Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Midnight Wolves Bar is full of people when I get there, the music pumping out into the city street.
Motorcycles are lined up outside just like any other night, their owners standing around chatting and drinking their beers.
A part of me winces at the idea of anyone getting on their bikes after a night out, my nature worried for them.
I squeeze through the crowd looking for my friend. He’s always here, and I know tonight won’t be any different. The atmosphere is one of my favorites; it’s dark, easy to hide away, and the red lights under the bar calm something inside me.
Hm, maybe I should get red lights for my official nest.
I jolt when someone’s hand comes down hard on my shoulder. “I didn’t know you were coming down tonight.”
At Reed’s familiar deep baritone, my lungs empty with relief. “Do I always have to text and let you know I’m going?”
His lip twitches and he puts a hand through his light hair. “When you’re coming to our bar? Yes, you should be a little bit wary.”
I swallow, the feeling rough in my throat. I don’t really think about Reed’s position in the Midnight Wolves too much. To me, he’s just my friend, but to others he’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I’ve seen him laugh so hard that orange juice came out of his nose once. He’s not that scary.
Not to mention, he’s another omega and we’re hard to find nowadays.
“I needed advice,” I put simply.
“Oh?” His brows raise, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say? I love giving your fuckhead advice.”
I push his shoulder, rewarding me with a hearty laugh as we walk to the bar. He steps behind it, helping himself to the selection of liquor there. He makes my favorite, a Negroni with a splash of apple syrup, and then grabs himself a beer before we head into one of the empty booths.
Good, I need to be somewhere a bit more private if I’m going to word-vomit my thoughts at him.
“So, how have you been?” he asks when we get situated. “What’s been going on?”
The last few days play in my mind: the dates with the guys, the laughter, going down on Brodie when he found me in the aisles of the campus library yesterday while Elsie went on her date with Raivat.
My cheeks heat up, the memory causing my cock to twitch in my pants.
“We met our scent matches,” I tell Reed, ripping the bandage off.
He blinks at me. “‘We?’”
Shit, I know he’s going to give me shit for this. “Elsie and I.”
There’s another pause as his mind works over that information. “You both met your scent matches… to different people? Are we having a ‘get drunk and grieve’ situation right now or…” He lets the sentence linger, hoping I’ll fill in the blanks.
“No, no grieving. Our scent matches are the same people. Three alphas that Elsie met on Heat Seekers.”
Reed’s eyes bulge, knowing about the app service all too well. “Fuck. So you guys have the same matches?”
“It looks like it.” DJ, Raivat, and Brodie’s faces come to mind, their dumb charm making my skin prickle. God, they’re so hot.
Reed’s smile grows wide. “That’s incredible! So this is a celebration? Your problem with Elsie is solved then, huh?”
He lifts his beer to cheers me and I wince, my own drink staying firmly on the table.
“Why are you making that face?”
“Well… because—”
“You two haven’t talked about it yet, have you?”
I shake my head, hating how much my best friend can see right through me. Well, my second best friend. The one I don’t want to fuck.
“Shit, man. Why not? It looks like all your prayers were answered.”
I shrug. “I don’t know, there’s something… we haven’t really spoken since all of this happened, and I’m just scared to finally speak about the elephant in the room.”
“It’s a big fucking elephant. One I’m sure she sees too.”
I scoff. “Don’t fuck up my analogy.”
“I’m just saying, this situation is tailor-made for you two.”
“That doesn’t automatically mean she wants to be with me.”
He snorts.
“What?”
“You don’t see the way she looks at you all the time?” Reed asks. “Come on, man. You have better instincts than that.”
Of course I’ve seen it, but Elsie also cares about me. How can I let her affection for me be morphed into something more in my head if I’m not certain it is? A part of me knows she loves me, but is she in love with me? That’s not something I can figure out.
“It’s complicated now,” I argue.
“More complicated than it was before?” he shoots back at me.
“Yes, because now we’re in a pack. What if she doesn’t feel the same way and I make it awkward when I could have just gotten over my feelings long ago? I love her, I don’t need to be with her to be happy. I just want her to be happy.”
Reed stares at me. Long, tense moments go by, and I think my heart might actually beat out of my chest until he finally breaks the silence.
“God, you’re a fucking idiot.”
His insult hits right where it’s intended. Maybe the silence was preferable.
“I’m trying my best—”
“No, you’re running away from your feelings,” he interrupts.
“You and Elsie have the same scent matches now. You’re in each other’s lives forever, just like you wanted, which means you don’t have to confess your love for her.
You can exist like this without fear that she won’t return those feelings for you. ”
My entire body tenses from hearing the words buried deep in my subconscious finally spoken out loud. “You… How did you do that?”
“Because I’m not a fucking idiot?” Reed answers.
I roll my eyes. I know it’s the truth. Ever since I met Elsie, all I’ve ever wanted was for her to know how I feel and to feel the same. I didn’t want to lose her to a group of alphas that didn’t want me, or worse—want our friendship to stop.
Now that’s never going to happen. Her alphas are my alphas, and Elsie is still my best friend. But I want us to be more.
“I need to talk to her.”
“Duh,” Reed says. “How did you even meet the alphas, anyway?”
My lips flatten before I admit, “Elsie asked for me during her heat.”
He deadpans and glares at me. “Go fucking talk to her. Now.”
Despite his irritation, I laugh. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
“Apparently I fucking do. Or ten times, would be more accurate.”
I sneak a kiss to his shoulder and he pushes me away, wiping the kiss off aggressively. “Love you, Reeds. I’ll call you soon to tell you how it went.”
“Don’t. I already know.”
There’s a new jump in my step as I exit the bar. Mean-looking bikers glare at me as I make my exit, but their grumpiness won’t deter me. I’m ready to finally lay this saga to rest.
I need to talk to Elsie, and I can’t wait another moment to do so.