24. Avery
Avery
S omething warm and fuzzy was pressed into me, one on each side. It took a moment for me to come to my senses and realize where I was, a grin taking over at the sight of Molly and Lola sandwiching me.
Reaching as quietly as I could for my phone, I snapped a picture and sent it to Sidney.
Avery: Look who I woke up next to
Sidney: You asshole! I was so excited thinking it was a sexy man. Don’t think I didn’t hear about you sitting in a hot alpha’s lap last night.
Avery: They’re in other rooms. I needed space.
Sidney: For what? Space doesn’t provide orgasms or morning sex.
Avery: But the puppies are cute
Sidney: That was a weak counterpoint and you know it. Puppies are nice but alphas are much more satisfying to share a bed with
Avery: From the scent in the air, I’m going to get breakfast, too
Dropping my phone, I stretched out in the bed Cohen set me up in. He offered his but I wasn’t about to kick him out and I wanted some space.
They had been amazing but I was still holding back. Would it drive them crazy if I kept pushing back or would they just keep reassuring me?
I wasn’t being petty or testing them, I was saving my own heart from another brutal breakup.
Molly and Lola stretched and watched me, waiting for me to leave the room so they could do their thing.
“You guys need out?” I asked, pulling on the clean boxers and tee that Cohen sat out for me. We had snacks and talked late into the night and none of the guys wanted me driving that late so we’d crashed there.
I brushed my teeth and braided my hair, but I hadn’t gone to the door yet. It was silly, but I didn’t want to burst the quiet bubble we were in. It was an amazing, yet simple night.
The moment I opened the door I worried things would be different.
Lola whined as she padded to the door, making it so I couldn’t avoid leaving any longer.
“At least you girls will keep me from procrastinating,” I teased in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb anyone else if they were still sleeping.
The three of us padded down the stairs and to the kitchen. Cohen and Arden were talking quietly as they cooked, glancing up as we walked in. Both of their faces split into a grin at the sight of us.
“Good morning, Avery,” Arden said, shifting his attention back to the bowl he was mixing.
“Hope you’re hungry,” Cohen joked as he put bacon on the pan, the sizzle and scent enough to catch the beagles’ attention. “Not you two. Go outside.”
I opened the door to usher them out and they went, albeit a little reluctantly.
“Coffee?” Arden offered. He had a way of seeming to be at ease no matter where he was. Even now he seemed like he’d always belonged here.
Honestly, I wasn’t tired this morning. I’d slept amazing and didn’t need the caffeine boost.
Cohen seemed to sense my reluctance. “We also have tea, check the cabinet next to the fridge.”
“That sounds nice,” I admitted, heading for it, then feeling immediately overwhelmed at the selection. “Holy hell, how much tea can one beta drink?”
Cohen chuckled. “I like variety. If you want something gentle and sweet, try the pomegranate green tea. A splash of honey and it’s fantastic.”
“Perfect,” I said, spotting that one and taking one of the tea bags out. Arden was already pouring a mug of hot water from the electric kettle and bringing it over.
“Sugar and honey are on the island,” Cohen tacked on.
I sat down at the island, letting the tea color the water a pretty red before adding in a spoonful of honey.
“Can I help at all?” I asked, but both men shook their heads.
“We’ve got it today,” Cohen reassured me. “Next time, I’ll let you help.”
“You guys like to spoil me,” I joked.“This is the second time anyone has ever cooked for me outside of my mama or a restaurant. Cohen was the first.”
They both froze, looking at me like I was an alien before they caught themselves.
“What about heats?”
I shrugged. “Doubt they cooked, probably ordered something in but I don’t remember anything from my heats.”
“Excuse me?” Arden said, his hands gripping the counter tight enough a soft crack broke the silence. Maybe my brain was sluggish from sleep but I couldn’t figure out where their frustration was coming from this time. “Avery, please tell me that you know blacking out during heat isn’t normal?”
My eyes burned and I looked down, trying not to throw up.
“No, I didn’t. I suppressed before my exes, and the doctor told me that it was normal when I asked.”
Yet another stupid thing they had convinced me was normal, another part of myself that they stole away. They had dismissed it so quickly that I just assumed it was fact, explained away by suppressed heats… I should have known better.
“We need to tell your lawyer this as well and I can update the legal team at the Network,” Arden said gently. “The fact they willfully used their influence and power to alter biology is disgusting.”
Cohen turned off the stove and came to my side, pulling me in for a hug that broke my resolve. Tears coursed down my cheeks and a broken sob escaped.
“I can’t believe I was so stupid.”
“No, you weren’t. They used your trust against you and that’s no one’s fault but theirs,” Cohen reassured me, his hand brushing over my hair as he held me. “They’re garbage alphas, that’s not on you.”
