Chapter 8
EIGHT
JUNIPER
Me and Kit had gone ahead to prepare the apartment while they finished up.
I was already regretting this. It was one thing wearing my contacts for an hour or two while I was out, but now I’d have to wear them in my house too.
“Kit. Take down those photos of us.” I pointed into his room, to the string of pictures that featured us together. With my very golden eyes present.
“Smart," he said, going to unhook the string and carefully putting them on his desk. He stared for a moment at the picture of us and Dee, before adding it to the pile. He pulled a shoebox from the closet and laid them inside.
We’d just finished setting up the bedding when Kit glanced at his phone.
“They’re here,” he said, beaming and practically running down the stairs to greet them. I followed, and met them all at the downstairs door.
“Okay, here are the rules. Me and Kit sleep in my room. You all will share the spare room. If you make a mess, clean it up. Don’t eat labelled food in the fridge. Don’t leave the toilet seat up. And if for some godforsaken reason it comes up, keep any fucking to Kit’s room.”
“We’re not animals,” muttered Jhin, looking aghast.
“Question. How big is the spare room?” asked Ez.
“Big enough,” I said sweetly.
“I’ve got a giant futon, and I pulled out our guest stuff too," said Kit. He was bouncing on his feet.
I stepped aside and gestured for them to go up. I was very uneasy about how comfortable I felt about this. I may have gone a little overboard trying to compensate for my internal lack of suspicion. I’d called Daisy in the car, and she’d gotten one of her dads to go raid the Safe House storage and bring three extra locks for my door.
And motion detectors for the corridor, and a baby monitor.
Just in case.
ADRIAN
I pulled a load of clothes out of the dryer and replaced them with some wet ones. There was a lot to dry, and we’d also hung up clothes and linens all over the apartment. Jhin had said we should bring anything we didn’t want to risk getting ruined.
I carried the armful of laundry to the spare bedroom and stepped inside. I wasn’t sure I trusted Juniper’s definition of ‘big enough’.
There was a queen-size futon, and then a twin inflatable mattress shoved to the side.
“Maybe one of us could sleep on the couch?” I suggested, eyeing the layout doubtfully. I dumped the clothes onto the bed for sorting.
“No,” Jhin said firmly. “This is what they’ve offered us.”
“We’ll just have to sleep in a big pack pile," said Ez a little too eagerly, jumping onto the futon. It gave an alarming crack.
“Come on, bring it in guys!” he said, and pointed at Vander. “Come on, V, you definitely need more hugs, right?”
Vander rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed to take off his socks. Ez tackled him from behind, and to my surprise, and Ez’s delight, Vander started wrestling him.
“There’s not enough space for this,” Jhin said, frowning.
“Just... let them be,” I said, getting on the inflatable mattress to move out of their way. It had been way too long since Vander had wrestled Ez.
“Ha! Got you, dude,” Ez cackled. “Hey! No auras, that’s not fair?—”
Vander had pushed Ez off and was now pinning him down. There was a knock at the door and Kit poked his head in.
“Everything okay?” he asked, blinking at us. He was carrying an armful of blankets. His eyes flicked to where Vander and Ez were wrestling—shirtless—and got stuck.
“Sorry, yes, we’re fine,” said Jhin, and I darted ahead of him so I could be the one to take the armful of delicious-smelling blankets out of Kit’s hands. He was still staring at Ez and Vander but then tore his gaze away to look at me. Now I was here, though, maybe I'd seemed too eager. I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Thanks for having us,” I said, and I meant it.
“Sorry about your apartment. That really sucks," he replied, handing me the linens. He’d taken off the silky jacket, and it just left him in pants and the crop top. He was so cute it almost hurt.
“Well. We’re very lucky you’re having us. This would have cost a ton at the laundromat.”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing down, shuffling his feet. “Are you guys going to be okay in there? Space-wise, I mean.”
“We’ll be okay,” I said. “This is only one less room than we usually have.”
Dammit, that was such a dumb way to explain that.
“Yeah, it’s me and Adrian usually. Vander has to share with Jhin because he’s such a grouch,” Ez said, and yelped as Vander jabbed him in the stomach.
“See!” he said, trying to squirm away. “This is abuse!”
Kit’s smile almost made me drop the blankets onto the floor.
“So, is this usually your room?” I asked. I couldn’t quite figure it out. It was decorated like a very bare-bones bedroom that smelled like Kit, but the scent was faint, even on the bed.
