10. Meet the Alphas
Meet the Alphas
Emilia
Just as I'd expected, the entire pack headed to the beach the next day. I didn't even bother asking to go, not wanting to hear any excuses. I was too ugly to be seen with them.
Mid-morning, I figured Jude and Oren would be up, so I dressed in a nice sundress and headed over to their place. I almost turned back when I reached their front steps, but Jude jerked the door open as I was turning away.
"Good morning, Emilia."
"Morning, Jude. Is it too early?"
"Of course not." He held the door open for me and I tentatively stepped inside.
I'd been on the porch last time. This time, inside, I could smell the mixture of their pack.
Caramel and coffee, cardamom and lavender, bergomot, black currant and jasmine.
It was almost overwhelming, except that they somehow all worked together, forming a cohesive scent that I wanted to bathe in forever.
There were two men, as well as Oren, in the living room when Jude led me in. He sat down on the loveseat and gestured for me to sit.
"I'm glad you came, Emilia," Oren said with a beautiful smile. "These are our alphas, Santi and Grayson. Guys, this is Emilia."
"Nice to meet you," Santi said, leaning forward to shake my hand. "Sorry you couldn't come to the party."
"It's fine."
"Hi, Emilia." Grayson spoke gently, but his eyes were genuine as he looked directly at me. "Good to finally meet you. Oren and Jude can't shut up about the next-door omega."
I could feel my cheeks heating. "Oh."
Oren jumped up to grab drinks and I took a moment to study the two new men. Both were alphas. Santi seemed a little older than the others, with dark hair and a kind face. His dark eyes belied a Latino heritage and he looked strong and capable of leadership.
Grayson was more like his beta and omega, stunningly beautiful. What on earth was in the water where these guys grew up?
Oren returned with more lemonade and served us all. "So, in case it's not obvious, Santi is our pack leader. He makes all the decisions around here and he smells delightful." He threw me a wink.
I bit my lip. They all smelled good, but I could definitely pick out Santi's rich caramel and coffee scent. It made me want to lick him and then curl up on his lap. It was a safe smell.
"So, Emilia, what do you like doing?" Grayson asked.
"I don't work, obviously," I said, shifting uneasily. "Uh, I cook and clean a lot for the guys. We have a maid, but there's not much else to do, so I handle most of the cleaning now and managing the house."
"Do you like it?" Jude asked. "He asked what you like to do."
"Oh." I worried more at my lip, trying to come up with a proper answer for that. "I mean, for fun in my spare time, I draw. I'm taking online classes for that and it's really fun. I'm not good, but I do enjoy it."
"You'll have to show us sometime," Santi said. "What mediums?"
"Pencil right now, since I have it handy."
Jude frowned. "Your alphas don't buy you gifts or supplies?"
"Oh, they provide for me well enough. I could probably have paints and stuff if I wanted," I told them. But I wasn't actually sure. If I started buying expensive canvases and oil paints, would they question it?
"What do you all do?" I asked.
"I'm a photographer," Santi said. "These three are all models."
That explained the stunning good looks. I nodded. "I can see that, what type of modeling?"
"Mostly magazines and ads for me," Oren said. "I do runway modeling once in a blue moon. That's more Jude's thing."
"You do runways?" I twisted to look at Jude in shock. "That is very far from what I expected."
"Really?" Jude raised an eyebrow.
"Show her!" Oren grinned. He pulled out his phone and started up some edgy music with a hard beat.
Jude wasted no time in jumping up and running off down the hallway leading out of the living room. A second later, he came striding elegantly back, with a sweater slung over his shoulder, bare chest on display, white blond hair artfully rumpled. The man was walking temptation.
"Wow." I watched as Jude did a perfect runway walk almost to the sofa. He paused in a funky pose with his hand on his hip, an aloof look on his face. Then he spun, the sweater arching through the air, and strode out.
I clapped wildly, laughing. "Okay, okay, sorry I doubted you!"
Jude came back in, still sans shirt and plopped down on the loveseat. He looked pretty smug about the whole thing, but I couldn't help think he was even more delectable without his shirt. Something I hadn't felt in over a year stirred inside me and I had to clench my thighs.
"What about you, Grayson?"
"Also a model, but I tend more to product ads," he told me.
"Wow. A whole house full of models, you're pretty lucky," I told Santi.
He laughed. "I sure am. We're almost a perfect pack."
"Almost?"
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about it."
"Do you like board games, Em?" Oren asked, pulling my attention away from his alpha.
"I haven't played any since I was small."
"Well, we're big on playing games around here. Want to try one?"
"Sure."
We spent the rest of the morning playing a game called Wingspan. It was complicated, but it felt good to use my brain for something more than just planning the week's menu.
