Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Aries
When I ran up with tears on my face, his expression shifted to a mask of fury. His arms opened automatically, and I folded myself into his embrace.
I knew with one breath he’d know exactly what had happened. Though, it would be obvious either way.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I whispered. “I just need space to process this. I just want you.”
His scent swelled at my words, but thundering footsteps echoed outside of our little bubble. When I looked up, he was already glaring over my shoulder.
“She said to give her some fucking space. If you step closer, I won’t hesitate to lay you out,” my beta said, puffing on his chest. It was all bravado but I loved that he was keeping the alpha in line.
But I didn’t want us to fight. Right then, I just needed space.
“What did you say to me?” Nikolai growled, stepping forward.
I think if I hadn’t been in Leon’s arms, he might’ve done more. Fucking alphas.
“She needs space,” Leon repeated, slowly this time. “Step the fuck back.”
“Go find your pack, Nikolai,” I said over my shoulder.
With that, I pulled Leon with me as I started to jog away. The familiarity of it had a wave of calm rushing through me, and I knew by the intake of breath behind us that Nikolai felt it.
All the fire drained out of him, the anger seeping out of our bond and resignation settling in its place.
He didn’t understand what I needed anymore and he couldn’t simply think with his alpha and not his bain.
Leon was quiet at first as we jogged down the familiar path through Widow’s Peak. My head was such a jumbled mess that I wouldn’t have known what to say anyway.
We rounded the corner and cut behind a stretch of houses. The terrain was a bit rocky here, but there was a beautiful view at the top that looked down over the valley and the mountains in the distance.
One thing I adored about Widow’s Peak was the views.
I stopped when we reached the overlook, my hands resting on the railing, bracing myself for whatever Leon was going to say next.
“Are you okay? Is there anything I can do? I will hurt him if you want me to.”
I let out a choked sob before I broke down completely. Leon simply pulled me to him, holding me in a tight embrace.
“No matter what, I’ve got you. I don’t care that you bonded him. I just care that you’re safe and you’re happy.”
“I never thought I’d see him again,” I admitted in a broken voice. “He’s alive. He found me.”
“What do you want now?” Leon asked carefully.
I finally let him go, staring up at him. His eyes slipped down to the bite mark that was on full display before moving back up to my face. His cheeks reddened, his mouth tightening slightly, but he didn’t say another word about it.
“He went into a rut,” I admitted. “If I would’ve yelled, I know he could’ve been stopped. My omega seemed to be very on board with it, even when my brain was freaking the hell out. Twelve years is a long time. We know nothing about each other. But my body knows his and so does my heart.”
“He’s your alpha,” Leon stated simply, with a sad smile. “I just didn’t expect to share you so soon.”
“I’m sorry—”
He cut me off, pressing his lips to mine, not caring that the alpha had kissed me not long ago.
“You being mine isn’t contingent on anything else. You are simply mine. I hope you understand that.”
“This just got so complicated,” I whispered in defeat. “Never in a million years would I guess that he’d just walk into Widow’s Peak. Add in the complication of him having a whole pack and I don’t know how to feel. Shouldn’t I just be overjoyed?”
“Nothing has to happen overnight. Just because he’s here doesn’t mean he gets to swoop in and claim a happily ever after.
You’re the omega. You get to call the shots,” he reminded me.
“And trust takes time to build, no matter if you had something back then or not. You’ve both lived far different lives in between. ”
I certainly did not feel in control right now. Not that it was a surprise to literally anyone. Instead of saying anything else, I forced myself to start running again. Leon easily fell into step beside me.
Thirty minutes later, we’d done two laps around town. I was covered in sweat, but no closer to actual answers.
“So, what now? Where do we go?”
We were standing outside Club 21 again. I assumed the guys had gone inside to wait, probably getting the third degree from Lexi, Silva, Briar, Syrus, and Luna.
“I mean, Nik and his pack are inside. I have to talk to them, right?”
“At some point,” Leon agreed. “Though, I can’t promise not to punch them. Seems the alphas have a whole lot of audacity.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Don’t they always?”
