Chapter 13 – June
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JUNE
“Ashley said that we’ll be in the private dining room.”
Bennett looks up from his phone, the car rumbling down the road as Arin points us toward the heart of Rochester. I run my tongue over my teeth, sitting in the center of the backseat, Seth on my right, Theo on my left.
I feel like I’m about to walk in front of a firing squad.
“That was very kind of her, please thank her for us.” Arin’s voice is deadly calm as I reach for Seth’s hand. Intertwining our fingers, I lean in the opposite direction, nuzzling into Theo’s side. He’s been unnervingly quiet for days, and the atmosphere at the house has been on edge, like we’re all waiting to see what tonight brings — what my parents could possibly say or do.
Theo scoops an arm around my back, his hand landing on my hip and rubbing the fabric of my dress. I didn’t know what to possibly wear until Bennett walked in earlier and calmly pulled the dress out of a bag, laying it on the bed for me. He even reminded me to wear shoes I’ll be comfortable in, instead of trying to impress people we shouldn’t care about.
I love him, but the crux of the issue is that I do care, even if I shouldn’t.
Arin hasn’t mentioned anything about the conversation in his office. Nothing about the fact he told me I was loved, or that he would handle this. I’ve not been able to stand sleeping alone, so I’ve either been curled up between Bennett and Seth, or laying on the couch with Theo against me, trying to find what pieces of solace I can.
I’ve missed Arin. He said he wasn’t mad at me, but he has to be. What kind of person doesn’t admit to the harassment that’s been thrown at them for almost two months?
I’ve only gotten one single text from my mother, confirming tonight’s dinner. I found a new phone on my bed two days ago, replacing my shattered, older model, and the cream color is gorgeous. It didn’t help much when I read the addition to the thread.
DO NOT ANSWER
Arin Mohan contacted your father and I. The three of us will see you at the restaurant on Friday evening. Look presentable, Juniper.
So I put on the dress Bennett left for me and tried to be okay that Arin handled it.
Smoothing my hands over the white fabric, I glance down at the intricate fitted bodice. It hugs my upper body like it was made for me, before the fabric dramatically flares out around my hips, the corset top covering my stomach but not uncomfortably. The skirt, itself, matches the same white as the rest of the dress, save for the very bottom, which looks dipped in ink, staining the hem.
I love it — I have no idea where he bought it, or how he found the time to get it for me — but it makes me feel like an adult, squished between Theo in his button up, and Seth in a blazer. Arin’s in a full suit in the front, with Bennett in a nice shirt, covered in an overcoat.
“I could fight the other alpha for you.” Theo murmurs the words, rubbing my hip again. “I bet they picked some dickhead who thinks he could just waltz out with you. His name is probably… Braeden or Jaxton or some shit.”
I snort. “I don’t think Ashley would like it if you started a bar brawl in her five star restaurant.”
He hums, glancing down at me. “Would you like it, though?”
Stuttering for a second, my perfume gives me away before I can make an excuse. It’s not that the idea of Theo beating someone to a bloody pulp is attractive — except it is . The tiny voice in the back of my mind that is all omega is damn near giddy at the thought.
Theo’s eyes rove over my rising chest, making me squirm a little.
From the front, Bennett curses softly. “ Theo , leave her alone .” An echo of want, unrestrained and needy, comes down the bond, and I squeeze Seth’s hand a little tighter, pressing my lips together to suppress a silly giggle at the way they’re all reacting to me.
I suck in a breath as Theo dips down, kissing my collarbone and nudging his nose against my skin. It takes my brain a moment to catch up with his actions as his breath fans out across my throat, then I do giggle.
“You possessive asshole, are you scent-marking me?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t even try to hide his grin, pressing it into my skin as his tongue darts out, licking a stripe up my throat. “Bennett gets to show off his bite on you, it’s only fair.”
My eyes flutter, and I feel breathless as he marks me with his rainwater smell, drenching me in it like I was caught in a storm. “ Oh .” His teeth drag over my mark, and I clench my thighs together as Seth fidgets beside me. His squirming draws my gaze, and I watch him as his hand carefully tries to readjust the tented front of his trousers. I lift my palm to my mouth, barking out a loud laugh as Seth gives me a tortured look.
“This is why Bennett and I tamp shit down, fucking hell, I can’t go to dinner with a hard-on.”
I laugh harder, it exploding out of me as Theo shakes against my side, laughing even with his head pressed into my throat.
“Want to make me rock hard, princess? I’ll walk in like a total degenerate, really play it up in front of them.”
“Can none of you behave?” Arin’s laugh drifts back to us as I peek up to see him shaking his head with a smile in the rearview mirror.
