46. MAX
Chapter forty-six
MAX
K atie has been petting Loren all night. She strokes his arm, or brushes their fingers together, or gently taps his knee under the table. He’s upset about his damn family Pack, and our Omega is omegaing him perfectly.
I’m not jealous. I love that she’s taking care of Loren–it’s the beginning of the ways she’ll take care of all of us, and let us take care of her. I’m just horny and want to snatch her away so I can taste her sweet pussy again. The gymbos razzed me hard today. Why wasn’t I at home fucking my Omega?
Good question.
I sigh, swirling my brandy.
Callum is in a mood tonight. He barely spoke at dinner, even though the clam sauce and pasta is one of the best dishes Gerard has made for us yet. Katie even made this fucking orgasmic moan as she ate. How are we supposed to finish meals together if she’s moaning over the food? The only thing I wanted to eat after that was her and fuck if it tested my control not to toss her on the table.
But I’m being good . Because I want Katie to stay. Gods do I want her to stay, to bond with us, to be our Omega and let us be her Alphas.
Katie has one leg propped on a footstool while she leans into Loren’s chest. I could smell the way their scents intertwined–they were intimate today. But I don’t think it was sex, and certainly nothing like a bond. It takes time; I know that. But I want her more than I have wanted anything in my life–more than the Championship boxing title, more than the sponsorship that got me out of the gutter, more than my fucking gym.
I want her. And I want her to want me back.
I’m not like this around women. Fuck, I am not like some little puppy that chases women around.
But Katie isn’t women .
She’s our Omega.
Katie winces, trying to rearrange her legs on the footstool. I leap off the chair. Even Callum, who’s on his third brandy in the corner, stands up. Every Alpha fixes on our Omega, and the sharp pain that was so plainly written across her face.
“What do you need?” I ask, kneeling before her.
“Can I get you a glass of water?” Callum says, this voice raspy.
“Is it your knee?” Loren asks more gently.
“Calm down, all of you,” Katie says. She looks bewildered. “My knee got fucked up when I was in the Army. Sometimes it hurts. Just relax.” She presses firmly into the flesh at the top of her joint.
I push up the baggy sweatpants she’s been wearing all evening, feeling my way up her leg. She flinches away from my touch when I reach her knee.
“Does it hurt that badly?” I ask.
Callum is still standing, watching with unblinking attention. Loren nuzzles into Katie’s hair.
“No, you just surprised me. It’s tender, but that doesn’t hurt.”
I nod, then press my thumb into the muscle at the top of her knee cap. She grunts, her body shuddering reflexively.
“Now?” I say, keeping a firm pressure on the knotted muscle.
She whimpers, then swallows the sound back, replacing the pain with a stoic mask.
“Not my favorite,” she says flatly. But she doesn't wiggle away from me.
“Max,” Callum growls a warning.
“I’m forcing the muscle to spasm, then relax. It will help.” I meet Katie’s gaze, and she nods.
“You should consider regular massage– not just the knee, but your thigh, and lower back. And ass.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
Katie snorts a laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing as she relaxes into Loren’s chest. I press a little harder. Her teeth grind together, but she says nothing.
Her thigh muscle seized up, spasming until it releases. She squeaks, then sighs.
“That feels better. Thank you Max.” She holds out a hand to me, and I take it, kissing the center of her palm.
Callum grunts, then picks up his brandy glass and tops it off with his fourth drink of the night.
“I’m going to bed.”
He leaves without acknowledging our Omega. Damn him, Katie’s shoulders hunch, and I smell the lightly burnt scent of anxiety in her perfume.
“I don’t think he’s my biggest fan,” she says once he’s gone.
“I get it, I invade your home and disrupt your routines. I really don’t have to stay if–”
“Stop,” I say. “Callum is just being a prick, this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. You were invited, and you are wanted.” I tug at her hand, brushing kisses over her fingers.
All of us want Katie. We want her to be happy here with us. Even ice-cold Callum is infatuated with her. He couldn’t look away when he thought she was in pain.
He needs to get some fucking therapy so all of us can move on.
“I think I should go check on him,” Loren says with a sigh. “There’s an on-going case at work that has the whole team flummoxed and I think that’s grating on his nerves.”
