Chapter 4
FOUR
ADRIAN
Well, this was an absolute, unprecedented disaster, and quite possibly the most painfully awkward thing I’d seen in my entire life.
And I’d seen a drunken Jhin trying to flirt.
Juniper was just standing there in her ridiculously cute outfit with sweet, chocolatey coffee dripping from her hair onto the ground.
The barista was staring at us, hand frozen in the middle of restocking the pastry display.
Kit was still crying next to her, and Ez looked like he was having a seizure as he tried to decide if he should comfort Kit, help Juniper, or clean up the coffee. Eventually, he chose the safe option, diving to the floor with handfuls of napkins.
Jhin had finally— finally —risen to his feet, and he reached the omegas in two strides. He fished his handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to Kit, then grabbed a fistful of napkins from Ez and started to squeeze out the coffee from Juniper’s hair.
Her eyes flicked around the room, and when they met mine, I gave her an apologetic grimace.
Her face went bright red, and I expected that angry scowl to appear on her face again, but instead she looked panicked, which was way worse.
“Are you alright, Juniper?” Jhin asked, catching her eye.
“Fine," she practically spat. Kit’s hand brushed her shoulder, and she jerked back again, breathing hard. He squeezed his eyes shut, looking like she’d slapped him.
“You didn’t get burned?” Jhin’s gaze was still fixed on her, and she trembled. Jhin could be really intense.
“Juniper?” Kit sniffed, getting her attention, sidling toward her. His eyes were wide, and he was pale, gaze nervously darting in our direction.
“I’m fine," she said again, as if the word was a magic spell. “ Fine . Just surprised. Obviously.”
She twitched away from Kit’s reaching hand, backing into the wall. He flinched and tried again.
“Juni," he pleaded, his voice quieter, and her eyes met his. He tugged her further back into the coffee shop, away from us. The pained energy crackling between them, back and forth, was almost tangible.
“Yeah. Well. Congratulations," she said, forcing a small, strained smile. Their voices were low, but we could still hear them. I desperately hoped they knew that, because this seemed like a private conversation. I couldn’t look away, though, my eyes glued on them. Anytime I tried, my attention was sucked right back in by their omega magnetism.
“Makes sense,” Juniper said. “Because you’re pretty much perfect and I’m just—not that I wanted?—”
It was kind of terrifying watching her try to be so nice. I’d seen some omegas totally lose their shit over far, far less. And despite what Vander said, we’d obviously meant enough to her that she was upset about this.
“Ah, shit, Juni, this is so not fair,” Kit said, wringing his hands. “Look, if they really meant that much to you, maybe we can still work something out?”
All my danger alarms went off as her posture shifted, her face shuttering. Abort, dude, abort .
“Work something out?” she echoed.
“Yeah, Juni, I wouldn’t mind. I mean, I think I’d be fine with it, for you. If you want.”
“Fine with what?” Juni snapped. Kit finally seemed to hesitate.
“You joining us?” he asked.
Juniper’s mouth fell open, and she gave a strained laugh. Her incredulous eyes met Kit’s.
“You think I want to be your pity bond? ”
There was a horrible silence as all the blood drained from Kit’s face. Juniper shook her head and moved, heading straight for the exit. Kit darted behind her.
“Wait, that’s not what I—” Kit said, but Juniper cut him off.
“Just stop. Fucking stop ," she snapped, wrenching open the door and storming out.
“That’s not safe,” Kit said weakly as the door closed behind her.
“Vander. Follow her, make sure she’s okay," said Jhin. Vander’s head snapped up.
“Why do I have to—” he started, but Jhin rounded on him.
“Go," he barked, and Vander gave him a death glare as he stood and stomped after her.
“ Noooo, ” moaned Kit, burying his head in his hands and sitting heavily down on a chair.
He folded over, hugging his legs. He was quite possibly the cutest sad person I’d ever seen, though I wasn’t sure that was really an appropriate thought. I could feel the pull toward him, even from here, and wanted to go wrap my arms around him.
