Chapter 20
Flora
“Ishouldn’t be going with you,” I said weakly as Bear dragged me into his ridiculously large car. But I was numb, unable to process what had just happened, and moving on autopilot. A stranger had just threatened me with a knife. He’d nearly taken me Lord knew where.
“Going with me is exactly what you should be doing,” he said firmly. I inhaled deeply. My attacker had smelled bad like sewage. It was so terrible, I doubted it was his real scent, probably something to conceal it. In comparison, Bear’s pumpkin bread scent was euphoric and the best palate cleanser.
Bear gently ensured I was fully in the seat before doing up my seat belt for me, which felt ridiculous, except for the fact that my hands were shaking too much to manage it myself.
He was being so soft handed with me, and I knew deep down that Percy was telling the truth.
Bear was legit, even if he was friends with Spencer-the-crazy-pants.
“He was going to—” I trailed off, unable to look away from my feet. I was cold, far too cold, considering the mild evening.
Am I in shock? What do I…
“Don’t think about that. We would never let it happen.”
“Where are you taking me?” Considering I had almost been kidnapped at knifepoint, I was alarmingly okay going with this stranger who’d saved me before. But part of that was from speaking with Percy. I knew him enough from class, and he’d said that Bear and his pack had helped them.
Helped his omega.
“My pack and I live close by,” Bear said. After sliding into the driver’s seat, he closed the doors and checked the mirrors several times before pulling out into the street, looking at me more than the road.
If I wasn’t still processing—unsuccessfully, I might add—I probably would have admonished him and told him to keep his eyes on the damn road. I was a stickler for road safety most of the time. But I guess that flew out the window when I was distracted by the burning throb in my arm.
My attacker had grabbed me so hard, I was probably going to have some bruising.
But then Bear’s words finally sank in.
“Wait—your pack. Spencer is part of your pack, isn’t he?” I asked, my voice turning angry.
“Please don’t hold that against me,” Bear said with a grimace, eyes forward now.
“I don’t see how I can not hold the fact that you choose to be in a pack with an absolute nutjob against you. It says a lot about your decision-making skills.”
“In my defense, he wasn’t exhibiting a lot of this crazy behavior before he met you. You seem to bring out the overprotective side in all of us.”
“Oh yeah, blame the victim,” I grumbled.
All the adrenaline was seeping out of my body, that drop after something…
traumatic occurred, and I couldn’t find it in me to be angry anymore.
I was too damn exhausted to think that hard.
But something trickled into my mind, the words “overprotective” and “all of us.”
“I’m not blaming you for anything,” Bear explained softly, one of his hands reaching out to grab mine. It felt comforting, his larger hand engulfing my smaller one. His skin was hot to the touch, too, and I didn’t want to pull away. “We’re going to keep you safe. I promise.”
“I do a pretty good job with the taser, you know,” I replied weakly.
A chuckle escaped Bear, filling the quiet car. “Oh yeah, I saw what you did to Spencer. I watched the security cameras at the library. I’m damn proud of you.”
Though his praise shouldn’t have an impact on me, my chest warmed.
I should have been concerned about how he found that footage, but I was learning not to question how much they seemed to have ingratiated themselves into my life.
Apparently, Spencer was one part of a pack of alphas who didn’t seem to give a shit about privacy and space.
After a few minutes, we pulled into an underground garage.
Realistically, I should have been terrified about going into a parking garage with someone I hardly knew, but there was something about Bear’s pumpkin bread scent that felt so cozy and comforting.
My stupid omega nose was going to get me into trouble.
Though he did kind of save me. Okay, he definitely saved me.
Bear pulled the car to a stop, turning to face me with a sympathetic smile.
In that moment, the adrenaline truly drained out of me, and the events of the night hit in full force.
I looked down at my hands. My fingers were still shiny with fry grease, but the bag was long gone.
Although I could smell the fast-food clinging to my clothes, the food was all gone.
Because someone had tried to—
“I don’t know…” I trailed off, breaking with a sob. I was about to say I had no idea what my attacker was planning to do, but that had led my mind to a dark place.
Now that I’d started, the floodgates opened, and large, messy tears rolled down my face. Bear’s eyes widened, and before I could blink, his arms were wrapped around me, pulling me across the center console into his lap.
