Rust
Nico
Ismell my little mate before I see her.
Vanilla and toasted almonds fills my lungs the second I step through the front door. Her aroma is worked so deep into the house now that it feels like it's always been here. Under it, threaded all the way through, is Mack’s warm hazelnut….followed by the faint scent of sex.
That bastard, I smile to myself. Enjoying our new packmate while the rest of us were working our asses off.
"You’re home!" Lyra rushes out of the kitchen and crosses to me before I've even got my boots off, and fuck she looks good. Bright-eyed and glowing.
She wraps her arms around me, squeezing me, then she tips her face up. "How was work?"
"Good." I cup her pretty face then kiss her.
She melts into me with a soft breath, and I feel our bond hum warm between us, her happiness pouring down the line into me.
I still can’t believe how fast our bond took.
I’ve been thinking about it all day—thinking about her, and how she's already threaded through the back of my mind like she's lived there for years, right beside my precious Owen.
My life feels fucking perfect.
"Where’s Adrian?" Lyra asks when I break the kiss.
I can’t help but smile at the sweet look on her face. "He’s putting a few tools in the garage."
I caress her cheek, then notice a few flecks of rust have shaken loose from my watch band and settled into her dark hair, orange against the chestnut.
"Hold still." I pick them out carefully, my thick fingers clumsy at the fine work. "I didn’t mean to bring half the worksite home with me." I smile.
"I don't mind." She catches my wrist before I've finished and pulls me back down, kissing me again.
"It smells good in here." Adrian steps inside, and his eyes zero in on Lyra. The alpha moves to her, his presence immediately filling the space. "How was your day?" he asks, his voice a sweet rumble.
"Good," she says with a little smile as he sets a hand at the small of her back, guiding her away from me.
I release the omega, letting Adrian kiss her.
His lips press to hers and he lingers, his hand cradling her face, kissing her like the two of them have all the time in the world.
I watch them, letting heat crawl slowly up my spine.
Fuck, I can’t wait to see Adrian finally have her.
He's been half out of his mind with wanting her since the day she walked in, and watching him finally sink into her with all that alpha strength is a thought I could get lost in for hours.
My eyes drift down the pair of them, taking in Adrian’s size, then Lyra’s trim waist and perky ass. Her tiny blue shorts hug every curve, riding up enough to bare the delicious crease where her thighs meet her ass.
Wait.
Where did she get those shorts?
And that t-shirt?
I take a step back, looking at the tight pink shirt, then back down to the shorts.
"Nico." Lyra’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and I lift my gaze to her. "Why are you frowning at my ass?"
"Sorry," I quickly smile. "I was wondering where you got those clothes."
"Ren dropped 'em by this morning." Mack marches out of the kitchen, carrying a pizza tray loaded down with chicken fried steak.
He's wearing his usual pair of gym shorts and a frilly apron cinched over his bare chest. The words Life is Short, Lick the Spoon are printed across the front in loopy script.
"She brought a whole duffel of clothes for Lyra.
Even a pair of shoes," he says before disappearing back into the kitchen.
"Can we have her over for dinner?" Lyra turns to me with those big honey-brown eyes. "I want to thank her. I mean, I know I can’t exactly cook, but a family dinner would be nice."
"Of course," I smile while silently cursing at myself.
We probably should have bought her clothes a hell of a lot sooner than this.
I open my mouth to apologize for not buying her clothes sooner, but that’s when I hear Owen’s car pull into the drive.
"Heads up," I say as I glance at Adrian, then Mack as he comes out of the kitchen. "Owen had a rough day. His end of our bond's been wound tight all day. Something's got him stressed."
"I felt it too," Adrian says, brow furrowed.
"Well, whatever's eating him, food fixes most things." Mack sets a steaming pot of mashed potatoes on the card table with a soft thud. "Lyra even helped peel the potatoes."
Our omega beams as she looks at me, our bond thrumming with pride. "I also added the butter."
"I’m home." The front door opens, and Owen steps inside.
Mack claps his hands together, smiling at our beta. "Perfect timing, mate." He motions toward the card table loaded with dishes. "Dinner's ready, so I hope you're hungry. No takeout today. We’re eating a good southern meal."
Owen looks at the spread and smiles. "It smells incredible, Mack." But I catch the way his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, and then it's gone a half-second too fast.
Adrian cuts me a look. He saw it too.
"Is everything okay?" Lyra reaches for Owen, kissing his cheek. "You seem tense."