Arden moved closer as well, finally realizing his anger wasn’t making my pain disappear. Instead, he ran a hand along my back, offering his own reassurances.
“He’s right. We’re treating you how omegas are meant to be treated. Those assholes never once deserved or appreciated you and it's their loss. We can’t change the past, but we can make sure you feel protected and loved from here on out. If you let us.”
Leave it to my blunt alpha to add the last line, spoken with a gentle kindness but also letting me know he can see I’m holding a part of myself back.
“This is too much sadness for this early. What happened?” Ford said as he stumbled in, hair sticking up in every direction and clothes rumpled. He clearly slept deep.
“Rough night?” Arden asked drily, ignoring his comment.
Ford blinked at him before focusing on me. “What’s wrong?”
“Apparently, her ex doctor had her blacking out during heats with her exes, she didn’t realize it was normal to be semi-coherent and remember what happened,” Cohen summarized.
I could have protested, he gave me a moment to stop him, but I didn’t.
Why keep secrets now?
“Why are they still breathing?” Ford asked Arden, who to his credit, didn’t look opposed to the idea of my exes being buried six feet under. I wasn’t sure I was opposed to that idea either.
“Their reputation means more to them than anything. Hit them where it hurts,” I said instead, anger slowly replacing the disgust. “More ammo for Lance. I’ll call him today.”
“Okay then, for now, let’s focus on us and how delicious our omega looks fresh from bed,” Ford said sleepily as he came over and brushed a kiss over my lips then collapsed next to me. His fingers trailed along my exposed skin on my thighs, just the gentlest of touches that kept me grounded.
“Coffee kind of morning?” Arden asked, amused by Ford’s dramatics.
“Yes, please,” Ford muttered, his voice almost slurring. I had a feeling he wasn’t an early riser and only got up early because he heard us.
“Where’s Mason?” I asked. “He doesn’t strike me as a guy who sleeps in.”
“Ugh, he’s not. That asshole wakes up early and exercises.” Ford sounded so disgusted all three of us burst into laughter.
It chased away the lingering blues lingering around. I wasn’t exactly ‘over’ it all, but I was compartmentalizing for now. Letting it rob me of time with my pack was something I couldn’t keep doing.
“He went for a run just before you woke up,” Cohen added as he got back to work finishing up breakfast. “He promised dish duty. You can help him, Ford.”
Ford gave a thumbs up but I don’t think his eyes opened once. Arden didn’t ask how he liked his coffee, instead just making it sweet and creamy before sliding it over.
He perked up long enough to suck down half the cup in one go. Eyes still closed, he took a breath then finished the rest quickly, putting the empty mug in the sink right as Mason came back in.
“Good morning, baby,” Mason said, giving me a kiss on the head as he passed. “I’m going to shower so I can join you for breakfast. These trails out here are gorgeous by the way, Cohen. I’m sold.”
“He was already sold,” Ford said. “He was talking about collecting boxes today.” A yawn muffled the last of his words but he looked a bit more human post-coffee, which only made his own coffee and cream scent stronger.
A pang of worry went through me. They were all moving in here, focusing on making a strong pack… and me? I would be at home still.
It had my gut twisting into knots but I wasn’t going to solve it surrounded by their scents.
“It’s finished, let’s move to the table,” Arden suggested as he took platters of food to the dining table.
Ford stopped touching me long enough to walk me to the table but Mason was faster, pulling me into his lap and burying his nose in my hair. His apple, cedarwood, and fresh fallen leaves scent was warm and strong after his shower and it wrapped around me, soothing the hurt and anger that had risen earlier.
“Why is your scent off?” he demanded, voice harsh as he eyeballed the others. Arden didn’t even flinch, just giving a quick explanation that had Mason’s hands wrapping tighter around me.
“Give me one solid reason not to hunt them down?” Mason pleaded. Even though his voice was muffled by my neck, the others heard.
“I’m trying to convince myself of the same,” Cohen admitted, Ford agreeing easily. I bit back a smile, secretly loving that these men were ready and willing to fight for me. We’d been a pack for mere days and it already felt like I knew them for my entire life.
I had sign after sign that they were going to be different and I continued to struggle to trust that their bad side wasn’t going to pop up at any minute, proving I was still an idiot to trust anyone.
“Whatever your brain is telling you right now, baby, it’s lying,” Mason rumbled in my ear, voice low so no one else could hear him quietly call me out. I glanced around but everyone was busy filling their own plates and mine.
Arden slid my plate closer, silently telling me to eat but I filled Mason’s empty plate instead.
“Thank you,” he murmured, shifting me sideways and combining our plates. My cheeks flushed when I realized what he was doing, lifting his fork to my lips so I would take a bite.
