Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Brooks
My insides pound with a confusing mix of jealousy and joy. I’m ecstatic at how easily Sage is accepting Riley, but then the quietest, tiniest whimper claws up her throat when Riley pulls away.
“Shhh,” he says. “Pretty omega. Sage.”
Then he opens his arms in offering, and to my utter shock, she wrenches her hand from mine and dives into their arms. Riley carefully curls around her, holding her close, but I notice his grip is loose, gentle.
His eyes close as he buries his nose in her hair, then shifts slightly, opening his eyes to look up at me.
I offer a smile, although it feels both happy and sad. He returns it with one that looks how mine feels. Our girl is hurting, touch-starved. She needs us, but is afraid. I’m relieved Riley has already picked up on it.
He waits until she loosens her hold, then slowly pulls away, letting her lead.
Logically, I understand I’ll have to move slower with Sage, given her history with alphas, but emotionally, I want to spend every second figuring out how to make her smile.
I want to tug them both into my arms and never let them go, but I’ll settle for a tour of the farm, for now.
Or so I think, until Riley turns to me with a new, shy expression on his face.
“Yes, Riley?”
They look down, flustered as they shift from foot to foot, then they glance at Sage as though for help. I pinch my lips to hold in a grin. These two are going to be a handful when they break out of their shells. My smile doesn’t stay hidden for long, though.
As soon as Riley looks to Sage, she giggles.
My mouth falls open and I gape at the two of them, eyes pinging between them.
Sage leans forward to speak to Riley, although she’s not quiet enough if she doesn’t want me to hear. I suspect it’s intentional.
“Yeah, so. He’s into, like, making me say what I want all the time. That’s probably what he wants you to do, too.”
I snap my mouth shut. It’s either that or let out a loud guffaw at her sass. Who is this bold creature and what happened to the timid omega I first met?
Riley blinks at her, glances at me, then turns back to her.
“So like, he won’t just give me a hug?” he whispers back, but again, they aren’t being quiet.
“Probably not. I can’t even just nod when I want something. He makes me say yes. Out loud,” she says in a conspiratorial whisper. “So… you’ll probably have to ask. Or if he asks you, you have to say yes.”
“Ugh,” Riley groans. “That’s so annoying.”
Sage giggles again, and the tension drains from her body.
She shocks me for a second time when she reaches for Riley, placing a hand on their back and giving them a little nudge toward me.
It’s all I can do to keep a straight face and pretend like I don’t hear them talking about me from two feet away.
Riley clears their throat, then looks up at me. I raise an expectant eyebrow, happy to indulge in this game.
“Please, alpha—”
“Oh, nono!” Sage interrupts with a stage whisper, and Riley leans his upper body back for her to whisper loudly in their ear. “He doesn’t like to be called that, you have to call him Brooks.”
“Ah, right. Okay, thanks for the tip!” they whisper back, then lean forward and turn their face to me again.
These two are downright brats, aren’t they? How did I end up scent-matched to not one, but two brats? I internally shake my head, but my alpha is proud of their spark.
“Please, Brooks, may I have a hug?”
“Of course, Riley,” I say, uncrossing my arms and holding them open for him.
He steps into me, then sinks into my embrace, melting into my chest as I close my arms around him.
I bend down to scent mark the top of his head, though it won’t do much with the dampeners, and he nuzzles into me.
I know it’s early to be scent-marking already, but it feels right.
I wish I could mark Sage, too.
Then I look up to see her watching us, a look of wary uncertainty on her face. I wink at her and smile, letting her know all of that was good, and she shyly smiles back. When Riley pulls away, I reach a hand out for Sage.
“I’d scent-mark you too, Petal, but…”
“Yeah, I know,” she says with a frown.
Riley looks between us, but doesn’t comment. He picks up where he left off, offering to take some pictures of us in the lavender field. He uses my phone to take a couple, but Sage is clearly unused to being in front of a camera like this. I sense her scent shifting again, so I wave Riley over.
“How about a selfie of all three of us?” I say, taking the phone from Riley and holding it out. I crouch down, then angle it so I can fit us all in the frame, and snap the picture. I show it to both of them, noticing the small smile on Sage’s face as she inspects it.
