Chapter 23
SLATER
Iwasn’t expecting to walk in on Anita completely naked. That was definitely not part of the plan Nina and I discussed over the phone this morning.
The plan was simple—arrive calm and collected and have a mature conversation about moving forward. Maybe establish some boundaries. Show her we’re serious about making this work despite the lies and the hurt.
Instead, I walked into the sauna and got a full, unobstructed view of every gorgeous inch of her. Arms raised. Towel spread wide open. And my entire brain zapped as if someone pulled the plug on my ability to think rationally.
Fuck.
Now I’m standing here with a raging erection pressing insistently against the towel wrapped around my waist, trying to remember how words work, while she scrambles to cover herself, making these sweet, panicked sounds that are doing absolutely nothing to calm me down.
So much for being collected and professional.
I force myself to move, to act like I’m not completely affected by what I just witnessed. I walk farther into the sauna and sit down on the wooden bench not too far from where she’s clutching that towel like it’s the only thing standing between her and complete humiliation.
The heat of the sauna smothers me immediately. Intense and dry, wrapping around my skin, and there’s perspiration beading along my shoulders and chest within seconds.
She’s blushing. Hard. Her entire face is flushed this gorgeous shade of pink that spreads down her neck and disappears beneath the towel. I can’t tell if it’s from the sauna heat or embarrassment or both.
Definitely both.
“I figured you’d be thirsty,” I say, offering her the glass of ice water I somehow managed not to drop.
She stares at me sideways, those hazel eyes wide and uncertain and slightly accusatory, then snatches the water from my hand like she’s afraid I might change my mind and withhold it.
Condensation drips down the glass onto her fingers as she brings it to her lips and gulps it down desperately, like she’s been wandering a desert for days.
I watch the column of her throat work as she swallows. A single drop of water escapes the corner of her mouth and trails down her chin, her neck, disappearing into the towel tucked above her breasts.
My cock throbs.
Get it together, Slater. You’re supposed to be the controlled one. The pack leader who thinks clearly under pressure.
She finishes the entire glass in one go, then sets it down on the small wooden side table with a decisive thunk before plopping back down on the bench across from me.
“You planned this whole thing with Nina, didn’t you?” Her voice is accusatory but not angry. More resigned, like she expected this kind of manipulation but isn’t sure how to feel about it.
I try to stare at her seriously, try to focus on having an actual productive conversation about trust and moving forward.
But it’s damn hard when I know every delicious inch of what’s hidden beneath that single layer of white terry cloth.
The perfect curve of her breasts, fuller than I’d imagined.
The dip of her waist. The soft roundness of her hips.
The way her thighs pressed together when she was standing there naked and exposed.
Every detail is burned into my memory now. Permanently.
I’m struggling to get my head straight, to think about anything other than peeling that towel away and exploring every inch of skin I just saw.
“Nina contacted me first,” I admit. “And honestly, I wasn’t going to come at first. Told her I needed more time to process everything, to figure out what I actually wanted to say to you.”
I pause, studying her reactions. “But then I was surprised when you didn’t show up at our place today, because after my offer last night on your show, I thought maybe you’d take me up on it immediately. Come over. Talk things through.”
Her fingers twist together in her lap, nervous energy radiating off her in waves. “I wanted to. God, I wanted to so badly my entire body hurt. But I was terrified.”
“Of what?”
“Of seeing that disappointment on your faces again.” Her voice drops to almost a whisper. “Of making things worse somehow and saying the wrong thing and completely destroying whatever tiny chance I might still have.”
She glances at me quickly, then away. “Nina made a convincing case, didn’t she? About how badly I’m struggling?”
“She said you’re close to convincing yourself that we’ve written you off completely.
That you’re spiraling into this dark place where you’re certain we hate you.
” I catch a subtle shift in her scent then, just a slight increase in intensity.
Vanilla bean and sweet citrus and warm almond milk, but richer now. Deeper.
She’s reacting to us being alone together in this heated space with almost nothing between us.
