41. Jeremy
Chapter forty-one
Jeremy
Saying I’m all right with another man courting my omega and hearing her scream his name from behind closed doors are two different things. Adjusting the growing snake in my trousers, I check my watch again and count the hours. One. Two. Three.
I definitely slept for three hours, and those two were billowing lust vibes when I left the kitchen, so they can’t have delayed the fun for long. But the harmless-seeming alpha still has her writhing in bed? I might have to up my game.
A snicker escapes me. Who am I kidding? I kept her in bed for four days at our first union . . . even if most of that was her heat, I could hardly bear to part with her. Can’t blame Alessandro for feeling the same way.
I make myself a coffee to shake off the mid-morning sluggishness and then take Mr Shares out to the front yard to play with his rope toy.
Planting myself on a garden bench set in a small alcove of rounded hedges, I throw the knotted length of rope.
Mr Shares races after it, growling playfully and shaking his head like a wild thing when he scoops it up.
When he takes a break to pant in the shade, I glance around the yard. Not sure that word does this place justice, since these estates are all at least an acre in size.
White clouds shred overhead as if blown by a stiff wind, cutting strips across a vibrant blue sky.
Below it, the grass seems greener than usual, and the summer roses perfume the air.
Elegant, sophisticated, and nothing like the tiny concrete blocks I’m used to, or the sprawling suburban house I grew up in.
But in a little over a week, this place has come to feel like home. More than that, perhaps. I’m at ease here, even though the manicured surroundings scream money. That sort of thing would normally make me uneasy. But everything about Willow sets me at ease, like we’ve known each other for years.
Like I’ve been coming here for a lifetime.
Only one thing is missing.
I dig my phone out and dial my brother.
“Hey,” Joel answers. “Everything okay?”
“Yep.” I shift on the bench seat to find a more comfortable position. “Alessandro woke up a few hours back and seemed right as rain.”
My brother grunts. “And Willow?”
“She’s fine too. Slept through the night and woke up not long after him. They’re, uh, currently occupied. With each other.”
The line falls silent. I wait it out. This situation’s gotta be uncomfortable for my brother, but he’ll need to face up to the truth.
“And . . . how are you?” he finally asks.
I laugh. “Oh, so I come last in the order, do I? Nice to know where I stand.”
“Fuck off,” he hisses. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
I chuckle and pop my bad leg up on the bench. “Then tell me what you did mean.” A dog barks in the background, and I cock my head. “Where are you?”
“At a dog park.”
“With Jock?”
“Yeah. It’s not like you have a yard or anything.”
I smile. “How did Tracey handle your visit?”
“She said she didn’t want the stinking dog anyway.”
“And what did she say about you?”
He clears his throat. “Enough. Alternated between screaming and crying. But then she said she hated me.”
“And how do you feel about her?”
“Well, Dr Phil—”
I snort.
He sighs and I can picture him, familiar worry line creasing his brow. “Strangely, it hurt a lot less than I expected. Kinda pathetic really, how almost two years of my life boils down to nothing but some hot air and a dull ache.” A trace of a smile enters his voice. “And a lunatic dog.”
The golden retriever brings over the rope and flops down on my bare foot. “He’d make good company for Mr Shares. Can you imagine the two of them tearing around this house like racehorses?”
He scoffs, but his heart isn’t in it. “She wouldn’t want—”
“Don’t do it.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Assume what you think she feels. You need to ask her what she wants, not pretend you know already.”
He growls faintly. At least, I think it’s him but could be his dog.
Joel rarely shows his true self, often going along with what other people want without expressing himself.
He closed a lot after Maisy broke things off with us in high school, and Tracey often corrected him about his behavior.
It’ll be tough for my brother to open up to Willow.
But I can’t let him continue to drift along. And the truth is, they have a lot in common.
“What do you want?” I ask softly. “You felt something special, didn’t you?”
“Does that even matter at this point?”
“It matters more than ever.” I tap my lip, trying to decide how far to push. Fuck it. This isn’t the time to pussyfoot around. “You scent-matched with an omega, Joel.”
