Chapter 37
RIVER
I’m goingto lose my shit because I don’t know how to fucking handle this.
I’m standing out here with Vincent while Landon claims Skylar.
It’s not that I’m jealous; I just feel awkward.
What the fuck are we supposed to do while Landon and Skylar have their moment?
I’m out here with Vincent, cooking.
I can barely hold the knife as I chop vegetables, wondering how I’m going to do this.
My brain is foggy and more chaotic than usual. It feels like I’m crawling out of my skin.
“Fucking hell, Cain, relax,” Vincent mutters, as if the air isn’t charged with Heat and slick.
As if this is a normal day and I’m not about to tie myself to Skylar forever.
As if I’m not about to be in a pack with Vincent.
I growl at him in reply, my inner Alpha close to tearing his fucking head off.
I’m going to kill him, because he doesn’t deserve her, and she’s mine.
I can tolerate sharing her with Landon, but having Vincent in the picture?
Having the asshole in our pack that was the reason for her breakdown less than a day ago?
Fuck. Him.
“Hey, guys,” a soft voice says, and I turn my head to see Skylar and Landon standing in the entryway to the kitchen.
My hands stop shaking.
Landon has his arm wrapped around her waist, looking at her fondly.
Her sweet scent mildly mixes with Landon’s.
Their mating bond is in place.
But instead of jealousy, I feel…relief.
Skylar is in good hands with Landon, but I’ll be the one to balance them out when he gets too analytical and stuck-up. When he acts too much like a condescending prick.
She’ll need me because of him.
Omega needs us.
My mouth waters on instinct as I stare at her abused mating gland.
Her eyes are glassy, and her lips are slightly parted as she looks at me with lust in her eyes.
“She needs to eat,” Landon declares. “And she’s being difficult about it.”
My Alpha instincts zero in on the information.
Feed Omega.
Suddenly, nothing matters unless I get food into her.
She needs to eat.
“I’m not hungry,” she whines, her beautiful eyes darting between Vincent and me. “Just come to bed with me.”
Oh, fuck.
My cock aches in my pants, desperate to be inside her.
“No,” Vincent says, his voice low. There’s an undernote of a command in it, and Skylar’s eyes widen. “Eat first,” he instructs her, crossing his arms.
I don’t know how he has so much fucking self-control. It’s like her Heat doesn’t even affect him. Neither of us came earlier, but apparently, I’m the only one whose balls ache.
“But I want?—”
“Omega. Eat.” Vincent doesn’t bother hiding the command anymore.
She breaks away from Landon’s side and joins us in the kitchen. I reach out to stroke her hair, and she leans into my touch before taking the plate Vincent hands her.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
I clench my hands into fists, fighting the instinct to shove everything off the kitchen island and just knot her there.
Landon catches my gaze and smirks.
Asshole.
But I watch as she eats at the counter, digging into the stir fry that Vincent and I made for her, and I can’t help but feel a swell of pride.
Her little moans of delight make my cock twitch.
How am I the only one in the kitchen losing control?
“Good girl,” Vincent praises her, and she hums appreciatively.
Keep it together.
I need a distraction. I can’t keep listening to her moan over bites of tofu.
Maybe I’ll eat something, too.
There is a box of macarons near her espresso machine, the sweet scent of vanilla wafting from the container. They’re delicious looking and tempting, just as all of Skylar’s baking is.
“Anyone want a macaron?” I choke out, doing my best to not sound like the horny bastard I am.
“Oh,” Skylar says as I lift the lid. “I forgot to tell you.”
I turn around to see her face flush as she looks at me with wide eyes.
Landon frowns. “Tell us what, sweetheart?”
Skylar’s scent subtly changes as she quirks her lip. The vanilla mixes with spiciness, a hint of cinnamon in her delectable scent.
“I made those just for you,” she says, placing her fork down on her plate. “For all three of you.”
I open the box and take out a lilac-colored macaron. “Well fuck, then I can’t wait,” I say, my mouth watering as the vanilla scent swirls around me.
These smell delicious. I already know I could devour the whole box if I wanted to.
“Well, wait,” Skylar blurts as I put it to my lips. “There’s a special ingredient in there. Before you eat it, I need to tell you what it is.”
Vincent turns to look at me, eyeing the cookie in my hand with a furrowed brow.
“What, did you lace them?” I joke.
Skylar’s face turns bright pink.
“No, uh…” she looks to Landon, who tilts his head curiously. “There’s um…”
Even Vincent looks intrigued. “There’s what, Skylar?” he asks.
She lets out a shaky breath. “My slick,” she says in a tiny voice. “I may have added a tiny bit of my slick into the batch.”
My brain short circuits as I take a bite.