Then I tuck it in my pocket, and we continue walking.
Riley chatters about the farm, about the bees and butterflies that visit the farm, about running the gift shop and the challenges of training new staff each summer. I’m content to listen, offering responses when it doesn’t seem like Sage will, but mostly I let the two of them bond.
She needs this, and although it was supposed to be our date, I’m more than pleased with this turn of events.
We walk and talk for about an hour before I can see Sage starting to tire. I know for a fact the only exercise she gets is a measly twenty minute walk every day, and she often spends it wandering slowly to enjoy her moments of freedom.
“Do you have any snacks or anything to drink?” I ask Riley during a break in their chatter. Sage’s eyes light up before she tenses, caution entering her stance. I don’t know what that’s about, but I’ll find out at some point.
“Oh, yeah! We have a few things for sale, but we also have an employee break area, and Neveah always brings snacks. Let’s go see what we can find.”
Riley scrounges up a decent pile of options for us, pulling a couple bags of chips from a cupboard, a trio of bananas, and some cans of pop. As soon as he sets his haul down on the outdoor picnic table in front of us, Sage’s stomach rumbles.
She doesn’t reach for any of it, though.
I frown, picking up a banana and a bag of chips to offer to her.
“Are you hungry, Petal?”
She nods, and I let it slide this time. Something’s not right, and my alpha is riding me to feed her, care for her, protect her.
I pop open the single serving bag and set it in front of her, then start a rip on top of the banana and lay that down in front of her too.
She stares at the food items, then looks between me and Riley.
Maybe she’s self-conscious about eating?
I pick up a banana for myself and peel it, taking a big bite as I turn to face Riley, removing my direct attention from Sage, but still watching her from the corner of my eye. She nervously tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, eyes locked on the food in front of her.
“I hoped there were some donuts left, but those always get taken first thing,” Riley says, snagging the other bag of chips and popping one in their mouth.
As soon as Riley starts eating, Sage picks up the banana and takes a small bite, chewing slowly as though to savor it. She doesn’t look at either of our faces, but her eyes keep darting between us as we all eat.
I don’t like it. Whatever this is, I don’t like it at all.
“How long have you worked here, Riley?”
“Ah, huh, good question. Let’s see, I started as temporary summer staff the year after I graduated high school, and then they kept me on after the busy season ended.
Neveah didn’t own the place then, but she bought it…
I don’t know, maybe a year later? Something like that.
Anyway, I think I was nineteen when I started, so I’ve been here about five years now. ”
“I take it you like it, then,” I say with a smile.
“I love it, yeah. What do you do for work?”
We seem to have both realized Sage is out for the count for now, and we let her eat in peace.
“I’m a landscaper, actually. I have my own business, just me though, no employees. I mostly do yard work for people.”
“Do you like it?” they ask, and it sounds like they’re genuinely interested.
“I do, yeah. It suits me. Honest, hard work, and I don’t have to interact with folks much or deal with annoying coworkers. I’ve always been more of a loner.”
We chat until Sage has finished her banana and chips, then we clean up and head back inside.
“Why don’t you take a look around the shop with Riley?” I suggest, nudging Sage toward him and transferring her hand from mine to his. She seems comfortable with him, and I’ll keep them both in sight, but I want to talk to who I assume is Riley’s alpha, Neveah.
I wander to the open office door she was leaning against earlier to peek inside.
Her scent permeates the space, and as I suspected, she’s a match too.
Sharp eucalyptus greets my nose, followed by the warmer and deeper tones of smooth, earthy cedar wood.
She looks up when I knock on the doorframe, then stands and raises a sculpted eyebrow.
“I take it they’re a scent-match, then?” she says, striding over to me.
I nod, backing out of the doorframe and into the main area so we can keep an eye on our beta and omega.
“And us?” she says, brows knitting when she can’t find my scent.
“It’s a long story, but yes,” I reply. “I’m Brooks, he/him.”
“Neveah, but you can call me Vee, she/her.”