“Theo has a point.”
The car is quiet for a moment, then Bennett shifts, glancing back at me. “What do you mean?”
Biting my tongue, I look to the side at Theo as he finally pulls back from lavishing my neck. “If you all smell like me and I smell like you, maybe they’ll realize I do care — maybe they’ll accept my choice… Maybe they’ll accept that we’re a pack.”
Theo’s brows pinch as he looks down at me, sighing softly. “You could walk in smelling like an entirely different pack and they should still respect your decision about your life.”
Seth’s hand drifts over to mine, drawing my gaze as he squeezes my fingers. “At the end of the day, their approval of us doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy, June bug.”
“I know.” And I do — but the silence hangs and I can’t help but add, “But I still, selfishly, want everyone to know you’re all mine, as much as I’m yours.”
Seth flashes me a smile. “Want to bite me again?”
“Maybe.” I lean forward, brushing my lips over his as I sigh. “But maybe I just do want you all to indulge me and let me mark you up with my scent. Even if it’s just selfish, wishful thinking that they’d respect me.”
He leans in closer, pulling me into a deeper kiss as Theo’s hand slides slightly to the side, touching my thigh over the dress instead of my hip. From the front, Bennett lets out a little groan, his voice a warning as he growls, “Arin, they’re not behaving.”
“They’re your bonded.”
I laugh, but it’s not very loud, transforming into a wanton moan as Seth’s tongue slips into my mouth, toying with mine. Covering Theo’s hand with my own, I press his touch further into me, breathing out as I kiss Seth messily. “This dress sucks for easy access.” Theo makes a noise as I turn, capturing his lips next as Seth’s touch moves to my jaw and throat. I reach up, shimmying the top of the bodice slightly, moaning softly. “I might be able to get my tits out.”
“ June , please keep your clothes on,” Bennett admonishes me from the front, but it’s through pained laughter, lust zinging up and down the bond as he’s subjected to both mine and Seth’s antics.
After a moment, Theo takes mercy on us all, pulling away and grabbing my chin. “Behave. No more, little omega, or we’ll never make it through this god-awful dinner.”
That doesn’t sound like much of a threat to me. I’ll take a fivesome with my pack over a pained dinner conversation with my parents any day.
Whining, I let Theo go, but pout while he pulls back. Maybe I am projecting, or maybe I just am a horny omega with no other desire than to be railed — but the small voice inside my mind gives me pause.
Why wouldn’t I want to constantly be surrounded by the love of these men? Why wouldn’t I want to stay in their arms, soaking up the fact that time and time again they have proven I am worth more than what my parents always insisted. I’m worth more than a passing glance, or an unsatisfying relationship.
I deserve to be happy.
The thought is sobering as I glance over at Theo. His eyes flicker to mine, the softest blue that makes my heart flutter every time they light up.
“What’s that look for?”
I smile at him, my throat tightening. “I’m just really lucky to have all of you.”
“No, we’re lucky to have you,” Seth whispers as he kisses my shoulder.
The car slows and turns into a familiar parking lot behind Ashley’s restaurant, the same one where I kissed Bennett senseless just before we bonded. Trepidation builds as Arin parks the car, and we all get out.
Fussing with my skirts, I smooth them out as best as I can, then reach up, trying to adjust the way my hair has fallen out of its updo with all of Theo and Seth’s touches, but Bennett steps over. He slides the pin keeping it in place free, letting my hair tumble down as he guides me to stand in front of him.
“Let me.” His deft fingers scoop it off my neck, kissing my nape before he twists my hair up and pins it back into place. “You definitely smell like Theo and Seth, it’s not overwhelming, despite how much you tried, but it’s there.” Bennett turns me around and I reach up with a little smile, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles in his shirt, my fingers skimming under his overcoat.
“I guess I’m just missing a bit of mint and some orange.”
Bennett smiles back at me, his thumb brushing over the silver-scarred bond mark he left on my throat. It thrums with heat, with love , before he bends down and kisses me senseless. Every painful moment of edging in the car compacts into the touch as he devours me, pulling me close and sipping from my mouth like he’s drinking the finest of wines.
I’m breathless and a little dizzy when he pulls back, thumb idly toying with the bond scar as he smirks. “There. That will have to do. As much as I want to bend you over and fill you with my cum, I don’t want a public indecency charge. You’re plenty marked by me with my bite and my kiss, darling.”
I take a dazed step back, immediately stopped as I bump into Arin. Bennett’s eyes flash from my face to Arin behind me, before his chin dips and he steps away. I watch him for a moment, transfixed as he takes Seth’s hand, kissing the beta’s knuckles before they walk toward the building with Theo.