That may be true, but he and I both know that it’s the prospect of going back to Pack Bellrose that set Cal on edge. He barely spoke after Loren mentioned it at dinner. But if he doesn’t want to explain that particular jar of spiders to Katie, then that’s on him.
“If you feel up for it, how about I take you to meet a Traveler from Earth tomorrow?” Loren says, as he stands. “I have a friend, Angus, who traveled from Scotland. I think he might help you gain some insights on life here in Amaata.”
Katie claps. “Really? That would be great!”
Loren nods, then turns to go. “Okay, I’ll make arrangements for tomorrow around lunch. Try to get some rest.” Loren looks at me as he says this last bit, a knowing smile ghosting at the edges of his mouth.
“Looks like I get our Omega all to myself,” I say and pull Katie toward me as Loren unfolds from the low couch. I’m smug, but also hungry. I hadn't exaggerated when I told Katie I wanted to taste her three times a day. And I haven’t had so much as a kiss from my Omega.
Not that I’ll push, I know she’s still hesitant, still hasn’t fully embraced us as her Pack. I can be patient, but dammit it I just want to kiss her until her toes curl and she’s wet and ready for me. Maybe I should get her more chocolate cake? Omegas like presents.
“I got a response from one of the Travelers from Earth that lives near Halvassa.” Loren says, pausing as he stretches. “He said we could visit him as soon as tomorrow, if you want.”
Katie perks up. “Really? Tomorrow? Absolutely!”
Loren nods. “I’ll let him know to expect us after lunch.” He gives me a look that says “don’t fuck it up” before kissing Katie on the forehead and disappearing upstairs.
The room is tight between us. Katie watching me, and I swear I can see every thought that passes over her features: raw desire, worry about closeness, wanting to go slow, unfulfilled hunger, and… fear .
I never want her afraid of me.
“Hey, Tough Girl. If you just want to put a movie on, we can do that too.” I slide up beside her on the couch. “It’s not always about sex. Don’t get me wrong, you are hot as fuck and I want you like gymbos want steroids, but I like being with you too.”
She stiffens, then sighs.
“It’s complicated, Max.” She closes her eyes, her arm brushing mine, but not relaxing into me like she had with Loren.
I can be patient. I don’t need to push.
“Uncomplicate it for me.”
Katie twists, so she’s facing me on the couch. I pull her legs up to lay across my lap, gently kneading her tight muscles. She doesn't protest.
“I have a shitty track record with relationships,” she says.
“So do I.”
She rolls her eyes. “Look, if this doesn't work, if I’m not always here to be your Omega or whatever, can you promise me that you’ll be okay? That you can go find the right Omega?”
Every muscle in my body tenses.
“Why do you think you’re not the right Omega?”
“I wasn’t born an Omega, Max. I don’t belong here. And if something… happens , I just. I would feel better knowing that you all are okay. Right, you all were okay before I arrived and you all will be okay if I ever go.”
My jaw tightens. It sounds like she’s leaving us.
“Do you want to go back to the Conservatory?” I ask carefully.
Katie shakes her head. “No. I just worry about all of you. But I shouldn’t. You are grown adults who were perfectly fine before I came. I know that. But,” she bites her lower lip.
Maybe she’s worried about compatibility. Or the Omega sickness. But she isn’t running away to the Conservatory, and she’s worried about us which means she cares about us. All of that is good.
I wrap her up in my arms.
“None of us want you to go anywhere. Yes, Katie we will be okay if you need a break. We’ve all survived a lot worse. But, we don’t want to have to survive without you.”
“Thank you Max,” she says.
I hold her until a thick cloud of her perfume scents the air. Then my control snaps.
“Can I take you to bed and eat your pussy now?”
“Max!” she shrieks, pushing me away and grabbing a pillow to throw in my face.
“What? I’ve been good for an entire day and a half. Cut an Alpha some slack,” I tease. “You’re addicting, and I need a fix.”
Her scent deepens. She’s aroused too, and the fear and anxiety that I’d seen reflected in her eyes earlier replaced completely by hunger.
“Well, I learned something about Alphas this morning,” she says, her voice deepening into a sultry tease.
“Oh?”
She slides her legs off the couch, then leans forward.
“You’ll have to catch me to find out.”