Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Lana
“Are you ready?” Mason asked as he met me at the front door. He was dressed in dark jeans and a charcoal gray sweater. He had dark liner around his eyes and his lips had a glossy sheen. I loved that Mason was unapologetically himself.
His scent was stronger now, too. The green apple tart was crisp, the fresh air and spring rain a mix of fresh and sweet. That undercurrent of electricity was there, but a bit subdued while he was relaxed.
“I’m ready,” I said. For once, I was actually excited to go shopping. It had been a long time. Not to mention, shopping alone was never as fun.
“Wait, where are you guys going?” Kieran asked as he stepped into the foyer. Mason’s eyes immediately narrowed.
“To the mall,” Mason answered dryly. “Without you.”
“Wait, I have a few things I need to grab,” Kieran protested. I swear the alpha was almost pouting at the prospect of being left behind.
“Where are we going?” Wilder was the next to walk in and question us. The grin on his face told me he knew exactly what he was doing. Mason was looking grumpier by the second, and I was barely holding back my laughter.
“Do you mind if we join you?” Wilder asked me, ignoring the delta completely.
“Ugh,” Mason said, throwing up his hands. “You can’t tell him no.”
“Exactly,” Wilder said with a grin that brightened his face. I think this was the most playful I’d ever seen him. It seemed that the beta had grown a bit more comfortable with me now that I’d been around the house for a few weeks.
Of course, Lennon and Conrad walked in at that point, Cade right on their heels.
“Oh, are we all headed out somewhere?” Conrad asked as he grabbed his shoes, sliding them on his socked feet.
Not one of them was subtle. Every single one of these assholes looked happy to crash mine and Mason’s plans. I knew my brother’s reasons, and the rest looked happy to fuck with him.
Mason turned to the side, groaning dramatically as he rested his head against my shoulder, defeated because his teammates were working against him.
“Oh, you thought we were going to give you more alone time after those face masks? You’re insane,” Kieran protested.
“Wait, what’s wrong with face masks?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at the alpha. It wasn’t that serious, but I was ready to defend Mason, now.
“Not a damn thing,” Mason growled out before flipping off Kieran. “Next time, maybe I will include everyone. I’ll also document everything.”
Kieran shot back, “I’m sure we could all use a little skincare in our lives.”
“Maybe you could just use a fucking life,” Mason muttered.
Wilder laughed. “Remember that day at practice last week where you pissed off Coach, who made us run drills until we were about to puke? Payback’s a bitch, brother.”
“They’ve got me, princess,” Mason said with a defeated sigh. Even without leverage, I had a feeling there’d be no convincing them to stay behind.
“I’ve hardly had any time with our new roomie,” Cade said. “Come on, princess. We can take my car. You can ride shotgun.”
Conrad gasped, clutching his chest as if he’d been shot. “Are you kidding me? You’re giving her my seat?”
“You wanted us to take care of your sister. Aren’t we doing that?”
Conrad gave me a look, barely hiding his smile now. “You assholes are lucky that she’s my favorite person.”
My heart warmed at his words. It was so fucking nice to be part of a family like this. It was always just Conrad and me until I left. I thought my pack was everything I needed, then after that honeymoon stage wore off, I was alone.
Cade threw his arm around my shoulders, guiding me outside while throwing a smug look to the others. I hadn’t really gotten a look at all the guys’ vehicles. At least not enough to know which was his. He led me to a sleek black Escalade and opened the door before helping me inside.
My breath caught as he reached over and fastened the seatbelt for me. It put him close enough that I could smell his scent of sweet-tart cherries mixed with cinnamon and fresh-cut cedar. It was such an alpha scent that I found my mouth watering. It was stronger now, a punch straight to the gut.
His nostrils flared for a second, his pale green eyes flicking up to mine. There was recognition there, as if he was truly breathing my scent in for the first time. He’d kept his distance, but I hadn’t. I’d breathed in his scent and knew it was good. But right now? It was heavenly.
“You smell incredible, princess. Is this why my whole pack has been going crazy over you?”
As if the others didn’t exist, he leaned forward, his nose brushing against my jaw for a second before he hummed in approval.
“Raspberries and white chocolate have always been my favorite flavors.”
My brain was offline. I just stared at him, breathing in his scent as he invaded my space. Then he was gone just as quickly. The sharp winter air cut into the space he had occupied. I shivered as it washed over me, biting down on my tongue before I whined. It was building in my throat.