“Oh yeah, well, when we moved in it was,” Kit said, dark eyes meeting mine again. “But don’t worry, you’re not kicking me out. I’ve been bunking with Juniper for years—we share a nest. I pretty much only use this if I need some private space.” He paused, then his cheeks went pink. “Personal space! Like for gaming and stuff.”
The thought swirled in my head as he said goodnight. Ez and Vander had stopped their wrestling, and I turned to face them, eyebrows raised.
“You guys heard that, right?” I asked. “He just told us they share a nest ?”
“That’s hot,” said Ez, coming to grab a blanket. He shoved his face in it and inhaled with a sigh.
“They were very clear they are just friends,” Jhin said as Ez plopped down on the bed. Ez shushed him, and I noticed he’d positioned the blanket right over his crotch.
This was going to be a long night.
JUNIPER
The motion detector alarm blasted into my headphones and woke me up. I stiffened, and then crawled out from under Kit, slipping my feet onto the cold floor.
I lurched toward the baby monitor.
There was a tall, lone figure in the short corridor, hand resting on the wall outside the spare room. The feed wasn’t clear enough for my bleary eyes to see which one. He paused, and then walked to the bathroom.
I chewed on my fingernail nervously as I waited for him to come out.
When he finally did, he started walking toward our room.
I stiffened as he stopped just before the living room/kitchen space, right near our bedroom door.
He was alone.
I watched on the baby monitor as he ambled to the couch, flopping down and grabbing the nearest blanket. I froze as he pulled it over himself.
Uh, no.
That wasn’t allowed.
That was my couch blanket, and I did not want it smelling like a delicious alpha.
One of Kit ’s delicious alphas.
He shifted, turning over and tugging the blanket up to his chin.
Shit.
What if he accidentally scent marked it? Was that even a thing?
I could wash it with Nutraleze, but then it would wash Kit’s scent off too, and Kit was leaving soon.
I had to rescue that blanket.
I waited until he looked like he was asleep, chewing another fingernail to a nub, and then tiptoed over to the door. I worked quietly to unlatch the three deadbolts I’d installed earlier.
Then, heart hammering in my throat, I army-crawled out into the living room. They’d hung up a lot of their stuff to dry around the apartment, and it had made their scents tangle and linger throughout the whole space. The only unaffected room so far was our nest, though I’m sure it wouldn’t stay like that for long. I was fighting the urge to grab some clothes and tuck them between the cushions in our nest, and I could only imagine how much stronger the temptation was for Kit.
I remained ninja quiet as I made my way over to the couch and around the side. As I approached, I smelled cinnamon and pear.
Adrian.
His breathing was even, his mouth hanging slightly open. He looked… peaceful. Cute. I glared at him. No way was he using his good looks to get out of this one.
I gritted my teeth, and slowly started tugging the blanket off him, inch by inch. It was about halfway off when it stopped coming.
Dammit. It must be stuck between the couch cushions on the other side.
I stood slowly, carefully, and reached over, slipping my hand down beside the fabric to free it.
My arm had to go lower, causing me to press closer to him. He stirred, and I froze, my back screaming in protest at the awkward angle.
His arm reached up, and my eyes widened as it wrapped around me, tugging me to his chest like some omega teddy bear.
Pressed against his chest, heart racing, I swore I heard the faintest of purrs. For a moment, I felt like I did in my nest with Kit. Warm. Cosy. Surrounded. Safe.
We’re not safe, stupid omega, he isn’t ours; I hissed at myself and wiggled a bit, trying to move his arm.
Shit, what if Kit woke up and found us like this?
Adrian’s arm was deadweight, but I finally managed to move it.
My triumph was short-lived as his arm fell and hit the floor. Adrian woke up with a sharp inhale. In a moment, he was off the couch and on his feet, and I was swept off the floor and into his arms. His head whipped around, searching for a threat, and I found myself pulled closer against his delicious-smelling chest. As he tried to… protect me?
A growl tore from his throat, summoning a broken, terrified purr in my chest. The attack yesterday mixed with my years of gold pack instincts—I needed out. Now ! I sank my teeth deep into his arm, tasting blood.
“Ow!” he yelped. His arm went slack, dropping me, and I crashed to the ground. My head hit the hardwood with a terrifying crack and a bolt of pain.
My vision swam, but the threat was still there as I tried to scramble away.
Get it together.