He tucked me into his side, sweat and all. I was exhausted now. Despite the nap earlier, my body ached, my mate mark burned, and I could feel every bit of my confusion and turmoil reflected back at me.
My hand slid down to Leon’s, holding it tight. I needed the touch to keep myself grounded as I pushed the door open and walked inside.
Syrus was leaning just inside the door. I knew I had to reassure him first, or he’d kick them out faster than anything.
“I’m okay,” I promised.
His eyes drifted down to the fresh bite marking my neck.
“My alpha from my past found me and, apparently, we’re bonded now,” I said, letting out a self-deprecating laugh that Syrus did not return.
There wasn’t a whole lot else I could say and he was still staring down at me, assessing but not saying a damn word.
“He didn’t hurt me,” I repeated. “My omega wanted it.”
“If that changes, I want to know,” he said firmly.
I could tell he didn’t trust them.
“I’m going to figure this out,” I promised, glancing over at the bar again.
The two men that came with Nikolai were watching me, and so was the alpha himself. Though he was trying to pretend he was unbothered, I could still see the glower on his face. He was pissed off and I had a feeling it was more at the situation and himself than me.
I took a deep breath, and Leon squeezed my hand twice in reassurance. Despite the urge to run riding me, I forced myself to walk toward them. I didn’t stop until I was standing in the empty space next to the curly-haired alpha.
“Hello,” he breathed out, studying my face almost like he was trying to memorize it. “I was starting to think you weren’t real.”
His scent spiked and my eyes drifted closed as I breathed him in.
Just like Nikolai predicted, his scent pulled me in, made me want to lean closer. My omega was already on the edge and she wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into his neck and run our nose close to his scent gland so we could breathe him in.
“I want in on this little introduction,” the alpha behind him said, standing up. He shoved his rose-gold hair out of his eyes before extending a hand to me. The grin on his face was equal parts mischievous and confident.
A soft growl echoed out of Leon. The tension between them was palpable, and I gave Leon a questioning look, but he just averted his eyes. Not that he was keeping it from me, but he wasn’t bringing it up here.
Ronan wasn’t as shy. He stepped forward, running his nose along my jaw and letting out a low groan.
“The breath I got of you earlier was not enough. It didn’t do you justice. Your scent is exquisite. Classy, sweet, and tart, just as perfect as you are.”
“You know nothing about me,” I deadpanned, staring up at him with a faux-unbothered expression.
His grin only widened, especially when Leon pulled me closer to his side as if shielding me from this flirty alpha.
“The sweat on your skin only made it better,” he added.
He licked his lips as if he were dying to get a taste of it.
“That’s disgusting,” I said flatly, crossing my arms in front of me and letting go of Leon’s hand. I needed a shield, and this was as good as any.
“Well,” Ronan said, regaining his composure, eyes flickering to my mating mark. “Seeing as how there’s a fresh bite on you, yet my brother is sitting here like a kicked puppy—”
“Brother?” I said, glancing at Nikolai in shock.
“It seems my dear old dad liked to sleep around,” Nikolai responded. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, too.”
My earlier words were thrown back at me, but I didn’t take them as personally as he did.
He was right. There was a whole fucking lot we didn’t know.
“Well, there’s no time like the present to get to know each other. Maybe we should clean up and go get some lunch.”
“I need some sleep and a shower,” Luca supplied around a yawn, even with his voice full of regret.
“We did have a long drive,” Ronan said apologetically, “and Luca here has been searching for you high and low for days, barely sleeping.”
“Me specifically?” I challenged. “You didn’t bring those omegas here out of the goodness of your heart.”
“To be fair, we were going to make sure they were safe regardless. We would’ve brought them here even if you weren’t here, but once they mentioned you by name… we simply doubled our efforts.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said, completely unrepentant, those hazel eyes dancing with amusement.
“So, they mentioned you were part of the Crows. Isn’t that a crime family? What are you guys, the mafia? And you expect me just to expose this town to you?”
Ronan automatically stumbled back and clutched his chest.
