Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Mason
The house felt empty without Lana in it. Her scent was faint in the space, and I’d retreated into my room before I did something embarrassing… like going into her nest and breathing in the scent on her pillows.
I hated how guilty I felt every time I thought about her like this. Her brother was liable to kill us, and I couldn’t even blame him at this point. We weren’t good at holding back. At least, I wasn’t.
With a sigh, I washed the product off my face. I’d done a mask to make myself feel better. It was so stupid to be jealous of the fact that Wilder was getting alone time with the omega.
It didn’t help that everything felt so new with her. I knew from the moment I saw her, I wanted her. She was finally seeming to come on board and I was already obsessed.
Conrad might think the flirting was just my personality, and in some ways he was right. I did flirt as a default setting. It was a way to not let people in while keeping everything superficial.
But with her, I meant every damn word.
Every instinct screamed at me to claim her, to bite her, to drag her back to my den and have my way with her. Not that I’d ever cross that line. She’d had enough dominating bullshit with her exes.
The audacity of them to still not realize she left without a word. It had been over a month now since she erased herself from their lives. She joined us in January. It was well into February, and she still hadn’t heard a single word from the assholes.
Shoving my annoyance aside, I went into my main bedroom, bypassed it, and walked into my den. Just like Lana’s room, this house wasn’t built for those of us needing extra spaces.
I’d changed my closet just like we had for her. My den was blacked out the best I could manage. Dark velvety fabric lined the walls and even hung over the door.
I shoved it aside and stepped in, my delta settling as I dropped down onto the soft bed. It was cold in here, the system set to accommodate my need for a dark, cool space.
The only thing in here outside of the bedding was a TV. It was simple, but it was mine. That’s what really mattered.
Guilt hit me as I wrapped the new addition to my den around me. It was a blanket I’d snagged from the living room. Lana’s scent was all over it, the exact thing my delta needed to settle.
I’d been trying to keep things under control. My delta was losing his mind the longer she was around but not truly mine. He wanted to claim her, to prove to everyone that she was mine.
Ours.
The moment I had it wrapped around me, I melted into it. My instincts had never felt so content and calm.
My delta was pure chaos. Demanding, impulsive, even a little crazy. Right now, all he wanted was to breathe in our omega. Bite her so she could feel every ounce of our obsession.
First, we had to prove that we were nothing like the men who had fumbled her, and never would be.
Being patient might fucking kill me but I’d die trying. There was no other choice but to give her everything she needed.
She’d only ever see my calm exterior. I couldn’t let her see my chaos quite yet.
Settling in and wrapping myself around a pillow, I turned on some old reruns of one of my favorite detective shows. It helped distract me but not completely. My delta didn’t like her out of our sight. He wanted to touch her, to see her at all moments of the day.
The reasonable part of my brain understood that was insane. The Delta side didn’t give a fuck.
All he knew was that she was ours.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since we’d gotten home, but soon the sounds of the house coming to life echoed through the space. The rest of my pack knew well enough to stay back. A delta’s den was private, and we could be territorial as hell.
Everyone, except Lennon. He had no qualms about stalking in here. I always chalked it up to the fact that he didn’t have a den, or rather, wouldn’t let himself have one.
“I figured I’d find you hiding away,” he grumbled as he pushed past the curtain and invaded my space. If he wasn’t pack, I’d kill him for it.
“Well, why don’t you just let yourself in,” I snapped, not bothering to move for him.
He rolled his eyes, but plopped down in the corner like he always did, taking up space while making it seem like it put him out.
“Wilder and Lana are back. They brought some food from the diner. I guess she was craving a burger.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” I noted, pausing the screen so I didn’t miss the best part of the show.
“She’s a nutritionist. She’s supposed to be all about healthy food,” he said. It bordered on mocking.
“She’s also human,” I pointed out. “And watch your tone. That’s my omega.”
He rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. Prying things out of this delta was like cracking a secret code.
“I thought you were warming up to Lana,” I challenged. “She’s our omega, Lennon. Being a dick is only going to prove hockey players are assholes.”
He let out a frustrated grunt. “I was, but something is changing. That sounds so ominous, but you know it’s true.”
I scoffed instead of punching him. “Do you hear yourself? You’ve been around her just as much as I have. You were there today, heard Cade say she was his mate. You had to have scented her. Fuck, smell that blanket.”
“I know.” That was all he was going to say?
“Her scent has always been intoxicating, even when it was subtle. This isn’t fucking news, Lennon.”
“It’s not that it’s a surprise,” he growled, his delta rising to my challenge. “Will you quit being an ass and just listen to what I’m fucking saying?”
Letting out a sigh, I pushed myself up to sit in the opposite corner, staring at the delta who was apparently losing his damn mind.
“Go on,” I drawled, waving a hand. “Hurry the fuck up with whatever breakdown you’re having.”
