Chapter 24 #2
I look away, briefly, and purse my lips.
There must have been another reprint of those awful photos in some skeezy tabloid again.
Loz has the lawyers all over it, so we don't get alerted to it every time any more, but occasionally, my 'helpful' sister will send her one she comes across, just to make sure the lawyers don't miss it.
"Did Trix send you another photo?"
She pauses, and nods.
"Ugh. Far out. I'll talk to her again." I run a hand down my face.
She shrugs. "You know Trix. She just wants to help. If she didn't care, she wouldn't."
"Seriously though, you know how direct you have to be with her. If she knew it upset you and you hadn't told her, she'd be devastated."
Loz toys with her spoon. "I know. And I don't wanna know, but… I'm kinda glad she's checking? Making sure the lawyers don't miss one? She did catch that weirdly flipped one a month ago on that fucking creepy message board. I swear that girl has ninja Reddit skills."
I can't suppress the scoff and sigh that slip out. "That girl spends way too much time on those open-source investigation subreddits," I mutter into my bowl. "I keep hearing about her online 'buddies' who help her 'sleuth'. At least tell her to go through me."
Loz chuckles. "I did. And you know what she said?
One of the random anonymous internet strangers who helped her hunt down the picture told her to make sure that I was the investigation focal, just in case there was anything untoward.
I did remind her that not only had you been fully cleared, but we'd found the mole.
And she just said 'better safe than sorry. ' And then she left me on read."
"Ugh. Was it Oversteeped again? She keeps banging on about them. Apparently they're her Reddit soulmate."
"No fucking clue, babes." She chuckles. "But she was fucking set on it, whoever's idea it was."
I roll my eyes and groan into my bowl.
"Want me to ask Ben to talk to her?"
Loz sits up a bit straighter. "Don't go siccing the Captain on her," she mumbles, looking away.
"Loz, he's really not that scary."
She shrugs. "If you're his sister, maybe he's not. Dels, after what he did to Steve—"
I frown. "Your stepdad frigging deserved it, Loz. You know that better than anyone. Ben wouldn't do that to anyone else."
She glares at me, her nostrils flaring, and leans over and snatches up the remote. She pauses the screen, climbs onto the couch, and sits with her arms folded and foot tapping.
"Hey! They were just about to show the first knotting scene! Loz—"
"Nice deflection, Dellie. Almost fucking had me. Now do not think for a second you are getting away without telling me what the fuck happened last night."
I drop my spoon into my bowl and pinch my lips.
She pats the couch. "Nup. Not happening. Up here, please. No hot alpha knots for either of us until you spill the fucking beans, Dellie girl."
The pain I'd been drowning out with our favourites from home comes roaring back under her silence.
I stand, pick up my ice-cream bowl, and flop onto the sofa next to her.
"So. You called me when you were leaving Clear Note. And if I recall correctly, you were in the car with four really freaking hot alphas and a really freaking hot beta?"
I bite my lip and nod. My omega, who's been moping all day, perks up.
"So?" She's wearing the expression of a puppy with a treat held out in front of it that it can't quite reach.
My sigh doesn't seem to buy me any respite. "I took your advice. We had a consent conversation—"
"And one about protection, I hope?" Her right eyebrow has shot up.
I look away.
She slaps my knee lightly. "Dellie! You fucking idiot—"
"I did—we did! It just came… later."
She rolls her eyes and mumbles angrily under her breath.
"Anyway. Um. The pack's Allen, and James and Seb—"
"North Shore," she mutters.
"Yeah, and Zeke and Ralph. Ralph's a beta, and the rest are all alphas.
And—oh God, Loz, you should have smelled them.
Their scent is just… everything. Ralph's all minty, and Zeke's got this soothing lavender smell, and James is like the freshest basil you can imagine, and Allen's like…
I can't even describe it properly, but it's kind of herby and lemony and delicious, and Seb's like the smell you get after rain…
Anyway, I was in the back seat of their car and I kinda clammed up—"
There's warmth in her scoff. "Something new and different for ya."
I throw a pillow at her.
"Oi! Don't you fucking dare get ice-cream on those pillows!"
I roll my eyes at her. "Do you want me to tell you about it or not?"
She sighs. "Fiiiiiiiiine. Carry on. Just keep the sticky shit away from the drycleanables."
I pick at a loose thread on another pillow, feeling my cheeks flush.
"Any—anyway, I lost the words. And they... they just… they made me feel safe, I guess? They helped me find… enough words, I guess, so I could say what I wanted? And… they thought that… I dunno. I was worth hearing. And… you know..."
My mouth is gaping like a fish. I stare at the ceiling, grasping for the words. I feel Loz's warm hand on mine. I huff out a slow breath. "I… um. They made sure I got what I wanted."
I glance at Loz's face. It's split by a wide grin. "So? They made you cum?"
I blush, nodding.
Her grin widens further. "Go on, babes. Deets. Spill 'em."
"Uh. Um. In the car."
She frowns and pulls her hands away. "You better have had a fucking seatbelt on."
"I did! They were super… protective, I guess, about all that stuff. Uh. It was…" I waggle my fingers. She nods in understanding.
"And, um, at their place—"
"Oh yes, the fancy Brentwood packhouse."
I snort. "It was not fancy. It was an open-plan living area with one bedroom and a bathroom and a cupboard full of pool toys. I think it might have been a poolhouse that belonged to one of their parental packs, or something."
She frowns. "No scrubs, babes."
I wave a hand at her. "They were not scrubs. Trust me. They run their own business. It's a very successful one."
I look down, shuddering out a sigh, remembering what I'd nearly asked them to give up for me. I've done the right thing. I know I have. Now I just have to remember that.
The tugging in my chest grows even stronger. I take a slow, controlled breath, counting in my head as I exhale, trying to steady my breathing.
Loz is looking sceptically at me.
"Uh. Anyway. They made sure they were doing what I wanted at every step. Like, literally every time they touched me, they wouldn't go further until I'd told them explicitly to. And, um... James... uh. He, um, helped me out. With his, um, knot. And then, um… so did Zeke…"
Loz squeals.