Burying my face in his neck, I inhaled that sweet pumpkin bread scent—autumn and spice and frosting all rolled into one—and realized I was quickly becoming obsessed with it.
I let the cozy, bakery smell envelop me as his hand came to rest on the back of my head.
His tight embrace anchored me to the present, to where I was now, not then.
When was the last time anyone had held me like this? When was the last time I’d enjoyed it?
“Listen, I know it’s been a difficult night for you. We’re going to get some food, and you are going to rest,” Bear insisted. “We can figure out everything else after.”
“I wanna go home to my nest,” I sobbed. When stressed, I reverted to the most basic aspects of my omega nature.
I wanted my nest to be here. I wanted to be snuggled up in blankets and comfort and ignore the outside world.
The idea that I couldn’t just return to it made the ugly tears fall harder.
Without it, I felt naked and exposed, and burying myself into Bear’s chest was the next best thing.
“I know,” he said, running a hand over the back of my head. “I’ll send one of the others to get a few of your nest items. How about that?”
“Why can’t I just go home?” I asked through my tears.
“You know why you can’t, sweetheart,” he replied softly.
It wasn’t safe.
I had no idea how long it had been since my apartment had actually been secure, but I knew it wasn’t now. Spencer had seemingly gotten in there with no issue, replacing all the food in my fridge. Deadbolt or not, someone else might get in.
“All my food is going to go bad. Did you see what Spencer put in my fridge?” I wailed. Maybe I should have been more concerned with my overall safety, but that was what came to mind. God, I’m losing it.
Bear chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath me. The warm sound was almost as comforting as the hug.
“While Spencer does tend to keep a pretty healthy kitchen, we have this amazing thing called takeout. Did you know there’s a dessert place on campus that delivers cheesecake?”
“Really?” I asked, poking my head up. I probably looked like a drowned rat, but Bear didn’t seem to mind, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled down at me.
“Yep. And I will order several slices for dinner. How does that sound?” he suggested.
“That sounds like something that would give Spencer an aneurysm,” I pointed out. “I like it.”
Bear laughed again. “See? You already have him pegged. Luckily, I’m bigger than him, so if I want to order cheesecake, we’re having cheesecake.”
I smiled at him through my tears. Bear seemed to know exactly the right thing to say to distract me from the lingering fear.
And cheesecake did make everything better.
I slid out of the car, glancing around the garage. “This looks like a pretty fancy building.”
Bear laughed. “Don’t worry, we only live here because Pack Garnett—who we protect—has the penthouse.” He walked toward the door, pausing to look back at me, an easygoing smile on his face.
“That still means you live in an apartment building with a penthouse,” I noted, slowly following him. I wanted to be outside less than I was anxious about going into that fancy building.
“Turns out we’re really good at keeping things secure, so we get paid well.” He shrugged.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I whispered, clenching my hands so hard my nails dug painfully into my palms. “You don’t even know me.”
Bear held me, resting his hands on my upper arms. “Because you deserve it. And you need someone who’s going to look out for you and put you first.”
Tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes again. I was becoming a fountain.
“Come on, let’s get you inside so you can sit down,” Bear said gently, placing one hand on my lower back and guiding me toward the elevator.
“Will you be mad at me if I taser Spencer again?” I asked as we waited a ridiculously long time for the machine to climb the floors.
“Not at all. He’d probably deserve it. However, I could get you a better taser. Or maybe even a gun.” He smiled at me.
I turned to him, eyes wide with panic. “I barely trust myself with a taser. I would shoot myself in the foot if I had a gun.”
He paused. “Well, I’d train you before I handed you a gun. But maybe we should just stick to your taser. No need for a gun when I’m carrying one,” he commented, way too casually.
He was carrying a gun. Why hadn’t I noticed that? I’d been so distracted by his sheer size and dominating aura that I hadn’t realized he was armed. I really was oblivious. I needed to get better at taking in my surroundings if I wanted to stand any chance against—
No, I’m not going there.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. With a deep breath, I stepped out, Bear following after me.
“So, is this where you tell me you have a pack of, like, thirty people, and I’m going to go hide under a bed?” I muttered.
