3. San
Seth and Fen had been busy in “the pit.” That was what San called the cavernous basement room. Binnie had gone out of his way to keep the historic elements of the stately mansion, only updating things like the appliances, the electric…the roof. He’d refreshed the house, but he hadn’t changed it. San loved that about him. Too many people gutted old houses, ruining everything that made them unique.
The basement was no exception. But the basement was the only place in the house that had been ‘updated’ before Binnie was even born. His grandmother had envisioned it as an entertainment area for weekend retreats back in the seventies. Now, the space contained a gym, a sauna, and a game room. Binnie claimed there was even a bowling alley in there somewhere, but San wasn’t sure if he’d been teasing him or not, so he hadn’t asked.
The rest of the house was cold, stately, almost museum-like. But the basement—this room in particular—had intrigued San from the moment he laid eyes on it. It was wildly out of place compared to the rest of the house and made him wonder exactly what type of “entertaining” Binnie’s grandmother had envisioned for the room.
The main feature of the otherwise empty space was a sunken area in the center; they’d called it a sunken living room back when they were popular. People would line the sides with sofas, maybe even putting a coffee table in the center, creating a conversation area. But not Binnie’s grandmother. Instead, she’d turned the entire depressed area into a giant sofa covered in olive green velvet. San called it “the pit,” but Seth and Fen had thought of an entirely different purpose for it.
They’d created a nest. One big enough for the entire pack.
Over the last hour, they’d pilfered pillows and blankets from every occupied room as well as clothing items. San recognized his sweater with the thumb holes in it, his socks, three of his t-shirts, and a pair of his underwear. He also recognized Binnie’s favorite band tee, his ‘work’ cardigan, and the oversized red hoodie that hung almost down to his knees. There was something to represent everyone. Seth’s beanie, Saint’s army jacket, Ollie’s old work shirt, Loch’s grandpa sweater, Deke’s thrifted Gucci tank, Fen’s pajama pants.
They’d even brought Wolf’s dog bed downstairs. The canine stared at them, then sighed, flopping down onto the piles of fabric, opting to use his bed as a pillow. Seth was spoiling the dog. But Saint spoiled Seth, so maybe he was just paying it forward.
When Fenny saw them, he spread his arms out and turned in a circle in the center of the nest. “Ta-da,” he cried.
“Nice,” Binnie said. “This is perfect.”
Fen beamed at him. “Thanks. You should come in and claim your spot before the others get here.”
Binnie didn’t hesitate. He hopped into the pit, then took San’s hand, helping him down. He gasped as the material shifted beneath his feet, grabbing onto Binnie for support but instead dragging them both down. They landed in a heap of limbs with Fen snickering from the side. Binnie laughed, rolling them into a better position and tucking San against him, holding tight like Binnie thought the alpha might protest. San nestled closer, keeping his eyes closed so he didn’t have to see the smirk he knew Fen sported watching them.
“Loch and Saint are getting snacks,” Fen explained, unprovoked. “They’ll be back down soon.”
Before either could respond, Deke’s voice drifted in from the hallway. “—tell me why you’re taking us to the basement. This is weird.” He sounded wary. “Are you going to kill me or something?”
“Oh, lord,” Ollie said, sounding as amused as he was exasperated.
As the voices grew closer, Binnie and San watched from where they lay snuggled. “Why are alphas always so dramatic?” Seth asked as they breached the room, Ollie and Deke trailing along behind him.
Ollie stopped short, frowning deeply. “What’s…this?”
“Puppy pile!” Fen cried. “We’ve all been apart too long. We don’t smell right anymore. And with yours and Loch’s scents changing a bit, Seth and I thought it would be good to spend some time as a pack.”
“Is that what we are?” Deke asked, voice uncharacteristically timid.
“Do you doubt that?” a deep voice asked.
Loch and Saint were behind the others, snacks in hand, just as Fen had said. Loch was studying Deke carefully.
Deke flushed, shrugging. “I don’t doubt you guys could be a pack. I just don’t know where I fit into all this.”
Loch handed his supplies to Saint, who walked to Fen, handing them over. Loch threw his arm over Deke’s shoulders. “You’re as much a part of this pack as anyone else.”
“But, technically, we’re not a registered pack,” Seth said, walking to Saint and wrapping his arms around his torso. “We don’t have the same protections as others.”
Loch gave Deke a squeeze. “I don’t want to ruin Seth’s and Fenny’s puppy pile, but, tomorrow, we’ll decide…together…how to proceed. I’m not sure how San and Binnie feel about a pack bite when they haven’t officially claimed each other. But we can work that out then as well. Given Deke’s skills and Ollie’s possible…pregnancy, I think it’s best we make a decision sooner rather than later. We’re safer as a registered pack.”
