Benji
Before I had a pack of my own, I made a life out of caring for people. Cooking, cleaning, keeping households running when the people inside them couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do it themselves.
Vinny’s home just so happened to be the one I was willing to work in for free.
That was to say, I knew when omegas were sick.
Even the stubborn ones.
Especially the stubborn ones.
And Violet was as stubborn as they came.
She wasn’t the loud, tell-you-no-to-your-face kind. She was quieter than that. The kind who nodded, smiled, said thank you, and then pushed herself twice as hard just to prove she could.
If I let on that I knew she wasn’t well, she’d burn herself out trying to convince me otherwise. And that was the last thing I wanted right now.
So instead of calling her out, I redirected her.
Told her to get dressed. Said Vinny would be up soon and could use help picking out clothes. Framed it like a task, not a trap. A little nudge that just so happened to lead her straight to Vinny’s room.
Even if I hadn’t known Violet, I still would’ve done it, because I knew what bond rot looked like in omegas.
Fever. Lethargy. Loss of appetite. That sudden, undeniable pull toward a specific alpha.
I’d always seen it in rejections. But neither one of them had rejected the other—not completely.
Still, I knew that once she was surrounded by Vinny’s scent, her body would take what it needed long before her pride could stop it. She’d crawl into bed beside him and pass out. And she’d feel better.
And judging by the fact that she’d been picking his outfit for–I stopped stirring the pancake batter to check my watch.
An hour?
Yeah. She was definitely asleep.
“Where’s Violet?” Skye whined, slicing strawberries like it was manual labor. “If I have to work, she does too.”
“Mi cielo, you’ve eaten more of the berries than you’ve put in the bowl,” I pointed out.
He froze, a strawberry halfway to his mouth… then popped it in anyway.
“Yeah, but if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even be awake right now.”
“Oh, as soon as the day is started and breakfast is done, you can go take a nap,” I said, snorting softly despite myself. I flicked a bit of batter off my fingers into the bowl. “You’re growing a person, Carino. You’re allowed to be tired.”
Skye huffed, clearly unconvinced, but he kept slicing instead of arguing. I took that as a win.
“You want me to go find her?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Well, yeah.” Skye popped another berry into his mouth. “She didn’t look good earlier, so she’s either slacking off or sick again.”
I hadn’t considered the possibility she’d gotten too sick to make it back.
Slacking off, sure. Sneaking into Vinny’s bed and pretending she’d only meant to rest for a minute? Absolutely. But too sick to move?
That sat wrong in my chest.
Still, I didn’t think her bond rot was that bad. Not yet. Even if her scent wasn’t as strong as it should be, it was still there. And Skye, Serena, and I could still feel her through the pack bond—her needs, her emotions, that faint pull that said alive, breathing, here.
Bond rot took omegas slowly, but it wasn’t gentle.
When they were too far gone, it erased them. Their scent. Their bond threads. Their pulse.
I pushed the thought away before it could root.
“If she’s slacking off, I’m just gonna let her rest, okay?” I said, wiping my hands on the towel tied to my apron.
Skye groaned dramatically. “Can I rest too?”
“Not if you want strawberry chocolate chip pancakes,” I replied, not missing a beat.
He sighed and reached for another berry anyway as I headed down the hall.
Halfway to Vinny’s room, I caught the scent. Espresso and bourbon–Vinny. And beneath it: something softer, sweeter. Vanilla and brown sugar–Violet.
Together, they smelled like a fancy café latte. The kind that cost too much and was absolutely worth it.
That alone told me she’d found him.
Still, I needed to see them. Just to quiet the nerves buzzing in my chest.
I pushed the door open slowly, trying to silence the squeal of its hinges. No luck. The sound made me wince, but I pressed forward, and seeing them curled together in bed made it worth it.
Violet had gotten dressed, her red cardigan and the cherry-print dress, my favorite. Normally it hung a little loose on her, but not today.
Today, I could see a faint swell just beginning. The barely-there start of a baby bump.
My lips twitched upward.
Vinny stirred at the noise, trying to sit up, but a hiss of pain stopped him. His injured shoulder reminding him that he was not, in fact, invincible.
Violet made a soft sound in her sleep and pressed a hand to his chest, gently guiding him back down. Then she shifted closer, burying her nose against the scent gland on his wrist like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to this world.
Vinny froze, and then slowly relaxed.
He was shirtless, tattoos on display, bandage stark against his skin. But he didn’t move her. Didn’t even try.
He just laid there, letting her breathe him in, one careful breath at a time.
