Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Kara
Was this karma for stealing Ella’s car?
My night could not get any worse. First, I’d almost been mauled and drowned by N’Pact’s dog, then embarrassed the hell out of myself several times in front of them, and now there were at least two police cars down the street right in front of Kayla’s house.
I trembled as I thought of all the things that could have happened. I’d not only left the gate unsecured, but the back door was unlocked. An alpha could have caught one of our scents and wandered onto the property. Or even a crazed fan.
My eyes blurred with tears, and I took a deep breath through my nose only to finally catch Tate’s scent. He smelled just like a freshly peeled orange.
I bit my lip to stop from groaning. Oranges not only were my favorite fruit, but with my chocolate scent, we would be a smellgasm together once I got the chlorine smell off me.
“Well, let’s go see what’s happening.” He started back toward the gate that was just now starting to shut.
“No!” I grabbed his arm, and my nipples tingled. I quickly looked down to make sure the towel was hiding them. “We can’t. They’ll wonder why I’m with an alpha and…”
He looked at my hand on his arm and put his over it. “Let’s not panic. I’ll stand at the end of the hedge and peek around to make sure you get down there okay. Then you can get my number from Kayla and text me that everything is fine.”
“You have my sister’s number?” Why did that sit so wrong with me? I knew they knew each other. Did she always text them?
He moved his hand and ran it over his stubbly square jaw. “We all have her number. The Thomas pack trusts us since we didn’t steal her away before they bonded with her. Now that she has talked them into staying home alone when they go away on business, it’s even more important.”
I nodded. It made sense, but I still didn’t like it. Sure, she was bonded, and alphas would be turned off by her scent now that it had changed slightly to denote she was taken, but they were still alphas.
Sure, Kara. Keep telling yourself that’s the reason.
“I can’t go down there with the police there.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
I cringed, not wanting to tell him I’d stolen my friend’s car and left the compound without OPS permission. “I kinda, sorta lost my mind from not matching.”
“Did you kill someone or something?” He was joking, or at least I hoped he was. His blue eyes looked amused, if not a smidge wary.
I’d be wary too if I’d found an omega hiding in my pool and then witnessed her having a conversation with Squishmallows.
“I didn’t kill anyone, but no one besides Kayla and her pack knows I’m here. Not even the owner of the car. If I go down there, they are going to see I’m unbonded and call OPS and…”
His amusement left his face and his jaw ticked. “Let’s go inside and we’ll call Kayla to see what’s going on.” Tate put a comforting hand in the center of my back and guided me toward the backyard.
I was fine until we got to the side of the house. I started to cry, not only from the embarrassment over falling off the deep end but from the harm I’d put my sister in. “What if someone got in the house and attacked her? I’m such an idiot for leaving her alone like that.”
“I’m sure everything is fine.” He didn’t sound like he meant it, but I appreciated his effort. He must have thought I was a complete idiot. “Let’s get you inside. You’re shivering.”
It was cool outside, but not cold. Los Angeles had ideal weather, even at night. The temperature wasn’t causing me to shiver, the idea of someone hurting my sister was.
He walked me silently to the back door and into the house. Now that some of the chlorine smell had dissipated and I was sniffling, their scents bombarded me all at once. I stopped abruptly and shut my eyes, breathing in deeper.
Besides oranges, there were strawberries, a salty roasted scent that reminded me of pretzels, and fuck me. Was that bacon?
A groan escaped because I was going to combust. One could always hope their pack had complimentary scents to their own, but this? This was heaven.
Tate cleared his throat. “Let me go grab my phone. Have a seat wherever.”
I’ll take a seat on your knot.
I snapped out of it as he retreated, and I tried my best to stop crying. The wine was starting to wear off and so was the extra bit of courage and relaxation it had given me.
N’Pact’s house was just as amazing inside as outside. It was contemporary modern, and the large sliding door we’d walked through was part of a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Los Angeles skyline.
Unlike Kayla’s house, this one was open concept with no walls between the kitchen, dining room, and living area. The large dining room table sat between the windows and the kitchen, which had black lower cabinets and gray upper cabinets, and top-of-the-line appliances.
The kitchen island was massive and had five cushioned bar stools. The gray U-shaped couch in the living room was facing away from the kitchen, and it was so big I had to count how many people it could fit. What the heck did they need a nine-seater for?
I walked to it and sat down, putting my pills on the coffee table. The living room was cozy, and the couch faced a large television mounted on the wall. It was the biggest I’d ever seen, at least twice the size of what a regular person would have.
Tate came down the stairs with his phone to his ear, Alvaro right behind him. “Kayla? Hi, this is Tate... from N’Pact. Is everything okay?” He listened for a moment. “She’s right here.”
He handed his phone to me and sat down as far away from me as possible. I’d have been offended, but having me in their house had to be hard. It was hard enough for me to be here when they smelled so delectable. If their scents weren’t distracting me, I’d have been a blubbering mess.
I brought the phone to my ear. “Kayla, I’m so sorry and such an idiot. Did someone break in? I should have never left, but I needed my pills and-”
“Do you have any idea how worried I was when I woke up to Rio yelling through the speaker system that the police were on their way?” She was talking in a low voice like she didn’t want someone to hear. “Whatever you did to the gate set off the silent perimeter alarm.”
“I didn’t know.” I sank back into the cushions and put a hand over my eyes. “I had too much wine and couldn’t find the button.”
