Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
RHODES
I’m sitting on the floor with my back against the wall when Koen begins to stir. He was asleep for hours, and I’m not surprised. Sky and I dozed here and there, but it wasn’t nearly enough. I can feel the thrum of Koen in my bond, yet I hate that even in his sleep, he’s still unsettled.
“Argh. Water,” Koen croaks out, pulling me to my feet.
This bottle has a hydration tablet full of electrolytes to help him flush out any lasting effects of the alcohol and sedative he has in his system.
“Drink,” I murmur, watching his throat work as he swallows.
Koen’s usually clear blue eyes are muddy with turmoil, making them seem darker than normal. When he’s done drinking, I put the bottle away, pursing my lips.
“There’s a raging snowstorm out there, so leaving isn’t an option. If I untie you, will you be a problem?” I ask.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not the problem,” Koen growls.
Touché, Little Viking. Snorting softly, I begin to untie him. I can hear Skylar in the small kitchen beyond the front room making food, though I have no idea what time it is.
Time flows differently when everything around you is covered in snow. It’s quiet, peaceful, and makes you think way too fucking much.
“We should probably move some furniture around,” I say to Skylar, pitching my voice so he’ll hear me.
“He’s awake then,” Sky says, not popping his head out from the kitchen.
I don’t bother to reply, watching as Koen sits up.
“Are there any more secrets I need to know?” he mutters under his breath.
“Sometimes I like to run in the woods and get chased by Skylar. When he catches me, he gets to fuck me. We have to make sure it’s an area we won’t be caught in, but it’s worth it,” I say.
Koen’s lips curl slightly up, and I sigh as I kneel on the ground at his feet.
“We hated being ignored,” I breathe. “The harder you refused to acknowledge our existence, the more it hurt. Not only that, when we brought you back to your apartment after handling that fan, I went snooping inside it. Do you know what I found?”
“What?” Koen asks, his voice raspy from sleep and spent emotion.
“Sadness, pain, and devastation so deep in places it screamed at me,” I whisper. “You used your closet as your nest, right?”
“It seemed like the best option,” he sighs. “I’ve never been with an alpha before you and Skylar because the power imbalance scared me. It was painful, but it’s just what I did.”
“The stain of that kind of pain remains in the walls. When Skylar felt it too, we decided you couldn’t stay in your apartment anymore.
We had to give you better,” I hiss. “You didn’t know who we were to you, but the need to provide and adore you never lessened for us.
The way we went about it may have been heavy handed, but we meant well. ”
“We don’t apologize for it!” Skylar yells from the kitchen, making me roll my eyes.
“No, not for that part,” I grunt. “We are sorry we hurt you. That wasn’t something we wanted.”
“How do I know I’m not going to get kidnapped every time we fight?” Koen asks, raising his foot to the mattress to lay his chin on his knee.
It’s almost a vulnerable position, one that speaks of bone deep exhaustion. His cycle of fighting, screaming at us, and now searching for what comes next has happened with rapid progress. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re kidnapped by your alphas.
“You don’t, though I doubt you’ll run away from us again with such enthusiasm,” I say wryly.
“The circumstances are going to determine a lot of things. Seeing you react the way you did made me safe word my entire fucking existence. I haven’t used that word in years.
‘Peanuts’ is meant for when something is too much.
The world fell off its axis for me because you walked away. ”
“Throw a punch, scream at us, do what you need to, but stay and figure it out with us,” Skylar says, coming out of the kitchen with three plates balanced in his arms.
Standing smoothly, I help him as soon as he’s close enough before getting back into my squat. It’s comfortable, and keeps me close to Koen.
Skylar made us steak with a sweet potato, and it smells amazing. Leaning back until my ass is on the ground so I can balance my plate, I begin to cut up my food. I may have overestimated my ability to multitask.
“Giving the prisoner a knife is a bold choice,” Koen grunts.
Ah, now he’s just being a brat, and I watch as Skylar sets his plate aside and gets into Koen’s space.
“Please, cut me,” he says, lifting the hand holding the knife in Koen’s hand until the sharp edge is against his throat.
“You’ve had sex while a man breathes his last breath, so you know what it sounds like.
You already rejected me, take the next step and end my life.
God knows I’m walking around with my soul splintered without my scent match. ”
I say nothing as I chew my food, knowing they need to figure this out themselves. If blood gets into the steak, then so be it.
Koen watches the blood bead onto Skylar’s skin as he presses down with the blade. Skylar’s face doesn’t change at all, even when our omega moves the knife away and laps at the blood with his tongue. Koen’s eyes narrow with anger before he sucks hard on Sky’s skin, creating his own mark.
