22. Chapter Twenty- Two
Chapter Twenty- Two
Vivi
Ishould get to practice.
I should call my parents.
I should answer all of my missed messages….
The list of should-do’s is piling up. But the truth is—I’m not ready to let this happy little bubble burst. After breakfast, I was prepared for the guys to rush off. Back to football. Back to life. They’ve already missed so much because of my heat, but they wouldn’t even consider it.
“Are you ready, baby girl?” Ty asks excitedly as the car slows to a stop outside a colossal nesting store. He bounces in the seat next to mine, boundless in his energy. But his enthusiasm is contagious, and I smile at his antics.
“What are we doing here? I thought we were going to my apartment to pack up more of my nest?” I ask as Dash opens my car door and offers his hand to help me out. The heat of his palm warms me from the inside out—a gesture so gentlemanly I wouldn’t have thought an Alpha-Baller capable of it. But then again, this pack has surprised me at every turn.
“We’ll get your stuff. Promise. We just thought you might want a little something new, too,” he says, slipping his hand protectively down until it rests at the small of my back. The three surround me as we wander toward the store, and a sense of safety washes over me. Being an omega, I’m always alert whenever I wander through public places. Not scared—but I keep my wits about me. With my pack by my side, I suddenly don’t need to worry about anything.
My pack.
A thrill runs through me at the thought.
“I don’t really need anything,” I protest, but Dash steers me into the store anyway, and Ty bounds over to grab not one but two carts. “We definitely don’t need a cart.”
“Oh, little omega, don’t worry about it,” Dash says, quieting my rebuttal with a soft kiss that makes me swoon. Is this even real life?
Fox tugs my hand, leading me toward the enormous sign that says ‘Blankets’—oh God, my weakness. The aisles are piled high with every color of the rainbow, making the urge to throw myself onto the shelves and roll around almost impossible to ignore. A whine builds in my throat.
“What’s your favorite color?” Fox asks, his spring rain scent wrapping around me.
“I love most colors—besides orange—but periwinkle is my favorite,” I answer, spying it amid the sea of colors. My hand reaches for it automatically, grabbing the softest blanket I’ve ever felt. I press my cheek to it, closing my eyes as I imagine snuggling under it with my pack, watching a movie. Or sliding against it during my heat as they fill me with Alpha cocks. And bites.
The smooth, somehow cool material feels like heaven on my skin. And the need to have it claws at me, so I snuggle it close to my chest, giving into my omega instincts.
“So, I take it that one’s a yes?” Ty chuckles. He reaches for the blanket, and I snarl at him, unable to let the impossibly soft material go. My reaction makes my cheeks flame in mortification, but the guys just roll with it.
“Fuck, you’re cute when you’re all riled up,” Dash says. He smiles at me, then grabs all of them and dumps them into the cart with a flourish.
“Holy crap, does that say two hundred dollars? For a blanket?” I gasp, noticing the price tag for the first time. With great disappointment, I shove my soul blanket back onto the shelf and rush to retrieve the rest. That’s an insane price, and I just can’t rationalize it as much as my heart yearns to wrap myself in it like a burrito and never come out.
“Nope. It doesn’t say that at all. You read it wrong. Only twenty dollars. What a steal,” Ty says, snatching it back off the rack and tossing it into the cart. “We get a huge discount for being the best football players in the universe.”
“You’re lying,” I laugh, as he steers me further down the aisle.
“Baby girl, I’ve never had anyone to spoil. Please, just let me. I could buy everything in this store, and it wouldn’t make a dent in what our pack’s got saved,” he promises, spinning me into his arms. Fox presses up behind us, sandwiching me between the two of them.
Their scents twine together in the most sensual of ways, and my core pulses and slick immediately drenches my panties. Boy, am I glad I wore the thick scent-blocking ones. Acting on impulse, I bounce up onto my tiptoes, giving Ty’s shirt a yank until I can rub my cheek against his—scent marking him. A delighted purr rumbles from his chest, and I do the same to Fox before motioning Dash over. They’re all mine.