“I’m wounded, omega. You think I’m a danger? I’m as harmless as a kitten.”
The answering smirk was like a golden retriever mixed with a stabby lunatic. Oddly enough, it worked for him.
Or my omega has lost her fucking mind.
“We don’t hurt omegas,” he finally said, serious now.
I swear his personality switched on and off so fast I was getting whiplash.
“Definitely sleep,” Luca repeated as he wavered slightly on his feet. Even if I wanted more answers, it was clear this came first.
“There’s a motel down the street,” Leon supplied.
“No,” Nikolai said, glaring at me again, not even acknowledging Leon even though he was responding to his statement.
My omega was pushing me toward them, fighting me internally. Every instinct was screaming at me to fix this, to let this pack have a chance to speak.
Ronan was right. We needed to talk. And I had a big enough pack house to let them in which would make that much easier once they woke up.
“Leon can stay with me in my room. You guys can take the guest rooms,” I said. “But this means nothing. At least not yet.”
“We’ll show you that we’re the right pack for you,” Ronan said confidently. “You won’t have to stop your life for us. Just give us a chance.”
Nikolai finally stood. He started to say something, and then stopped himself.
I waited, but when nothing came out, I turned around, leading the way out the door.
“Nikolai knows the way,” I finally said, walking up the lane with Leon’s hand in mine again.
We were clinging to each other now. Our simple morning had turned into pure chaos and we were just along for the ride.
The other three climbed into the two vans, easily catching up to us.
It wasn’t exactly a long drive, and soon they were parked in front of my house.
I pushed open the front door with the pack behind me, each one with a duffel bag.
Leon was quiet as he went to his own guest room, gathering his things and bringing them to my bedroom. It made more sense for him to share with me now. This was a big change, and I wanted him to know that he was here to stay, no matter who walked into our lives.
“Everything you need should be in there,” I said, gesturing at the three guest rooms down the hall.
Ronan gave Leon a look and me a flirty wink before walking inside and closing the door behind him.
“What the fuck was that about?” I said, looking from the door to Leon.
“He was just a bit of a dick at first. He apologized and I’m trying not to punch him in his smug face for your sake.”
“He likes to goad people. He also wants you, and I should warn you, he always gets what he wants,” Luca said. “He’s a brat at heart.”
Then he was gone, too, leaving Nikolai standing in front of me.
“Aries, please—”
“Please what?” I shot back. Even I winced at the sharp tone. I was a mess right now.
“You just let me bite you. I can feel what you’re feeling. Why are you pushing me away?”
“I don’t know,” I said, throwing up my hands. “You just barged in here, rutted me like you had any right to after twelve years, and now you expect me to have all the answers? That everything’s just gonna fall in place and be fine?”
“No, but fuck, I’ve looked for you for so long. I’ve lost my mind grieving over you. I killed your fucking mother for selling you, and now you’re pushing me away like I mean nothing.”
The bond lit up with his hurt and it only made me feel worse. Tears burned in my eyes.
“I loved you back then, but I had to shut that part of myself down to survive. I thought of you, but I couldn’t dwell on those feelings.
And right now, I don’t know how to process the fact that you’re standing in front of me, that you claimed me as yours.
I’m not saying I didn’t want it, Nikolai, but I’m saying it’s not going to be perfect.
You don’t get to just walk in here and make demands of me.
If you want to be a pack, and you want to be my alpha, then you need to earn it like everyone else. ”
He let out a breath and closed his eyes for a second, fighting for control. Finally, he opened them back up, the hazel blazing with determination.
“Fine,” he said.
Then he turned and went into the last room, closing the door behind him.
“Come on,” Leon said gently. “Let’s go wash off our run.”
I followed him to the shower, so numb that he helped me wash. His hands were gentle as he massaged shampoo then conditioner into my scalp. Even washing my body he treated me like I was precious and fragile.
When he dried me off he dragged me to our bed, the one that smelled like the alpha who’d claimed me.
Leon barely flinched as he laid down, pulling me with him.
“Now would be a good time for a nest,” I muttered as I snuggled into his chest.