I had to be able to fight?—
“Juniper ? ” Adrian said, and I felt his hand brush my arm in the dark. I twisted, trying to scratch him, and he swore.
“Juniper stop, " he barked, aura flaring out with enough force to make me freeze.
Pure terror whited out my vision as I lay there, heart pounding, chest heaving with rapid breaths. My neck was exposed. Fuck. Fuck .
I heard fingers fumbling and the living room lamp clicked on.
Adrian crouched down next to me; hands raised as if he was harmless.
“I’m not going to hurt you," he said, his voice level, eyes meeting mine. His bark was wearing off, and I managed to sit up a bit, scooting back until I hit the wall. I hissed as I hit the tender spot on my skull, sending spots into my vision.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. Are you hurt? Your head?” he asked, but despite my fear, he wasn’t coming closer.
“I’m fine,” I gritted out. I still couldn’t catch my breath properly, and my head was pounding; it felt like it had been cracked open. My dad had been an ER nurse, and I knew I should probably get checked for a concussion, but I couldn’t afford that.
Gold pack problems.
He gave me a flat look.
“Sounded bad," he said.
“I’ve had worse.”
We glared at each other. It was funny… I hadn’t really heard him talk this much before. He tended to stay quiet.
“I’m going to get my medical kit. When I get back, I’m going to take a look at your head.”
When you get back, I’m going to be locked in my room.
With my blanket.
I gave a quick nod so he would leave, more pain shooting through my head. He went and grabbed some pants to pull on over his underwear.
He didn’t grab a shirt because, apparently, it was illegal for alphas to wear shirts at night.
I’d arrest him for that , my omega voice commented before I could stop her.
Bad, Juniper. Bad.
To my surprise, he went out the apartment door and down the stairs.
Right.
Time to move.
I shifted forward, and my head spun, nausea hit me like a wave.
Fuck.
Just needed to give myself a minute. I’d still have time to leave before he got back.
I did not.
I was still sitting there when he opened the door, a large duffel bag in his hand. He knelt next to me, and his gaze locked with mine. My head was still spinning.
“Ready?” he asked, turning to unzip his bag. It was stuffed full of medical supplies.
“Why do you have a whole clinic in your bag?” I asked, staring at it.
He gave me a small smile.
“That’s our job. We’re paramedics. And we keep our own first response kit on hand in case of emergencies… like this.”
This was definitely an emergency. I was not prepared to deal with the fact I now had a sexy paramedic looking after me. I was frantically trying to stamp out the images of what his ass would look like in that tight uniform.
I managed to stabilize my heart rate as he sanitized his hands and pulled out a penlight. He shone it into my eyes, got me to track his finger.
“I’m going to touch you now, alright?” he said, putting on some gloves. “Need to see if you’re bleeding.”
He hovered in front of me, waiting.
“Sure,” I muttered, and his warm hands took my head, very lightly touching the back. I winced, and he pulled back, handing me a cold pack. “Any nausea? Dizziness?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“No blood, but you’re going to have a nasty bump. You’ve got a concussion. You’re going to have to take it easy. Rest. No driving.”
“Great,” I groaned, trying to apply the cold pack.
He held out some painkillers, and I inspected them closely before swallowing them. He soaked a gauze and brought it to my face, before hesitating.
“Your, uh, mouth," he said, holding it out. Right. The blood from biting him. I took it from him and scrubbed my face, not meeting his eyes.
“You should probably lie down," he said, glancing at the couch.
No.
I couldn’t stay there. Kit was in the nest and the door wasn’t locked. And I didn’t think I could stand up, let alone walk over there and secure all the locks.
“I need you to move the couch in front of the bedroom door.” I said.
He looked at me as if I was joking, and I glared at him.
After a beat, he shrugged and set to work, moving one end at a time so it didn’t make much noise. I scowled as I stared at the collection of crumbs where the couch had been.
He came back over, and I swallowed my pride as he lifted me up and carried me over, setting me down gently. I grabbed my blanket and hugged it tightly before snuggling down and putting the cold pack in place.
I looked up to find him back by the duffel bag, rinsing his bite wound with saline.
I would not apologise.
No way.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
His eyes flicked up to mine.
“Got me pretty good,” he said, a smile tugging at his lip. “So, uh, what were you doing?”
Heat rushed to my face as my mouth dropped open. “I was trying to rescue my blanket!” I said, my voice a high-pitched whisper. “You had no right to come and sleep out here and stink up my stuff.”
