Chapter 5
five
JULIA
My heart completely stalled in my chest. I looked from man to man before finally flicking my eyes to Stetson’s, because this wasn’t just my decision.
“I think that’s a decision the six of you have to make together,” I told them, putting the ball firmly into Stetson’s court.
It physically ached to offer him the out, but I forced the words out anyway.
If they turned me away, if they rejected me, I wasn’t sure how I’d pick myself back up and crawl home with my metaphorical tail between my legs.
Deep down, I knew I’d never be the same, but I wouldn’t stay where I wasn’t wanted.
“I’ll only unpack if I’m truly welcome. If you actually want this.
Otherwise, I’ll call my brothers, they’ll send the jet back, and we can all just... move on.”
Stetson swallowed hard, his throat working visibly as he ruthlessly choked down whatever roar of Alpha command tried to rip its way out. He cleared his throat at the end, like he could just casually cover it up.
I almost smirked. Almost.
Before he could respond to the threat of me actually leaving, I forged ahead.
“And speaking of the six of you... I’ve only counted four.
” The memory of Colt gripping his silver chain and walking away stung all over again.
“The three of you, plus the guy out by the barn who doesn’t seem to want to be on the same property as me let alone in the same zip code…
” I tried to infuse the words with a teasing, dismissive edge, but once again, the joke fell flat. Even to my own ears.
Gideon winced apologetically. “That’s Colt. He... he just needs a minute. Like the others, he didn’t expect this today either.”
“As for the other two,” August added, smoothly covering for his standoffish packmate, “they’re out of town.
” He picked up my empty water glass to refill it, his movements effortlessly domestic.
“Ransom and River, the twins. They’ll be back tonight.
” He set the fresh glass back on the island and offered me a deadpan look. “Enjoy the quiet while you have it.”
Stetson straightened, stepping back. He looked wrecked, but the hostility was gone. “Gid, Boone, take her bags up. Put her in the hall room.” He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m gonna go check on Colt.”
As Stetson’s heavy boots echoed down the hall, the suffocating Alpha pressure in the kitchen finally broke.
It wasn’t that the other guys weren’t also Alphas, but it was different being in the room with the pack leader.
I took a shaky drag of air, the first real oxygen I’d managed to pull into my lungs since stepping out of the truck.
I quickly finished eating, marveling at how August was right there to clear my plate for me.
Then he and Gideon moved to pick up my heavy suitcases, lifting them as if they were filled with feathers instead of as many clothes as I could fit.
I followed them up the stairs, trying and failing not to look at their asses.
What was it about a man with a good butt?
I had the insane urge to grab them, and just barely reminded myself to keep my hands to myself.
I was so distracted, I followed them blindly past the second floor and up to the third. It wasn’t until I caught the loaded shared look between the two men and the silent agreement they seemed to make that I tuned back in. At the end of the hall were a set of double doors with pretty handles.
“Wait!” I blurted, darting to grab Gideon’s flannel-clad forearm. I locked my knees, refusing to move another inch. “I can’t go in there.”
Gideon paused, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Why not?”
“Is that or is that not the Omega suite?” I questioned, not truly needing the answer because I already knew.
He shared another look with August. “Of course it is.”
A tight laugh that wasn’t really a laugh slid up my throat. “I’m not... I don’t even know if I’m staying. Or if they’ll actually want me to. I am not going in there and getting my scent all over your Omega suite when I might be on a plane back to New York by tomorrow morning.”
Beside me, my suitcases hit the hardwood with heavy thuds.
I barely had a second to register the sound before August stepped directly into my space.
He reached down, his large, work-roughened hands gently cupping my face.
I froze. His palms were large enough to swallow my jaw, the callouses scraping lightly against my skin.
I leaned in involuntarily, loving how good he smelled and how warm he was, and it struck me that I’d never been touched like this before.
And how much I liked it…
“You are our Omega,” August murmured, his dark eyes fiercely locked onto mine. The conviction in his voice vibrated from the top of my head all the way through me to the tip of my boots. “There isn’t going to be another one. It’s you, or it’s nothing. So there’s no harm in you staying in there.”
His thumbs stroked a slow path along my jawline, utterly dismantling the last shreds of my argument. “Besides. There’s no way we’re letting you go.”
Well, then… Okay.
He held my gaze for one more heartbeat, ensuring I absorbed every single syllable, before dropping his hands and picking my luggage back up.
I stood there, completely undone, my skin still tingling where he’d touched me.
Gideon offered me a soft yet victorious smile and pushed the double doors open.
“Damn, Gid,” August rumbled from ahead of me as they stepped inside. “You did good.”
With a deep breath, I trailed them into the room.
Holy shit. The suite was a sprawling, sun-drenched masterpiece of vaulted timber, natural stone, and towering windows that framed the endless Wyoming sky.
It was gorgeous, meticulously designed, and ridiculously inviting.
But my brain couldn’t process the architectural beauty, because my eyes were glued to the piece of furniture sitting on the opposite side of the room.
It was, without a doubt, the most humongous bed I had ever seen in my life.
How did a company even manufacture a mattress that large?
It looked like it required its own zip code.
It was layered in a ridiculous mountain of plush, pristine white down comforters, heavy knit throw blankets, and an entire store’s worth of fluffy pillows in every fabric imaginable. My jaw literally dropped open.