The moment I’d caught the scent of his almond buttercream scent, I’d felt that undeniable tug in my gut, as if something had just clicked into place. It was extremely disconcerting, having Juniper next to him. I’d thought scent matches would obliterate all other desires, but…. it hadn’t. Perhaps it was because we’d just spent a heat with her, or maybe the way their scents were mixed together in the air, almost clinging to each other. Thinking back, there had even been a slight trace of him in her scent before—I’d thought it was just an undertone of her own, but I recognized it here. Maybe that was why?
Jhin sat down stiffly next to him, looking exhausted.
We stayed like that for a minute until the barista walked up with a wet towel and put a disposable cup of coffee in front of Kit. The whipped cream tower on top wobbled as she set it down.
“On the house," she said, before turning away. Bless her.
“Well, that could have been worse," said Ez, pulling up a chair and sitting down backward so he was leaning on the backrest.
“How could that have been worse?” I asked flatly, leaning against the wall.
“Dude. I mean, no one died, right?" He looked around, and then huffed, sinking his head onto his arms.
“Just trying to stay positive," he muttered.
Kit let out a miserable whine, making me want to punch something for him.
Jhin hesitated, lifting his hand before resting it on Kit’s shoulder. Kit shifted into his touch, and I could see some tension lifting from Jhin’s shoulders.
“Should we take you back home?" he asked. Kit sniffed.
“Juni says I shouldn’t tell alph—people where we live," he mumbled quietly.
“She left her handbag here,” Ez pointed out. “So she’ll come back for it, right?”
Kit nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll wait for her here. I’m her ride home too, so…”
“Are you alright?” I asked softly. He sniffed.
“I will be,” he said, looking around at us. “Shit. Sorry. Um, I’m Kit.”
He put on a half-hearted smile. Oh. We hadn’t even introduced ourselves.
“I’m Adrian,” I managed, “And that’s Ez and Jhin. Vander was the guy who left.”
“Do you want us to leave, Kit?” asked Jhin. “We don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“You don’t,” Kit said quickly, and then scratched his neck. “God. A scent match.”
There was an awkward pause, and Kit glumly picked up the disposable coffee cup to start eating the whipped cream with a spoon.
JUNIPER
I was practically running down the street, furiously wiping my eyes on my sleeve. I reached the car and stopped. My keys were in my handbag, which I’d left in the coffee shop. Yeah, I was not ready to go back yet.
My stomach plunged as I heard Kit’s words again.
I think I’d be fine with it, for you. If you want. Sharing.
Kit’s ultimate kindness. Using his leverage to get them to bond a gold pack.
I’d set myself up for this.
“I don’t want a pack. I want to stay with you,” I’d said, and he’d taken it that this was my only chance.
Me. The sad, pathetic failure of an omega.
Not the right one for this pack, but still so desperate for one that, y’know, maybe they’d toss me a bone. Indulge me. An extra, unwanted tag along they’d pity fuck when they had to, for her sake, before returning to their real omega.
Fucking humiliating.
I hugged myself tighter.
I was fine.
This was fine.
Because now I didn’t have to worry about if they liked me or if I’d mess everything up. They’d love Kit, and so I was sure my secret was safe. I’d lose Kit, but that was inevitable anyway.
This was a good reminder to not let myself get swept away by stupid, hot alphas.
I mentally shook my omega, scolding her. Stupid. Stupid instincts.
I kept on down the street, not wanting to just stand awkwardly by my car.
I turned left into a park, slowing down a bit, my mind turning back to Kit leaving.
And now that my anger was ebbing, the realization that this was final, it was actually happening, hurt the most. I didn’t know how I would survive without him. Without his smiles, his calming presence, his reassurance. I knew I couldn’t function as a proper omega on my own. I needed him.
Almost enough to run back and beg him to make the offer again, to fucking swallow my pride and be their pity bond just so I wouldn’t lose him.
But that wouldn’t work, either, because if I was in a bond with Kit, I wouldn’t be able to hide how much I wanted… him.
