Chapter Twenty Eight
The sound of the ocean outside woke me up out of the fitful sleep that I’d forced myself into last night after Zeke had left to join Maverick up into the nest.
I’d figured that I would give Zeke and Maverick the night with Lennon before tagging in and that it would give me the chance to talk to my wayward twin.
But Dallas had gone out to sit with his thoughts on a sand dune and as much as I wanted to knock some sense into him I figured he was close to coming to his own conclusions, so I left it be and turned into one of the guest rooms for the night.
Rolling over I checked my phone, saw that it was just after five in the morning, and groaned.
“Just one of these days I’d like to sleep in to ten,” I rumbled to myself, cursing the stupid military training that had been ingrained so deeply into me it may as well have been genetic at this point.
Rolling out of the bed, I stumbled into the hallway scratching my stomach as I stared up at the stairs that led up to the nest.
It was quiet despite the moans that could be heard last night. They must have also finally fallen asleep.
Turning away from the stairs, I headed for the living room where I found Dallas sprawled out in the sunken conversation pit with a book over his eyes even though I knew he wasn’t sleeping.
His posture was too stiff and controlled for that to be the truth. He must have heard me coming and tossed the book on his face to avoid confrontation.
“I know you’re awake,” I said with a sigh. “You might as well stop being such a coward and talk to me already.”
Dallas’s shoulders twitched. There was nothing my twin hated more than being called a coward.
It was why he had broken multiple bones on stupid dares during our childhoods.
Another minute passed before I heard him huff a breath of surrender and let the book slip down his face and his green eyes met mine.
“Well?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips as I stared at him. “Are you going to go up there and tell her how you feel or are we both about to leave?”
“Both?” Dallas frowned, his auburn brows drawing together with confusion. “Why would we both go?”
With a heavy sigh I dropped down onto the couch next to him and tugged him in close. We didn’t hug much these days—something I regretted now as I wrapped him in a bear hug that he seemed to melt into.
With how dominant Dallas usually was it was often easy to forget that I was the older brother in our situation. He was always the one taking care of me: the guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and usually got it trampled on because of it.
Dallas was a tougher nut to crack and had been my protector growing up, so much so that it was harder for me to look out for him when he needed it.
And he really needed it now.
“You and I are a package deal, little brother,” I told him, giving his shoulders a squeeze. “Where you go, I go. If you aren’t ready for all of this, then that’s okay.”
It would break my damn heart, but it would be okay.
“That’s crazy, B,” Dallas said, giving me a shove. “I could never ask you to do that for me. I couldn’t before and I won’t now.”
That was the crux of all of this, I realized as we sat together, the light in the living room growing brighter and brighter.
Years ago I’d gotten close with an omega with an already established pack. She’d wanted me to join and I’d thought she’d felt the same about Dallas too.
That turned out not to be the case and I had broken up with her when she had tried to give me an ultimatum. Her or him. I’d chosen him, of course and we’d made a promise to never let anyone get between us again.
That had been the end of it, or so I’d thought, but Dallas had changed after that. He was more prickly and less trusting of any women that I dated and he rarely dated himself, throwing himself into our work with a vigor that worried me.
I’d always figured he would snap out of it… now I knew better.
He wanted Lennon just as much as she wanted him and it was like he was punishing himself by holding himself back. I just couldn’t figure out why he felt the need to.
“You aren’t asking it of me,” I told him with a shake of my head.
“You and I came into this shitty world together. Fought through it together and I’ll be damned if we don’t live and die together.
Now, are we going to do this? Are we going to go up there and be with our mate?
Or are we going to get into a taxi and drive away and try to rebuild our lives again? ”
Dallas looked at me, his eyes unsure and vulnerable for a moment as he seemed to weigh both options.
“She wants you,” I said softly. “And you want her. Isn’t that enough?”
Dallas shrugged. “I’m scared, Brooks. It’s more complicated than just wanting her.”
“Then let me handle it for once. You’ve always protected me from all the bad shit in the world, so let me take over now.
Just let me handle all of the things you’re worried about—all of the shit that can and probably will go wrong because we’re choosing this path.
You just focus on how you feel for once. ”
Dallas sighed and leaned against my shoulder for a moment and we both drew comfort from being so close together.
