20. Orso
Orso
Shit, she’s cold.
After suddenly plunging us into her warmth, she takes it away so easily that I’m left staring at her, trying to figure out if I’ve said the right thing.
Am I being smart by pushing her away because her job is more important to her than anything else? Or am I being an idiot by reinforcing those boundaries? Or hers and mine, at least.
I told Mathan and Artie that I don’t want anyone else to join our pack. I let Artie play around with random omegas because that’s his nature, but this is something I never really expected.
And I claimed her first…
I’ve moved to sit against her desk, arms folded, and my eyes dance over her neck where I gave her a hickey without thinking. I hate that her palm is slapped over my mark while she’s looking at me like she wants to drop-kick me in the balls.
My fucking alpha side is telling me to tear her hand away so she can show it off and announce what’s happened between us.
I shouldn’t have been so rough. She warned me, and I ignored her wishes, and that’s the main reason I apologized.
I won’t give in to the desire hanging thick in the air that could lead to fucking. Especially when her growling at me is the sexiest thing I’ve seen since Artie and I DPed Mathan. Though that was only three nights ago.
I stand here, my body shouting and beating with need for her, and she casually adjusts her blouse and strokes back her hair as she dismisses us.
“You clearly know where the door is. I have work to do, so if you please,” she says, a sting piercing my heart. Her voice is so cutting that it’s as if none of that affected her.
The pleasure on her face and her strong commands, mixed with the gentleness she had for Artie and Mathan—it all vanished beneath her cold veneer.
“What are you both talking about? This wasn’t a mistake!” Artie says as he steps into her space again. “Bee, you can’t kick us out when my mouth is literally dripping with your honey.”
“You chose to break into my office. No one but the medical team should know that code.”
“Yeah? And you were stealing shit from our locker room, so why wouldn’t we check up on you?” I ask.
Her fierce gaze wavers as it sweeps across my chest, and I’m tempted to rip my shirt off to see if she still wants my body.
“Kallis,” Mathan’s voice cracks the tension strung between us. The second he says her name, it’s like something releases in her, and she looks up at him with fucking openness.
I’ve loved Mathan for over a decade, and I know the kind of magic he has.
He’s the one who holds us and keeps us together, especially when Artie and I fight.
But I still want to know why she’s treating him like that when I kissed her, too.
It can’t just be because she resonated with his yellow shield tattoo.
It feels dumb that I’m annoyed when I’m trying to make sure we don’t get too tangled up in each other.
I kept feeling traces of the bond when we were with her, but kissing her changed everything. My throat bobs as I watch her, scared to open myself up to it.
She must have sensed me, because I felt her, and we moved with a rhythm that was so fucking good it made my toes curl.
Part of me wants to hide it for myself, but the other part wants to keep Mathan and Artie safe from it. Because the pull of the bond is so tempting, and it’s taking too much out of me to hold myself back from her. I want to snarl at myself for even thinking about it.
“Don’t you feel the same as us? Kallis, you presented to us. Are you really going to push us away after that?” Mathan asks, and her nostrils flare. I hope she’s genuinely furious with us, so it makes it easier to leave.
“I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. Just because I strive to be recognized for my achievements does not mean that I’m not an omega. I was simply taking care of my bodily needs before I returned home.”
The silence that drenches the room as she finishes nearly makes me choke. Because we all know what that fucking means.
We met her six months ago, so of course she’d had a heat at some point, probably two, but is it actually close?
Asking her about her heat is definitely crossing the line, and I’m not going to force it. But Artie doesn’t have a problem leaping over those boundaries.
“When’s your heat due?” he asks so bluntly that I roll my eyes and Mathan sighs.
“That’s none of your concern,” she snaps back. “I already told you that I’m here for work, nothing more.”
“Well, considering we can smell your slick from the other side of the room, we all know that’s a fucking lie,” I growl.
Another thrill runs through me as she directs her anger at me. I’m pretty sure if we learned anything more about her heat, Artie is going to absolutely lose it. So I need to get my pack out of here before he pisses Dr. Tully off enough that she might shut us out permanently.
I’d rather have a working relationship with her than upset her by hitting on her all the time. Plus, knowing when her heat is due will throw us off our game even more. And I’m still furious that she’s the reason Mathan got hurt.
This hot and cold is unfair to all of us.
Our glare draws out, and I half-expect Artie or Mathan to interrupt, as excitement skips through me as more rage thickens her scent.
I can’t complain about her being hot and cold when I’m all over the place.
“She’s right,” I say, turning to my pack. “We shouldn’t have come here, or burst in like this.”
I want to step forward and hold her hands and act like Mathan would, softly apologizing and kissing her or whatever. But I’m great at being an asshole when it matters the most.
“Sorry, we’ll leave you alone next time you need an alpha.”
“Implying that I require any of you?” She raises a brow.
“You need us way more than you think!” Artie says. “Literally just call us—or me—and we’ll be there, I promise!”
Mathan wraps his arm around Artie’s shoulder, though his hurt pulses from him and in our pack bond as well.
“We’ll get you more of those so you can have a proper taste,” Mathan says, nodding to the empty oat bar wrappers still scattered behind her.
She doesn’t reply as I herd my pack to the door.
Everything inside us is telling us not to leave her, but she has the same look she had after she confronted us about the bite.
And I want her to trust us, even while pushing her away.
We can still be comfortable around each other without us fucking our brains out, and maybe that closeness will be enough for us to focus on our game.
Her expression is guarded, with nothing to show how we’d made her come so hard she mewled.
I give her one last glance before the door closes, hating how lonely she looks as she watches us go.