I suppose it’s fair since Skylar gave Koen his own love bite.
“Feel better?” I ask, hiding my smile as I serenely continue to eat.
“No, I’m actually pissed his blood tastes so good. Thanks for asking,” Koen grumbles.
“Aww,” Skylar chuckles, dropping to the ground beside me to eat. “I like making you bleed too, baby.”
“That’s not what I said,” Koen says, cutting up his steak. As he takes a bite, his eyelashes flutter, moaning as the juices of the meat flood his mouth. “This has no business tasting this good.”
“Much like me,” Skylar says, shrugging as I bark out a laugh. God, he’s so fucking ridiculous. “Look, Rhodes and I are not perfect, and we don’t pretend to be. However, you’ll be safe with us. We also won’t make any more life changing decisions without consulting you first.”
“The time frame of that discussion may not be yours though,” I say honestly. “We tend to be a little spontaneous. However, we are stable enough to build a life worth living. I don’t want to be without you.”
“The bond hates it,” Koen sighs.
“And you?” I ask.
“Also hate it,” he grunts. “The timing of finding out what you did was undesirable. I twisted everything in my head.”
“I could feel it. It felt like being hit with freezing water over my head,” I mutter. “Everything we’ve done has been to keep you safe and close. Our methods may be different from what others would use.”
“The snow is going to keep falling for a couple of days. We can use this time to make amends, hang out, and take a break from the craziness of life,” Skylar says.
“Okay,” Koen says, his brows knitting.
“You don’t have to take back your rejection until you’re absolutely sure,” Skylar adds.
“How does that even work though? I can’t live in your house like this.”
“Our house,” I growl. “Say it with me. Come on. Fuck. We’re putting you on the goddamned deed when we get back.”
“I like that idea,” Skylar says. “It works as if we’re dating without being scent matched. We’ll just see how it goes.”
“Hmm,” Koen says, staring at his plate as he demolishes his food. I’m not surprised he’s starving since it’s been hours since our game. “And if it goes badly?”
“Then we figure it out. There’s no other possibility for me.”
We finish our food quietly, and then Skylar and I leave Koen to think while we do the dishes. I meant it when I said there’s nowhere for him to go. We’re in the middle of the woods, away from civilization.
What is Evelyn’s idea of romance, is our way of keeping ourselves isolated from prying eyes. I have a feeling this is far from fixed.
“I’ll sleep in the living room,” Koen says, staring at the large bed we lead him to.
It’s been hours since our last conversation, and we’re all exhausted. I can feel Koen thinking through the bond. It feels the way static energy does when you’re near an electronic. It’s uncomfortable, and the hair on my arms stands straight up from it.
“I’m tired and I can’t sleep without you. Get in bed,” I reply, picking him up and launching him into it.
Koen’s gasp is comical as I follow him into the bed, and Skylar chuckles under his breath as he turns off the light and sandwiches our omega on the other side.
“Seriously?” Koen groans. “Your dicks are grinding into me.”
“I’m not responsible for what my dick does. They get hard because we like the way you smell and feel,” Skylar says.
“Mine gets hard because it likes you,” I shrug, snuggling into Koen’s side. “You can be pissed and sleep.”
“I don’t think I’m mad anymore,” Koen whispers.
It’s almost as if he wasn’t planning to say that, and I think about whether or not I’m going to call attention to his words. Thankfully, Skylar takes the decision out of my hands and asks, “You don’t?”
“No,” Koen groans. “I should be madder.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I’ve been thinking about how my apartment has just been a place to sleep and exist in between games.
On the off season, I throw myself into volunteering and brand deals to fund my ability to give to charities,” he says.
“I never decorated, because I couldn’t be bothered to.
I’ve shown way more enthusiasm for my nest in our home. ”
My lips twist into a smile, and I murmur, “Good boy.”
“He is, isn’t he? Koen, you give us input on how to decorate our home, you’re excited to see things come together, and that’s a stark contrast to how you treated your own apartment,” Skylar says.
“It’s easy to get into a rut and stop putting down roots in the city you’re living in.
Rhodes and I were the same way in Los Angeles.
Lakeview feels more like home than LA ever did. ”
“Even if it snows here?” Koen teases.
“The white shit has its upsides,” I reply.
Koen is quiet for a while, his breathing growing more even. I can feel my eyes getting heavy as I begin to relax, fairly certain he’s falling asleep.
“I miss our bed and our dog,” Koen finally sighs.
“Good,” Skylar chuckles. “I have chains for the Jeep, we can get out of here in the morning if you want.”
“What are you going to tell Evelyn?” he asks sleepily.
“False alarm,” I mumble. “It happens all the time. Go to sleep.”