Chapter 32
Chapter thirty-two
Camelia
Camelia sat outside Evan and James' house in her car for longer than she wanted to admit, her stomach twisted with anxiety and anticipation.
The anxiety made sense to her. She wasn't here for a social call.
If she wasn't able to figure out a safer situation, and fast..
.it was very likely that she was going to be assaulted before the semester was out.
Alphas couldn't help themselves around an unclaimed Omega, especially as she approached her heat.
Camelia knew herself well enough to know that if Evan and James didn't agree to the arrangement that her father had proposed.
..she might as well do as he suggested and drop out of school altogether.
Then again, if they did agree...she might end up in a different kind of hot water altogether.
Hence, the confusing anticipation.
"Come on, you have to go in sooner or later.
They're expecting you. You can't sit out here for the rest of your life.
" Camelia allowed herself a moment to take several deep breaths, bracing herself.
She knew that the moment she was inside the townhouse again, the moment she was in their space and could smell them and feel them close to her. ..
Her resolve to be impartial and explain the situation neutrally was going to be much more difficult to cling to.
She steeled herself, clenched her jaw, and got out of the car, locking it securely behind her. She glanced around herself as she approached the front door, the same prickle of unease that she had gotten used to raising the hairs on the back of her neck despite the ostensibly quiet street.
It was that, that constant vigilance and fear that cemented her resolve to at least have this conversation.
If they laughed her out of the house, well.
..she would come up with another solution.
And then she could stop fantasizing about each of them in turn.
If they didn't want her and it was clear, that would be easier.
She lifted her fist and pounded on the front door a little harder than usual, and it was seconds before it swung open, revealing Evan.
"Hey," she said quietly. Her voice was breathier than she wanted it to be, anticipatory, and Evan's eyes flashed slightly as he stepped to the side, letting her in. "Thanks for being available on such short notice."
"We were here. It's no trouble." He shut the door behind her, and Camelia couldn't help the way her shoulders relaxed as Evan and James' combined scents entered her nose. It was comforting, like coming home, and she hated how her instincts thrilled at being in their space again.
This wasn't supposed to be something she wanted. She didn't want it. This was merely the best solution to a shitty problem. That's all.
"Where's James?" Her voice was even softer now that she was inside, and she shivered a little as she felt Evan move closer to her.
His warmth radiated against her back and she sensed rather than saw one of his hands lifting, moving as if to touch her.
He didn't, though, and Camelia ignored the disappointment as he cleared his throat.
"Upstairs. I'll get him."
Camelia nodded, clutching a little tighter to her purse as Evan disappeared up the stairs. There was the low sound of male voices upstairs – James' voice more irritated than Evan's – and then they came back down the stairs, their feet thudding heavily as they came back into the living room.
Camelia perched on the edge of the couch nervously as Evan sat in the armchair next to her, and James leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. His gray eyes were as intense as they ever were as they looked at her, and Camelia swallowed hard before she averted her gaze, ignoring the way her skin tingled at their combined attention.
Remember the last time they were focusing on you like that here? Remember how good it felt to just give in and listen and take what you needed from them...
Camelia cleared her throat, forcing a small smile to her face as she met Evan's gaze.
His expression was neutral, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes that piqued Camelia's curiosity.
She didn't have time to ask about that right now, though.
"Thank you...thank you for letting me come over.
I needed to talk to you. Both of you," she clarified.
Neither man responded, and she continued, her voice shaking a little.
"I...I know that you've been keeping up with the stuff happening in the legislature and the challenges that are being drawn in response to the bill criminalizing Omega suppressants.
My...my dad isn't sure that they're going to go anywhere; the groups that lobbied for the medication to be criminalized in the first place are powerful, and now that they've gotten what they wanted. ..
Evan nodded. "We get it. You don't need to explain to us."
His voice was gentle, but Camelia winced anyway.
She knew that she was rambling, but getting to the crux of the matter felt like.
..almost an impossible task. Still, she pushed forward, glancing at James out of the corner of her eye.
He was still watching her intently, as if he were memorizing every feature of her face while she spoke, and she flushed a little.
"My dad is worried. About me. About what's going to happen when the suppressants wear off completely and. ..I'm not hidden anymore."
"Hasn't that already happened? You went into heat." There was no judgement in James' carefully neutral tone, but Camelia averted her gaze anyway, shrugging.
"It can evidently take a few weeks for all the effects to wear off.