Then he pulled away and gave my hair a ruffle. “You probably should head up to her before she sucks the life out of Zeke and Maverick.”
I grinned at that. “And you?”
Dallas looked more sure than before. “I’m going to shower and then I’ll be up in a bit.”
“Promise?” I asked, standing.
My twin nodded and the weight that I’d been carrying since he had walked out of the hotel room the day that we’d discovered Lennon and Maverick together evaporated from my shoulders.
“Okay, see you in a bit,” I said as I turned toward the stairs, swallowing heavily as I realized that it was now my turn to face my own anxieties about bonding with Lennon and committing to a future with her and a new pack.
Standing at the door of Lennon’s nest I waited a beat before knocking, trying to shake off the nerves I was feeling.
I had taken my time gathering some water and snacks, my own offering to the three people inside, before heading up the stairs.
But now, as I stood ready to join them and to help Lennon through her heat…?
I was hesitating.
Nothing would be the same after this. Which, in and of itself, was a good thing.
I would never be alone. We would never be alone.
So why was I so damned nervous to lift my fist and knock on this stupid ass door?
Lennon was my scent match. The deep cherry wine scent that was seeping underneath the door was already toying with my instincts, making my inner alpha that had been pacing back and forth in the back of my mind paw its way forward impatiently, wanting to push my rational mind aside and take over completely and kick the door down and stomp inside in order to ravish our omega.
But even with that I still stood frozen.
I could hear them talking softly on the other side of the door and the sound of comfortable laughter filled my ears as someone got up from the nest and their footsteps drew near.
“Brooks,” Zeke said as he yanked the door open before I could gather my courage to knock. “I never took you for a scaredy cat.”
“I’m not,” I grumbled, taking in the alpha’s naked form with little interest. “I just didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Brooks.” The sound of Lennon’s voice came from the depths of her nest which was completely enshrouded by the thick blue curtains surrounding it. “Come into the nest.”
The curtains parted and Maverick stepped out, as equally naked as Zeke.
“Tag,” he said, giving my shoulder a firm pat. “You’re it.”
Zeke snagged one of the water bottles from the basket I was carrying, a wide grin on his face. “Have fun, bud, but be careful. She’s really bitey right now.”
I glanced at the tell-tale bite marks that covered their arms and shoulders and felt my cock stiffen at the thought, all of my earlier nerves vanishing in an instant.
Kicking my sneakers off, I crossed the room and sucked in a lungful of her thick heat pheromones that were mixed with Maverick’s and Zeke’s. The scent of sex was heady, a dizzying mix that I was eager to add onto.
A flushed hand poked out of the curtains expectantly. “Your clothes, alpha.”
Her voice was hoarse and demanding and barely sounded like her usual self. It sent a tingle of realization down my spine.
Right now I was an alpha and she was an omega in heat. It was my job to soothe her, to fill her, and to breed her.
I dropped the basket next to the tray of forgotten meats and cheeses that Zeke had brought up with him earlier and began to strip out of my pajamas, dutifully handing them over to her to add to her nest.
The idea of my scent being added into her precious space pleased the hell out of my instincts and before I knew it a purr had begun to rattle in my chest before I could stop it.
Placing my hand on the edge of her nest, I poked my head inside of the dim space and watched with fascination as a wild-haired Lennon tucked my shirt and pajama pants in with the other clothes she’d taken from Maverick and Zeke.
“Omega,” I purred, my eyes tracing the curve of her ass and the love-bitten expanse of her shoulders along with the fresh bond mark peeking out on the inside of her upper arm.
Where would mine go? I idly wondered as I waited for her to turn to me.
All of the gray in her eyes was gone, replaced by the pure black of her pupils, telling me she was still deep in the throes of her heat.
“May I enter your nest and comfort you?”
She darted forward until we were face to face, her cherry scented need welling up in between us.
“Promise?” she whispered. “Promise to stay with me?”
My insides clenched at the sudden vulnerability even in this state.
“I promise,” I told her as I hiked a leg over the edge of the nest and pulled her into my arms.
She snuggled in close, her nose pressed just underneath my jaw and she sucked in a long draw of my scent.