Chapter 20
Ophelia
I fell asleep with Enzo. It didn't even occur to me to ask for my own room, which I'm sure they have an abundance of in this massive house. Enzo didn't offer, and I didn't ask; he just clutched my hand as we climbed out of Theo's car last night and led me to his bedroom.
There must be an omega nest somewhere; most established packs build one in their shared home, but I haven't had the courage to ask. I don't think they've ever seriously courted an omega. I would have read about it, but I know they've dated plenty. I don't know how I'd feel knowing someone else had used the nest. By someone like Bridgette or Imogen.
I'm angry at the alphas for flirting with the other women, but Enzo assured me it was a misunderstanding, and I trust his—admittedly, sometimes brutal—honesty. In any case, last night was such a whirlwind that I'd nearly forgotten about the luncheon, overshadowed by Sully manipulating me into moving into their house.
Is it beautiful? Yes. Is it my dream house? Yes. Even better than I could have conjured up myself? Absolutely.
I'm still pissed.
It would surprise no one to learn that Enzo's room is immaculate and organized. His clothes are meticulously folded, and his bed is made like a hotel's. I asked about a cleaning service, and he said they have someone come once a week. The guys take care of the daily maintenance around the house, like their bedrooms, while Greta helps in the common areas and does most of the cooking. Which means Enzo folds and tucks in his sheets with the militant precision of a hotel maid.
I've yet to meet Greta, though I'm a little nervous. From previous conversations, I knew that she used to work for Sully's family and that she was something like a mother figure to the guys. When she came to work for the Constantine Pack, they set her up in a nice house only a few miles from theirs. She mostly cooks breakfast and lunch, leaving the guys to fend for themselves for dinner, cooking on their own, or reheating something she prepared in advance.
I should find her and introduce myself since I'm apparently living here now, but I don't want to risk running into Sully.
When I woke up this morning, the sky was still dark. Enzo was wide awake, sitting in a chair across from the bed, fully dressed in workout clothes, staring at me.
From the bond, I knew that he was feeling clingy but that he also has routines he sticks to, so I encouraged him to exercise as he needed, and I'd be right where he left me when he returned; sleeping, like a normal person.
It took a little more convincing than that, including a desperate fuck where I felt every little fear and anxiety he held inside at leaving me, but the bond goes both ways, and when we were both more relaxed, he relented and left the bedroom.
I'd woken three more times to him coming in and out of the room, between his long jog on the trails in the woods, his weight lifting in their lower level gym, and his breakfast routine. All of this before I was really fully conscious.
The man is a machine.
Now I'm awake and surprised to find the room empty. I can feel Enzo in the bond. If I look for it, it's like plucking a thread, humming with satisfaction, and I know he's close by.
Digging through my bag, I pull out a pair of leggings and a tank top with an oversized, loose cardigan. I don't have to work tonight so I plan to use the day to gain my bearings. And just because I'm pissed at the way Sully got me to move in here, I'm grateful for what he's doing for the residents of C-Block, for Melanie. So I'm going to make damn sure he follows through.
The smell of coffee and pastries pulls me down the halls of my new home. I get a faint impression of the alphas as I pass each bedroom. Asher's woodsy scent is the strongest, and I pause outside a door, wondering if he's inside.
My ear presses against the solid wood for barely a second before I fall inward as Asher whips open the door.
"Oof," I fall into his hard chest. His arms wrap around me, and I decide then and there that Asher gives the best hugs. It's a bear hug, big, warm and comforting but also supportive and safe, which is exactly what I need right now. He smells like adventure and summer nights.
"Careful little one, an alpha lurks around every corner of this house."
"I guess you caught me," I smile, rubbing my cheek against his hard pecs.
He pulls back, and I resist the whine until I realize he's just pulling me into his bedroom and swinging the door shut behind us.
Like Enzo's, the room has nice natural light and soft fabrics, contrasting against dark, masculine furniture. They have a more down-to-earth aesthetic than I'd have guessed, but I love it.
