Chapter 23
23
RONAN
“Well, that was fucking awkward,” I grunt.
It’s the first time anyone has spoken since Landon took off a few moments ago.
I wish it hadn’t been me to break the silence.
Jasper pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.
“So, I think we need to talk more about what happened when you and Landon met,” Dash states.
Briar looks like she wants to be anywhere but here as we all turn to look at her, searching for any hint of how she’s feeling with all of this.
Jasper clears his throat, releasing his nose.
“Are you up to it, love?”
“It seems only fair. Especially given Landon’s obvious feelings toward me.”
“Don’t take them personally. His opinion on pack omegas is very different than ours,” Jasper says.
I roll my jaw, shoving away my immediate frustration at his use of that excuse.
It’s not enough for me.
Landon’s not one to be so vicious, and I’m not a fan of the version of him I’ve been seeing, let alone in Briar’s presence.
Hearing her tell us that she met him previously was enough of a strike against him, but to know he rejected her right then and there?
My fingers curl as I struggle to keep my cool.
Not accepting her when I first laid eyes on her was never a possibility.
The pull was too strong, and I felt it in my goddamn soul who she was to me.
To us . I’ll never understand how Landon was even able to walk away, let alone in such a mortifying situation.
“How was he able to leave you there?” I ask roughly, desperate for an answer.
Briar worries her lip, eyes low.
“I mortified the both of us. Not to mention completely covered him in food. I always thought he couldn’t fully pick up on my scent. I’ve never left the house without scent-blocking perfume.”
“Honestly, I doubt it. I thought it was weird when he had the SUV detailed for so long, but now . . . it makes sense that he was trying to get rid of your scent,” Dash says.
Jasper huffs, glaring at him when Briar stiffens, face paling.
“I never went into the car,” she whispers.
“Did you touch him? Or touch each other? If you had even the slightest scent spike, it could have clung onto his clothes and onto the car seats,” Jasper says.
“Yes. I . . . I tried to clean him off before he left.”
Dash runs a hand through his hair, tussling it.
“This could all explain his current state. The pains, inability to sleep, and lack of hunger. His body is rejecting him rejecting her.”
“It’s my fault he’s not feeling well?” Briar’s face crumbles.
“I didn’t mean?—”
I cut her off with a firm shake of my head.
“No. This is not your fault. He’s the one who left you.”
“I’ve never known an alpha who has experienced bond rejection sickness without a mating mark already in place,” Jasper mentions, face scrunched in thought.
“It’s most likely not to the full extent of most cases because of the lack of a mark. Landon isn’t a regular alpha, Jas. He’s a pack leader with the most sensitive senses I’ve ever seen in another alpha. We’ve witnessed it his entire life. He can’t stand being in the dressing room with the rest of the team and couldn’t even handle the mild scent of Briar in the SUV to the point he had to get it removed. Look at how strongly you and Ronan felt the pull. Landon’s definitely feeling it even stronger.”
“Why is he fighting me so badly, then?” Briar asks softly.
There’s a gnawing in my gut that I can’t shake.
“He doesn’t trust omegas, Petal.”
“How do I make him trust me, then?”
I reach for her hand on the table and cup it between mine.
She releases a breath at the contact while I hook a foot around the leg of her chair and pull her closer.
When her head rests against my shoulder, I turn languid.
Jasper watches with a soft expression.
“Are you saying you still want to try?”
“If I’m ever going to be a member of this pack, I don’t want it to be broken. Landon doesn’t scare me, and neither does hard work. I’m willing to give it a chance. Give it all a chance. And if he doesn’t let me in after I try . . . then at least I’ll have known that I didn’t walk away too early.”
“Thank fuck,” I declare, nuzzling my face in her hair.
Jasper extends a hand over the table, palm up, and waits.
“You have no idea what you’re offering all of us, Briar.”
Briar gently pulls her hand free from between mine and rests it over Jasper’s.
Dash eyes us with caution from beside Jasper, and Briar meets his stare head-on.
“I’m not giving up on you, either, Dash,” she declares.
I hold my breath, watching them.
His throat bobs with a swallow.
“You’ll be pack, Briar. No matter what.”
It’s the closest thing to acceptance as I know to expect just yet.
And it’s more than enough.
“I don’t need an escort home, Ronan,” Briar teases, lingering at the side of her car.
The entire vehicle is a danger, and I’m one more creak from the breeze from hauling it to a junkyard.
It’s so tiny I doubt I’d fit properly, let alone Landon or Jasper.
I’ll be listening to the engine to tell just how much work I’ll need to get ordered on it this week.
My bike is already on the driveway behind us ready to go.
“It’ll settle me.”
“I suppose I’ll have to get used to these sorts of offers, right?”
“Would that be hard for you to do?”
Her lips lift into a teasing smile.
“I think I could suffer with them.”
“Suffer,” I echo, drawn closer to her.
She tips her head back, resting it against the door as our gazes lock.
I press a hand to the body of the car, the tip of my thumb grazing her ear.
“Is this also something I’ll have to get used to?” she whispers.
Her hair blows in the breeze, and I welcome the burst of her scent that follows, wrapping around us.
“What do you mean, Petal?”
“Being this close to you and feeling like . . . like I should and could stay here forever?”
My heart pounds.
“You stay right here forever and I’ll die a happy man.”
“We’re still strangers.”
“Fuck, Briar, we’re the furthest things from strangers. I might not know every corner of your mind just yet, but our souls have known each other for decades.”
Her face flushes as she shivers, chest arching to meet mine.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the grumpy one?”
“It’s who I am.”
“You don’t seem very grumpy to me.”
“You’re the exception,” I declare.
“It will be easy to fall for you. For all of you.”