"And you weren’t asleep because…?”
“You think I can sleep with four alphas in my house?” He didn’t need to know about the alarmed motion detectors. Or the baby monitor.
He was silent for a moment, but he didn’t look confused. Instead, he kind of looked like he felt bad for me.
A horrible thought struck me, and as I blinked, I realized I wasn’t wearing my contacts. Shit. Now he knew I’d been illegally hiding my eyes.
Perhaps he saw my expression change, because he twitched a bit.
“I’m sorry," his voice was soft. Pitying.
“Fuck off,” I snapped, opening my eyes to glare at him.
“You know… I’m not going to report you, right? I don’t care what colour your eyes are,” he said hesitantly. I sniffed.
He finished putting a dressing on his bite wound.
“Look, just don’t use my blankets.” I clutched the mass of fabric tighter to myself.
He raised his hands defensively.
“I have no idea how to tell if something is yours. Everything here smells like you and him. It’s like you’re one person.”
“If it’s fluffy, it’s Kit’s.” I jabbed my finger at the pile of other blankets on the love seat. Literally every single other blanket there was fluffy.
Jerk. Had to pick mine.
My omega wanted me to scent mark them, but I doubted any of the Argo pack wanted to deal with my sour cherry spice anymore than they already had to.
He dragged the cushions off the love seat and set them on the floor, before taking one of Kit’s blankets and laying it on top. Then he turned off the light.
I lay there, listening to him breathing for a while.
“Adrian?” I whispered. Maybe he was asleep.
“Mm?”
I took a deep breath. “Don’t tell the others. Please. About… my eyes.”
“I won’t,” he replied. He sounded a bit nervous, too. “C-could you not tell anyone… about me hugging you like that?”
“Fine,” I said, but found myself smiling in the dark. I pulled my blanket around me and started drifting off.
“Juni?” I woke up to Kit’s whisper. I looked up, groggy, my head still pounding. He had opened the bedroom door and was hovering above me, looking at the couch in confusion. “You okay? I woke up, and you weren’t there." He bit his lip and climbed over the couch, snuggling in beside me. “And why is the couch here?”
“I had to rescue my blanket,” I mumbled, drifting off again.
ADRIAN
I’d half-woken to her scent, the gentle brush of her body against mine. The scent of cherries and almonds leached into everything around here. It was inescapable, and my dreams had been filled with omega bodies—mostly Kit’s but heavily featuring Juniper. In this dream, we’d convinced her that she was ours, too. In that moment, half-asleep, I’d been going on instinct alone. She’d been draped over me, her body soft and warm. My cheeks heated thinking about it.
And then I’d been jolted awake in a panic, her in my arms, every cell in me needing to protect, to keep her safe.
I could have gone my whole life without hearing an omega purr in terror. She’d sunk her teeth into my arm, and then there’d been that sickening crack as she’d hit the ground.
I looked at her sleeping face, a strand of dark hair stuck to her pink lip.
I didn’t blame her. I doubted there was any gold pack in the Gritch who would survive without those instincts.
I could hear the pack stirring in the spare room, and pushed my blanket off, sitting up.
Seemed like Kit had come out and joined Juniper on the couch at some point, and they were asleep in a tangle of limbs. Was it really possible that she’d change her mind about joining us? They did seem really close.
The door to the spare room started to open, and I moved away, back to my makeshift bed on the floor.
“Couldn’t hack it, eh, bro?” Ez came up behind me, doing a double-take as he saw the omega couch. He shot me a confused look. Jhin was rubbing his eyes, and Vander had his arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
They all stared at the two omegas curled up together.
“They’re like cats,” said Vander, at least keeping his voice low. “I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.”
“What happened to your arm?” asked Ez, eyeing me suspiciously.
I hesitated, almost lying, but they’d see when the dressing came off.
“I got bit,” I said, heat prickling up my neck. One of the omegas was stirring on the couch.
Vander’s eyes flashed to me, mirth dancing in them as his face split into a wicked grin.
“Bit,” Jhin repeated, frowning.
“What, by like, a raccoon?” Ez asked.
“Some kind of wild animal.” Vander turned to look at Juniper, who was blinking awake.
“No!” I said frantically, pulling their attention back to me.
Her golden eyes widened, the spots of pink on her cheeks blossoming to a deep red before she hid her face under her arm. Then she was up in a flash with a hiss of pain, the bedroom door slamming behind her. I heard heavy footsteps staggering across the room, but no sound of her falling, thankfully.