Asher's hands never leave my body, gently touching and caressing my arms, my waist, and my lower back while I explore his space. He's less rigidly organized than Enzo, but there's still a place for everything. Dirty laundry is tossed haphazardly over a basket, one of his shirts hanging halfway in. The urge to reach out and steal it surprises me.
I've never really nested. My one and only full-force heat came when I was eighteen and ran out of suppressants. I had no alpha to help me through it, and spent three days alone in a cabin writhing in pain with only toys for company while Red's parents parked outside with shotguns, keeping me safe. They've been great second parents to me, even if the entire experience was humiliating.
My fingers reach out to snatch the t-shirt, but fortunately, Asher distracts me before I can embarrass myself.
"I thought you'd be angry this morning. I've been worried."
I turn in his arms, letting him wrap his big, warm body around me. Maybe it's because I recklessly bonded with Enzo so quickly after wavering for so long, but I'm easing into this relationship faster than I thought possible.
"Oh, I'm livid," I assure him.
Asher nods, his big brown eyes angling with concern. I squeeze my arms around his shoulders, "I'm not mad at you, Asher. I don't know, maybe I'd be more pissed if I hadn't had Enzo with me last night." Asher tenses at the reminder.
I continue, "We may have made a rash decision bonding, but I don't regret it. And this is his pack. And you… you're…"
"Yes…?" Asher smiles softly, nudging his nose beside my ear, taking a deep breath in.
"I like you a lot, Asher. I'm not angry I'm here with you. I'd have liked more time to come to terms with joining your pack after spending so long pushing the idea away. I don't really know what you guys expect of me. I'm not just some dormant omega puppet—"
"Ophelia, you could never be that. And we don't want that, we never did. Maybe we should have clarified what we wanted from you from the start, it was just so… unconventional, the way we met," he supplies diplomatically. "But we don't want you to change, little one; we want you just as you are. I love everything about you."
He kisses my jaw close to my ear, causing shivers to cascade down my body. "I love how stubborn you are. And how resilient." His lips trail down my neck, pecking along the way. My knees squeeze together as a small moan escapes me when the peek of his tongue slips out to taste my skin. His voice lowers, "I love how selfless you are. You gave up so much for those around you. You put yourself in danger to help others in need. You moved in here against your will to help your friend."
Asher's large hand splays across my sternum, the heat of his palm landing over Enzo's healing bite mark on my left breast.
"It's not such a hardship, being here," I whisper.
His palm lowers, squeezing my breast while his thumb teases my nipple. A zap of desire shoots between my legs, my hips pressing forward in search of more. My perfume blooms between us, and Asher growls in response.
His hand keeps returning to the bite mark while he teases me.
"Are you upset we bonded?" I ask. Packs often bond their omega together during their first heat together. Enzo isn't like other alphas but I wonder if it bothers them that we moved forward without the rest of the pack.
"Upset? No, little one, I'm fucking ecstatic. Jealous as hell, but ecstatic."
"Because it means I'll bond with you too?"
He gives me an unapologetic, toothy grin before stepping back and clasping both my hands in his. "I would be honored if we bonded, but it's your choice; it always will be. You being bonded to my brother, my pack mate, just means I get to be in your life. I hope we get more, but if that's all you ever give me, I still get to wake up every day knowing you exist just outside my bedroom door."
My lips part. I wonder how he always knows what to say. Before I can respond, there's a bang on the door, and Enzo barges in.
He beelines straight for me, but doesn't pull me away from Asher; instead, hovering at my back, he breathes me in. I can feel his inhale at my nape, his bright mint and eucalyptus scent even more potent after his shower.
"I couldn't find you," he rasps.
Asher chuckles, "How long did you panic, brother? Thirty seconds?"
Enzo doesn't respond; he just stands close at my back, the firm planes of his chest warming my body. Fingertips dance along my shoulder and arm while my hands are still clasped in Asher's.
