Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
APOLLO
T here is an Omega in my bed.
This wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card.
She’s curled up with my pillow in her arms, her body looking tiny in my bed. Somehow she managed to wiggle her way to the middle and has been asleep for two hours.
Two hours being long enough for the rest of my pack to get home and for me to find out that Vaughn is in a rut. A rut with an Omega who smells like heaven in our house.
What could go wrong?
I spray more scent deodorizer around the room before closing the door behind me. Grabbing the towel I have outside and pressing it at the bottom of the door like I’m in high school again. Shaking the deodorizer to make sure I have enough before giving the towel a liberal spray of it.
“Why is there an Omega in your room?”
My body lurches in a jump as I turn to look at McKinley. His glasses are on like I interrupted him studying. The only thing he seems to be studying right now is me as he tries to make sense of what is going on.
When my mother told me she had sent someone to stay with us there had been a thought about what I was going to tell my pack. Mostly the plan was to just FaceTime my mom and let her explain the situation so that they couldn’t argue. Now that Vaughn was in a rut the plan changed a bit. Especially since Clover was an Omega.
“My mother sent her.” His eyebrows raised, “Something happened where a pack tried to force a bond on her. I don’t know the whole story. We can call her when Vaughn’s rut is over. Hopefully this is only a day or two and we can move on. Does he have everything he needs?”
“He’s cuddling Griffin. So probably not.” I wince slightly, rubbing my hand over my face. “Why don’t you try to make a smoothie or something so we can try to get something in him and then we can do a full pile in his room? He might like having everyone close and it keeps him away from the Omega.”
“Clover. Her name is Clover.” McKinley makes a sound and smiles at me as he steps closer, breathing me in.
The Omegas scent is mixed with my own from picking her up and putting her in my bed. I’m going to need to take a quick shower and change before going into Vaughn’s room. That’s all I need. Him to scent the Omega and try to get to her.
“She smells good to me.” He runs his nose down my neck and breathes in her scent on my chest, “The two of you together. That warm tea and lemon scent. If she smells this good to me how does she smell to you?”
He’s not doing this to torture me. But talking about the Omegas scent and being reminded of her sweet Shirley Temple flavoring makes me have to take a deep breath.
My hand slides into the back of his head, tilting him so that he’s staring at me.
“Perfect. She smells fucking perfect.”
McKinley is smiling now. The mischievous Beta is planning something. He’s been the one telling us we should add an Omega to the pack sooner than later. He wants to have a Omega to share with us. We’ve been the ones telling him that we need to wait.
I know his mind is thinking about how Clover fell into our laps and how this seems like the perfect situation but I need to shut him down. I can’t have him disappointed by this.
“Something happened to her, Mick. I don’t know what it is yet. And she’s young. So fucking young.” He slides his hand along my chest, his lips kissing at my jaw before giving me a little nip.
Naughty Beta.
My eyes flash as he smiles at me, knowing exactly what he is doing right now.
“Let's deal with Vaughn and then we will deal with our Omega.” He turns to walk away from me before I can even tell him that she is not our Omega.
She’s not ours.
But fuck does she smell good.
After a quick shower where I scrub my skin raw and change into clothes that were in my hamper to try and dampen any Omega scent, I head to Vaughn’s room with a tray of food.
As soon as the door opens, I nearly choke on the pheromones in the room. Griffin is holding Vaughn against him. Both of them are just in their boxers as he rubs his back. Vaughn is sweaty and making soft sounds of discomfort as Mick rubs a cool cloth along his face, whispering to him so low that I can’t hear them.
Poor Vaughn.
With everything that has been going on his ruts have been out of sorts. His emotions are so haywire that his body just takes over and sends him into these spirals. Coach reached out to me after the second time they had to give him blockers, warning that he might need to see someone outside of the team to talk to. Vaughn refuses. He thinks he can carry everything on his shoulders.
“Look who is here with those mango smoothies you like, buddy.” Griffin runs his fingers through Vaughn’s hair as the other Alpha peeks up at me, offering me the weakest smile.
“Thanks, Apollo. I don’t know if I can eat anything.” Griffin makes a sound, rolling them so that Vaughn is between his legs. His hands make a gimmie motion as I come closer, holding out the tray for him.
“If he made you the mango smoothie you need to at least try it.” He takes one from the tray, holding a straw up to Vaughn’s mouth.
Vaughn can easily deny Griffin and overpower him if he really wanted but they’re best friends. He wants to fight it but he still takes a sip that is offered to him.
“Good boy.”
“Fuck off Griffy.” Vaughn mutters but still lets his best friend cuddle him, “I need to nap. If I can just sleep through this maybe I will…..” He trails off as his eyes close and his nose is starting to twitch like he smells something, “What smells like…Shirley Temples?”