He was feeding me like I couldn’t feed myself. Should I be embarrassed? I wasn’t sure but the truth was, my omega was loving it. Every time they showed me a bit of care and comfort I clung to it desperately.
“Don’t overthink it,” Arden said easily, pouring me a cup of orange juice and sliding it closer, giving me a look that said he definitely approved of Mason’s move.
“Okay,” I relented, opening my mouth obediently for another bite and trying to ignore the warmth rising in my body. This shouldn’t be turning me on, but it was.
“I just needed to know you were cared for properly,” Mason admitted, giving me a bite of syrup coated pancake.
When a drop slid down my lip, he leaned forward and his tongue darted out, cleaning the sticky sweetness from my skin with a grin.
“I could get used to this,” he admitted. It felt so intimate that I couldn’t help but glance at the others, expecting annoyance or jealousy. Instead I found three sets of eyes locked on us, lust darkening their gazes, and making them shift in their seats.
“Fuck, I’ve never tried to eat while hard, this is weird,” Ford complained playfully, giving me a wink to show he didn’t mind. My eyes caught on the movement as he shoved a hand against his rising cock, my tongue darting out to wet my lip as my mouth went dry.
Fuck, I felt like I was in pre-heat, though I wasn’t sure I’d truly recognize the signs. The doctor at the clinic warned it could be harsh this time around thanks to the way my heats had been handled in the past.
I was wholly unprepared for that to happen. This relationship was still new and strange, I wasn’t ready to give them every vulnerable side of myself.
Was I?
Cohen had disappeared just after breakfast and I was too curious about the workshop to not go check it out.
Lola and Molly followed me to the door, whining as I left them behind. I wasn’t sure the rules on pups in the workshop, but I doubted he let them in.
The small barn looked normal from the outside, but when I pushed open the door my jaw dropped.
Cohen had replaced some of the old windows with stained glass so the colorful lights were shining over the long work table that ran down the middle of the room. The outer walls were lined with shelves stocked full of supplies, ingredients, and about a thousand jars of varying sizes.
My mate was hunched over a work bench, adding drops of something to a large stainless steel mixing bowl.
“What are you doing?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet so it didn’t startle him.
He didn’t jump, but his face did flare red.
“Uhh,” he stumbled over his words, putting the bottles aside and looking at me. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Why would I laugh?” I asked, peeking around him again but it just looked like clear, yellow-tinted liquid.
“I’ve been wanting to test out my ability at making better candles, so I thought I’d make one for our pack, a mix of our scents,” he admitted.
“Really?” I asked, stepping even closer now. “Like all of ours combined?”
“Yes. I never really noticed other scents except hints here and there, but with our pack, now that we’re all connected and spending time with each other, I can pick up on theirs too,” he explained. “What do you think? I think it’s missing something.”
He stepped aside so I could take his place. I lowered my face close to the bowl, feeling the warmth of the melted wax as I breathed it in.
There were notes I recognized, cranberry, fallen leaves, a hint of apple, an undercurrent of rich coffee, marjoram, and a little musk. I knew right away what he’d forgotten. Himself.
“You need yours,” I said. “You smell like sweet citrus, maybe a little lemon added in? There’s also an herby scent that I feel like can shift depending on your mood or what you’ve been working on in the shop, but rosemary is at the top.”
His smile turned blinding as he rushed off to one of the shelves lined in scent bottles. He came back, stopping long enough to brush a kiss over my lips, before adding a few drops. The sweet lemon hit me right away and I frowned.
“Maybe a drop of orange as well?”
He nodded, not doubting me for a second, before grabbing that one as well. He added a few small drops, less than the lemon, before giving it a mix. He leaned in and breathed it in, before gesturing for me to do the same.
“It’s us,” I said, shocked that he could have captured us all so perfectly. I never considered scents mixing so well, but ours were all some sort of cozy that blended well.
“Thanks to you,” he praised, like I could take any credit. “We work well together, you might just be my new guinea pig.”
I laughed. “I’m here to help anytime. For now, I’m going to need you to make this scent blend in a room spray, maybe a lotion, a whole line just for us.”
“Really?” he asked, surprised. “You like it that much?”
“Love it,” I said. “It’s our pack. My scent-matches and proof that we belong together.”
“Then I’ll make it all,” he promised. “Anything for you.”
As he got back to work, I sat down on a stool nearby, keeping him company as he explained everything he did. They always said I was passionate about my work, but seeing Cohen I knew he felt the same about his.
I loved watching him light up as he talked, showing off the new things he’d been working on and answering any questions I had. There were a few times he stumbled over his words, looking unsure that I actually wanted to know.
But I did. I wanted to know everything, to listen to him gush about what he loved to do, and to see his work come to life.
This wasn’t a wasted afternoon, this was another glimpse into the mind of my mate.
This was what being part of a pack should be like and I’d never take that for granted.