It’s impossible not to smirk at that, even if it is small.
“That’s the plan.”
The burn in her eyes dulls enough to spook me.
It’s the only sign I find that something’s wrong.
“I’m sorry it won’t be easy.”
“This isn’t on you. None of it is,” I declare, bringing my other hand to hold her cheek.
My skin sizzles where we touch, a blast of heat shooting up my arm.
“Pack is for life. And if you choose to be a part of ours, we’ll show you every day why we deserve you.”
“I’ve always dreamed of having a pack of my own.”
“Did you grow up in one?” I ask, unable to take the opportunity to learn more about her.
She nods, pressing her cheek into my hold.
“I did. My mom and dads are all scent matches.”
“So, you know a lot about pack dynamics.”
“It’s all I know, really. Which is one of the reasons why I’ve wanted a pack of my own for pretty much as long as I can remember.”
Curling a piece of her hair around my pinky, I hum.
“You and Jasper have a lot in common.”
“I don’t with you?”
“I’ve only got my ma, dad, and younger sister.”
She frowns, her bottom lip jutting out slightly further than her top in a way that I’ve become completely enamoured with.
“That still sounds like a pack to me.”
I inhale deeply, dropping my head to bring our foreheads together.
She grazes her fingers across my chest, eyes sliding to focus on my mouth.
“Yeah, Petal. You’re right. They’re all I’ve ever needed outside of the guys inside.”
“What are they like?” she asks, speaking softly enough for her words to blow away on the breeze, here and gone in a blink.
“Can I kiss you?” I ask instead.
She laughs, gaze flicking back to hold mine.
There’s no annoyance there.
Just the desire to do the same.
“Yes, Ronan. You can kiss me.”
One brush of our mouths, and I can nearly taste the future.
Lemon and caramel mix in the air around us as I press my lips over hers in a firm kiss.
She exhales in my mouth before raising an arm to curl around my shoulders, pulling me close.
Her confidence turns me on, lust clouding my mind.
I plaster our fronts together, swallowing a possessive growl at the feel of her against me.
I memorize the feel of her soft belly, the curves of her heavy breasts, and the thigh that parts from the other, inviting me to move between them.
We fit perfectly, my bulk swallowing her frame and allowing me to protect her from anyone and anything that could be lurking nearby.
And as I shift my hips, the thick length of my cock digs into her belly, expelling a groan from my chest.
She answers with a low whine that tightens every muscle in my body.
Perfume fills the little space between us, sweet enough to make my teeth ache.
I stroke the underside of her jaw, teasing her scent gland.
“Briar.”
It’s a warning and a promise.
“I know,” she gasps, eyelids fluttering as she pins me with pale blue.
“It’s intense.”
“Gonna need you to get in the car now.”
The sweet scent bitters quickly, and my head clears immediately.
She swallows, as reluctant to release me as I am her.
“We’re not there yet. I want to do things right. Show you who I am before I bury my face between your thighs and taste how sweet you are,” I add.
“I know you’re right. It just doesn’t feel . . .”
“It feels like fucking torture.”
She’s slow to slide her hand from my shoulders to my wrist, lingering there.
“When can I see you all again?”
“We’re on a small road trip this week, but we’ll be back Thursday.”
Fuck.
Having to be away from her for five days makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Is this how Landon feels every day?
Briar nods. “Can we call or something while you’re gone?”
“Always. We’re going to court you, Briar.”
“I have no idea what to expect with that,” she admits, her spirit lifting bit by bit.
“Good. We’ll have fun surprising you.”
“Does following me home tonight count toward your courting?”
“Nah, baby. That’s just an alpha taking care of his omega.”
It flows off my tongue like butter, and by her pink cheeks, I don’t think she hates it too much.
I grasp the door handle behind her body and linger, unable to be the one to back away first.
Keeping her back to the car, she slides a foot to the right, giving me the space to open the door.
The creak of its hinges isn’t incredibly reassuring, but when she ignores it, I keep my mouth shut.
I’m not entirely sure if buying someone a new car counts as a good courting gift, but maybe I’ll give it a try anyway.
Once she’s in the driver’s seat, I wait for her to buckle the seat belt before kissing her again.
She sighs when I pull back, brows furrowed.
“Don’t speed, Petal. I’d love chasing you too much.”
Her laugh burrows itself in my chest. “Noted.”
I close the door and wait for her to turn the engine before taking slow steps backward.
It’s just about as bad as I knew it would be, the heavy ticking noise burning itself into my brain.
“Thank you, Ronan,” she calls, poking her head out of the window as I straddle my bike.
“Always.”
Like a good girl, she never goes above the speed limit the entire drive to her apartment.
I linger on the street while she pulls into the resident parking lot and steps into the warm night, knowing that if I get close to her again, I won’t be able to leave again.
She stands on the grass a beat later, staring at me.
Her fingers wiggle in a wave, and I flick my visor up so she can see my eyes as I lift a hand in a wave.
Once she’s inside, I stay rooted in place.
My bike rumbles beneath my body, comforting me as I straighten and look out at the street.
The neighbourhood is as familiar as the one I live in now, but I’ve never seen this specific red car parked out here before.
Especially not one with blue LED headlights that could blind someone looking directly at them from a kilometre away.
Suspicion bites at me.
I narrow my eyes and stare at the car, trying to see inside but meeting dark tint instead.
The sound of a sawed-off exhaust fills the street when it starts to move, crawling toward me at a snail’s pace.
I track it, keeping my posture rigid as they pass, the feeling of someone staring directly at me making my skin prickle despite not being able to see who it is.
Once they’re gone, I look back at the apartment building and turn the bike off.
I keep my ass planted here all night, watching the front doors until dawn.