Chapter 48
One Month Later
Elowen
The shade in Odette's front yard makes the ninety-eight-degree heat tolerable.
Two old oak trees rustle overhead, their branches spreading out over the lawn like a canopy. I've been sitting under them for two hours with a glass of sweet tea sweating in my hand, soaking up the occasional breeze, waiting for Cliff to finish grilling the steaks.
Adam is in the chair next to me, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his own glass of tea balanced on his knee.
Odette is on his other side in a wide wicker chair, her silver hair bright in the dappled light.
She occasionally glances over the top of her sunglasses, looking between the grill and the garage, surveying her kingdom.
Perrin and Raff are bent over Sal's old Cadillac.
It needs a new starter and a battery, which should be straightforward, but somewhere along the way the two of them have managed to turn it into a full afternoon project involving a significant amount of standing back, staring, and the occasional argument.
But they seem to know what they're doing…kind of.
“They’re almost done.” Cliff flips an especially fat steak.
His broad back to us, smoke rising around him in lazy curls as he sips a cold beer.
A few months ago, I was alone.
And now I have this amazing family.
“Stop it,” Perrin says with a little laugh.
He’s bent over the engine, trying to reconnect the battery, and Raff is directly behind him, chest to back, his chin hooked over Perrin's shoulder. Raff’s hands grip Perrin's hips, pulling the beta back toward him.
Every time Perrin reaches forward, trying to connect the battery, Raff pulls Perrin’s hips back, stopping him.
“Do you really want me to stop?” Raff rumbles in Perrin’s ear and the back of the beta’s neck goes pink.
"Rafferty." Odette's voice carries across the yard. "Get your hands off that beta and fix my damn car." She looks at her son over the top of her sunglasses. “If you don’t straighten up, you’ll have to do the dishes after dinner.”
Raff laughs, low and warm, releasing Perrin's hips and straightening up. He looks at his mother across the yard with that slow, easy smile that he saves for her specifically. "We both know I was going to end up doing the dishes anyway, Ma."
"Then you'd better get that car fixed," Odette says, "so at least you have something to show for yourself."
Raff's smile widens and he turns back to the engine, nudging Perrin with his shoulder. Perrin shakes his head, ears still pink, and reaches for the battery terminal.
"You have to be a little mean to alphas," she says as she glances at Adam, then me. "They like it."
Adam snorts into his tea. "Did you like it when Sal was mean to you?"
Odette's expression shifts into something magnificent. She tips her chin up, squares her shoulders, and says with absolute conviction, "I fucking loved it!"
Adam and I both burst out laughing at the same time.
"Elle couldn't be mean if she tried," he says, smiling so wide the corners of his eyes crinkle.
Odette looks directly at me with an expression of absolute sincerity. "I'm serious, omega," she says. "You're going to have to be mean to them too eventually. I'll teach you. It's a skill."
"I look forward to learning from the master," I say with a wink.
Odette sits back in her chair and beams, taking that title with pure pride. Her gray eyes seem to sparkle as they move to Adam, then she immediately frowns. “Stop that, sweetheart.” She bats Adam’s hand away from his fresh mating bite.
Cliff's mark sits almost exactly over Raff's, layered perfectly.
I was in the early stages of my heat when it happened, the world soft at the edges and my body running on instinct, but I still remember the focus on Cliff's face.
The way he tilted Adam's head with both hands, studying the gland, taking his time despite slipping into his own rut. And then he struck. With a swift flash of his teeth, Cliff buried his canines deep in Adam’s neck.
Adam had made the most lovely noise.
It was shock and relief, laced with an edge of pain.
Adam’s bond with Cliff still hasn't formed, but it's only been a week, and given how long his bond with Raff took, nobody is worried. These things settle in their own time.
I reach up and touch my own neck without thinking about it.
Raff's new bite overlaps Cliff's, the two bites layered together, and through my bond I can feel both of them right now. Cliff warm and steady at the grill, feeling a low hum of contentment. And Raff is bright and a little sharper. The alpha has a restless energy that I've come to love.
Both of them in my head.
Both of them mine.
I close my eyes for a second and just savor it.
I’ve been doing that a lot lately.
Near the garage, Raff says something to Perrin that I can't hear, and Perrin's response is to shove him sideways with one shoulder.
Raff grabs the back of Perrin's neck in retaliation, pulling him in.
Raff's hand slides from Perrin's neck down to the beta’s waist, pulling him close against the side of the Cadillac.
"Those two," Odette shakes her head. “I’m gonna lose it if they fuck against my car. That paint job is worth more than my boy’s life.”
A car turns into the driveway.
Black SUV with the same personalized plates.
Anton steps out, pulling his sunglasses off and tucking them into his shirt pocket. He scans the yard once, finds Cliff at the grill, and nods. Then he finds Raff, who has reluctantly released Perrin, and nods at him too.
