Chapter 68
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Neveah
Trying to wrangle this pack out the door is like trying to herd cats. I sigh, folding my arms over my chest as I lean against the kitchen doorway, waiting for the unlikely possibility of them sorting themselves out.
“I really think we should match,” Riley says, for possibly the seventeenth time.
“We don’t have anything matching,” Brooks replies, endlessly patient. “You’ve already looked. Petal, do you need another snack before we go?”
I get the impulse, I really do, but he’s already shoved food into her hands three times today and it’s not even eleven am. She does not need another snack.
“Ugh,” Sage groans at the thought. “Please, no. If I eat one more thing I’ll throw up.”
“You have a lot of blue, though! Blue could match if Sage and I—”
“Here,” Brooks interrupts, shoving a bottle of juice into Sage’s hands and a second one into Riley’s.
“What am I going to do with this? We’re stopping for coffee,” Riley protests, setting the juice on the counter. “It would be so cute, though! What if we swing by the mall first?”
Sage surreptitiously steps behind him, setting hers down as well. Her eyes slide to mine and she freezes when she sees me watching, her empty hand only halfway back to her body. My lips tilt up on one side as I smirk, then I slowly raise my hand.
Her eyes dart to it and watch as I curl one finger, beckoning her to me. She meets my eyes again, swallowing hard, and then obediently stumbles over to me.
So cute, my sweet little omega.
“Good girl,” I murmur, relishing the flush that spreads over her skin. “Get your shoes on for me, yeah?”
“Yes, alpha,” she replies, just the right amount of breathless.
Brooks is clearly giving into Riley’s shenanigans, if Riley unbuttoning Brooks’ shirt is any indication of how that conversation is going. I roll my eyes.
This alpha is hopeless.
I stalk into the kitchen and slide my hand into Riley’s short hair, then curl my fingers into a fist so I can grip it. He stills under my touch, fingers frozen against Brooks’ chest, not daring to so much as breathe.
I tug on his hair, slowly tipping his head back until his bite-covered neck is bared to me. Then I lean down to whisper in his ear.
“Are you deliberately delaying us for any particular reason, Sour Patch? Or do you simply need more attention?”
His blue eyes attempt to jump to mine, but he can’t quite make eye contact with the angle I’m holding his head. I nip his ear, sending goosebumps down his neck to disappear under the loose collar of his shirt.
“Have we been neglecting you?” I murmur. “Answer me.”
“No, alpha,” he whispers.
“Are you sure? You’re not looking to earn a punishment?”
Lavender perfume explodes through the air, a cloud billowing from behind me, and I straighten as Brooks groans.
He runs a hand down his face, then tilts his head to the ceiling and breathes through his mouth.
Keeping my hand in Riley’s hair, I look over my shoulder to see Sage peeking around the doorframe, her pupils brown wide.
“We’re never getting out of here,” Brooks says. “I don’t know how you can possibly resist either of them.”
I shake my head, then bend down and toss Riley over my shoulder. He shouts in protest as I turn and stalk towards our omega. Her eyes widen and she scrambles away, darting towards the front door. At least she has her shoes on, so half of us are ready to go.
“Let’s go,” I say to Brooks. “Grab some shoes for Riley, please.”
“I can get my own shoes!”
I swat his ass, a quick, hard slap that has him sucking in a sharp breath. Sage gasps, then clenches her thighs together.
“Jesus,” I mutter, turning to Brooks again. “And you might as well grab her, too.”
“Gladly,” he says.
And then Sage is also being carried like an unruly sack of potatoes, only she’s giggle-shrieking while Riley has turned his attention to fondling my ass. I smile, unable to hold it in anymore, and then we’re on our way downtown.