Chapter 5
Silver
I already know who’s wrapped around me like a four-limbed octopus, the strong and mouth-watering scent of frosted plum surrounding me as effectively as Aero currently is. I can feel every inch of him pressed along my back, the toned muscle in his chest and abdomen, the strength of his thighs as he keeps me pinned beneath him, and his steady pump of his heart as it beats against my back.
Groaning softly into the pillows, I blink my tired eyes open, grumbling, “What time is it?”
“No idea,” Aero answers sleepily, nuzzling into me like a cat, apparently content with our current sleeping arrangement. Hell, I already know he’s happy with it, because I can feel the evidence pressed against my asscheeks. How the hell did we even get here? Last I remember, we were asking random questions, playing a makeshift game of ‘get to know you’.
“Your dick is wedged betwixt my cheeks, dude,” I mumble, ignoring the way my body is reacting to the feel of his hardened length covered in only boxers and sweatpants. Not much I can do about the way my perfume leaks a little, my bubblegum mixing with his scent to make a sickly-sweet, sugary concoction that makes my mouth water.
“Just ignore it. I’m trying to,” he replies without making a single move to remove himself from on top of me. Not that I actually mind, but I’m pretty sure this is a few steps over the line of friendship, right?
I snort. “Easier said than done when it’s hard as steel and wedging my shorts up my ass.”
Aero laughs, and the sound would make angels weep with joy, his chest vibrating against my back with the delicious sound. I bite my lip, hoping and praying that a whimper doesn't slip past my lips, because he feels so good on top of me and his scent surrounds me, encasing us both in a bubble I want to stay in a little longer.
Sadly, that isn’t an option, because it’s the last day of the weekend and I need to see Alek before he sends out a search party. Again.
So, with a sigh, I wriggle under him and mutter, “As much as I’m enjoying having a cuddle buddy for the first time in my life, I have to meet my cousin and I can’t do that trapped under you.”
Thankfully, he completely ignores my admission about never being cuddled. I didn’t mean to say that, it just slipped out, but it makes me sound pathetic. I mean, all omegas love cuddles and snuggles and all things affectionate. I’d completely ruin the mood if I told him I was born into a sterile, uppity pack who think any form of affection towards their kids is a waste of time. Pretty sure I was only born out of a biological necessity, though it’s never been confirmed. I can’t say my mother or fathers have ever been particularly pleased to be parents, but mom’s heat hit and she declared that she needed a child to continue the Gage legacy, they popped me out and tried to mold me into what they wanted me to be. That clearly didn’t happen, because my grandparents had more of an impact on my life than those that created me, much to their disapproval.
I’ve never been more proud to be a disappointment in all of my life, because my grandparents fucking rock. I’ll die happy knowing I’m more like them than my parents.
“What if I don’t want to move?” the omega grumbles, and my lips twitch, feeling the same sentiments stirring inside me. Clearly, I’m touch-starved or something, because why else would I be more than content to remain a body pillow for the omega above me? I refuse to look any deeper, to be perfectly honest.
“I’d say you were shit out of luck,” I snicker, rolling awkwardly, turning to face him when he finally falls from on top of me and lands beside me instead. “Last time I didn’t go to my cousin’s, he sent his pack out looking for me. I was literally in the library on campus and was running behind because I got distracted writing.”
“You write?” Aero frowns in adorable confusion. Of course, he would be confused. We covered so many likes and dislikes, all surface-level stuff, but never once did we dare broach deeper topics.
Shrugging, I answer easily, “Music. I write music.”
“Yeah? That’s cool. You any good?” he teases, genuinely sounding interested. Other than Alek and Juniper, no one really knows about my obsessiveness when it comes to music.
“I mean, Juniper once said she was glad I didn’t sound like a cat whose tail just got stepped on,” I snicker, rolling my eyes at my dramatic bestie. “Alek has always claimed I have the talent to go somewhere, but he’s family and biased, so we don’t believe him. Or his pack. They count as family, too. I once wore a neon-green sweater that I thought was the absolute shit one day, and they all agreed with me. It was atrocious. I burnt the sweater a week later. They’re loveable liars.”
Aero is grinning at me, sparkling, baby-blue eyes watching me with interest. “You sing?”