Deke looked two seconds away from bursting into tears, shaking his head. “I’m a huge liab?—”
“Stop,” Loch said, cutting him off. “You’re supposed to be here, whatever you are or aren’t. We’re all meant to be together. We’ll handle whatever comes up as a pack. End of discussion. I’ve given everyone a pass because we haven’t made things official and we’ve been juggling heats and ruts. But you all seem to have appointed me the unofficial leader. It’s time I started acting like one.”
Fen walked to Loch, hugging him even as he side-hugged Deke. “I love it when you get all pack leader,” he teased.
“Can we get on with our fun night now?” Seth whined.
Everyone made a noise of agreement. Fenny and Loch hopped down into the nest with their rations, setting them in the bottom corner across from Wolf, who still looked bored and a bit long-suffering. They dropped into a spot and got cozy.
“Are we all just going to sit and eat? Is this a pack orgy? What’s the plan?” Ollie asked.
Seth sucked in a breath, eyes lighting up as he shoved away from Loch and ran to the far wall, grabbing a black remote control. “Look,” he announced, like he was about to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
There was a click and then a large screen lowered from the ceiling. Seth opened the cabinets on the back wall where he stood, pulling free a projector. Saint rushed to help him lift the heavy machine.
“It’s mostly cartoons. But they have Clue …on a reel like the movie theaters use,” Seth said, still bouncing on his heels.
“Do you know how to make it work?” Binnie asked.
Seth’s excitement left in a rush, his shoulders deflating and his mouth immediately falling into a pout. “Well, no…”
“It’s alright, little one. I’ve got it,” Saint said. “I worked at a theater in Vegas for a whole month when I was in high school. It’s pretty easy.”
San let that information sink in. He tried to picture a child version of Saint. Granted, Saint was a much different person with Seth in his life. At least, according to Binnie. But he was still…peculiar, more animal than man. His values were a weird hybrid of old and new. But it was so evident that he loved his best friend.
While Saint set up the movie, Deke dropped down into the nest. Before Ollie could do the same, Deke’s hands encircled his waist and picked him up, lowering him carefully to his feet beside him. Ollie’s lip twitched like he was trying not to laugh. San had to admit, Deke’s hyper-vigilance was kind of sweet. Of all the people who might need coddling in their pack, Ollie was not one of them. Honestly, if Loch had refused the role of pack leader, Ollie was the next best thing. Not that he was legally able to lead a pack. Not as a beta, and certainly not as an omega. If that was what he was now. It seemed so crazy. Ollie could be an omega. Ollie could be pregnant. It was so wild, San couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Some small part of him was a little jealous.
He shook the thought away. When Deke was within his reach, San grabbed him hard by the hoodie, dragging him down until he collapsed on top of Binnie, who grunted in pain. San ignored him, hugging their youngest member close for a minute. San had found Deke at the co-op. The boy had been so sweet and so talented and so desperate for friends. San hardly recognized him now.
“What are you doing?” Deke muttered.
“Hugging my friend,” San snapped, clinging tighter.
Binnie also clung to Deke, nestling his face in the boy’s throat. “Fuck, you smell really good. This is the first time I’m getting to smell you. It’s…kind of intense, but sexy, too.”
They all hummed in agreement. San frowned, wiggling closer to also attack Deke’s neck, inhaling deeply. It was earthy, citrusy…spicy. San rubbed his nose against Deke’s scent gland, then licked over it before kissing over Ollie’s bite. “He’s right. You smell really fucking good.”
Deke began to squirm. “No means no,” he huffed, extricating himself from between the two other alphas, his expression grumpy. “What happened to bodily autonomy?”
The others laughed as he made his way to his mate, who opened his arms as if to console him over having been forcibly cuddled. San smiled.
Deke was an enigma in more ways than one. He was a study in contradictions. He craved affection and cuddles, but when he was given any affection, he immediately rejected it. San blamed his shitty family. Getting any attention in any household with that many kids was difficult, but getting it when every member was a traditional alpha and Deke hadn’t presented yet? Impossible. He’d grown up touch-starved and any type of affection seemed to embarrass him.
That was how San had known Ollie was special. Deke had gravitated towards him immediately, setting himself up in his bed on day one, and was velcroed to him every day after. San had thought Ollie would have taken the lead in their relationship, but now that San knew him better, he could see that Ollie had no interest in leading. He was a problem-solver, not a leader.
