Chapter 33
RYLAND
I’ve never taken a sexy nap before now.
But watching my Omega come, and then cuddling her to sleep?
I could spend every day like this.
I wake up before the rest of them do, and I study Blair while she sleeps with her head on my chest.
Her breathing is deep and even, and I stroke her golden hair, marveling at the beauty of my scent match.
She came back to us.
She came back, and the trajectory of my life has changed.
How do I begin to tell her how much she’s done for me?
I was content with my life before, but she’s made me a better person.
I love my job. Creating horror games has been my passion forever, and I never thought about changing genres.
But Blair makes me want more.
She inspires me to challenge myself.
She’s my muse.
She’s everything.
My Omega shifts in her sleep, sighing softly, and my chest aches with affection.
There’s so much I want to tell her.
I could spill my guts to her, give her an hour-long monologue about how she’s changed me for the better, and it wouldn’t be enough.
I just watch her sleep, tracing my fingers down her back and creating little circles on her skin.
And because she’s asleep, because I can’t confess everything I feel for her without it turning into word vomit, I write the secret words on her skin. I trace the letters over and over, hoping somehow, she realizes what I’m spelling.
Maybe in her dreams she knows what I’m telling her.
I lose count of how many times I write I love you onto her skin.
I sneak out of bed before the rest of them, already making plans for the coming days.
Blair’s scent is sweet and permeates the house, potent and delicious.
It’s the aroma of her Heat, and it’s our job to take care of her.
My cock is rock hard at the thought of providing for her every need.
Doing laundry, cooking, pleasuring her—I’d sacrifice air to make sure she’s content.
Breathing isn’t as important as making sure she’s happy, is it?
I enter the office, which has turned into our cat room. Josie, Posie, and Rosie are all asleep against Ash in the pet bed, and Marlin and Mervin are loafing on a tower.
I unlock my computer and continue to work on Blair’s present.
What Rowan and I started have turned into something that we may eventually pitch to our partners in the industry.
But for now, it’s just for Blair.
I’m so lost in my work that I don’t even notice my Omega enter the room until I catch a whiff of her scent.
“Hey,” she says softly as I spin in the chair to face her. “What are you up to?”
She’s just as beautiful as before, but there’s more color to her face and she looks well-rested. She’s dressed in a pair of Travis’s sweatpants and an oversized Wicked Bytes black sweatshirt, and I grin when I see that she’s wearing our merch.
She peers at the screen and frowns. “Is that a cat?”
I pat my thigh. “Sit on my lap and I’ll show you.”
To my surprise, she accepts the offer, and my inner Alpha lets out a rumble of contentment. I wrap an arm around her waist and turn us back to the monitor, breathing in her sweet floral scent.
“It’s not much yet,” I admit. “We were hoping we would have more time before we showed you.”
“What is this?” she leans over and peers at the monitor, her nose wrinkling in confusion. “Is that…is that the rescue?”
“It’s in the early stages of development,” I admit as she looks at the 8-bit crude graphics. “But it’s eventually going to be a cat rescue game.”
She turns to me. “A cat rescue game,” she parrots.
I can’t decipher what’s in her expression, so I continue to explain myself. “You said you used to play cozy games, and Rowan and I thought this would be a way to get you back into them.”
“You’re making me a video game?” she asks in disbelief, delight in her eyes. “But you make horror games. You can’t possibly have time for this.”
“It’s a side project to work on,” I say. “Besides, sometimes I need a break from all the gore and tragedy.”
“Piper said you also made an app for local trappers and colony feeders,” she says disbelievingly. “You did all that in a week?”
“I couldn’t really sleep without you,” I admit. “And I’d rather turn that energy into something productive, not harmful. This was my way of still being close to you.”
Even though I was falling apart while she was gone, I refused to give in to the loneliness, even when it threatened to eat me alive.
I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let my brother see me crumble when he was barely holding on himself.
Blair’s eyes turn glassy. “You’re unbelievable,” she says. “Ryland…”
“Hey, I worked on the cat game, too,” a voice says behind us, and I roll my eyes. “Don’t let my brother take all the credit.”
