35. Chloe
CHAPTER 35
CHLOE
Okay, two things were clear.
I’d been an idiot and needed to apologize to my alphas immediately.
And I had no idea how to go about doing it.
What the fuck was I going to say to them? Were they even going to want to talk to me after the confusing bullshit I’d pulled?
Ughh.
I fell face first on my bed, refusing to let my thoughts spiral into doom anymore. If I did that, I would start crying again, and I had only just gotten my face back to normal.
Plus, my eyes would be stinging… again.
No. I wasn’t going to sit there and obsess over the best way of reaching out to them, or draft out the perfect text message to send to them. I’d just see if they wanted to meet me in person.
Me: Hey
Immediately, three bubbles popped up… and went away. Af ter a moment, the three bubbles popped up again. Only to vanish into the communication text void once more.
When the anticipation was really threatening to kill me, I decided, fuck it. I wasn’t about to wait to see the carefully articulated message Kain was constructing.
Me: Can I come over?
This time his response was immediate.
Kain: Yes
Once again, I found myself standing in front of the Fanny pack house, filled with apprehension. Though this time it was somehow worse… before I’d been vaguely worried that I was about to meet an alpha who had to be hidden away in an attic somewhere to stop him from murderous rampages or something.
Now I was just worried that I’d gone and made the stupidest mistake in my life. Perhaps one that was unfixable, and that I would spend the rest of my miserable life alone… maybe working at a different dental office… never to find love again.
Great, now I was spiraling, again.
No, it was fine. Today I had a plan, and I hadn’t come empty handed.
I rang their doorbell, giving myself a mental pep talk and reminder that I could do this, and almost immediately the door was yanked open.
All three of my alphas stood in the doorway, crowding the space. My handsome, very built, very tense men.
“Hi,” I said, holding the three bouquets in front of me like a shield. I’d made a pit stop in the middle of ride-sharing, stopping at the grocery store next to Brutus’ favorite salon, and ran in to buy them.
“Did… someone get you flowers?” Kain frowned at the bouquets.
Well, it had seemed like a good idea, in the middle of panicking on the drive over.
“No. I was an asshole. I needed to make it up to you somehow.” I handed a bouquet to each of my alphas. Sabien got the marigold and daisy one in bright yellow and oranges that reminded me of his fiery side. Sabien tilted his head at the bouquet, like he’d never seen a flower before and didn’t know what to do with it. I can’t read minds, but he looked like he was thinking, what do I do with this, eat it? For Kain I’d gotten bright pink peonies and hydrangeas in soft pinks and blues because they had looked romantic and lovely.
As I handed Brutus his dozen white roses, he grasped my hand along with the bouquet, brushing his thumb along my inner wrist… causing warmth to bloom all the way across my body. Then Brutus took the flowers and nodded like they were his due. He stepped into the house, rummaging around the kitchen cabinets before pulling out a crystal vase. After filling it with water, he deposited them, taking a moment to arrange them.
“You didn’t need to get me flowers,” Kain shook his head, stepping into the house and waving me in.
“But I did though.” I was wringing my hands now.
Was I defending the need to buy flowers in the first place? Well, Brutus clearly liked them, so it worked for one out of three. I don’t know, maybe chocolates would have been better for the twins… but I hadn’t known what to do. All I knew was that I couldn’t come here empty handed.
Kain’s gaze was fixed on the flowers in his hands, the cellophane crinkling in his grip as he placed his bouquet down gently on the coffee table. “Does this mean that you’re coming back to us?”
“Uhh… yeah.” My voice went up high like I was asking a question, but I definitely didn’t mean it as a question. It’s just that I practiced a whole speech in the car ride over, and hadn’t even gotten a chance to deliver it—you know, how this was all a mistake. That I never should have left them in the first place… how I loved them.
Yeah, I never even told them that. I should probably get around to—
All of a sudden, strong arms wrapped around me, as I was tipped back and literally swept off my feet. Then Kain’s warm lips were on mine, kissing me hungrily.
