was complaining about it. Having her close to me was the sweetest torture.
Maybe I was becoming a masochist, because I loved it.
Looking up at me, her eyes were glassy, her head tilted up almost in an invitation.
Fuck, I wanted her.
Only, Walker's words from the previous night rang in my ears. We needed to do this right.
So, as much as it pained me, I gently grabbed her waist and swapped positions so she was standing in front of the stove.
“I've been stirring this for twenty minutes, but it needs a lot more stirring,” I said. “You up to the task?”
Her waist felt fragile in my hands, and I could have scooped her up with little effort. It was like my hands belonged there, touching her.
“I-I can,” Sunny stammered. Did I affect her just as much as she affected me?
God, I hoped so.
The gumbo started coming together quickly, and Sunny stayed in front of the stove, stirring constantly as I handed her ingredients to add.
“Okay, we just need to let that simmer for a bit, and then it’ll be ready to eat!” I declared.
“It smells so good, you—” Her soft words were cut off by the alarm ripping through the station.
There was a fire.
Unaccustomed to the sound, Sunny jumped when it first rang through, and my instinct had been to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her back from the stove and the potential threat of burns.
“Sorry, Cher, we’ve got to go,” I said, my disappointment evident. “Walker is going to stay here, he’s doing paperwork.”
“What about the food?”
“Have some. We’ll have to reheat it when we get back,” I said, looking anxiously between her and the trucks.
“Go! I’ll be fine,” she insisted, waving me off.
Leaning forward, I kissed the top of her head and rushed off with a quick goodbye.
Usually, I was excited to get to work, putting out fires, saving people. It’s what I loved doing.
Only, in that moment, I hated that it was taking me away from Sunny.