But Blair is only looking at me, her lips slightly parted. “Thank you,” she says, “for both the video game and the app.”
“Don’t thank me for either yet,” I chuckle. “The game is just a concept, and Mari is still having a hard time figuring out how to use the app.”
She shakes her head in disbelief while her scent blooms around me.
Then, she leans in and kisses me. It’s chaste, compared to how we were kissing just hours ago, but it’s just as delicious.
“Thank you,” she whispers against my lips, “for everything you’ve done.”
Omega is pleased.
“You want to see what we have for the game?” I ask, my voice hoarse. “It’s mostly concepts, but we can show you where it’s going.”
“Hell yeah, I do,” she grins.
“Show her the character art,” my brother says, grabbing his desk chair and rolling it to us. He places himself right next to Blair, keeping a hand on her thigh while she perches on me.
Together, my brother and I show her what we have for the game so far, including the characters that look like her, Piper, and Maeve.
The more we show her, the bigger her smile grows, until suddenly, she begins sniffling.
“Oh, what the hell,” she whispers, rubbing at her eyes. “These damn hormones. I’ve cried more in the past week than I have in years.”
“Let it out, baby,” Rowan says.
She chuckles weakly. “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy. I’m crying over a cat video game.”
“Over concepts of a cat video game,” I correct her gently, and she laughs harder.
“They’re happy tears, too, so that should count for something,” she says.
“It definitely does,” Travis says from behind us. I turn the chair to see him take a seat on the couch between the bookshelf and cat tree. “Seeing you happy in whatever format is worth it.”
“God, Trav, were you always this cheesy?” she sniffles. “Or have you gotten soft since meeting me?”
“Soft since meeting you,” Rowan and I echo at the same time.
Travis almost smiles when he looks at her. “That’s what happens when you meet your scent match,” he says quietly.
Blair’s smile falls, and her lips thin. Standing from my lap, she joins Travis on the couch, taking his hand. He automatically pulls the throw blanket (which he knitted) from the top of the couch and bundles it around her.
The mood has shifted in the room as she clears her throat.
“My Heat is almost here,” she admits to the three of us. “I’m sure you could already scent it…but I just wanted to make it clear that I’m spending it with you. I plan to spend the rest of my Heats with you, as well. As long as you’ll have me?”
There’s slight tremor in her voice, as if she’s fearful of our rejection, which is insane.
My pack leader watches her closely. “Always,” he promises her. “We will always, always have you.”
“Yeah, what kind of question is that?” Rowan adds. “You’re everything I could have hoped for, and more. It’s a privilege to be near you.”
At that, she rolls her eyes. “Okay, putting me on a pedestal? It needs to stop.”
“Nah. You look so pretty that high up. I like when you look down at me.”
I snicker, and the corner of her mouth twitches into an almost smile. She leans against Travis, tucking her face into his shoulder while she looks between my brother and me.
“There are going to be days where it’s hard,” she says. “I still have nightmares, sometimes, about the accident and losing my friends.”
We remain silent, the three of us watching her carefully.
“They meant a lot to me, and I don’t think I fully processed what happened. I spent so long beating myself up about it and blaming myself that I’m not sure I’ve ever fully grieved. There are going to be days where guilt eats at me, no matter how much I fight it.”
Travis nods and rests his chin on top of her head. She closes her eyes and sighs.
“Can you accept all that?” she asks, her eyes still closed, as if afraid of our reaction. “Are you okay with the knowledge that there are going to be days where I’m trapped in my head?”
There’s a beat of silence, and I look between Travis and Rowan.
I already know their answer, so I decide to speak for them.
“If you’re asking if we can accept that you’re human,” I say slowly, “then the answer is yes.”
Blair opens her eyes to meet mine.
“The Blair that we love has been shaped by everything she’s been through in life. That’s what makes you you, sweetheart. We don’t just accept you. We’re so in love with you that we can barely breathe.”
Confessing my love to her was easier than I thought, especially when I’m speaking for my entire pack.
Her eyes widen from a second, and her scent deepens. Then, a brilliant smile crosses her face, and she visibly relaxes.
“Good,” she says. “Because I love all three of you, too.”