“Sure,” I answer, fighting the urge to be embarrassed about it. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the way my parents always put me down for my chosen path and career aspects, but there’s always a strange self-consciousness and sprinkling of shame that comes with confessing that I sing. Probably why I’ve never told anyone but Alek and Juno.
“I want to hear,” he claims earnestly, and I know my face morphs into a funny expression mixed with amusement, approval, and surprise.
“I’m not singing for you right here and now, but if you want to come up to the studio at some point, I’ll show you what I’m working on at the moment. It’s a project for class,” I offer, unsure why I do, but finding myself a little giddy and a lot nervous to bring another person into my little bubble.
“You’re on. Maybe after we go to your cousin’s?” he pushes, and I pause.
“‘We?’” I snicker. “You’re coming with me? Since when did I offer that invite? Was I asleep when that happened, because that doesn’t count.”
Aero laughs again, and I’m pretty sure my pussy cries with the angels that time, the sound so butterfly inducing and heart-trippingly good that I have to cross my legs to try and keep the scent dimmed.
I can’t even tell if it works, because the thickness of Aero’s scent is so strong that it’s all I can smell every time I inhale. I’m convinced it’s only getting stronger, too.
“I made the executive decision to go with you, on the basis that we’re getting to know each other, and I want to spend time with my new friend,” he quips, and I’m so distracted by his delicious scent that all I do is nod. His grin is instant, and I’m almost rendered brainless by the sight as he says, “Cool. I’ll go shower and dress. Meet you in the kitchen when you’re ready?”
Nodding again, slightly dazed, I watch as he flashes a sunny grin before scrambling out of the nest and disappearing from sight. It takes longer than I would care to admit to get my shit together, getting ready and dressed as though I’ve been drugged and am slowly coming down from a high. Because that’s what a smile from Aero feels like. Taking a hit from the strong stuff. Not that I’d know what that felt like, but Aero’s smiles are the closest to drugs I’ve ever been close to taking.
By the time I’m dressed in pastel-pink sweatpants, a cropped white shirt, and a pair of white sneakers, I feel like I’ve come back to my senses. Slinging my small bag over my back, I leave my nest, tugging my hair up into a messy ponytail. I’m just tying the hair tie when I step into the full kitchen, three alphas and an omega all seated in the breakfast nook I tend to favor. The room is filled with scents I’m still getting used to but strangely already addicted to, only citrus and pine missing from the mix, Munro nowhere to be found. Good. Seeing his handsome, perfect face will only put me in a bad mood.
“Morning, Silver,” Pace offers, and I jerk my head in a half-assed nod, still salty about last night.
His eyebrows pinch in a frown that looks comically confused, but I don’t bother offering him an explanation. Why should I? They were more than content to ignore me last night when I tried to make an effort. I’m ignoring them today to return the favor.
“You ready?” I ask Aero instead, finding him stuffing a piece of toast slathered in jelly in his mouth, nodding readily.
The twins are sending him a funny look, one he thoroughly ignores as he says, “Are you eating anything? You haven’t had anything since this morning when I brought you bagels. That was two hours ago.”
Lips twitching, I inform, “I’m sure I’ll survive. Anyway, one of Alek’s pack loves to cook. It’s a weekly thing where he’ll make something for me to try and I give him my honest opinion in return.”
“Oh, yeah? What was last week?” Aero wonders, standing from the breakfast nook and cleaning up after himself quickly.
Leaning on the island counter in the fancy kitchen that was pulled out of a beachside mansion home decor magazine, with its lightwood countertops and off-white cupboards, I answer, “French toast with homemade caramel and whipped cream.”
Aero groans. “That actually sounds like heaven.”
“It came close,” I agree, watching as he carries his plate to the sink and washes it thoroughly. “You don’t have to do that. There’s a dishwasher right here.”
I open a cupboard door, revealing the machine I’m convinced the gods built themselves, the blessed dishwasher hidden to match the aesthetic of the kitchen. Aero’s eyebrows shoot upward, and he whistles like he’s impressed. “That’s neat. What else are you hiding in here?”