And whatever's left of Owen's smile falls completely away.
He looks down at her, and the worry fills his eyes. My gut twists hard, dread pooling cold in my stomach, because I know that look. Owen wears it when something is genuinely wrong.
Owen drags his gaze off Lyra to me. "Something happened at work today," he says quietly.
The room shifts, and we all go still.
Lyra takes a step back, looking from Owen to me, then back again. "What happened?" she asks so sweetly. "Is it the deaccession forms for the exhibit? Did the board finally kick them back?" Her brow creases with genuine concern.
But before Owen can answer, Mack pulls out the nearest chair, then reaches for Owen's hand, closing his big fingers around it and giving a gentle tug.
"C'mere," Mack says softly. "Sit down first."
Owen lets himself be guided into the chair, and I quickly take the seat next to my beta, resting my knee against his.
"Talk to me, carino," I say. "What happened?"
Owen drags a hand through his hair. He looks tired already. "Director Ellsworth called me up to his office today. There was a man there waiting to talk to me. A private investigator." His eyes flicker to Lyra as she sits down next to Owen. "He's looking for you."
My body locks up, but Lyra doesn't flinch. She leans in, placing her hand over Owen’s, silently encouraging him to continue.
"He knew we were friends," Owen says to Lyra. "And he wanted to know when I last saw you."
"What did you say?" I ask.
Owen rolls his eyes like he can’t believe the answer he gave.
"I played dumb, and told him we weren't that close.
I pointed out that I didn't even have her number, which is true.
" He rubs the back of his neck. "I think he bought it.
I'm not sure. He just kept staring at me like he knew something I didn’t. "
"Did he say anything else?"
"Just that her family thinks she ran away." Owen swallows hard as he turns and looks at Lyra. "He said that you were arranged to be married, and that your parents assume you got cold feet and took off. He made it sound like they were confident you’d come back home on your own."
Lyra lets out an annoyed huff, while Adrian makes a low sound in his throat.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mack barks out a laugh, but there's no humor in it.
He drops into a chair at the end of the table, his jaw gone tight.
"They waited a whole damn month to send some rent-a-cop to look for her?
" His drawl has gone hard and flat. "Their kid vanishes into thin air and that's the best they can do? "
"Mack," Owen says quietly, glancing over at Lyra.
But the omega doesn't seem bothered at all.
If anything, there's a wry tilt to her mouth, like she finds the whole thing a little funny.
"You'll have to forgive my parents," she says, her tone breezy. "Caring for their child was never really their strong suit."
She reaches across the table for the serving spoon and sinks it into the pot of mashed potatoes. She calmly scoops a generous helping onto her plate.
I watch her, thrown by her demeanor.
She really doesn’t seem upset at all.
"Well, I’m sorry, darlin’. But I think it’s bullshit," Mack says as he crosses his arms. "If my kid went missin', I'd burn this city to the ground looking for her.
I'd have the cops, the news, every damn person I could find out looking.
" His eyes cut to me, rage etched around his mouth.
"All that money, and all they did was send one guy a fucking month later?
" His lip curls. "That's fucking pathetic. "
I press my tongue against the inside of my cheek and say nothing.
Because he's right. Every word of it. And the rage sitting in my own chest right now is worse than anything coming out of Mack's mouth. But Mack shouldn’t be saying any of this in front of Lyra.
"Owen." I wait until he looks at me. "Why do you think he came to talk to you?"
Owen shakes his head slowly. "I don't know. I’m assuming someone at the library mentioned that we were friends, but he—" The beta lifts his glasses up, rubbing his eyes hard. "I’m sure they’re talking to everyone.
" He fixes his glasses then looks at Lyra, the twin lines between his brows running deep.
But Lyra shrugs.
"It was probably my driver who told them," she says as she reaches for the gravy.
"He was only allowed to take me to the library or club. But I wouldn’t worry about it.
" She gives Owen a little smile. "You're all working yourselves up over nothing.
" She spoons the gravy over her potatoes like we're discussing the weather.
"My parents don't care that I'm gone. If anything, they're probably relieved. "
Mack frowns, as Adrian slips into the empty chair next to Lyra. He smooths one hand slowly down the length of her spine. I know he’s trying to soothe her, but I don’t feel any fear or distress from the omega in our bond.
She really isn’t bothered by any of this.
"I’m sure they’re worried about you," Adrian says softly. "You're their daughter."