The heat is the first one to come back. The rest..
.my scent, my pheromones...those will come back a little slower.
But it's been three weeks since I last took my meds and.
.." She swallowed. "I'm worried that I don't have much longer before I'm walking around with a big target on my back. "
Neither of them asked what she was referring to. From the way Evan's eyes hardened and James' expression went flat, they knew exactly what Alphas could be like when they scented an Omega in "need."
"So," Camelia finally said, after another few agonizing seconds passed. "My...dad. Had an idea. For a way to protect me."
"We're all ears, sweetheart," James said. His voice was dry, but there was a spark of eagerness in his gray eyes that told Camelia that he knew what she was going to ask.
And he was fucking hungry for it.
Camelia swallowed. "He thinks that maybe it would be a good idea. For me to move in here. With you two."
A long moment passed, and then Evan moved. He knelt on the ground next to Camelia and captured one of her hands between both of his, and his blue eyes were intense as Camelia met them. "What do you want to do, Camelia?" he asked quietly. "We'll help any way that you need."
Seeing him kneeling next to her, his demeanor so different from the cocky asshole that she had first met almost two months before, it gave Camelia pause. There was hunger and desire in his eyes, yes, but also a sincerity that made Camelia's heart thump.
And she couldn't lie, not when they were both looking at her like the world's axis hinged on what she was going to say next.
"I..." Camelia swallowed unable to say anything for a moment. Then she choked out, "I think it's a good idea. Probably the best one. Nobody will try to come after me if they think that I'm claimed, and if I'm living here with you two..."
James interrupted, his gray eyes gleaming as he pushed away from the wall and stalked a little closer. "Do you want to move in here, sweetheart? Do you want to be with us?"
His expression was intense, but his voice was soft, and any smart answer that Camelia might have had faded away. Her hand flexed in Evan's grip, and she couldn't look away from James' face. From the tiny spark of hope in his slate eyes.
The hope that mirrored the anticipation that still fluttered in her belly.
"I...Yes," she finally whispered. Her cheeks burned with the admission, but her instincts thrilled at the satisfaction that settled on James' face. "I...I do."
It was the truth that she hadn't wanted to face ever since her father had brought up the idea.
The truth that she had been ignoring from the second that she left their house right after her heat.
It had felt wrong to leave them. Wrong to go back to her room and sleep alone, where she couldn't smell them and feel their warmth.
"Then of course you can come here," Evan said gently, pulling her attention away from James' deeply satisfied expression. "We've been worried about you. It...it only makes sense for you to be with us. After everything."
The mention of her heat, as indirect as it was, made Camelia's cheeks burn with embarrassment, and James' low chuckle only made her stomach twist with more humiliation.
She nodded sharply, suddenly standing up and nearly knocking Evan off his feet.
"Right. Okay. Gotta call my Dad, then. He wanted to.
.." She cleared her throat, averting her eyes from both James' and Evan's gazes as Evan slowly straightened up.
"He wanted me to let him know how this conversation went. "
She turned away from the men, swallowing hard as she dialed her father's number and held her phone up to her ear. Behind her, James said something indiscernible to Evan, his voice low and prickling along Camelia's skin like a touch.
"Camelia." She shivered, and focused on her father's voice as he answered the phone. "Are you there? How did it go?"
She swallowed. "Yeah, I'm here." She glanced back at James and Evan, who hadn't moved. Evan's expression was still smooth and reassuring, but there was a hint of mischief on James' face now. "They...they agreed that your idea makes the most sense. For me to move in here."
Her father sighed, and Camelia could practically see him checking her off a list of things that he felt he needed to worry about. "Very well, then. That's good. You'll move in immediately, yes? I'll arrange for some movers to get your things from your dorm and transport them tomorrow morning."
Camelia sputtered. "Daddy, I...I didn't think..."
"Waiting doesn't make any sense, does it?
" Carson interrupted. His voice was gentle, but it had a thread of steel through it that made Camelia snap her mouth shut.
"The longer you're vulnerable, the longer you risk yourself, sweetie.
I'm sorry, I have to go, but I'll arrange everything for you, okay? I love you."
He hung up before Camelia could argue any further, and before she could turn to tell Evan and James how the conversation had went, arms wrapped around her waist and warm breath puffed out comfortingly along the back of her neck as she was pulled into a firm embrace.
"Welcome home, sweetheart," James murmured, a deliciously wicked bite in his voice.
To Be Continued