“There are only three of us. You’ve met the entire pack—don’t worry.”
“Like I could forget Spencer,” I grumbled, making him laugh. “But who else do I—”
“Whoa, am I going insane, or do I hear Bear laughing?” a voice said as a familiar, tall, blond alpha rounded the corner.
“Chase?” I asked, my voice strangled.
“Hey, Flora.” He smiled easily at me. “I’m sorry you’ve had a crap day, but I’m glad you’re here.”
Gaping at him, I tried to find the words to explain the myriad of thoughts and emotions running through me. Because it just couldn’t be. This was the alpha that I—oh my God, was the world trying to kill me? One knife-wielding bandit wasn’t enough; now I needed to die of mortification?
When he stepped forward to hug me, I retreated, glowering at him.
“You’ve been following me this entire time.” I eyed him hard, crossing my arms. “And you knew that before you had sex with me.”
“Yeah… not my proudest moment,” Chase said bashfully.
Bear smacked him on the back of the head. “You fucking idiot. You’re making it sound like you regret sleeping with her.”
“So, what? You only had sex with me because of your job?” I said incredulously. “Oh God. You actually weren’t attracted to me, were you?! Why are you—nope. I’m done. That’s more than enough for today. I’m out.”
Chase’s eyes widened, and his hands came up in desperate surrender.
“No! It’s not like that at all. I promise.
I wasn’t supposed to sleep with you, but I met you, and you were so…
amazing. I was—am—so attracted to you. I did sleep with you while we were already protecting you, though,” he rushed to say.
“I need to go home right now,” I growled, turning to leave.
Bear’s arm came around my waist as another voice—painfully familiar—spoke. “You’re not going anywhere,” Spencer growled as he entered the room.
“Well, there you are,” I said, glowering at him. “Being in the same space as you isn’t exactly appealing.”
“You’re staying here. You’ll be safe here,” he said, that steely expression plastered all over his stupid, handsome face.
“Safe? You call getting seduced by an alpha who just wanted to get his rocks off with someone he was meant to be protecting safe?” I rambled. “Oh God, and you guys are supposed to be professionals? No fucking way.”
Spencer stared at me with blank eyes, his brows coming together on confusion. “I assure you, we are professionals. We’re some of the top security personnel in the industry.”
Next to me, Bear groaned through a laugh, dragging a hand down his face, and Spencer shot him a confused look. What was that about?
“You can’t blame her for thinking we’re unprofessional, given our behavior of late,” Bear admitted. Turning to me, he continued, “While we are professionals, when it comes to you, we’ve been decidedly unprofessional. There’s just something about you, sweetness. You do something to all of us.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried to think about anything but what Bear just said. “How long do you think it’ll be before I can go back to my place?”
“Someone tried to kidnap you at knifepoint less than an hour ago, so I think it’s going to be a while,” Spencer casually said, crossing his arms and raising his brows at me.
“I have a life. I have classes. You can’t just keep me locked up like some prisoner.”
“Then one of us will follow you to class at all times,” he insisted.
“I volunteer,” Chase declared cheerily, holding up his hand.
“No way in hell I’m okay with that,” I shot back, glowering at him.
“Unfortunately, sweetheart, Chase and Spencer are the only ones who can follow you to class. I’m a bit too… noticeable,” Bear said regretfully.
“True. You are the best-looking,” I muttered, making sure to lock eyes with Spencer as I spoke.
“That didn’t sound mocking,” Bear admitted slowly, and I flicked my stare to him.
“Because I’m not kidding,” I replied. “The salt-and-pepper hair, the rugged look—all of it. You’re far more manly than the two pretty boys over there.”
I didn’t know where my bravery had come from. Probably from my anger toward Spencer and Chase. But the terror of being nearly kidnapped had taken a sudden back seat to the rage, and in all honesty, I was okay with that. This felt better, easier, and I wasn’t going to break down into sobs again.
So, anger it was.
“I don’t care what you say, Bear can take me. You want to ‘watch’ me, ‘keep me safe,’ then Bear’s doing it. You jerks can get lost.”
The room fell silent, but all I did was smile, because damn, that felt good.