Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Riley
I’ve been pouting since last night when I found out Brooks took Sage to the beach—and even worse, she’d never been before! It was her first time and I didn’t get to see it. I think that’s why Vee opted for a group date today, rather than taking her turn alone with Sage.
I also think that’s why we’re going back downtown, so she can ply me with sweets. It’ll probably work.
“Where should we start?” Vee asks.
“Coffee,” I grumble.
Brooks quirks a brow at me, then looks up at Vee.
“They’re still pouting,” she says, looping an arm around my neck and tugging me into her side.
Sage is walking with Brooks, and she visibly wilts at Vee’s words.
“I’m really sorry, Riley,” she says, eyes on the ground. “I’m happy to go to the beach with you next time.”
I immediately feel terrible. I don’t mean to make Sage feel guilty, she had no part of the decision making, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal.
“Hey,” I pull out of Vee’s hold to snag Sage’s hand. “All you did was sit on the sand, right?”
“Yeah?” she replies, glancing up at me.
“Well, that means you only got half the beach experience. So I get to be your first for the other half, deal?”
“Okay, but what’s the other half?”
“Well for one, we gotta have ice cream. Okay wait. We’ll go to the state park, float down the river, then get ice cream and camp out on the beach in our floaties.
Of course, we have to go swimming too. We’ll go in a few weeks, end of July or August when the water is warmest.” My disappointment dissipates at the thought, excitement filtering in to replace it.
“Okay,” she says, visibly perking up as I get more into the idea. “Yeah, it’s a deal.”
She finally looks up and offers me a shy smile. I grin in response and wink at her, then turn to Brooks.
“You, though,” I say, glowering at him. “You owe me, alpha daddy.”
Brooks sputters, looking to Sage and Vee for rescue. Sage stares with wide eyes, and Vee shrugs.
“How does Vee deal with your sass?” he finally says.
My cock jumps to attention at that and I grin. “Maybe later you can ask her for a demonstration.”
Vee hums thoughtfully. “Sounds good to me. Maybe Sage would like to see what happens to brats in this household.”
Sage looks like she’s stopped breathing. I don’t think she knows quite how to handle our brand of flirting yet.
“Nah,” Brooks says, scooping her into his side. “You don’t need to worry about that, do you, Petal? You’re our perfect omega.”
She flushes, shuffling her feet as her scent spikes. I grin and slip my hand into Vee’s again, swinging it between us with a new bounce in my step as we head into the coffee shop.
Apparently, Brooks doesn’t like coffee, and for some reason Sage is mortified by it.
“Why did you drink it?” she whispers, distressed eyes wide as she stares at him. “You could have told me, I could have—”
To my surprise, he silences her with a kiss. That’s a new development that I am thrilled to see.
When he pulls away, he scent marks her cheek, then takes her fidgeting hand in his.
“I was happy to drink it, because it came from you. And I’d do it again. I have no regrets, and I don’t want you to either.”
Aaaand now I think we all have heart eyes for the burly alpha.
“Sooo,” I say, interrupting the conversation before Sage can get down on herself again. “Bakery? Or candy shop?”
“It’s got to be too early for candy, right?” Brooks says, looking at me like I’ll agree with him.
I scoff and pat him on the chest as I walk by. “It’s never too early for sweets, alpha daddy.”
As we’re walking to the candy shop, Sage stops dead in her tracks. I had stolen her hand from Brooks, and it jerks out of mine.
“What—” I spin around to see her staring into a window filled with notices. Most of them are offering services or advertising of some sort, but one of them has a picture on it.
A picture of her, with the words:
Have you seen this omega? Deemed a risk to herself, possibly lost or kidnapped. Call with any information or leads.
“Oh shit,” I say, drawing Brooks and Vee’s attention.
She stumbles backwards, shoulders hunching up to her ears with her eyes fixed on the flier. I’m frozen, no idea what to do besides stare. Her breathing turns shallow and her fingers twist together as she brings them to her mouth, biting the skin around her nails.
Hurting herself.
“Sage,” I say, but she turns around as though she might run.
I don’t know where she intended to go, but it just so happens Brooks is there to catch her. He scoops her into his arms and immediately turns around, stalking back to the car with her tucked into his chest.
I hurry after them, running to keep up with Brooks’ long legs, while Vee takes a photo of the “missing person” flier.
We get Sage home and tuck her between Vee and Brooks on the couch, with me sitting sideways on the floor between her feet.
I loop my arms around her legs and run my hands up and down them, hoping to offer whatever comfort I can to us both.
It’s hard to know what to do when I’m also feeling out of sorts.
I’m not used to being anxious or worried, but the fears swirl through my mind, tightening my lungs.
Is she a danger to herself? I don’t think so. She hasn’t told us much about her past, but I think it’s safe to assume the assholes are lying in an effort to punish her and get her back. It makes me wonder what else they’d do, how low they’d stoop to achieve their goals.
Brooks and Vee are both purring, their arms around Sage as she trembles between them. Their purrs aren’t meant for me, but it’s comforting to hear all the same.
“What are you thinking, Petal? Please talk to us,” Brooks says.
Sage shakes her head, eyes fixed on her lap. “I don’t know. Too much. My brain feels like it’s going to explode. I can’t go back to them, Brooks. I can’t.”
Her voice hitches on the last word, and my heart cracks in my chest.
“We won’t let that happen, Sage,” Vee says. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, and for now, one of us will be with you at all times. Even if they do find you here, we won’t let them take you. You’re an adult, you have the right to make your own decisions.”
“You’re safe with us, Petal.”
“Right,” she says, her voice faint. “Safe.”
I don’t know what to do. I can’t purr like the alphas. I’m not big and strong like them either. I can make a mean hot chocolate, though.
“I’ll be right back,” I say.
Having a task helps settle my racing heart, and I take a few slow breaths to recenter myself.
I make a whole tray of hot chocolates, all the flavors I can think of, then bring them back into the living room.
The tray clatters when I set it on the coffee table and the liquid swirls dangerously close to the rims. In apt representation of how I feel inside.
Then turn on a cozy baking show to run in the background.
“I think, since we missed out on the candy shop, we still need our daily dose of sugar. So,” I wave my hand dramatically over the tray of hot chocolates. “A hot chocolate sampler! We can try each one and rate them, see what we all like best. What do you think?”
I look nervously at Sage, hoping this isn’t an idiotic idea.
She perks up though, apparently happy to have something simple to put her mind to.
“I’ve only had it that one time Vee made it for me,” she says. “I didn’t know there were so many options.”
“Oh, yes.” I plop down on a pillow next to the coffee table and start pointing at each mug.
“We’ve got regular here to compare everything to.
Then cinnamon, chocolate chips added, dark cocoa added, a truffle bomb, caramel, sea salt, sea salt with caramel, peppermint, and Irish.
That last one has booze in it,” I whisper out of the side of my mouth to Sage.
She sits forward eagerly. “Okay, which one do we start with?”