Mine.
“Okay,” I agree, giving each a nuzzle. “But only a few things. We don’t need to clear out the store.”
Famous last words.
“I told you we didn’t need all that,” I giggle. Dash’s muscles bulge as he pushes against the trunk, trying with all his might to close the door, but there is simply too much stuff. Every time my eyes so much as flitted over an item in the store, one of them added it to our growing pile. By the time we finished walking through the store, I couldn’t even see my Alphas behind the carts.
Crazy men.
Fox and Ty round the SUV to help, but even with all three of them pushing, it’s still way too much stuff.
Bending forward, I can’t stop the laughter from bubbling out of me as they grunt and curse. Goofballs.
“Why don’t I bring a few bags back in and have the store hold them? We can pick it up next week.” Spinning around, my feet carry me swiftly back toward the front of the store to grab a cart.
I’m only a few feet away when someone grabs my shoulder, hard. “Ouch. What the hell,” I snap, twisting to meet my assailant head-on. Reacting automatically, I step back and wrench my arm away from the vicious fingers.
My brows furrow as I take him in. Short brown hair, a stocky build, and my nose can’t detect any scent at all. As far as I know, I’ve never seen this man in my life. My heart speeds up as he advances toward me once again.
“It’s all your fault we lost!” he shouts in my face.
“I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong person,” I explain frantically. Although he’s nowhere near as large as my Alphas, this man is still much bigger than me. So big that I can’t even see past the bulk of his body.
“No, I don’t. I seen you with them. Your cunt’s the reason they missed the game!” he yells, and I suck in a deep breath, ready to scream my head off. But before I even get a chance, spring rain surrounds me. Arms band around my middle, tugging me back into his chest.
Fox.
A memory niggles at the back of my mind—but there’s no time to dwell on it.
“Did you just fucking touch my omega?” Dash roars, lifting the man and hurling him away from me. And while it’s not the time, my body responds instantly, and I pant with desire.
Holy hecking hotness.
“Are you okay?” Fox asks, lifting me in his arms and holding me close.
“Yes.” As his scent calms me, I realize that people have stopped nearby and taken out their phones to record the altercation. I can’t let this happen. It could ruin his career.
“Dash!” I yell, and my Alpha’s attention snaps instantly to me. His fist’s in the air, poised to strike, ready to defend me. “We need to leave. Now.”
And it’s like a lightbulb goes off. More people gather round, fans and onlookers alike. They shout questions and snap pictures, but Dash and Ty part the crowd while Fox carries me.
“Is that your omega?”
“Why did your whole pack miss the first game of the season?”
“Wait, is that the Alpha Crushers?”
Questions pepper our backs as we hustle into the SUV and slam the doors. A crowd has circled outside the SUV, and someone bangs on the window.
“Guess you fit the bags in,” I joke, noticing them on the front passenger seat. “Now, how are we getting out of here?”
“Hold on, baby girl,” Ty says with a wolfish grin as he guns the engine. Ty lays on the horn and drives forward, forcing the group to part. Luckily, they move out of the way as we speed out of the parking lot.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I lean my head back against Fox, and it all comes back to me.
“Wait a second…. You saved me from another crowd, didn’t you?” I ask, careening my neck to look at him. “The night I broke things off with Marcel.”
“I did,” he says, pulling me onto his lap. “And I’m sorry I didn’t stick around. Your scent called to me so strongly—but I thought you were with another Alpha.”
His arms flex, and the regret in his voice pierces me. It’s like he’s waiting for my condemnation, but I’ve never felt a moment of resentment. Curling into him, I snake my arms around his warm body, barely letting my fingers touch behind him. My head falls to his chest, and the sound of his heart beating steadies me like nothing else can.
“Your scent called to me, too—it gave me the strength to get away from him that night,” I say. Our breath twines together, and his mouth descends, taking mine in the sweetest kiss. A kiss filled with love and hope. And belonging.
Love crests within me, bringing with it an unconquerable certainty.
We’re meant to be together. Forever.