Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Blinking open dry eyes, I’m confused by the bright light streaming into my room. With only one decently sized window and high-quality blackout curtains, it’s never this well lit when I get up.
Forcing myself to sit up, I shift the peach comforter away from my lap and freeze. This isn’t my room. It’s Skye’s.
How the hell did I end up here?
As I run my hand over the cold pillow beside me, small hints of moonflower reach my nose, easing a bit of my heaviness.
Three days ago, Emmett’s sister had called to tell him their grandmother had fallen and was in the hospital. He has rushed to help her, taking Quentin and Skye with him.
Before they left, I hadn’t considered how Skye going to Rhode Island would affect me. We’ve barely been bonded for two weeks and are still recovering from the eight years of bond sickness I put her through.
Fates, I’m a shit Alpha. I should have expected this and gone with her.
Is she feeling it? Probably not. She has Quentin and Emmett with her, and she’s too busy taking care of his grandmother to notice any off feelings.
Dragging myself off the bed, I stumble to her bathroom and start the shower. I should go downstairs and use my own, but I can’t handle the thought of leaving her space. It feels like her scent is the only thing holding me together.
A thought that makes me feel worse. What kind of Alpha can’t handle his Omega going to visit her other mate’s family for a few days without turning into a half-zombie storm cloud?
A crappy one, I think as I step beneath the spray of warm water and lather myself in her lightly vanilla-scented body wash. It doesn’t smell like her, but I’m used to catching the notes on her body and might trick myself into settling. Then I can visit the kitchen to grab something to eat.
Hopefully.
Asking one of the guys to bring me food because I’m having a meltdown would be embarrassing.
When I finish drying my body, I swear. I don’t have clean clothes up here.
A lump lodges itself in my throat as I wrap the towel around my waist and walk through the bedroom, hyping myself up to walk downstairs. My feet freeze at the door, muscles locking up as my instincts roar in protest.
“Caleb?”
Bellamy’s door is open across from me. He’s freshly showered, and I distractedly track a droplet of water as it falls from his hair and trails down his bare chest.
A smattering of dark-blonde hair sits between his pecs, matching the thin trail that disappears beneath his gray sweatpants. I nearly swallow my tongue when I see the outline of his cock in the tight material, arousal bursting through my body and making my dick twitch.
Darting my eyes to the ceiling, I clear my throat and ignore the blush making itself known on my cheeks.
“You good, dude?”
“Y-yes.” Shit, I shouldn’t lie to him. They have mentioned my self-inflicted bond sickness so often that he likely already realizes what’s going on. Hell, he may feel it through the bond we share with Skye. “No, I’m not,” I admit, clenching my fists at my sides.
I hear him step closer before I feel the heat of his body as he stops inches in front of me. This close, it’s hard to ignore the way my teeth throb smelling his luscious sandalwood and vetiver scent.
I might be drooling from how hard my instinctive need to claim is pounding through my skull.
What the fuck is wrong with me?.
Bellamy steps closer and inhales sharply, his baby blues widening. “Are you going into a rut?”
The question catches me off guard. Is that why I feel like this? Why my body is heavy, my thoughts cloudy, and my dick hard enough that I can feel each beat of my pulse throbbing through it?
“I-I don’t know,” I admit, my brows pinching.
Alpha ruts aren’t like Omega heats. They only occur once every year or two, or when an Alpha experiences high stress related to their need to claim their mate.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and fires off a quick message.
“Don’t worry, the guys will know what to do,” he says as he claps a hand on my shoulder and steers me back into Skye’s bedroom. Guilt bubbles in my stomach knowing I’m still invading her space and dragging her other mates in here.
“Instincts can be a bitch, but you aren’t facing them alone. Skye won’t care if we hang out in her bedroom to keep you calm, and none of us will judge you for how you’re feeling. We’re pack. We support each other.”
I let him guide me back to her bed, my cheeks burning when I go to sit and remember I’m only dressed in the damp towel I threw on after my shower.
“Ah, I- uhm…” Rubbing the back of my neck, I try to force an explanation out, but my thoughts derail when I catch Bellamy’s attention pointed toward my cock that is tenting the thin material.
A smirk tilts the corner of his lips, matching the heat in his eyes as he winks at me. “I got you.”
He disappears into Skye’s closet, a sway in his hips that has me clinging to the edge of the mattress to hold myself back from lunging for him.
This is seriously a problem. I should not want to maul my mate’s Beta.
And I can’t blame how I’m feeling on my connection to her, because I can easily separate our emotions now that we’ve bonded, and this? It’s all me.