Snorting, I stuff my hands in my pockets and offer, “How about I give you a tour when we’re home? We really need to go. Alek will be up my ass with phone calls and texts if we don’t—”
Sure enough, before I even finish my sentence, my cell pings with a text. Slipping my phone free, I read the text and roll my eyes.
ALEX: I’m going to assume you’re dead since you’re not here, saving me from strangling Barnes. Apparently, we’re not allowed to eat until you get here. Do you want me to starve?
Rolling my eyes, I mutter to Aero while typing out a response. “My cousin is on the brink of death. Let’s go before he gets hangry.”
“I have no idea what that means, but let me just grab my shoes and we’ll go,” the chipper omega responds before dashing out of the kitchen. I’m too busy typing a reply to Alek to pay attention to the remaining alphas in the room.
SILVER: How ever will you survive, you drama queen? Heading out in two minutes. I’m bringing a friend. Be nice.
His reply comes quickly.
ALEK: Oh. You’re not dead. So you’re deliberately ruining my life. Love that for me.
Shaking my head with a smile, I tuck my cell back in my pocket, lifting my head, only for my gaze to collide with an intense pair of honey-colored irises. Pace doesn’t look away. In fact, his eyes narrow slightly, as though he’s challenging me in some sort of way.
When I don’t speak, he relents and asks, “Am I allowed to ask where you’re taking my omega?”
Oh. No. I don’t like the fierce wave of fire that burns through my veins as soon as his words register, a nasty jealousy flooding me from head to toe. Where it came from would be anyone’s guess, but it’s there, burning a hole through my chest like acid, and my words come out in a harsher bite than I would have added had the green-eyed monster not caught me in its damned clutches. “How about you ask him yourself? I’m not his damned keeper. If he wants you to know, then he’ll tell you.”
Pace genuinely looks shocked, and it doesn’t escape me the way the twins share a look I can’t decipher. I ignore it all, doing my best to bottle the feelings that now rage inside me. Why does Aero being called Pace’s omega bother me so much? I mean, that’s what he is, right? They’re a pack, it makes sense. And yet, for some reason, my mind is screaming at me that it should be me that he should be calling his.
Which is fucking crazy.
Absolutely insane.
I’ve barely spoken to the guy, their beta hates my guts, and the twins are so beyond indifferent that they haven’t spared me a single word since they got here. Aero seems to be the only one of the five who actually likes me, who wants to be friends and get to know me.
So, why am I all bent out of shape over a single word?
Fucking hell, I need to get out of here.
Thankfully, Aero comes back, his sweats and white t-shirt still in place, only now he’s wearing a backwards hat that tames his inky hair which usually hangs in waves down to his shoulders and a pair of sneakers that look similar to mine. Great, it looks like we’re doing that weird ‘matching couple outfits’ thing. Alek is going to mock me so hard.
“Ready,” he proclaims the moment he’s back, grinning that same grin that rendered me dumbstruck earlier, but I shake myself out of it much quicker with that little monster still clinging to me.
“Let’s go,” I mutter, jerking my head toward the front door.
Before we take a step, Pace’s deep baritone stops us. “Hold up. Where the hell are you going?”
Aero turns with a grimace. “Did I forget to mention? I’m going with Silver to see her cousin and his pack.”
“You’re meeting Silver’s family?” Haze finally speaks, and his voice is like melted butter, warming me up from the inside out. Thankfully, my sudden ratty mood stops my body from releasing any perfume that would give any kind of arousal away, my body on lockdown while I continue to battle the green-eyed monster that won’t unlatch it’s fucking claws from my shoulders.
“I thought we were busy today?” Rage blandly wonders, his voice not quite as smooth as his brother’s, a slight rasp to his words that makes me shiver. I’m pretty sure he notices, too, because those stormy-ocean eyes fall on me and they darken before he drags his gaze back to Aero. “How are you allowed to play hooky?”
I have no idea what other plans they all had that might have included Aero, but I’ll be damned if they steal him from me now. I already told Alek I was bringing a friend, and I find that I actually want Aero’s company. I like talking to him, like his smiles and presence, and scent. Hell, I just like the fucking guy. So, he’s coming with me, come hell or high water.
