Chapter Nine – Dulcie
I cannot believe things spiraled like that, but at the same time… I can. Every time I see these guys, I feel different, and now that I’m officially moved in with them, now that I’m a part of their pack, everything is even more real.
By the time Monroe and Lev get back with bags of food from the store, I’m freshly showered and cleaned—but Redd doesn’t do anything of the sort, so the moment those two walk through the apartment door, they know something’s up. They can smell me on him.
I mean, the alpha did devour quite a lot of my slick. I don’t think a simple round of brushing his teeth would make that alpha smell like himself.
Lev is all smiles as he puts away all the food they got, while Monroe keeps shooting knowing glances Redd’s way.
To his credit, Redd doesn’t act guilty about it.
We did nothing wrong. I have to imagine that was why those two left in the first place, to give him and I some time alone since we were scent matches.
Really, it was very thoughtful of them, especially since in most packs, I assume the pack leader would feel as if he deserves the first taste, so to speak.
The guys tell me to sit down and relax in the living room while they cook.
Lev shows me how to use the remote—so many more buttons are on this one than the one for the TV in the common room at N.O.A.
Though cooking was a class when the academy was known as Solus Academy, I was never any good at it, so I’m not going to deny the men their chance to show off their cooking skills, even if said skills are only a step or two above pizza rolls, as Lev had mentioned before.
They had to be better at cooking than me, and if they weren’t, then we’d learn how to get better together.
We’d learn together. That thought comes so easily it startles me. Mostly that last word, if I’m honest. Already I’m including myself in their number, like I’m one of them—and I am. I have to keep reminding myself of that when I start to doubt.
I’m one of them. I’m theirs, and they’re mine.
I try not to stare at them as they flit around the kitchen, getting everything ready.
I can tell they have never cooked anything together like this before; there is a lot of bumping into each other and getting in one another’s way.
In a way, it makes it even sweeter that they’re trying something new for me.
Like I’m special or something. Like they really care.
It’s so bizarre to me, because I spent my whole life believing I would never have this kind of life, this kind of pack.
Once I presented as an omega, I figured life was over for me.
I’d never know what true happiness was. I’d be sold off and never see daylight again.
To me, that’s a fate worse than death, and I know it happens to too many omegas out there.
Of course, they like to pretend it doesn’t, but it does, and the fact of the matter is, those packs are never taken to court or prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
So many of the laws in this country are rooted in old-fashioned ideologies, where omegas are not people but objects that are owned.
Only recently have things begun to change, and many of the pure-blooded families and the ones with financial stake in the matter are trying to fight said changes.
It’s a sad reality. It is. I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to being in a pack who actually wants me, with men who like me and genuinely want to get to know me, nor will I get accustomed to craving them in return.
Seriously, it’s like I turn into a whole new omega when I’m near them. A desperate, wanton girl who’ll do anything for some relief. Just look at how things spiraled when I was alone with Redd earlier.
I don’t regret any of it, though. In fact, I think I’d like for it to happen again.
Dinner is ready within the hour, and they make sure to set the table on the far side of the open space, near the windows that overlook the city block. I get the chair between Monroe and Redd, while Lev sits across from me, always with a smile on his face.
“Dinner is served," the beta says, clearly proud of their meal.
And what is dinner? Chicken alfredo with homemade sauce and warm garlic bread.
The smells of the food are almost enough to drown out the scents of the men around me.
Almost. My stomach rumbles as I survey the table, and it slowly dawns on me that none of them are filling their plates; they simply watch me.
“Omegas first,” Monroe says, gesturing for me to dig in.
Oh, they’re waiting for me to fill my plate before they do theirs. That’s sweet, and not something I expected at all.
I reach for the bowl with noodles and use the scoop to give myself a nice portion, then I go for the chicken. Lastly, I grab two pieces of that deliciously-smelling garlic bread. All in all, it’s way too much for little old me, but I’m still going to try.
“It smells really good,” I tell them once my plate is full. “Are you sure you guys don’t cook all the time?”