I closed my eyes, lost in the kiss. In the heat and the delicious friction, in the sweep of his tongue as he deepened the kiss. In the way that he made me feel like I was coming alive. Like every single inch of my body was a stringed instrument, vibrating with tension and he was the musician ready to rock my world.
“I missed you.” Kain brushed his finger along my cheek, tracing the curve of my jaw. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment you left.”
I nodded breathless.
“Was there something else that was bothering you?” Kain let me put my feet back on the ground, but didn’t let me go. Those strong arms were still wrapped around me, keeping me safe as Kain dug deeper, asking me to reveal why—the real reason why I’d left in the first place.
I hesitated. My issues with their last name were my own problem and I would just deal with it. But bringing it up in front of my alphas was a whole nother story. It wasn’t fair to them, it was an integral part of them, and something that they had no control over.
Like what if they told me that they hated my hair color? How would I face that hatred towards something I was born with… besides maybe the need to buy some dye or something.
“It wasn’t anything you did…” I had to say it. From now on, I was going to commit myself to honesty and transparency. “I have to admit that I was a little freaked out when I learned your last name.”
“That’s fair,” Sabien shrugged. “Our last name is pretty freaking weird.”
I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat. Well… Sabien had taken that well. Extremely well.
Is that all I needed to do? If I had just had a short conversation about my feelings with the guys, would that have been enough to stop all this unnecessary drama that had sprouted between us?
“I promise,” Kain’s brilliant blue eyes filled with fiery determination. “If what you need is for none of us to ever wear a fanny pack again. That is what we will do. No one in this pack will ever even think of touching a fanny pack if it bothers you.”
I sniffed. Determined not to start crying again… unless they were happy tears. Those were okay, I guess.
What was finding love compared to having to deal with having a stupid name? Obviously, love should win out.
“Anything my darling girl needs.” Kain continued, grasping my hands and squeezing reassuringly. “Well, we don’t have to exactly follow tradition. We can take on Brutus’ name if that makes you more comfortable.”
“No.” I said too quickly. “I mean, you don’t have to do that.”
Really.
Don’t do that.
I was rubbing my forehead… this meeting wasn’t going at all how I pictured it. Everything that I thought was going to happen was going wrong. Not all of them liked the flowers… they hadn’t even listened to my speech. Did it make sense to even recite the whole thing now?
“I just want you to know that I’m sorry for hurting you.” It wasn’t anything close to my full speech. Even that hadn’t felt like enough. Originally, I was going to make a PowerPoint presentation with a multi-step apology plan… but ultimately I managed to get to the heart of what I’d wanted to say (though obviously it would be more thorough with the power point. I’d even picked out the color scheme and everything).
“There’s nothing to forgive.” Kain shook his head. “You needed to be sure, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Well, Kain was sweet, though a bit misguided. I had put them through unnecessary pain. But if he was going to forgive me, I wasn’t about to complain.
I brushed my fingertips along his cheeks, just above his rugged jawline, as I looked into the depths of his ocean eyes. “I love you.”
A grin spread across Kain’s handsome features. He leaned his forehead against mine, shutting his eyes like he was basking in my presence. “I love you too.”
I felt floaty and giddy, like I’d turned into a bottle of soda that had gotten tossed around, and if anyone opened me up right now, I would explode. This was everything I’d ever wanted and—
Our romantic moment was interrupted, as Sabien approached, eyes on me and completely ignoring his brother as he pulled me into his arms.
Well that was kind of rude, could he not read the room?
Or was this jealousy since I’d admitted my feelings for his brother? I mean I loved them all… but he needed to give me a minute. If I went up to each of my alphas one by one to say the words, that felt like it cheapened the moment.
“Well, if you still want to make things up to us,” there was no mistaking the hunger in Sabien’s eyes, “I can think of something. ”
“Absolutely the fuck not.” Brutus rose out of his leather chair, walking toward Sabien like a predator. He towered over Sabien, grabbing his chin and forcing him to meet the burning heat in his dark eyes. “I’ve let you get away with too much. That ends now.” Brutus was looking at Sabien like he was a cut of prime rib and he was dying to get a taste. “You, me and our Baby girl. In my room.”