He swears, voice guttural, and for the first time I hear how much this situation shook him. My brother stays silent a long time, and then he groans.
“I dreamed about her,” he mutters.
I grin and bite down on my knuckle to keep the smile out of my voice. “Oh, yeah? Good dream?”
“You’ll have to change your sheets.”
“Fucking disgusting, bro! Change them yourself.”
He chuckles, wicked and more relaxed. “She’s gorgeous, Jerry. Now I know exactly why you wanted to buy a Jasmine vine.”
I chuckle. “Guilty as charged.”
“If I signed up at Heat Wave, would they let us work together? With her, I mean.”
I scratch Mr Share’s head idly. “Well, I don’t know, but would you want to take on other . . . clients?”
“Fuck no,” he hisses. “But how about you?”
My stomach clenches. “Yeah, it’s looking like a problem.”
“Maybe tearing your groin was a good thing? Gives you some time to think about what to do.”
“Says the man who hasn’t hurt his groin.”
He snickers. Despite my answer, he has a good point.
I can’t picture myself taking care of another omega when my heart’s a hundred percent locked onto Willow.
And I can’t expect her to accept that as my line of work, either.
Other omegas might, maybe, but Willow’s been betrayed by alphas before.
I cannot let there be any room in her heart for doubt.
But leaving another job, especially after taking sick leave, puts a sour taste in my mouth.
“Earth to Jeremy!?”
I snap alert. “What?”
“Dude, you spaced out. Did Willow ask about me at all.”
I swing my bad leg to the ground, wincing against the pain. “I think you need to ask her yourself.”
He growls. I could make it easy for him, but Joel doesn’t need easy. He needs to work hard for Willow.
“Well, tight-lipped genius, tell me this. How do I ask my twin if he’ll consent to me hunting on his territory.”
I choke on a laugh.
“You see,” Joel continues, “I screwed up his love life once. Don’t want it ever happening again.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I say, curling my hand into a fist. “Ever. You’re not a boy anymore, bro.”
Joel chuckles. “True. You should’ve been the older brother, you know that?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s only eighteen fucking minutes.”
“Feels like a lifetime.”
I blow out my lips, but the unease in my belly unwinds. He’s laughing again and teasing me. My brother’s shedding his old, ill-fitting skin, and making way for the new version of himself. I can’t wait to see it.
And maybe even form our own pack.
A vibrant blue-gray sheen ripples in the sky beyond the city center skyscrapers, promising rain to wash the heat-struck city clean. Looks like Joel and I are getting a fresh start as well.
My phone beeps with an incoming call. “Hey, I’ll call you back later,” I tell Joel. “Someone’s trying to reach me.”
“Right. Seeya.”
I hang up and click over, thinking maybe Willow’s calling me from the house. Instead, I see my contact for Heat Wave. My stomach’s going through a rollercoaster today.
When I answer, Logan’s voice blares on the other end. “Jeremy, how’s the leg going?”
“Better today.” I shift my ass forward on the bench seat, silently testing the strained groin muscles. “I can get by with just one crutch.”
“That’s great to hear. I’m calling to ask when you can discuss what’s next for you at Heat Wave?”
Is “never” an acceptable answer? Can I just go on, swimming in oblivion, things being undefined? Sounds easy but will only give me anxiety. Best to get uncomfortable things over with sooner, right? Plus, who knows how long those two inside will be occupied.
“I’m free today, actually.”
“Great. Does 1pm work? I can call you back then.”
I glance over at the house. Alessandro and Willow could do with having their own space for a bit. “How about I swing by the office?”
“Oh, really? Are you sure? A phone call is fine; wouldn’t want to put you out.”
“Yep, I’m sure. It will do me good to stretch my legs, and I need to drop off the Heat Wave gear anyway.”
I say goodbye and hang up, staring at my screen for a minute without truly seeing it. Jobs come and go, but this one is different. Felt like I had purpose. But I can’t stay on and help omegas with their heats. And if I leave, I’m jobless again. Not a good position to be in when courting an omega.
Whatever happens at this meeting, it doesn’t seem like any of the outcomes will bring me peace.