Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
Sera inhales, scenting me. Her shoulders drop as she catches the truth in my words. No sour note of shame. No bitter edge of regret. Cedar and chamomile, settled and calm.
And underneath the truth, something else. My scent blooming rich and sweet, the way it does when I want something. Her. I want her.
“Okay.” Her voice cracks. “That's — I didn't know if — okay. That's really good to hear. I was so worried I'd pushed too far or moved too fast or—” She stops herself, takes a breath. “Thank you. For telling me.”
Sera turns to Espie, more careful now. “And you? I should have asked before I — when I kissed you, I didn't plan that, it just happened, and I should have checked first whether—”
“I kissed you first!” Espie says. “And I liked that too. We both liked what you did.”
Sera’s gaze pings from me to Espie and back again. She’s more relaxed now, but she’s still guarded and I think I may be missing something, but then Ezra’s pulling plates out of the cupboard and sets them on the counter.
“Now that’s sorted, there’s breakfast. Sit down. Both of you.”
Lex guides us to the bench, his hand light on Espie's back, her other hand brushing my arm. Small touches. Grounding. My omega brain purrs softly at the contact.
Ezra slides plates in front of us. Eggs, toast, fruit, bacon. More than we can eat. Kev pours coffee for Espie, chamomile tea for me.
Kev sets a jar of honey on the table and pushes it toward me. “For your tea. I noticed you take it with honey. If you want.”
It's such a small thing. A jar of honey on a breakfast table. But Kev remembered. He was paying attention the whole time. Even when I couldn't look at him, he was watching. Learning. Waiting.
My throat goes tight. My eyes sting. “Thank you.” I say.
I stir the honey into my tea and watch it dissolve, golden swirls disappearing into amber. My hands are still shaking. The spoon clinks against the ceramic.
We eat. Actually eat. Not mechanical survival eating, but tasting, enjoying. My body is hungry in a good way. The eggs are good. The toast is buttery. The bacon is crisp.
Espie steals a piece of my bacon. Her scent goes playful, clover brightening.
I steal a strawberry from her plate. She makes an outraged sound that's almost a laugh.
This is what normal feels like. Pack around us, food on the table, someone's shoulder brushing mine. I'm not sure I trust it yet. I'm not running from it either.
Sera's phone buzzes against the counter. She glances at it. Her scent shifts, blood orange going sharp for a second before she clamps down. She puts the phone face-down, doesn't answer, keeps her hand near it. She flicks her eyes to it twice in the next minute.
Kev notices too. He rests his eyes on her face. “Everything okay?”
“Fine.” Sera picks up her coffee, doesn't drink. “Work stuff. Nothing to worry about.”
“Work stuff that makes your scent spike like that?” Kev's voice is mild, but there's steel underneath.
She doesn't answer. Her jaw does that tightening thing again.
“Sera.” Espie's voice is quiet but firm. “What happened?”
Sera sets down her coffee cup and looks at us. All of us. Her face is composed, but there's weight underneath, weight she's holding carefully in place.
“I don’t want to worry you,” she says.
“But you are worrying us by not telling us,” Lex says.
Sera worries her lips between her teeth before she gives in. “There was a raid last night in another county. Levi thinks its connected to Wallace’s network in Silverpine and Canton City.”
The kitchen goes still. The easy comfort from a moment ago crystallizes into something harder.
“What did they find?” Kev's voice has gone flat.
“There were two omegas. Both in...” She stops and her gaze flicks to Espie and drops back to the table. “They were in the same condition Espie was in. When I found her.”
Espie goes rigid against me. “Are they alive?” Espie asks. Her voice is steady, but she's trembling through our joined hands. “The omegas they found. Did they make it?”
“They're alive. The SWAT team took them to the OHC. That's all I know right now,” Sera says.
“And?” Kev prompts.
“And I need to figure out how all the sites connect to each other.” Sera drifts her hand toward her phone. “I need to get back to work.”
Ezra’s jaw ticks. “Don't shut us out, Sera.”
Sera's gaze burns when she throws her attention on Kev. “I have a job to do and I'm going to do it.” She gathers her phone and stands up. She turns toward the doorway. “Look. I just — I need you all to be safe. That's the whole job. That's all of it.”
She stops. She looks back at Espie and at me. Just for a second. Long enough for me to see her face crumple then firm with a tilt of her chin. There and gone the next. Then she's walking up the stairs and I hear the soft click of her bedroom door.
The kitchen goes quiet in a way it wasn't a minute ago.
I sit there with my hand around my tea and try to put what just happened into some shape I can hold. She walked out on us. On me. The morning after she had her mouth on me. The morning after I said her name out loud in front of everyone in this kitchen and meant it.
Kev crosses his arms and stares at the empty doorway. Lex sets his coffee down carefully. Ezra plows both hands through his hair.
Espie's hand finds mine beneath the table. Her fingers are cold.
Sera's still in the house.
She's just not here with us, and I have a sick feeling I've asked Espie to trust someone who still doesn't know how to trust herself.