Even now, he seemed content to let Deke set the pace. If the boy really was this enigma, this alpha of alphas, would he eventually want to fight for the right to lead them? San didn’t think so. Maybe years from now, but Deke was grappling with just figuring out how to be an adult, much less an alpha who dominated other alphas.
Strangely, Deke having this power made sense. The universe could clearly see that he wasn’t someone who would abuse that type of responsibility. Deke was young, but he rose to every occasion. He’d been forced to raise himself almost since birth. He was tough because he had to be, but he was also fair and kind and truly wanted nothing more than to make those around him happy.
“What?” Deke barked, catching San staring at him, probably with a sappy expression on his face.
“What? I can’t look at you?” San simpered, pinching his cheek hard. “They leave the nest so quickly.”
Deke rolled his eyes, seemingly relieved when a quiet whirring sound filled the room. Seth skipped across to the wall and hit the light switch, plunging them in darkness a second before numbers began counting down on the screen. San tucked in, fully intending to enjoy his night with the others.
While they started out lying side by side, they all migrated before even a half-hour had passed. San still lay curled around Binnie, one leg thrown over his, leaving his meaty thigh pressed right between San’s. Saint’s head rested on Binnie’s other thigh, Binnie absently petting both of them, his fingers sweeping over San’s arm and carding through Saint’s hair.
Seth was lying with his head on Saint’s belly, holding one of the alpha’s hands in his, playing with his fingers as they laughed at the on-screen antics. Fenny mirrored Seth’s position, but used Seth’s belly as a pillow with Loch using his thigh. Together, they had formed a complicated daisy chain of body parts.
Ollie sat beside San, his head propped up on some pillows. Deke lay on his belly between Ollie’s spread legs. He’d pushed his shirt up out of the way so he could press his face to Ollie’s stomach, skin to skin.
It had started innocently enough. Deke’s cheek pressed to Ollie’s stomach, just resting there. But somewhere along the way, he’d started to scent his mate, first by rubbing his face over the area, then licking broad stripes from his waistband to just below his belly button.
Ollie was fisting his fingers in Deke’s hair. At first, San thought it was a warning for him to stop, but then, Ollie’s ink and paper scent filled the cavernous space, letting them all know he was fully on board with his mate’s attention.
San’s alpha was also okay with it. Ollie wasn’t his omega, but that didn’t stop his body from reacting. Ollie was theirs. All of theirs. Once they were official, taking care of Ollie’s needs wouldn’t be just instinctive, it would be expected. San ached with the thought of it.
Yeah, he was way too horny for this. There was no way the others didn’t smell what was happening between the two. Hell, they could probably smell how worked up San was. There was no doubt Binnie knew. San was hard, his cock pressed right against Binnie’s hip. If Binnie knew, Saint probably did, too. San should have given in to his desires when it was just him and Binnie in the carriage house. It would have taken the edge off.
“Need some help with that?” Binnie whispered, amused.
San would like nothing more than to shove his dick down Binnie’s throat until he was crying and choking. He wanted to know what it felt like to bury himself in the heat of Binnie’s body, how tightly he’d squeeze around him as he struggled to take his knot.
“After…” San promised. “I don’t want to ruin movie night.”
Saint laughed softly at that. Or maybe he was just invested in the movie. Probably not, though.
“I’m going to be honest with you, alpha. I don’t think anyone would care if you bent me over right here,” Binnie said conversationally. “Hell, if Deke doesn’t have Ollie’s dick in his mouth before the end credits, I’ll be shocked.”
San flushed, fire blazing through him at the thought of Binnie on all fours, stuffed so full of him, maybe even from both ends. His cock throbbed. San bet he’d love having Loch’s or Saint’s dick buried in his throat while San fucked him.
He bit back a groan at the thought. He wanted that. He wanted the others to watch, to see how good Binnie was for him, how he begged so sweetly, how cute he looked when he was submitting, no trace of his alpha to be found, when San was calling him a dumb puppy.
He shivered, glancing up at Binnie, voice low even though there was no doubt the rest of them could hear their conversation. He lifted his hand and ran his thumb along Binnie’s lower lip. “Do you really want me to fuck you in front of the others? Do you really want them to see my sweet dumb little puppy?”
Seth whimpered and Fen moved close enough to nuzzle his head against Seth’s crotch, earning a low growl from both Saint and Loch.
Binnie’s eyes grew glassy as he scraped his teeth over the pad of San’s thumb. “I mean, kinda, yeah.”