“That would be me. I’m Clover.”
All eyes are behind me as the Omega, all sleep rumbled, comes into view. Her eyes widen as she takes in the sight of the two, nearly naked, Alphas and Beta.
Her hair has come out of the braids and is tumbling down, over her shoulders in cute little springs. Her pants have been kicked off and she’s just in the hoodie that I had given her in the car.
Oh fuck me .
There are still pillow lines on her face and for some reason I want to kiss them.
A sound of distress leaves Vaughn’s mouth and from the way his hand falls down, cupping himself through the grey boxer briefs, the Omega is having an effect on him.
Clover makes a sound in the back of her throat and Griffin sneers at her.
“ Get out .” His snarl makes her whine out a sound of distress, as she backs away from the room. Her eyes fill with tears as she tries to speak but can’t seem to get the words to come out.
I’m setting the tray down, trying to figure out how to calm down the Omega but Vaughn is on his feet in front of her before any of us can stop him.
“Omega.”
Her eyes are wide as she looks at him, not even faking a smile now. She just stares up at him in shock. This is going about as bad as one can expect it to be.
He sniffs the air. He must scent the burning lemon of her distress, and drops to his knees so that he isn’t towering over her. At least his instincts are trying to get him to calm Clover down. All of us are still as she looks from him to around the room then back to Vaughn.
She leans in close to him, sniffing like she is trying to see what his scent is. As if the room wasn’t pumped full of his scent.
“You smell like Coca-Cola.” Her smile is now so warm that even in his rut haze Vaughn smiles at her as she steps closer, “Are you in heat?” She whispers to him like it’s some big secret.
Does she not know about ruts? My brain is melting right now at the idea of how sheltered this Omega is and the need to call my mother and ask questions is riding me hard.
Vaughn swallows hard but nods his head. Clover looks serious now as she pulls my sweatshirt sleeves over her hands, seeming nervous to talk about this. The way her cheeks are flushed with color makes it clear she’s a bit uncomfortable.
“When I’m in heat I get cramped and feel really hot. Do you want to take a bath? I can make it a good temperature for you. Do you like your nest? When I nest I like really squishy things and soft blankets. I’m in a class, or I was about to learn how to nest…I could teach you what they taught me?” She’s so fucking sweet my teeth hurt.
Unfortunately, not everyone reacts like that.
“He’s in a rut. Unless you want to get on your hands and knees and present for an Alpha your introductory lessons aren’t going to cut it, baby weed.” The way Griffin snarls at her isn’t fair.
Clover instantly backs away, making Vaughn turn.
Griffin is his best friend. The two of them have always been a pair. They probably knew as soon as they presented that they would be pack together. I’ve never seen them not get along about things.
Maybe it’s the rut but Vaughn reaches out, his fingers gentle on Clover’s waist.
“Bath, please.” He rasps out.
McKinley comes around, smiling at her as he holds out his hand to the Omega.
“I’m McKinley. I’ll show you where the bathroom is.” He’s so gentle as he guides her away, making sure he sends a scowl towards where Griffin is still on the bed.
When they make it into the bathroom, Vaughn stands, snarling down at Griffin. The usual boyish good looks of the Alpha are gone as he stares at his best friend in shock. He isn’t used to seeing him upset and to have it directed at him is out of the norm.
“Get out.” Griffin blinks as Vaughn comes closer, his hand going around his neck and lifting him off the bed. “Out.” He tosses him towards the door.
He’s in a full rut now and Griffin must know that but it doesn’t change the way that his face still falls in shock. There is a look of such rejection on his face, but he covers it quickly. Eyes turning towards me like he wants to make sure I’ll look over him.
Whatever he sees makes Griffin leave. His body tense as he leaves Vaughn with us.
“Omega?”
The bathroom door opens and McKinley smiles but it drops as Vaughn shoves his boxers off, his cock bobbing free. The Beta’s eyes meet mine and we both are in a little shock.
“Clover, honey. Why don’t we let the Alpha take his bath alone? He’s in rut and it’s time he has a little privacy. Apollo will stay here with him to make sure he’s okay.” He’s so good with her and when I see her head pop out of the bathroom my heart gets stuck in my throat.
She sees Vaughn and realizes he’s naked. It makes her cheeks flush a pretty pink. Her hands fly up to touch her heated cheeks. She stares a second longer before she looks at me.
What sort of life has this Omega had that she’s never seen something like this?
“Tell her you’re okay, Vaughn.” I ask him and am relieved as he walks over bending down, rubbing his neck over her head.
He fucking scent marked her.
“Thank you, cherry girl.” She preens at the attention before Vaughn makes it to the bathroom, having the sense to shut the door behind him.
Well, this is going to be an interesting three months.