My omega was already stupid for these men, and I couldn’t give in.
It had been just as easy with my exes, and the outcome of that was anything but pretty.
The rest of the world slowly returned to focus. The guys climbed in, filling the remaining seats, somehow squeezing into the back two rows.
“Hey, princess, you get to be in charge of the music,” Mason said, leaning in between the seats and snatching Cade’s phone from the middle console before handing it to me.
“Is that alright with you?” I asked Cade, refusing to dive into anyone’s phone without permission.
“Oh, absolutely, princess. What’s mine is yours.”
“Aren’t you guys taking this princess thing a little too far?” Conrad asked, shaking his head. “Swear to God, if you guys make me remind you one more time that my sister is off-limits, I’m killing you all.”
“I think you’re gonna have to kill us,” Cade said, glancing over at me. His face was so serious that I knew he meant every word. “I’m getting kind of attached.”
My jaw dropped, I never expected the quiet alpha to be that blunt.
The others voices chimed in, arguing with Conrad, but I barely processed what they were saying. Cade’s eyes were burning into me, his expression softening.
“I know you’re not ready yet, princess,” he said, reaching over and gently closing my mouth for me. “But when you are, we’re going to be there. Until then, we’re going to prove to you that not all hockey players are assholes, and that this pack can take care of you properly.”
“Okay,” I managed to choke out.
I came back to reality as one of the back doors opened and Conrad stormed out. My heart sank. That was the last thing I wanted. Conrad meant everything to me.
“Why don’t Mason and Cade take you to the mall as planned?” Kieran suggested gently. “Wilder, Lennon, and I will go try to talk some sense into him.”
“We’re in this,” Wilder said. “At your pace.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. The truth was, I was being a coward. I should’ve gone to talk to Conrad myself.
But part of me needed to see if this pack was going to stand up for me. To fight for me.
I watched them climb out, my eyes burning with tears I wouldn’t let fall. All I brought my brother was chaos.
It seemed I always tried to find my pack in my brother’s best friends. That wasn’t why I agreed to come here. This was more than a little unexpected, and I swore off hockey players for a fucking reason.
I just wish I had the strength to stay away. This omega was weak, touch-starved, and they made me feel things even my exes never had. Selfishly, I wanted this.
In reality, Milo, Sutton, and Dean weren’t really his best friends. Just like they weren’t in our relationship for me. They used Conrad the same way they used me: as a means to get closer to our dads.
Back then, they were so obsessed with hockey and proving they had what it took to make it big, they would’ve sacrificed us both to make it happen.
In the end, that’s exactly what they did.
“Let us fight this battle with Conrad,” Mason said. “His friendship means something to us, but we are all way too old to do ultimatums. We shouldn’t have to choose between the two of you. He’s still our best friend, and this shouldn’t change that.”
“It shouldn’t,” I said softly. “But it does.”
“You’re worth a fight, princess.”
“You guys don’t even know me,” I protested, voice cracking.
It was a weak argument, but they listened, waiting to hear what I had to say so they could counter it.
“Lennon barely tolerates me. We just found some common ground a few days ago. Wilder and I may share reading time, but today is the first day I saw him opening up. Kieran’s been sweet and attentive, but we’re not exactly all over each other.
We’ve barely had time for any one-on-one conversation, and that rings true for pretty much all of us,” I reminded them.
“We’re changing that now, aren’t we?” Mason said, refusing to let me talk my way out of this. “That was my whole purpose in taking you shopping.”
“Their interruption changes nothing,” Cade agreed.
“In fact, it just gives us more time to get to know you as a group. I meant what I said, Lana. You were ours to protect the moment Conrad asked us to, but now the stakes are even higher. Your scent changed, it calls to me now. We’re mates, and I intend to prove to you that we’re worthy of your trust.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond, backing us out of the driveway and heading across the city.
The thing was, I believed him. They were already showing me that they were attentive.
I also knew that realistically there was no real way to know if they’d stay that way, but I wasn’t going in blinded by infatuation and big talk.
I was working past a fading bond, and they were this amazing even before they could truly scent me.
There were just a few things I needed to make sure they understood.
“I’m not diving into another relationship,” I finally said, breaking the quiet that had grown a bit too tense.