I've always wondered how pack dynamics worked and how they didn't get jealous of each other. Aside from longing for his own bond, Asher doesn't seem jealous of Enzo having me close and vice versa.
I suppose we'll have plenty of time to test the boundaries.
Maybe it's Enzo sensing what I'm feeling in our bond, but the air in the room changes, and our scents mingling together wash over me. Enzo's grip at my sides firm while Asher leans in, slowly, silently asking for permission. There's a gentle push at my back, encouraging my acceptance. I give into it, even though I don't know what I'm doing, because I can't think of anything better.
I meet Asher halfway, our lips crashing together. Shaking with excitement, I open myself in a way I never have. I've never been with an alpha before Enzo, and I've definitely never been with more than one person at once. It's normal for packs, but the feeling of having the two of them, one at my back and one at my front, ready to worship me is heady.
Enzo's hands explore my hips. He doesn't tease; that's not Enzo. He learns, searches, discovers, dissecting every whimper and shiver of my reaction.
While Asher kisses me, I can feel his desperation for me, his year of longing; the pain, the sadness, the loneliness, the slow exploration like a soothing balm filling in all the cracks. Asher's hands leave my neck, trailing down to my collarbone.
My stomach growling changes the mood in the room instantly.
Asher pulls back, surprised, with an adoring and fucking heartbreakingly beautiful grin showcasing perfect white teeth before he laughs.
I'm soaked, and he knows it, but rather than continue to tease me, he grabs my hand again and pulls me out of the bedroom, Enzo hot on our heels.
The house is quiet and I'm both relieved and disappointed when I learn Sully's gone to the office. On a Sunday.
"It's not because of you," Asher assures me, loading up a plate of bacon, eggs, and pastries made by Greta, who had already taken off to give us some privacy.
Enzo contradicts him, "Yes, it is. He's afraid of her. She has the power to destroy him, and he knows she's angry." He turns to me, "He'll likely avoid you for a few days, hoping you'll become too attached to us and the house to care that he forced you out of your home."
"Dude." Asher wide-eyes his brother, his surprised cough turning into a chuckle. "I mean, he's not wrong." Shrugging, he continues to pile his plate three times the size of mine. I notice Asher's wearing jeans and a fitted white t-shirt, the most dressed down I've seen him, though Enzo is wearing a suit. Or a sport coat? He's missing the vest and pocket square, but he's still wearing nice pants and a jacket at the breakfast bar on a late Sunday morning.
I cock my head at him, "Do you ever dress down?"
"No," they both answer. Enzo amends, "I wear workout clothes, sometimes. I don't feel comfortable in anything else."
I hum an acknowledgment and go back to my breakfast while Asher watches my reaction. Did he think I'd judge Enzo? I don't care what he wears. He looks hot as fuck in a nerd-core, black glasses-wearing, intellectual kind of way. Enzo's features are sharp. His nose an aquiline slope, the dark iris of his eyes often obscured by the thick frames of his glasses, with a diamond-shaped face and cutting jaw.
Though he's looking down at his phone, my perusal doesn't go unnoticed. He slowly lifts his head and smirks, a faint blush painting his cheek. I ignore the shivering look and go back to my breakfast.
I've been holding off on asking about Theo all morning, still mad at him for flirting with Bridgette when he strolls around the corner from the door to the gym, clad in nothing but gray sweatpants. The bulge at the waist is so damn distracting it takes physical effort to draw my eyes up, away from the anaconda I'm sure he's packing beneath that material. It practically swings as he walks, each step a flexing thrust.
Unfortunately, along the way, my eyes drag over hardened abs and sweaty, glistening, golden tan skin encasing in an honest to god adonis belt.
My swallow is audible, and when I reach his face, his stupid, goddamn beautiful face that magazines love, I grit my teeth and manage to look away.
