3. Julian
Chapter 3
Julian
P acking up after one of Logan’s catering events was usually something I enjoyed, but tonight it dragged. Ordinarily, it reminded me of being at work with the fire crew, all of us pitching together for a common goal. Logan’s staff was chill, and Luca and I knew how to break down a kitchen, so it should have been a breeze.
Tonight, though, I sighed with relief as we got into the van. Logan arched an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. When I’d said goodbye to Sunshine, it had been on the tip of my tongue to ask her back to our house again.
Despite her glossy pink lipstick, and flawless makeup, she’d looked tired, and I knew she needed to rest.
My pack had moved to California from Honolulu almost four years ago, when we found out my mom had breast cancer.
Sunshine had been there through the entire horrible process. I wouldn’t have gotten through Mom’s chemo if Sunshine hadn’t been around to help me, distract me, and empathize.
Logan and Luca were my alphas, but Sunshine lost her parents as a teenager. She understood my grief in a way they didn’t. I’d been waiting to ask her out, but just when Mom went into remission two years ago, Sunshine had started dating Rob and Isaac.
After almost a year of Sunshine being single, I’d been thinking it was time for more. I didn’t want to wait much longer to make a move on the beta that haunted my dreams.
But Logan had said he didn’t think she was ready for more yet, and, after seeing Sunshine’s face tonight, I had to agree with him. It was one thing to be her friend, and another thing to date her. I had to make sure I wasn’t going to break her heart, no matter how badly I wanted her, or how much I craved her touch.
I was picky as hell. I’d known Logan was mine the first time I breathed in his scent. He was quiet and gruff, but that didn’t bother me. I’d perfumed early in high school and I’d had alphas throwing themselves at me for years.
It was nice to have space to just be myself around Logan. He cooked for me, made sure I got enough sleep, and helped me get ready for my Basic Firefighter Training school. It had been ten weeks of hell. Logan got me through it. Then, when we met Luca, my other alpha balanced me and Logan out with his quick wit and charm, in a way that was effortless.
Every other alpha, omega, or beta that made a pass at one of us seemed like a risk. What if they didn’t fit in right? What if they judged Luca for all his weird quirks? What if they made Logan feel bad because he struggled to talk about his feelings?
And, underneath all of that, I was secretly worried I would be jealous.
Luca and Logan were obsessed with me and had no problems showing that. They loved each other, too, and when they spent time together their solid bond of trust and respect was like those packs who’d been together for fifty years.
No one ever seemed worth the risk of ruining our pack dynamic.
Until Sunshine. She helped me take Mom to chemo, she researched ways to combat nausea, never made me feel weird for having an unusual career, and was the only thing missing in my life.
“What’s wrong?” Luca murmured as he pulled me against him. We were sitting in the back seat while Logan drove. Even though he grumbled about being a chauffeur, he knew I preferred being cuddled.
Too many replies hit my brain at once, and they were all to do with Sunshine. I wanted her to come home with us, permanently. I wanted to steal some of her clothes so I could finally line my nest with her scent. I sighed, then settled for the most recent.
“Sunshine ran into that hose beast, Becca.”
Logan’s face was blank as he turned off to head out of the city. With the window down, the air smelled of the ocean. While I missed Hawaii, California’s coast came a close second-best.
I told Logan what had happened at the gala. By the end, Logan was growling, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“I should have kissed her right in front of that entire pack,” I grumbled. “That would have wiped the smirk off Becca’s face.”
Sunshine’s crumpled expression still haunted me. I would do anything to fix it.
Luca nuzzled his face into my neck, then rubbed his chin on my shoulder. “You know she wouldn’t have appreciated that. Besides, your first kiss shouldn’t be about one-upping someone else.”
Luca was right. I chafed at my inability to comfort the beautiful beta. Even if she had been nothing to me, I would have been upset. My desire for her only made it worse.
“You’re right,” I said, my voice hoarse with emotion.
“She needs more time,” Logan said. “They broke her heart. Let her show us she’s ready for more before we make a move. We don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”
Luca kissed my cheek. “You’ll know when the time is right.”
I grumbled some more, grumpy that my alphas were so reasonable. I wasn’t a patient person. Flirting with Sunshine as much as I could, without coming across as creepy, was taking all my willpower, but the thought of putting her through a fraction of the pain her last pack had caused her stopped me from going any further.
I would just have to spend more time with her, and keep showing her that we were safe. That we wouldn’t break her heart like Pack Beneventi.
I could be patient. Hopefully. Maybe.