How the hell was I even supposed to pick a side to sleep on?
My inner Omega took one look at that soft, sprawling nest and absolutely lost her mind.
Before my cynical, city-hardened brain could filter the impulse, I dropped my sparkly cowboy hat onto a nearby armchair, took six quick, inelegant running steps, and launched my entire body through the air.
I hit the mattress and bounced, sinking deeply into a high-thread-count cloud. I moaned into the duvet, surrendering to the luxury of it.
Two low, rumbling chuckles sounded from behind me, full of unmistakable amusement.
They were laughing at me. Or… with me, since I was now giggling myself.
But I didn’t even care. I spread my arms out wide, claiming as much of the mattress as humanly possible, and turned my head to look at them.
They were both standing near my bags, shaking their heads with matching, affectionate grins.
Gideon tapped August’s shoulder. “We should go down and help Stetson wrangle Colt.” He turned his warm blue eyes back to where I was currently starfish-sprawled across the down blankets.
“We’ll give you some time to settle in and decompress.
Whenever you’re ready, just come out to the front porch and we’ll show you around the property. ”
Pulling themselves away, they left me to my own devices, shutting the doors and offering me my privacy.
I listened to the faint thuds of their boots fading down the stairs until the house went quiet.
But it wasn’t the hollow, isolating quiet of my apartment at the OMA in New York.
The silence felt warm somehow. Lived-in.
Maybe it was the trace of the guys signatures still keeping me company, or maybe this was just what a home felt like…
Either way, it was as comforting as the soft throw blanket I was petting on the bed.
I waited another full minute, just to be sure they were actually gone, before I rolled off the glorious mattress to do exactly what any self-respecting woman would do in my position.
I snooped.
Padding across the thick woven rug, I headed straight for the massive windows.
A sleek, modern panel sat flush against the wall next to the glass.
I tapped the top button. With a smooth, near-silent mechanical purr, curtain-like-panels slid down to cover the glass, blocking out the fading Wyoming sun.
Another button turned on soft uplighting around the room, giving the whole place a romantic feel.
My pulse kicked. It wasn’t just a bedroom anymore. The room transformed into a den-like-space. Or, more accurately, a nest.
My inner Omega hummed a greedy note of approval, recognizing the safety of a perfect nest. The instinct to strip off my traveled-in clothes and start dragging those down comforters into a pile was suddenly staggering, especially knowing my heat wasn’t that far off since the OMA had legally mandated I stop taking my suppressants the second I scent matched. The bastards.
Ignoring my body’s demands, I quickly hit the buttons again, putting the settings back to the way they’d been before.
Then I opened every door, finding massive closets and the world’s most luxurious bathroom.
Double rainfall showerheads, a freestanding soaking tub deep enough to swim in, and heated floors.
“Oh yes,” I sighed, staring at the tub. “I could be very happy here.” And damn, but it was true. I wasn’t inherently materialistic, but growing up with four brothers meant a locked bathroom door and a soaking tub were the ultimate luxuries.
Back in the bedroom, I ran my hand over the various pillows, picking my favorites, secretly impressed that Gideon hadn’t missed a single sensory detail.
I climbed back onto the oversized mattress, crawling across the expanse of it to test different spots. When I couldn’t decide which one I liked best, I finally rolled onto my back right in the center and stared up at the vaulted timber ceiling.
It was way too easy to imagine letting my guard down here. To imagine sinking into this mattress, letting August feed me, letting Gideon manage the details he seemed so good at handling, and basking in the safety and protection I knew Stetson excelled at as pack leader. It was seductive as hell.
Which meant it was dangerous.
I dug my phone out of my front pocket and unlocked it. My thumb hovered over my messages, opening the thread that had been achingly silent.
Addy.
A hollow ache opened up behind my ribs. She was the only person I wanted to call right now.
I wanted to spill every overwhelming detail of my day.
I wanted to complain about Colt’s attitude, gush about the huge bathtub, and ask her how the hell I was supposed to navigate a house full of giant, fiercely attentive Alphas without losing my mind.
She was the only person who actually understood me.
And she was the one person I couldn’t talk to. Not after what my scent match had cost her.
I stared at the long line of my previous, unanswered text bubbles. My throat tightened. I typed out a new message anyway, my thumbs clumsy against the glass.
I made it in one piece. I’ll admit, the land out here is gorgeous.
I hit send, then started typing again.
But Ads, I swear to God, you dodged a massive bullet with this pack. This whole thing is a spectacular disaster.
I sent the second bubble and watched it sit there. Delivered. Unread. Mocking me.
I tossed the phone off to the side and blinked back the hot pressure suddenly burning behind my eyes.
Cristenellos don’t cry.
I forced myself to sit up, leaving the addictive warmth of the bed behind. I couldn’t lay here and drown in guilt and down comforters. The guys had given me an inch of space, but I realized I didn’t truly want it. Not if I was going to sit up here and obsess over how awful of a friend I was.
My eyes landed on the open bathroom door and that deep, freestanding tub.
I felt travel-worn, exhausted, and entirely off-balance. Gideon had invited me out to the porch, but I wasn’t going back downstairs smelling like an airplane cabin and nervous Omega. If I was going to navigate a house full of volatile Alphas, I was going to do it on my own terms.
It was time to wash the city off, reconstruct my armor, and prepare for round two.