“I mean, we cook, but like I said, we’re more of a throw something in the oven that’s already been pre-cooked kind of pack,” Lev says with a shrug. “Now we have an excuse to expand our skills. It’s actually kind of fun, cooking.”
I cut a piece of the chicken and stab it with my fork, bringing it to my mouth and chewing as I watch the guys fill their plates.
I thought I filled my plate too much, but the guys…
they put double the amount of food on theirs, and I bet anything they’ll eat it all.
Alphas probably require a lot more calories to exist on a daily basis, not to mention to keep all that muscle on their bodies.
Lev is the only one who puts a reasonable amount of food on his plate.
“So do you like your room? Are you missing anything? We can run out and get you anything you need tomorrow,” Monroe says.
“I, um… didn’t really get the chance to unpack.” As I say it, heat creeps up my cheeks and I blush even though the guys already know what went on between me and Redd while they were gone. Unlike me, Redd didn’t wash any of me off.
“Right,” he says, shooting a fast glance Redd’s way. “Well, the offer still stands. Once you finish unpacking, we can get you anything you need.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“You don’t have to thank us. You’re ours. It’s our job now to take care of you—”
“I don’t want to be a job, though.”
Monroe’s jaw clenches as he waits a moment before he answers, “That’s not what I meant.
Taking care of you isn’t a job. It’s… it’s what we were born to do.
” His hand fiddles with his fork, and for a while, it seems the über alpha is at a loss for words, as if he’s afraid anything he says next will be taken the wrong way.
I look down at my lap. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Redd speaks up, “Don’t apologize. It’s okay. We know what you meant.”
“Yeah.” Lev nods. “You’re part of our pack now, and we take care of each other here. We might not live a life of glamor and fame, but we can give you a good life.”
I believe them, I do. Maybe it’s the old me peeking through, the me who couldn’t ever picture herself settling down with a pack who actually cares. “I just never thought this would happen. It’s going to take a while for me to get used to all of this,” I say.
Redd reaches over to me, lightly touching my arm. “As long as it takes, we’ll be here.” The moment his fingers brush my skin, he gives me goosebumps, and I struggle not to let my mind go back to the bedroom and how easy it was to give in to him.
His words of comfort make me feel at ease, but his touch makes me feel like I’m on literal fire. I internally struggle with the back and forth, until he eventually pulls his hand off my arm and continues to eat, totally unaware of my turmoil.
My horniness, really. It’s like these guys unleashed something inside of me, something that had spent all these years blissfully hidden away, something I didn’t know existed until now.
And now that the animal is out of her cage, so to speak, I don’t think she’ll ever want to go back.
These feelings, these desires… they might just be the new Dulcie.
Things fall to a comfortable silence after that. Everyone is so focused on eating the food while it’s warm—that and tossing fast glances my way. I don’t eat nearly as fast as they do; they scarf their food down like they’re starving.
Maybe it’s because they were starving, maybe they didn’t eat at all today. I, myself, barely touched breakfast and I spent lunchtime packing.
When it’s time to clean up, I help them even though they tell me they have it handled.
They cooked, so it doesn’t feel right to me to let them clean it all up as well.
I help load the dishwasher under Lev’s guidance while Monroe and Redd clean off the table and all of the countertops in the kitchen.
Loading a dishwasher, believe it or not, isn’t something we ever did at N.O.A. As small as it may be, it’s new to me.
We crash on the couch after that, though they let me watch whatever I want. I keep playing the movie I started before dinner. Most of the guys are all yawns immediately. It’s not super late, but if they were anything like me yesterday, they didn’t sleep at all.
It’s nice, sitting on the couch, being surrounded by them. Unfamiliar in every way, but nice at the same time. Something I can get used to. Being around them, constantly inhaling their scents; if this is my new normal, I’m more than okay with it.
The night wears on. One by one, the guys disappear to shower and go to bed. Redd is the last one to stick around, and I tell him I’m going to stay up a bit more. We had one TV at N.O.A., and it was in the common room, so our TV privileges were cut off at ten every night.
Plus, if I’m honest, as exhausted as I am I’m not all that tired.