Arin’s touch slides over my hip, his mint perfume clearing my mind as the ghost touch of his lips linger on my throat, then my jaw, then my ear.
“Where do you suppose I mark you, Juniper? You’re drenched in their scents, so much rain and orange and chocolate I can just barely smell you, sweet and honeyed underneath it all.”
I make a little noise as his hand curls into mine, fingers tangling, and it’s the only invitation I need to turn around.
He looks devastatingly handsome in his full suit. The jacket fits him like a glove, the perfect black to match to the ink-stained hem of my dress. My free hand lands on the lapels, smoothing them as I whisper, “I’m so scared.”
“I will never let them do anything. No matter what’s said tonight, you belong in this pack.” He frowns at me, then lifts his hand to touch my jaw, tipping my head up as he leans in. “I am so proud of you — for being here, for your bravery, for it all.”
My eyes sting as I take him in, relishing his touch as my mind races.
“I don’t want you to see me as a reflection of them. I don’t want you to ever think for a moment that I held their beliefs. I’m embarrassed , Arin. I don’t want you to see that this is where I came from, what I grew up with because…” I flounder, my mouth opening and closing as I choke out, “Because I can’t stand the thought of you thinking that I said yes to Seth because I saw you as only a line of dollar signs.”
His palm, so warm, slides down, before he holds the side of my throat, steady and calm as his brown eyes sear into me.
“I wish I could crawl into your mind and reorganize it. I wish I could leave notes on the mirrors inside it and let you have them as a reminder every single time you believe these things, because they’re not true .” He whispers the words, pulling me a step closer by my throat. “I would never think that you accepted help from Seth or Bennett because of money, or some perceived notion that you grew up with that all your worth is tied to your designation and ability to bear children.”
He licks his lips, then sighs.
“Maybe I’ve not made it abundantly clear, Juniper.”
My confusion must show on my face because he presses his forehead against mine, overwhelming me with his perfume.
“I’d like to spend the rest of my life making you incandescently happy. I’d like your cheeks to hurt just from smiling by the end of the days we spend together. I’d like the moments you dream about to pale in comparison to the time you spend with myself, with Theo, with Bennett, and with Seth. The people inside this building do not reflect you or your sweet heart. The words that may be said tonight are not yours. I know that. Do you?”
Tears prick in my eyes as the sheer weight of tonight rests on my chest like an anvil. Arin’s lips twist as he kisses the top of my forehead, ruffling my hair with his breath — his own version of drenching me in the essence of him.
“I know now.” My voice breaks. “I believe you, and I’m so in love with you, I could be sick over it, Arin.”
He gives up on keeping it chaste the instant the words leave my mouth. Arin cups my face in his wide hands, then kisses me passionately, pulling me against him as the world teeters for a moment. One hand drops, and then he grasps my hip, lifting me just to spin us in a circle, my skirt swirling around us as he does.
He only slows when he mutters, “I am so enamored with you, Juniper. I’d let the world fall to ruin and still be caught in your eyes.” Arin pulls back, so handsome, so perfect , his eyes crinkling as he smiles at me. “I love you.”
Reaching up, I tangle my fingers in his hair, uncaring as I laugh and kiss him hard. He stumbles, but then twists us, pinning me against the side of our SUV as I lose myself in him . My prime — this man who has done everything in his power to make this entire process magical in so many ways.
His beard scratches against my jaw as his nose rubs against my throat. “No one better look at you, you’re mine .” With that, he sucks on the skin and I whine, pressing up against him. His teeth grab hold of my skin and sparks race through my veins. Arin doesn’t fully bite and he curses as he exhales sharply, letting my skin go. “You’re my omega, my love, my Juniper.”
All the air leaves my lungs as his hands run up the corset, sliding over my upper arms, his tongue darting out to taste me, humming in sheer satisfaction.
“There, no one will question that I’ve left my mark on you.”
I stare up at him, my heart beating wildly as he kisses me one more time, just a brief caress, then pulls us away from the car.
“We should go in.” I cling to his arm, staring at the door as I hesitate in the parking lot.
Arin grimaces. “We should, but there’s still time to text Seth and Theo to cause a distraction. We could run.” Arin pauses, squinting up at the dusky sky. “I have property in Germany. Have you ever been?”
A laugh bubbles up as I turn into him, sucking in another lungful of his scent before I whisper, “No, but take me another night. Let’s just get through this one.”
My alpha holds onto me as he leads us forward. His gentle voice is a promise only for me as he murmurs, “Of course. It’ll be something to look forward to.”