14. Lila
Lila
“Okay, spill,” Wendy demands as she hands me a mug of hot coffee. I giggle as I take a seat on her couch, the one I’ve been using as a bed, and tuck my legs under me. It smells nice in here, like always. She keeps it clean, and the scent of fresh linen surrounds us.
I asked Wendy why she hides her scent once, but she dodged the question. I also asked if she wanted me to use scent blockers while with her, but she doesn’t seem to mind others’ scents. Only her own.
I smile at my best friend as she pulls her long brown hair over her shoulder and grins at me eagerly.
“Well, I met Harrison and River in college, and obviously Harrison was at the bar that night, and as you know, I went to his house for a few hours.” I blush as Wendy squeals, leaning in to hear the rest. “They were at the escape room when I arrived, and then my heat hit in the middle of one of the rooms.”
“Ooof, that's rough. I’m glad they were there for you. Interesting that it was Harrison’s pack, though.” Wendy muses, sipping her soda.
“Uh, about that… You remember when I said I felt like I was being followed?” I wince, hoping she doesn’t freak out about this next part. Her eyes narrow, but she nods, lifting one brow.
“Obviously,” she says, eyes narrowing, clearly connecting the dots in her head.
“River was definitely the culprit. He knows a lot of stuff about me that I never told him, and I figured it out in the escape room. But don’t freak out! It’s not as bad as it sounds,” I defend, glancing at her door where the guys wait in the hall for me to pass them my things.
“How, exactly, is that not as bad as it sounds?” Wendy asks, tilting her head in the way she does when she’s judging my life choices.
“Um. You’ve got a point. But he used his powers for good?” I wince again as she raises her brows at me, chuckling. “He knew things like my favorite color or drink. And that I like pistachio ice cream. Which all sounds a little suspicious, I guess, now that I’m saying it out loud.”
“What do your instincts tell you?” she asks, still looking skeptical, but she knows as well as I do that an omega’s instincts are a powerful thing. If River meant me harm, it would send my instincts into overdrive.
“That I can trust him. That he’s safe. That they all are,” I admit. Wendy watches me for a long time and then nods.
“Good.”
“They were so amazing, Wendy. They took care of me through my heat, and made me feel incredible,” I trail off, lifting my thumb to my teeth and nibbling the skin around my nail.
“It could be worse,” she shrugs. “He confessed, or at the least didn’t deny it when you caught him?” she asks, and I nod. “And he didn’t do anything terribly insane, and didn’t try to revoke your right to choose them… He didn’t try to prevent you from rejecting them?”
“No,” I shake my head, eyes wide. “Not at all. Like I said, they’re amazing. Which brings me to my next bit of news. They offered to let me stay with them.”
“Holy shit, Lila, seriously? For how long? Wow, that's intense,” Wendy gasps, looking like she’d rather jump off her balcony than move in with alphas. She’s very independent.
“I don’t know, I guess as long as I want?”
“How do you feel about all of this? Do you want to stay with them?”
“I think I do. I mean, I know it’s fast, but… Shit, am I being stupid? Fuck, is this a mistake?” I can’t help but panic, worried I’m fucking up again.
“What are your instincts telling you?” Wendy asks again gently, taking my hand in hers. “You said they’re telling you to trust them, so listen to them, Lila. Trust yourself. Can you do that?”
“I want to.”
“Then go for it. Plus, you can keep some of your stuff here just in case. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll be here like always. Just say the word, and I’ll be at their door with a baseball bat and ski mask,” Wendy says, wiggling her brows at me, making me giggle.
“So you don’t think I’m crazy for wanting to go for it, after everything with my ex?”
“Nah. It’s not like they could possibly be as shitty as Larry was,” she shrugs, getting to her feet. “But just in case.” I watch her for a second, jumping to my feet when I realize where she’s headed.
“Wendy?” I ask, eyes wide, as she tugs her apartment door open and stares up at my guys.
“You three seem decent, but if you hurt her, I’ll choke you all out in your sleep, mmkay?” Wendy’s half the size of these men, but twice as brave as anyone I’ve ever met.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Wes says with a charming grin.
“Never.” River crosses his arms over his chest, looking slightly offended by Wendy’s threat.
“I can promise you that none of us will ever hurt Lila, and if we did, we’d let her best friend choke us out, if that's what made Lila feel better.” Harrison nods, making Wendy snort.
“Alright then, you can come in and help us pack up.” Wendy pulls the door open for them to step inside, and then we get busy packing.
“We’ll carry everything down. You just take this,” Wes says, as he grabs my pillow off my pile of bags and moves to hand it to me. It brushes against my fingertips as I reach for it, but then Wes is pressing it to his face, inhaling, and then growling.
My eyebrows shoot up as River steps into the doorway. He snatches the pillow from Wes, sniffs it, and then snarls.
“What the fuck?” I ask, wondering if my drool is on the pillow or something, making it stink.