I notice the way she’s staring at me too. With hunger. My body responds immediately, blood rushing south, my erection straining even harder against the towel.
“And you haven’t?” she asks quietly, her voice vulnerable. “Written me off?”
I lean forward slightly, needing to come across as not too intense or serious, because Dylan specifically made me promise before I left not to scare her away. Mason backed him up. Even Jasper agreed that I needed to approach this carefully.
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” I say with a slight smile.
She exhales shakily, and I watch her chest rise and fall beneath the towel. “So… you really want to help me take down Reed?”
“Straight to business.” I can’t help the sarcasm that creeps into my voice. “I like it.”
But then I let the humor drop completely, my expression going serious.
“Look, Anita. We have things we need to work through. Trust issues that won’t just disappear overnight.
Communication problems. Boundaries that need to be established and respected.
But I’m not one to run away from something just because it’s complicated or difficult. ”
I hold her gaze steadily. “You’re my scent match. All four of us feel it, that recognition, that pull, and if you’re serious about actually making this work and not just saying pretty words, then I’m here to put in the work too.”
“You have no idea how much I’m into you,” she blurts out suddenly, her words tumbling over each other in a rush.
“Into your whole pack. All of you. Damn it, Slater. I have never in my entire life fallen for anyone this fast before. Never had people constantly in my thoughts every waking moment. Day and night. It’s completely consuming me. ”
She’s breathing heavily now, her pulse fluttering rapidly in her throat.
“And it’s absolutely terrifying because my last pack rejected me.
Threw me out like I was garbage they couldn’t wait to get rid of.
Told me I just wasn’t what they wanted, that I didn’t fit their vision of what an Omega should be.
So they refused to help me during my heat, insisting I needed to work on it myself and not be so reliant on them.
It was excruciating.” Her voice cracks. “You know how much that destroys you? How much it makes you question everything about yourself?”
I reach toward her without overthinking it, placing my hand on hers where they’re still twisted together anxiously in her lap. Her skin is hot from the sauna, slightly damp with perspiration. She trembles at the contact, her whole body going tense for a second before relaxing slightly.
That scent increases again, more noticeable now. Definitely responding to my touch.
She shifts on the bench, like she’s trying to get comfortable but can’t quite manage it, and a small noise catches in her throat. Almost a whimper. Almost needy.
My cock twitches in response.
“I do understand,” I admit quietly, deciding she deserves this piece of my past. This vulnerability.
“When I was in my early twenties, just out of college, I met an Omega I swore was my everything. My entire world. We weren’t scent mates, but we might as well have been fated mates because the connection felt that strong. That inevitable.”
I pause, old memories surfacing that I usually keep buried deep. They still hurt after all these years.
“But evidently only I felt that way. She walked out on me one day without any warning and never came back. Didn’t leave a note or say goodbye or give any explanation.
Just disappeared like I’d meant nothing to her.
” My hand tightens slightly over Anita’s.
“I fell apart after that. Spent two years barely functioning.”
I force myself to meet her eyes. “Since then, since her, I haven’t found anyone I took an interest in.
That is, until I found you. It’s as if I’m finally waking up after years of sleepwalking through life, and you’re actually my scent match this time.
The real thing. Fuck, Anita. You know how terrified I am that I’ll lose you? That history will repeat itself?”
She glances up at me, and her eyes are bright with unshed tears that she’s clearly trying to hold back. Then she leans in closer, and I can smell her even more intensely now. The scent is intoxicating.
“Me too,” she whispers. “And then I fucked everything up so spectacularly, and I was absolutely certain you were all going to kick me aside like I didn’t matter and I was disposable.
I haven’t cried so much in such a long time.
Not since my pack rejected me.” She drops her gaze to where our hands are joined.
“I must sound so pathetically weak right now.”
“Never weak, Anita.” I move my other hand to tilt her chin up gently but firmly, forcing her to meet my eyes.
“You’re strong because you realized what was truly important to you and you’re willing to fight for it instead of just giving up.
The question is, what are you actually going to do about it? What are you willing to sacrifice?”