How jealous I would be. I could handle the nameless alphas that came to his heats, because they were nothing, and I was the constant. He needed me there. But I was just the stopgap. The fill-in until he got them.
With them, he wouldn’t need me anymore. Wouldn’t need my cuddles. Wouldn’t come to me when he was sad, or needed a stupid jar opened, or wanted to talk about his new favorite anime. He’d have them and I’d hate it and it would be so awkward.
So I was fucked either way.
“Hey, Omega.” A male voice broke through my thoughts, bringing me back to reality.
I was hot, and my pain had shifted from my head to my abdomen.
Alarm bells started going off in my head. My heat wasn’t done with me yet.
And shit, everything I needed was in my handbag.
I needed to get back, and I shifted into gear, looking for the park exit. But there were… others here. We were on a path with overgrown shrubs and thick foliage, no line of sight to the rest of the park. It was just me.
And four huge alphas. They were rough-looking, their faces set with predatory looks that I wanted nothing to do with.
“Hey, Omega, where you going?” the male voice came again. It was closer this time and I snapped my head up to look at him, snarling.
“Fuck. Off,” I said, my heart starting to pound. There was still a chance, a faint chance, that this was all a misunderstanding, and they’d back off and let me pass. I highly doubted it. I attracted trouble.
“She’s feisty,” another one said, sounding amused.
I turned away again, angling for the exit, for the slim chance that I could still walk away. One of them stepped in front of me, blocking me off.
Fuck.
Terror speared through me as I took in his expression.
“Don’t mean to intrude," he said with a nasty smile. “Just couldn’t help but notice you needed some assistance.”
“Maybe you should get your eyes checked. I’m fine,” I snapped. My taser. Where was my taser?
Handbag.
The alpha leaned closer.
“Not really something I saw, you know?" he said. He smelled like car exhaust. My vision was starting to narrow, my mouth dry.
“Where’s your pack, Sweetheart? Should be taking care of their omega.”
His eyes slid down to my neck, answering his question. No bites. No claim. Kit had bit me years ago, but it had healed fast, leaving no trace. His gaze lowered slowly, taking his time as he looked me up and down, still smiling. My skin crawled.
“Don’t worry darlin’. We‘re happy to help you out.”
My hand went into my skirt pocket, which I’d managed to shove a tiny, spiked two-finger version of brass knuckles into before leaving the apartment. Better than nothing. I took a breath, eyes darting around. If I wanted to stand a chance, I needed to strike first, before they could grab me.
I widened my stance, glaring up at him. He stepped closer, and I snapped, launching at him.
My hair stood on end as the alphas released their auras, adrenaline spiking in my system. It’d lend them unnatural strength and speed, so I had to fight perfectly to even have a chance. If they thought I was easy prey, they were dead wrong.
Groin. Eyes. Neck.
I struck mercilessly, going straight for the nearest target; the groin.
He was too fucking fast, arm snapping down and diverting my blow, which just clipped him instead of pulverizing.
I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. I’d seen the flash of a gun as I’d lunged, so I needed to keep him from grabbing that.
It was the focus I needed to keep going.
Groin. Eyes. Neck.
Twist, keep moving, weak point is between the thumb and forefinger, bite and fucking punch?—
I jammed my fingers in his eye socket, and he let out an agonized scream, dropping to his knees. Fucker, I thought, and bit down on his face. His neck was open, unprotected, and I hit as hard as I could, dragging the barbs down, aiming for that steady, bounding pulse?—
There was blood everywhere, and he fell, letting me go, clutching at his neck. As I stood there, panting, I turned around because there were more, weren’t there? So stupid of me to forget. But why hadn’t I been torn away, or stopped with the cold butt of a gun?
I turned and saw another alpha down, blood pooling underneath him.
Down?
And then I smelled it. Morning frost.
He flew past me, and I just stared as he smashed into another alpha.
I didn’t think I would ever be so relieved to see fucking Vander .