“Catch.”
Clothes hit my face and I barely swipe them up before they hit the floor. A pair of black boxers and plaid sleep pants. They must belong to Onyx or Sterling, the long legs wide to fit my thighs. I hope they aren’t bothered by me borrowing them.
The pants are halfway up my thighs when Onyx opens the door, his expression unreadable.
“You’re on the edge of a rut.”
Shrugging, I ball the wet towel in my hands to distract myself. “Maybe? I don’t know what’s going on with me. Just feel… weird.”
“Horny? Possessive? Angry? Depressed?”
His arms cross over his chest as he leans against the door frame, a move that is likely supposed to be relaxing but makes him appear menacing instead.
Which does piss me off, a feeling that immediately shifts back to guilt. It isn’t his fault I’m a mess.
“Basically.”
Stalking closer, he digs into his pockets and pulls out a pack of anti-rut medication. “Take them as directed. And call Skye. On video. Seeing her will help soothe your haywire instincts.”
“Right. Thanks. Sorry.”
This rollercoaster of emotions is leaving me with whiplash and a desperate need for a nap.
I jolt when his massive palm lands on my head and pats me. “You are still dealing with the bond sickness, as is our Omega. Don’t apologize for things that are out of your control.”
Sterling snorts. He and Bellamy carry trays of homemade pizza and other snacks into the room, their heads shaking.
“You’re the king of carrying the weight of things that aren’t your fault, X,” Sly says as he sets his tray on the bench at the bottom of Skye’s bed.
Onyx grunts and rolls his eyes, finally removing his hand from my head before he takes a step back.
“Movie day.” Bellamy announces, pressing a button by the door that drops a projector screen from the ceiling. “Since our girl isn’t here, we can watch the goriest of gorefests.”
He grabs the cans of soda they brought up and offers one to me, pointing to the pills. “I would’ve grabbed beers, but, y’know.”
“Let’s not tempt fate,” Onyx grumbles, pulling a chair over from the corner of the room. He doesn’t hesitate to start piling pizza slices on plates and pass them out, accepting our mumbles of gratitude without a word in response.
Bellamy claims the middle of the bed, balancing his plate on one knee and patting both spots beside him. “Let’s chill, wrapped in our Omega’s scent, and fill our stomach with delicious food we may soon be tempted to puke back up.”
I open the soda and take the first pill after reading the directions. They melt under your tongue, leaving an awful, chalky aftertaste, and I’m grateful for the drink to wash it away.
Thankfully, they’re also fast acting, so we’re barely a third of the way into the horror movie he picked when it kicks in.
Unfortunately, I feel wiped, physically and emotionally.
After the movie ends, Sterling and Onyx clean up and take everything to the kitchen, leaving me and Bellamy behind. He helps me shift to the head of the bed, and I collapse into the pillows.
I definitely need that nap now.
Soft voices fill my ears, drawing me out of the haze of sleep. Blinking one eye open, my jaw clacks shut when I find my arm thrown over Bellamy’s stomach, his shoulder acting as my pillow.
Was I really cuddling him in my sleep?
“Oh, looks like he’s awake now.”
Bellamy shifts his hand until my phone is tucked against his chin. Skye beams at me from the screen, but I immediately note the tightness around her eyes.
If they’re going to be in Rhode Island for a while, I will have to drive up there and stay with her. Being apart clearly isn’t good for either of us.
“Hey there sleepyhead, did you have a nice nap?”
“Mhmm. What are you up to? How’s Emmett’s grandmother?”
When they first arrived, Silke had been reluctant to accept their help, but over the past several days she’s admitted her dependence on them. Losing the ability to be self-sufficient, even temporarily, is a sore spot for her.
I don’t move from my spot on the bed, soaking in the soft sandalwood scent of our pack Beta while he’s still willing to let me lean on him. As reluctant as I am to ask for their help, I can admit I would have been in a much worse place today without them. Without him.
Skye tells us about her trip into town with Emmett’s sister, Isolde, who had a rare day off from the hospital. They’re getting everything ready for the youngest Kingston sibling, Oskar, to return from college now that the fall semester is at an end.
Hearing her tell us they’re coming home in two days eases some of the tightness in my chest. I miss her, and I need her in my arms again.
“I’m going to run down and grab something to eat. Sterling saved dinner for us. Want me to heat yours up?” Bellamy asks as he shifts from beneath me and slides off the bed.
I miss him too, which is a silly thought when he’s standing a few feet away.