“This needs to be burned. It smells like another alpha,” River grumbles, holding it at arm's length away from his body. I snort, crossing my arms over my chest.
“It’s a clean pillow case,” I shrug, but River shakes his head.
“We’ll buy you a new one,” Wes decides, glaring at it like it’s about to grow wings and eat us. “Toss it back in there.” He nods toward Wendy’s door.
“Alright,” I chuckle, taking the offensive pillow and tossing it through the open door. Wendy lifts her brow at me, and I shrug one shoulder. “Alphas…” I shake my head and close the door, turning back to the guys.
They’re all standing there, waiting. Watching me.
“Is this fucking insane?” I blurt, wincing as they lift their brows at me in unison.
“Maybe, but I don’t really give a shit, to be honest,” Harrison says with a grin, taking a step toward me. “Are you done in there? Everything is packed?”
“Yes, this is everything I wanted to bring with me.” I nod to my stack of bags. I left a few clothes in one of Wendy’s drawers just in case. There is not much else, since most of my stuff is at Larry’s still.
“Good, I’ve been wanting you in my arms all damn day,” Harrison groans as he reaches for me, pulling me against his chest. I melt into the man easily, not resisting the hug one tiny bit.
“It’s only been an hour since we left your apartment,” I remind him, burying my head against his chest anyway.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to go that long between hugs again,” he teases, and then right here in the hallway, he scent marks me. Harrison runs his cheek over the top of my head, and I melt. This alpha makes me feel safe, wanted, and cared for.
In less time than Larry spent courting me, these three men have given me everything my ex never did.
Almost like thoughts of him conjure the asshole, my phone vibrates in my pocket, as the notification tone for his contact plays. I tense up, but don’t like not knowing what he sent, so I pull my phone out and check my message as the anxiety settles in my stomach.
Larry: Fine, but I want you to agree to dinner with me.
I want to say fuck no. I want to tell him to eat shit, but instead, I just let out a long sigh and reply.
Lila: Fine. I’ll be there tomorrow.
When I first told Larry I wanted to grab my stuff tomorrow, I didn’t expect a reply. I also didn’t tell him that I’d be bringing anyone with me. If I told Larry that three alphas were going to be coming too, he’d probably change the locks and barricade the door or something equally insane.
So I’ll just show up tomorrow with my boxes in hand, and say…surprise!
He won’t throw a fit in front of other alphas. He reserves his worst behavior for when we’re alone. Better make sure, wherever this stupid dinner is, that it’s very public.
“Larry said I can come get the rest of my things tomorrow as long as I have dinner with him. He probably wants to try and talk me back into a relationship with him,” I tell the alphas as they start grabbing my things.
I let out another heavy sigh, reaching for my smallest bag, when a very aggressive growl rings through the air.
“Fuck. No.” To my surprise, the growl came from Wes, who grips my hips and pins me against the wall. “Unless it’s a group dinner, there's no way in fuck you’re going to dinner with the alpha that tried to fucking break you.”
My mouth pops open, and I’m sure I must be staring at him with wide eyes. Alphas, like omegas, are very possessive. Not usually as aggressively as omegas are, but it still happens.
“If you don’t want to go to dinner with him, you’re not going. I don’t give a shit what deal you made. You shouldn’t have to agree to do something just to get your stuff back,” River adds, sounding slightly less angry.
Their agitation activates my instincts, and I immediately perfume the hallway. The reaction isn’t even intentional. I just don’t like the thought that they might be mad at me.
“What these two cavemen are trying to say is that we’re not going to sit back and watch another alpha take advantage of your kind nature,” Harrison says as he pushes Wes out of the way and pulls me into his arms. His scent soothes me, and I don’t stop myself from nuzzling his neck to get a better hit of it.
“I already said I’d go,” I mumble.
“But you didn’t say you’d go alone, or that you’d go anytime soon,” Harrison teases, giving my waist a squeeze.
“Let's just get your stuff from his place tomorrow, and worry about what the fucker wants after that? Who knows, maybe the three of us will scare him off tomorrow,” River grunts before making his way down the hall.
“Why did that sound like a threat?” I ask Harrison, who snorts.
“River doesn’t tolerate alphas trying to take advantage of omegas. His stepdad was a real shithead,” Wes explains, before shrugging. “You should ask him about it sometime.”
“Not tonight, though. I don’t want him getting all aggro before we go to your ex-shithead’s place,” Harrison chuckles, giving me one last squeeze before grabbing the rest of my bags.
“We’re stopping for takeout on the way home. What's your top three favorites?” Wes asks when we catch up to him and River outside.
“I’m not picky,” I say gently.
These men are so wonderful, I can’t help but doubt my worth. I thought I was a catch, but what if I’m not? What do I have to offer these men that they couldn’t get with another omega?
Fighting my self-doubt might be the biggest obstacle we face.