Chapter 55 #2
She glances at the haphazard stack of cushions, threaded with the comforter we all made love on… Along with three of Atlas’s shirts… and her nightgown.
The bright, hopeful surprise on her face looks almost like awe. Instead of waiting for her to comment, I shrug. “You only had that slip on you, otherwise I would have added more of your scent. Speaking of which, where are your panties? I really wanted those.”
Violet’s perfume winds into the air. My Omega practically groans. The way she layers with Atlas and me just—
I clear my throat over a whine. Violet shakes off her aroused shiver, throwing me a tremulous smile. “Finn stole them.”
The mention of my best friend—and one of her other alpha—reminds me how much we have to tell her. I flip her another smirk, rasping, “Figures.”
She rewards my sarcasm with a brief, brilliant grin. Far too soon, the expression dims, and she bites her lip. “Do you think they’ll be mad?” she asks, her green eyes wounded.
Fuck.
I am such a simp.
“If they are,” I huff, “I’ll kick their asses.”
Behind me, Atlas grunts, clearly awake and doubtful about my claim. Violet agrees. She tweaks an eyebrow, casting me one of the sassy looks she rarely shares with the others. “You’ll kick their asses?”
She has a point. I hide a smirk behind a pout. “Fine. I’ll hire someone to kick their asses.”
Atlas harrumphs, sliding an arm around my waist and placing his hand on the curve of Violet’s hip. He gives her a reassuring squeeze and nips my shoulder. “There will be no ass-kicking,” he scolds dryly.
Violet’s pretty eyes glow with mirth as she meets mine. Her teeth sink into her lower lip to hide a laugh. Much better.
“Yes, Daddy,” I drone, winking at her.
Atlas chuckles, propping himself on an elbow and sliding his palm up Violet’s side. He molds it to her cheek, reading her big green eyes. “Good morning, baby girl. How do you feel?”
She stumbles over her answer, clearly unsure how to reply. On the one hand, I’m sure this is a huge relief for her… but her other alphas aren’t here.
“I’m… good,” she finally manages. “Th-thank you for sharing Gideon.”
Atlas strokes his thumb along her jaw. “Thank you for sharing Gideon,” he returns. “And me. You’re a very good girl, Violet. We’re very lucky.”
His praise softens the stress on her face. Atlas reads her expression and sends a steely beat of alpha power over both of us.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmurs, holding her gaze for approval. “Okay, baby girl?”
Her answering smile is so shy and sweet. “Yes, alpha.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I correct, smiling. “Don’t worry, you’ll catch on soon enough.”
Atlas chuffs another laugh, smacks my ass hard enough to sting, then shuffles away. We watch him slip out of the small, round room. Violet swallows a quiet whimper.
I pull her closer, guiding her face to my purring chest. “If you want to be alone with Atlas, I can leave and tell him to come back,” I offer. Guilt prickles my stomach. “You deserve time with him, too. I’m sorry I haven’t let you have that. I was so fucking scared—”
Violet snags my focus with hers. Dazzling me into revealing my deepest, darkest truth. “Well,” I croak. “I guess I’m still scared. Only now, instead of losing Atlas, I’m scared I’ll lose both of you.”
Her brows pinch as her mouth wobbles. “Gideon… that’s exactly how I feel.”
It’s my turn to tackle her, apparently, because I wind up plastering her to the round nest mattress, kissing her until neither of us can breathe.
When I pull away, Violet blinks up at me, absorbing the intensity written across my features. Pain breaks over hers.
“When I got here, and you saw how much I wanted Atlas… I never said I didn’t want you, too, Gideon,” she whispers.
My heart contracts and then bursts, filling my heaving chest with a heavy pulse. My scent sweetens while she brightens, reflecting the gold light bathing us. When I finally find my words, it feels like I’m tearing them from the last shadowy corner of my soul. “But how? Why? I’m not an alpha, Vi.”
And—fuck—I wanted to be one. For so goddamn long. My whole fucking life.
Until right now.
Because Violet shakes her head fervently, jostling a few stray tears from her eyes.
“No. You’re not an alpha,” she murmurs, somehow soft and fierce at once.
“I’ve been afraid of most alphas for as long as I can remember.
And this, today? Waking up in your nest and finding you there is like…
heaven. Safety. I think my Omega has known I needed you just as much as the others all along. ”
Memories of her first few days here make me wince. “I didn’t understand why you didn’t hate me,” I recall. “I assumed you’d think of me as the asshole who basically took your mate.”
She nearly smiles, her lips trembling upward. Her scent soars, underlining her sincerity. “You love my mate. I could never blame you for that. I could never—I would never be angry about that. Especially if I can’t be with him.”
God, she really believes that. She thinks we’ll kick her out after her heat, even after last night.
It’s insanity. Blasphemy.
Impossible.
And all my fault.
“What if,” I say slowly, weighing each word, “you could be with him?”
Violet doesn’t understand, at first. Confusion creases her pretty face. But then, the alphas’ scents hit us, whirling into the nest a second before all three of them appear on the threshold. Together.
Three sets of intense eyes snap between me and Violet. I watch comprehension strike her. A whine whizzes up her throat before she can stop it. She jumps, slapping her palm over her mouth. My heart swells again, turning my next taunt into a laugh.
“Well, what are you knot-heads waiting for?” I chuff. “Get in here.”