Then the passenger door opens.
A woman gets out. She's tall, with warm brown skin, and natural hair pulled back from her face. She looks around Odette's yard with a bright smile on her face. She looks very friendly.
"Anton." Odette is already on her feet, moving across the lawn with her arms out. "You sweet boy. It has been way too long."
Anton opens his arms too, and she walks straight into them. He hugs her with a genuineness that surprises me a little, his big hands pressing flat against her back.
When they pull apart, Odette takes his face in both hands and looks at him over her sunglasses.
"You got old, son," she says.
Anton's eyes narrow, half a smile pulling up one side of his mouth.
Odette gives him a look so sharp it could cut. "The only words that had better come out of your mouth right now are that I look younger every day," she says, "or I am putting your old ass on that grill next to the steaks."
Anton’s smirk shifts, growing into a very boy-ish smile. "Mama O, you don't look a day over twenty-nine.”
Odette releases his face and steps back, satisfied. "That's what I thought." She turns and looks at Anton’s guest. “And you must be Anton’s girl.”
"This is Maya," Anton says, as he holds his hand out toward the woman beside him. She steps forward and takes it.
Maya smiles at us, and says hello to everyone. Cliff comes over from the grill, wiping his hands on a dish towel, and shakes her hand. Raff and Perrin follow, as all the introductions are made.
Odette takes Maya by the arm and immediately pulls her toward the grill, asking the young woman how she takes her steak.
Anton drifts toward me.
He stands beside my chair and looks out at the yard for a moment, taking it all in. Adam drifts off to help Cliff, while Perrin and Raff head inside to get some plates.
"How are things?" I ask as Anton sits, taking Adam’s chair.
"Good." The alpha glances at me sideways. "Could use a good pharmacist though." He tilts his head slightly. "All I've got right now is a pharmacy tech, and she's slow as hell."
I look at him. "Is Milo still there?"
Anton shakes his head. "Milo kind of disappeared." He looks back at the yard. "Nobody was surprised. He had a problem." He leans in slightly. "Pill popper.” He shakes his head. “I should have caught it sooner."
I don't say anything to that.
"So he's gone?" I ask.
"Yup," Anton says simply.
We sit on that for a moment, the two of us, in the shade of Odette's oak trees. I think about my parents’ funeral, my beat-up notebook, and that tapping sound I heard in my sleep for three years straight.
Then I let it go.
"I'm glad you came," I say. “And I’m so glad to finally meet Maya.”
Anton smiles. "Yeah," he says. "Me too." He's quiet for a moment, watching Cliff plate the steak. Then he says, "You know. If you ever want to come back to work, the offer stands."
I look at him a little surprised he’d even offer that. I mean, what kind of omega would volunteer to work at the freaking Morder?
Anton glances at his girlfriend, watching her chat with Odette. "I could probably even get you a pay bump,” he says like he’s hoping to entice me.
"Did you miss me that much?" I laugh.
Anton looks directly at me and nods. "Yes," he says firmly. "You're quiet, focused, and thorough. I didn't once worry about you being late, stealing drugs, or causing a scene." His dark eyes narrow. "Do you have any idea how rare that is?"
Something warm moves through my chest, followed immediately by guilt.
I did steal drugs.
Quite a lot of them, actually. Just not the fun kind.
Not the painkillers or the sedatives or anything that would have been popular at a party. I pocketed the heat suppressants, one vial at a time, at least three a week…for six months straight.
"That's really kind of you to say, Anton."
I do not mention the drugs.
"What are you two talking about?" Cliff appears at my shoulder, his hand resting on the back of my neck, and squeezing once.
“Work,” Anton says simply. “I’m trying to get your woman to come back and do pharmacy prep.”
“Pharmacy prep?” Cliff’s eyes narrow, clearly not believing that. “Right.” He shakes his head. "Be careful, Anton. I’m not fond of people hitting on my omega.”
Anton turns and looks at him. Then his eyes cut across the yard to where Adam is chatting Maya and Odette’s ears off.
"Adam?" Anton frowns, confused.
Cliff’s eyes cut to me, but before he can say anything else, Raff walks up. He holds out a cold bottle of beer toward Anton. "You look like you need this."
Anton takes it. "Thanks."
He twists the cap off and takes a long pull, and the breeze shifts, moving through the yard from the east, carrying the smell of summer air and steaks on the grill.
Anton's hand stills on the bottle.
His nostrils flare.
He turns his head slowly and looks at me, his dark eyes going wide in a way I have never seen on Anton's face before. Not once in six months of working alongside him.
“Holy, fuck,” he whispers as he stares right at me. "Are you an omega?"
Adam goes quiet as he turns and looks at Anton, then me.
Everyone is staring.
Finally, Odette raises her tea glass, looking right at Raff. "Can’t get anything past that one.”
THE END