She sighed, and for once, I understood how she felt whenever I sighed over her choices. “I covered for you and said I broke it. The police did a sweep of the property and inside the house. I couldn’t tell them it was you because you aren’t supposed to be here.”
“So, what happens now? When are they going to leave so I can come home?”
“The gate company doesn’t open until ten and Beck called a private security company to come stand guard. The police are here until they show up. Hold on.” Kayla put her hand over the speaker, and I could hear muffled voices. “The cops are going to stay outside the gate until security gets here.”
“How am I going to get back in without someone wondering who the hell I am?” I felt something cold on my cheek and jumped.
Alvaro had a cold water bottle in his hand and had touched my cheek with it. “You can sleep here.”
I took the water bottle he was offering as he sat a few cushions away from me. “I can’t stay here.”
Kayla cleared her throat. “Yes, you can. They’re harmless. Make them give you a room and lock the door. Put a dresser in front of it if that makes you feel safer.”
I stood and walked into their kitchen, out of earshot. “I can’t, Kay. Have you smelled them? They smell so good.”
“Why are you smelling them? And no, I haven’t smelled them. Remember, the only class I aced was Olfactory Management. You did pretty well in it too. What was the first thing we were taught?”
Jesus, was this what I sounded like to her when I was laying into her? It was like we had switched roles. “Never scent unsupervised. Look, I know all of this, but with the wine and being upset at seeing the police cars…”
“How the hell did you even end up at their house?” The police must have been gone because Kayla’s voice was back to its normal volume.
“It’s a long story, but basically, their dog almost drowned me. Okay, he didn’t really, but he pulled down my shorts and I got off balance and fell in.” I waited with bated breath for her to respond, but she was silent. “Kayla? Say something.”
“You’ve been perfect for so long, Care Bear, like you put yourself in a box and sealed it tight.
And it’s like not matching and your carefully laid plans being sidelined caused the seal to break.
Except it broke all the way and now, instead of just having a little breathing room, you blew that shit up. ”
As much as I didn’t want to hear the words, I knew she was right.
My entire life, I had never wanted to disappoint anyone, especially not after one of our fathers passed away from a heart attack when we were nine.
It almost destroyed our family, and I told myself from that point on I would never do anything to hurt or disappoint our parents.
If they knew I’d left the compound and driven to Los Angeles by myself? New tears fell, and I wiped roughly at them.
An arm went around my shoulder, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I turned into Alvaro’s chest, seeking his comfort and warmth. He plucked the phone from my grip and took over talking to my sister.
“Does she need to stay here for the night?” Alvaro ran his hand up and down my back and I wished the towel wasn’t there so I could feel his touch even better.
“She can sleep here in our guest bedroom, and in the morning she can go next door to hang out with our betas... we have an appointment, and she can’t be here.
.. no, it’s not with knottyboppers... you’re welcome. ”
He hung up the phone and handed it across the island where Tate had moved. I was trying my best not to breathe in Alvaro’s scent, but being so close to him and feeling his warm, bare chest against my arms between us, was tough. A little sniff wouldn’t hurt, would it?
I breathed in through my nose and the warm salty smell of freshly baked pretzels washed over me. Oh, he smelled good. So, so good.
The fact that he was holding me like he was made him even more appealing. It wasn’t appropriate for alphas and omegas to touch if they weren’t your pack, but I couldn’t bring myself to step away.
Tate cleared his throat, and I turned my head against Alvaro’s chest. “We can show you to the guest room.” His gaze was locked on me and Alvaro, longing in his eyes.
Alvaro put his hand on the back of my head as if to stop me from lifting my head from his chest. “The guest room has an attached bathroom, so you can shower if you want. In the morning, we’ll take you next door until your sister says it’s okay for you to go back.”
I wanted to know what kind of appointment they had that I couldn’t be at their house, but they were a world-famous boyband, and they probably did a lot of things at their house instead of going to certain places. I couldn’t imagine how frustrating it would be to be followed everywhere.
Alvaro reluctantly stepped back, his fingers brushing down my jaw. Maybe... I shook my head, dashing away the thought of bringing up the fall match. Me? Matching with my favorite band? Could I handle the life they led?
I’d been around them longer than I’d been around any other potential pack, and if I’d had this reaction in meet and greets, they would have gone straight to the top of my list.
Alvaro led me across the living room and past the stairs before turning down a long hallway. “We have two guest rooms here on this level, and our rooms are upstairs. The bathroom is stocked with luxury products and plenty of towels. I’ll leave you a pair of shorts and a shirt outside the door.”
We stopped at a closed door, and he opened it, revealing a large bedroom with a queen-sized bed, dresser, and desk. I wondered who had stayed here or if it was just to have something in the room.
“Thank you.” I stepped into the room and turned to face him and Tate, who was now standing next to him holding my Squishmallows. “I’m sorry I-”
“No need to apologize.” Alvaro gave me a tight smile. Did that mean he was really pissed about it? That made no sense with the brief cuddle session in the kitchen. “Goodnight, Kara.”
Tate waited until Alvaro started to walk down the hall before stepping forward to hand me Jane and Princess. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Accidents happen. I’m glad it was our house and we’re able to make sure you’re safe. Sweet dreams.”
I shut and locked the door as they went back down the hall. If my dads knew I was sleeping in a house with four unbonded alphas, they would have been so disappointed. It didn’t matter that they had been nothing but respectful and Kayla trusted them.
I’d let myself spiral out of control, but from this moment on, I vowed to get my act together. The lid was going back on the box, and as I stood there looking at a bed that didn’t belong to me, I knew it was for the best.