“My delta is reacting,” he said. “You can make fun of me all you want, but that’s not a normal reaction.”
“Explain it,” I said. He couldn’t possibly be talking about this scent match reaction we were all having.
His usual pale cheeks turned red as he fought with himself. He didn’t want to say whatever it was.
“It’s like being a teenager,” he finally burst out, throwing his hands up.
“You know getting hard for an attractive omega is a normal reaction, right?” I mused, though my amusement had faded.
“There’s never been an omega in my life that made me feel like this,” he argued back.
“It’s not just attraction. Yeah, she makes me fucking hard, but she also drives my delta fucking wild.
Lana makes the world make sense. She settles me to the point I feel downright relaxed.
When she’s close, I want to touch her, protect her, burn down the fucking world for her.
Hell, I would’ve killed those men on the ice if she asked me to. ”
“Same,” I admitted. “But I’m not seeing the problem.”
“We’re losing control. I can’t fucking do that,” Lennon said emphatically. There was true fear in his eyes now.
Finally, we were at the root of it all.
“Being in a pack means we’ll be able to handle everything as a group. You can rely on us; you don’t have to be in control all the time. You’re not that kid anymore, Lennon.”
His eyes were haunted, and his fists clenched where they rested on his knees. His head fell back against the wall as he breathed through whatever was happening in his head.
“She’s worth the risk,” I pressed. “Once we figure things out with Conrad and she is ready, you’ll see that everything works out.”
I loved Conrad like a brother, but I was just about done with him deciding what was best for her.
“Conrad’s opinion doesn’t really fucking matter,” Lennon said. “But if we push this and court her, he’s going to lose his mind. It’ll put a rift between someone we’ve called a brother our entire time on the Wardens together.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It might. But at the end of the day, this comes down to her. This is her choice.”
“Do you want her?”
“She drives me crazy,” I said. “In a good way. I’ve been trying to keep up the usual facade, but I don’t want to be just friends with her. I want more.”
“That’s what fucking scares me the most,” he admitted. “This omega has the potential to ruin me, Mason.”
“I’d happily let her fuck up my life.” I shrugged.
“How does that not scare you?”
“Oh, it terrifies me,” I countered. “If you think we’re scared, imagine how she feels. Her pack left her alone for months, maybe years. Even trusting us means risking whatever safety she’s found. At one point, she trusted them, too.”
“It scares me how much I want to murder them,” Lennon muttered darkly.
“You wouldn’t,” I said. “Because that would mean being taken away from your pack and your omega.”
Both of our phones started going off. He let his head fall back in defeat, knowing we’d have to go face the others.
“You got it together?” I asked.
He scoffed but followed me as I finally extracted myself from my cocoon and pulled open the curtain.
The others were in the kitchen still eating, but Lana was nowhere in sight.
Seeing my eyes track the room, Cade chuckled. “She’s taking a shower right now.”
I shoved the thought of Lana naked aside and flopped into my usual chair, grabbing the to-go box marked with my name.
“How was your bookstore trip?” I asked, glancing at Wilder. He looked different. He also smelled like her.
“It was amazing,” he said. The words were simple, but the awe in his voice wasn’t. “She actually read the first one in the series I was going to pick up today. We got a whole stack of books to share.”
“Sounds like your dream,” I said lightly. Another piece falling into place before our eyes.
“It was,” he admitted, meeting my gaze before checking to make sure neither of the Flynns were nearby. “Her scent is getting stronger every day.”
“It is,” I agreed. “We’ve all noticed it.”
“I don’t think she’s ready,” Wilder admitted with a frown. “The moment she is, I have no intention of holding back.”
The beta had grown bold. One outing with our omega, and he was hooked. We all were in different ways.
“Where did you go, today?” I asked Cade.
“To talk to Coach,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of her being without us. Conrad’s right, he can’t protect her if he’s on the ice the whole time.”
“What did Coach say?”
“He agreed. After the game the other night, he thinks it would be best if she prepares ahead of time.”
We all let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Good,” Kieran muttered. “Because I had every intention of booking a ticket and going anyway.”
“So, what’s the plan here?” Lennon asked. There was an edge to his voice, but it had softened since our talk.
I turned to Cade. “We wait for our omega to be on board, then we give her everything we have. Prove we’re worthy until then. The moment she’s ready, so are we.”
“Are you going to be able to handle that?” Kieran asked Lennon.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Just like that, his delta was rising for a fight.
“Don’t act like you weren’t notoriously anti-omega.”
“I’m working on it,” Lennon muttered.
“Get on board,” Wilder said firmly.
Every one of us was ready to give this a shot. Even Lennon, if he got out of his own way.
We just had one giant obstacle in our way.
Her exes.
“What are you guys talking about?” Conrad’s voice echoed from behind us.
Make that two obstacles.