Kit sat up, rubbing his face.
The pack was looking at me after my outburst.
“I came to sleep out here, and I kind of, um, bumped into her—I didn’t know it was her—and I grabbed her, and she got a bit spooked.”
“She bit you hard enough to draw blood?” asked Jhin, pursing his lips, his eyes calculating.
“You’re hurt?” asked Kit, looking more awake and getting to his feet. My face was going red, I was sure. I didn’t answer. His pajamas consisted only of a black pair of silky, clingy pants, and I just stared as he hurried over, taking my arm with a frown. Goosebumps broke out under his touch.
“Is it okay?” His voice was soft and he was looking up at me. His dark eyes were huge, blinking, and he looked… sad? Worried?
“I… what?” I said.
Vander snorted and turned around, heading to the bathroom.
“It’ll be fine,” Jhin said. “Adrian knows what he’s doing.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re a paramedic, right?” Kit’s face broke into a happy grin, making him look like an angel.
A moment later, for some unfathomable reason, he let go of my arm. The whole room dimmed slightly. He was glancing back at their bedroom, biting his lip.
“Was Juni okay? She must have been pretty freaked out.”
I swallowed.
“She bumped her head pretty hard,” I admitted. “Might have a minor concussion. Actually, we should probably check on her again.”
He grabbed my arm, dragging me toward their room and trying to move the couch out of the way. He was quickly surrounded by me, Ez, and Jhin who moved it in a second.
He bounced on his heels, shooting us all a helpless glance again before knocking on the door.
“Juni?” he called out. “Can we come in? Adrian says you have a concussion?”
There was a muffled answer from inside, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
Kit tried the door, and thankfully she hadn’t done up any of the locks.
“Juni?” He peered inside.
“Just you,” came a quiet, grumpy voice, and Kit’s glance was panicked now.
He was just opening his mouth when she spoke again, even quieter. “And Adrian.”
Kit huffed out a sigh of relief, and took my hand again, dragging me inside.
“Ez, can you get the bag?” I called over my shoulder.
“On it," he said, and disappeared to grab it.
It was dark in here, with mismatched curtains hanging along two of the walls. There were a couple of glowing lava lamps scattered around, and more mismatched fabric creating a canopy over the bed. From the ceiling hung handmade paper lanterns of various sizes, with multicolored LEDs making them glow. Threadbare rugs that may have once been fluffy were spread out on the floor. It was the kind of nest my mom had had growing up—the one you had to make do with. Using whatever money you could spare to cobble together a semblance of comfort. My dads had never cared enough to help her.
My heart ached to help Juniper and Kit do better than a thrifted nest. We weren’t rich—we all worked, but most of that money went right into our schooling loans. I’d happily use my spending money for this, though.
Juniper was huddled on the large bed, clutching her rescued blanket to her chest. Kit tugged me over to her and crouched down, sweeping back a strand of hair from her face.
“You okay, Juni?” he asked softly, and she sniffed.
“Can you get my contacts?” she whispered.
Kit’s eyes darted to me suddenly and he straightened up, protectively blocking her from view. His movement made me acutely aware that I was here, invading their space.
“Maybe I could just come back when you’re ready?” I said, taking a step back.
“S’okay. He saw last night,” Juniper admitted, her voice still low.
Kit turned and frowned at me, which I think was the first time he’d done that. I squirmed, even though none of last night was my fault.
“Okay, be right back," he said, standing up.
I took his place, tentatively crouching next to Juniper.
Her eyes glinted up at me from the dark, reminding me of my old cat when she’d hide under the bed. Her face was tense.
“Can I check you over again?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Still hurts. More when I move.”
“Any more nausea?” I asked, relieved when she shook her head slightly.
“Okay. It’s getting better then?”
A nod.
“You’ll be okay. But you need to rest.”
Another glare, but it was half-hearted at best.
Kit slid back into the room, padding over to us.
“Gotta work," she said stubbornly. “It’s moving day. Just get me some painkillers.”
“That’s not a good idea,” I replied.
“I’ll cover." Kit sat down and handed her the contacts. “I’ve done it with you plenty of times.”
“Perfect.” I smiled. “And you’ll stay here with one of us and recover.”
“I’m fine," she said again, trying to get up, but twitched back down with another hiss. Kit folded his arms and pursed his lips.
She ended up staying.