Rolling my eyes, I reach for Aero’s hand and drag him with me as I begin stepping backward, declaring to the alphas in the room, “Get over it, losers. You’ve had him for years, so now it’s my turn. Learn to share.”
With that, I start dragging him away. It’s a slow endeavor, because Aero suddenly bursts into righteous laughter that makes me both roll my eyes and smile. It’s infectious enough that I accidentally snicker, but I don’t stop trying to pull him away.
We’re not even out of the kitchen before the jackass asks through his chuckles, “I thought you were ignoring them?”
“What the hell?” Pace blurts, and I turn my head to find him scowling at me now.
Haze and Rage are both looking puzzled, though the former looks more bothered than the other, before Haze asks, “Why are we being ignored?”
“Why aren’t you being ignored?” Rage asks Aero, avoiding my gaze completely.
“Because he isn’t an asshole who ignored my attempt to invite you to dinner last night. Enjoy the pizzas I bought you, they’re in the fridge. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a cousin to terrorize, food to taste, and a place to be that isn’t here with you thundering fuck sticks,” I snap back, forgetting again that I’m ignoring them.
With renewed strength, I finally begin to pull Aero away from the alphas who hurt my stupid, little feelings last night, ignoring the humored expression on his face. I already know what he’s going to say before he opens his mouth, and I cut him off before he utters a word. “Don’t. I already know. I’m not good at this ignoring thing.”
“No shit,” he snickers, linking our fingers before he starts walking of his own accord.
It doesn’t distract me from my new rotten mood, but there are new butterflies in my belly that I have to Google how to kill, and I don’t bother retracting my hand from his. The warmth is too nice, the comfort, and the strange familiarity. As though it’s a normal, regular occurrence between us both.
I’m almost distracted again when the front door opens before we reach it, Munro stepping through with a relaxed expression. That is, until those dark eyes land on me. Sure enough, a tightness appears around his eyes and his mouth draws down in a scowl, and my mouth is already moving before he can utter a single word that will either piss me off or upset me. “Fuck off, Munro. Not in the mood for your shit. Go hang out with the other shitheads and bask in your misery there.”
His mouth falls open with surprise, and I can feel Aero laughing silently, his arm shaking against mine as we bypass the beta and step outside.
I don’t stop leading Aero until we reach the garage where my car and bike live, unlinking our hands before I reach my pristine white Tesla. With a raised eyebrow, I ask Aero, “Bike or car?”
“You ride that thing?” he blurts instead of answering.
I nod, eyeing my cherry-black Ducati motorbike with fondness. That bike is one of my treasures, something my two Grandads helped me pick out for my birthday last year. It’s one of my favorite possessions in the world.
Doing my best to shift the weird mood I’ve been plunged into by a simple statement, I tease, “Don’t have to sound so surprised about it, though.”
“Just didn’t expect it, is all,” he defends, eyeing me like I’m a new color he’s never seen before. Like I’m a color he’s enjoying. “It’s cool, though.”
Biting my lip in order to hide the pleased smile that wants to break free, I gesture to my car and then the bike again. “Choice is yours.”
“We’ll go with the car today,” he answers, heading to the passenger side of my Tesla. “We’ll take the bike out another time.”
Snorting, I slide into the driver’s side of the car, buckling in before pulling out of the garage. We’ve only just passed the entrance gate at the end of the short driveway when Aero asks, “So, Alek. What’s he like? He’s the guy with the long, white-blond hair that was at Juno’s party, right?”
“That’s him,” I confirm, relaxing for the first time since entering the kitchen. Not that I was tense before, but I’m really not as good at holding grudges and being petty as I thought I was. It’s exhausting. “He’s basically me in the male form. A taller, buffer, more dramatic form. He’s the best.”
“Sounds like a cool guy,” Aero says, drawing a smile out of me.
“The coolest guy I know,” I agree, tapping the steering wheel with my thumbs as music plays softly from the radio.
Aero grunts, and I peer over at him briefly before focusing back on the road just as he mutters, “Second coolest now.”
“Oh my god,” I laugh, enjoying the way he joins in immediately, filling the car with that addictive sound I want to bottle and keep for rainy days. “How about I let you be the judge?”
“Alright, you’re on,” he agrees, and I’m grinning like a total idiot all the way to Alek’s house.