Chapter Forty-One #2
I lean forward, trying to catch Shade’s expression. “Wait. You’ve really been… planning for this?”
He turns in his seat and looks at me over his shoulder with the faintest trace of a smile.
“Of course. I wanted to have all of the information for when you were ready. I just didn’t want to pressure you.”
My chest tightens.
There’s something in the simplicity of how he says it. A quiet confidence of someone who has already chosen me, and is waiting patiently for me to choose him back.
“I never thought I’d get mated based on a probability model,” I say, my voice low and a little shaky.
“The data didn’t make my choice, baby girl,” he says softly.
“No formula shows how I feel about you. You’re an anomaly every model fails to predict, but you’re also the only variable that matters.
” The truck settles into another stretch of quiet.
An expectant exhale as we wait for the last, and possibly the most important, Pack member to make his choice.
Without Prime Alpha Knox, none of this will work. We all know it. He’s the leader. The glue.
“Knox?” I ask softly with a slight quiver in my voice.
I tried to show him physically that I accept him as he is, but did he understand what I was trying to tell him?
The steering wheel creaks as his knuckles tighten. For a moment, I think he won’t answer. Then, without taking his eyes off the road, he replies.
“I don’t know if I’m ready.”
The words are flat, stripped of pretense, like they’ve been sitting heavy in his chest for days. Probably weeks.
In the rearview mirror, Knox meets my eyes for just a heartbeat before refocusing on the road.
He exhales, jaw tightening with familiar resolve. “But I don’t think I’ll ever feel ready. So I’m done being a coward. It’s time to step up.”
A grin explodes across my face before I can stop it.
“Seriously?” I gasp, hands flapping. “You… me… all of us… we’re really—?”
“Yes. Let’s make a Pack.”
I suck in a breath through my teeth.
He’s going to try. He’s choosing us.
‘Don’t freak him out, pretty girl. Play it cool,’ Viper purrs through our bond, his amusement tickling the edges of my mind.
I purse my lips, but the strangled squeal of excitement and bouncing in my seat gives me away.
All four members of Scorch Squad just agreed to become my mates.
We’re going to be a Pack.
It’s not a drill. It’s actually happening this time!
Blaze, of course, has zero restraint and cranks down the window, sticks his head out, and howls into the wind. “Fuck yeah, Pack Scorch is coming for ya!”
Viper grabs him by the scruff and hauls him back inside, grumbling as he wrestles Blaze back into his seat.
Shade clears his throat. “Now that we’ve reached a consensus, let’s talk logistics.”
“Oh, come on,” I groan, flopping in exaggerated defeat. “Can’t we just bask in the moment? This is, like, the first time we’ve all agreed on anything without a fight.”
Unfazed, Shade presses on. “My research backs up what General Stone said. The claiming bite is most effective when placed during an Omega’s heat. With that in mind, does anyone object to mating during Halley’s next cycle?”
“No,” Viper answers immediately, burying his face in my hair again. He inhales deeply, groaning with satisfaction. “Fuck, the way she smells, won’t be long… she’s ripening.”
“Okay, can we all agree not to talk about me like I’m a walking fruit basket?” I mutter.
“I think you’re right,” Shade says, ignoring the commentary. “Everlyn seems convinced it’s coming soon.”
I sigh, resigning myself to the truth. “Yeah, yeah. So maybe this banana is nearly ripe. I can feel it coming.”
Blaze leans in, grinning like a wolf with a secret. “Oh, Sparkles, I cannot wait to take a bite.”
A shiver runs through me.
All four of them are going to bite my mating gland. And then I’ll be theirs. Forever.
“Right. Next heat then,” I say aloud, tasting the words.
“Next heat,” Viper echoes with a nod.
Knox, seeming more settled now that the decision has been made, rolls back his shoulders and launches into Prime Alpha mode, issuing orders. “Shade, start making a contingency plan for when the heat hits.”
Shade turns back to his tablet and starts tapping away. I’m not sure how he’s going to come up with a plan when we don’t even know where we will be sleeping tonight, but if anyone can, it’s Shade.
“Halley, stay close to Viper. I don’t want you falling into heat alone.”
I lick my lips and nod. That’s the last thing I want. I’ve had more than enough solo heats to last me a lifetime. Now that I finally have my Pack, I want to experience every second of it with them.
“Blaze,” Knox adds, tone dry. “Can you agree not to dismember anyone in the meantime?”
“Low blow,” he groans. “Do none of you appreciate I was being gallant?”
“You were being unhinged,” Shade mutters without looking up from his screen.
“Sexy and unhinged,” Blaze corrects.
A laugh slips from my lips before I can stop it. If one sentence could sum up my Blaze, it was that. Sexy and unhinged. Turns out, I like my mates a little on the crazy side.
Knox nods at his squad and inhales. “And I’ll… I’ll try not to spiral.”