I slipped inside and shut the door behind me. Took off my apron and set it on the nearest chair.
“You got the bunny?” I whispered.
Vinny grunted, reaching behind his head before pulling out the tan rabbit with its creepy little eyes. He’d even changed it into pajamas.
“Yeah, I have this stupid fucking thing,” he muttered, tossing it to me. “Why the hell did I need to sleep with it?”
I brought it to my nose. His pheromones were all over it. Not as strong as the real thing, but it would keep Violet upright when he wasn’t around—assuming she carried it like she always did.
“She likes your smell, boss,” I said, setting it on the nightstand before approaching the bed. “Can I join?”
Vinny’s eyes raked over me. “Yeah. Just take that fucking coat off. I don’t want my bed smelling like pancakes.”
Didn’t have to tell me twice.
I stripped off my chef’s jacket and let it fall to the floor as I crawled in behind Violet.
Close up, I saw she’d even done her makeup. Rosy cheeks, red lips, that subtle shimmer on her eyelids.
“She looks like a little doll, no?” I whispered, settling behind her.
Vinny brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “Yeah. She does.”
He sounded almost… sad.
And I knew. Behind all that bravado, the control, the threats, Vinny was scared.
Skye and Violet weren’t his first omegas. Just the only ones still here.
“Are you still thinking of Xandra?” I asked softly.
He nodded and my stomach twisted.
He’d met her when they were just kids, got her pregnant at eighteen, then lost her–and his son–thanks to his brother Tony.
I never met her. But I’d heard the stories. Seen the photos. Especially the ones hidden on his laptop.
“I couldn’t protect her,” he said, running his hand along Violet’s back. She stirred, wrinkling her nose. “Violet could’ve died yesterday, and she won’t even let me mark her. How the fuck am I supposed to protect her if I can’t mark her?”
Losing an omega was enough to kill most alphas.
Somehow, Vinny lived.
Sure, he lost his mind for a while. But since taking on a pack of his own, he was getting better. From the outside, at least. I couldn’t feel anything wrong through the bond.
I figured he just needed someone to protect.
The rest of us–Serena, Skye, me–we didn’t need him like that.
We came from the kind of places that teach you early to read a room, keep your mouth shut, and carry something sharp.
But Violet?
She was different.
I couldn’t picture her hurting a fly.
“She let Serena mark her, right?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he said. “During sex.”
Interesting. Violet bit Skye and me during sex—playful, hungry. But never Serena.
Serena was gentle. She probably guided her away from the instinct.
Vinny though? I wasn’t sure.
Had they ever even had sex outside her heat?
“Boss,” I said. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“When’s the last time you and Violet had sex?”
He choked. “Excuse me?”
“You know. When’s the last time you drowned the slippery otter?”
“Oh my God, saying it like that does NOT make it any clearer.” Vinny flushed dark. “Obviously we’ve fucked. I mean—” he gestured toward Violet’s bump, “—look at her.”
“So just the once?” I asked, unimpressed.
He made a sound somewhere between a cough and a growl. “No.”
“No?”
“Okay, maybe yes,” he muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. “What’s your point?”
I tilted my head. “That’s not what I asked.”
“You’re being annoying on purpose.”
“Yes,” I said sweetly. “It’s one of my many talents.”
He shifted under Violet, careful of his shoulder. She made a soft sound in her sleep, nuzzling closer to his wrist.
I nodded at her. “You see that?”
He looked. “She’s been doing it nonstop.”
“Mmhmm. Almost like her body knows what it needs, even when her mouth won’t say it.”
“She doesn’t say anything.”
“Hands, mouth, eyes—it’s all the same,” I waved him off. “She wants you.”
“If she wanted me, she’d let me mark her.”
“She will.” I smiled. “Or someone else will.”
His face darkened. “I’d kill them.”
“I know. That’s kind of my point.”
I shifted closer. Violet’s breathing was shallow but steady, lips parted, brow pinched. She nudged toward him again, chasing comfort.
“Her body’s already chosen,” I whispered. “You’re the only one still pretending you don’t see it.”
Vinny didn’t respond.
So I leaned in, pressed my lips to the curve of Violet’s neck, soft and slow.
She stirred.
A small whimper escaped, her fingers twitching against his chest. Her chin lifted slightly, exposing more of her throat.
Vinny stilled beneath her.
I brushed one more kiss against her skin.
She blinked awake, confused, then aware. First her gaze landed on Vinny. Then, slowly, she looked at me.
And judging by the haze in her eyes, this was about to be fun.