"Oh, shoot, it's already lunchtime. Can you stay for lunch? We have a ton of leftovers from yesterday," Grayson said, after Santi had beat everyone once more.
I looked up from putting the little eggs back in the bag. "My pack went to the beach, I don't think they'll be home until tonight."
"Perfect!"
Oren knelt beside me on the carpet to help clean up the game while the others scattered to get lunch set up. "Did you like returning to your childhood?"
"I used to play things like Sorry! and Candyland. This was nothing like that! But it was fun."
"Good. There are tons of great games for adults out there. We'll teach you Cards Against Humanity next," he promised.
After lunch, Oren invited me on a tour of the house. It was roughly the same size as mine, but laid out quite a bit differently. The nest room was on the ground floor.
"Easy access to food," he told me with a chuckle.
"I've never really talked to a male omega," I admitted. "Do you have heats like we do?"
"Pretty much. Different purpose, of course, since we're just an anomaly, but the hormones are pretty similar." He opened the door to his nest and I gasped.
"Oh, it's beautiful!"
"You can come in," Oren said, stepping through the door.
I hesitated. "Are you sure? Another omega in your nest."
"Emilia, I'm one hundred percent positive that I want you in my nest." He reached for my hand and tugged me past the doorway.
The room was perfect. Soft swaths of navy blue fabric hung from the ceiling, dotted with silver sparkles.
It reminded me of a starlit night. White twinkle lights hung in spirals around the edges of the room, which was also painted deep blue.
In the center, a sunken bed with a huge mattress invited you to collapse onto it.
There was a black velvety cover on it right now, with soft, fluffy blankets in shades of gray and blue rolled up around the edges.
Pillows of all shapes and sizes filled the rest of the space around the edge of the bed, making it look like the most comfortable spot in the world.
What really intrigued me was the round mattress above the original one, but offset a little.
Wooden stairs curved around, leading up to it.
The top bed was closer to the ceiling, of course, and tucked into a corner, so it was cozier.
A little railing ran around it to prevent anyone from falling, though it wasn't that far off the ground.
And the area below it where it didn't overlap the other bed was a cozy, cushioned space for cuddling or watching the activity on the lower bed.
Off to one side, there was a black hammock chair and a sex swing in another corner. A bathroom door stood ajar on one wall, too, so no one ever had to leave for physical needs. And a mini fridge sat next to the bed, a clear door showing the bottles of water and rehydration drinks inside.
"Oren, this is the most perfect nest I've ever seen."
"I'm glad you like it." He pulled me toward the bed and I tripped on the edge, tumbling onto the softest mattress I'd ever felt.
"I'm sorry! I'm going to leave my scent all over your things!" I tried to scramble back, but Oren threw himself down beside me, holding my hand still.
"It's okay. You smell wonderful," he told me. "Like ginger and figs. Sweet, but spicy."
I lay there, looking up at that soft ceiling and wondering why I liked being here so much. "You smell good too."
We stayed there for a while, just enjoying how comfy the bed was, until Grayson popped his head in. His eyes darkened and the space suddenly exploded with cardamom scent, and a hint of lavender.
For some reason, the smell of the alpha in the nest made me want to drag him down on top of me. I felt slick start to drool from between my folds.
"What about the rest of the house?" I asked, scrambling up quickly. "Excuse me!" I brushed past Grayson, feeling a spark shoot through me when my hip brushed against his. What the hell was wrong with me? I was . . . property of another pack.
Oren showed me the rest of the house, including the bedrooms. There were four of them, but he confided in me that he usually slept with one of the others.
"I'll go to bed with Santi and halfway through the night, Jude comes crawling in and then Grayson can't be left out, so he's in there, too. Good thing Santi has a huge bed," he chuckled. "What are your sleeping arrangements like?"
"Oh, I stay in my own room usually," I told him. "They call me if they want me in their room for the night, but usually it's just sex and then I go back to my own space." Saying it out loud sounded pathetic and I ducked my head, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
"What about your nest?"
"I… don't have one. The nest room was always off-limits. But it's okay, I don't really need one. My room is good enough."
Oren was staring at me in horror.
"Emilia, I knew things weren't great with the new omega and all, but that's not okay. You're supposed to have a nest, you're an omega!"
"I had all that with Leon and Orson. I don't need it with this pack."
Oren didn't look convinced, but he let the subject drop, thankfully.
We headed to the back yard and settled into the chairs back there.
Gertie brought me her ball, so I threw it over and over again for her while we talked about harmless things like favorite movies and foods.
The other men came out to join us and we all talked until I heard the car next door pull in.
"Sounds like my pack is back. I need to go get dinner ready." I stood up and stretched. "Thanks for hanging out with me today."
"Any time," Santi said, shaking my hand and pulling me in for a hug. "You deserve to have fun too, you know."
I gave him a tight smile. "Well, I did."