"Hey baby, you get enough to eat? Can I make you anything else?" He leans into my space, his honey-lemon scent making me whimper.
"Nope." My response is higher-pitch than I'd have liked.
He reaches over and steals a piece of bacon off my plate, and I shoot him a glare. I finish my breakfast while he moves around the kitchen, fixing his plate. Enzo works on his phone, the screen showing a bunch of graphs and numbers. Asher makes small talk, Theo and I taking turns responding.
When Theo brings up the elephant in the room, I school my expression.
"So, movers should be swinging by your old place early tomorrow morning and bringing everything back here right after. You want to keep everything or should I tell them to toss it?"
"Why would they toss anything?" I fold my arms across my chest. He's trying to provoke me.
"Well, your couch is a total piece of shit. Most of the furniture is if I remember correctly. We could just bring everything to the dump, and I can take you shopping for new clothes."
"Dammit, Theo," Asher groans, running his hand through his thick brown hair.
"I'm sorry, honey, did you want to keep all that?" He turns to me.
"You're a dick." Baby, honey. His endearments are gross. I like it when Asher calls me little one because I'm short, and it suits me. And it's sweet coming from him. Theo just sounds like he's reading a script on how to get into an omega's pants.
"I'm just saying, if you're going to be pissed at Sully for getting you out of that dump, you can be pissed at me too because I'm all for it. Your clothes aren't bad, but you hide your shape too much. You should wear something more fitted. Especially around the…" He curves his hands through the air, indicating my hips.
"I'm going to murder you."
"You're a Constantine now, sweetheart. You gotta look the part."
I glare up at him, and even though his smirk is teasing and he's just trying to get a rise out of me, it stings. "Am I not good enough for you?" I ask. If I thought responding honestly and vulnerably would make him stop being a dick, I was wrong.
"Are we not good enough for you? I mean, you did fuck with my brother here for an entire year. Destroyed his heart. Then ignored us for weeks even after he found you again. You think because I don't live in a shitty apartment and work at a strip club, I'm not cool or hard-core enough for you."
"You don't know anything, Theo. And you're an asshole."
He shrugs, and his not-so-teasing smirk drops like he's been holding onto this animosity for a while. Asher yells at Theo for being a jerk while Enzo, phone abandoned, pulls me into his lap, his arm wrapping around me protectively.
"If you continue to disrespect my mate, Theo, we will have problems. Choose a different path." Enzo is deceptively calm, delivering the cool words with cutting transparency.
Theo's angry expression is instantly replaced with something easy and carefree.
I'm here. And maybe it's taken me a while to get here, maybe I could have handled finding my scent-matches better, but he doesn't get to pretend like I'm the only one in the wrong here.
"Maybe I'm not fancy enough for you? Maybe I need to get some implants, so my tits hang out of every dress, like that girl you were flirting with—what was her name? Bianca? Bridgette?"
"I wasn't flirting with—"
"Don't insult me, Theo. You want to give me shit for not jumping at the opportunity to bond with your pack when I've had some legitimate hang-ups for associating with anyone connected to the OFA, an organization who, might I remind you, assisted in the assault of my sister and covering up the death of my family. You can be angry all you want that I stayed away, and I hate that I hurt Asher, but that is between me and Asher."
Pulling away from Enzo, who loosens his grip on my shirt, I poke my finger into Theo's chest. "You claim you want me to join your pack, but just yesterday, you were fucking around with that girl," I snap, and I'm not proud at how my voice wavers.
My eyes prick with tears. I need to get out of this room.
Theo's expression softens, his righteous indignation melting away. "That's not what I was doing. I wasn't flirting, she was, and if you showed up twenty seconds earlier or stayed twenty seconds longer, you'd have seen me push her away."
I guess that's as much of an apology as I'm going to get.
Because I'm not an animal, I pick up my plate and quickly stick it in the dishwasher, before turning to Enzo. "Can we go?"
He nods briefly, and we leave the guys behind.