Chapter Fifteen
Millie
My head was pounding when I woke up, and I wanted to roll back over and fall asleep. I knew it would be pointless, so instead, I washed up quickly and went to find the others.
I found them outside…fighting.
I’d seen alphas fight before, far more times than I cared to remember. When they did, I was smart enough to back away and flee because fighting always turned into blood. Either the one in power would bleed the inferior, or there would be a physical, claws-out challenge. It was the way it was.
But, standing there, watching them, all I wanted to do was go closer.
Not that I wanted to get in the middle of it, more that I wanted to help.
The fight was about me. Or rather, less about me than it was about what Tyrone and I had shared.
I hated that, but it wasn’t as if either of us had done it intentionally, and both of us were shocked to discover that was what had happened.
And the others seemed to understand that now.
They were never going to hurt each other.
That was the part of this that was so different to me.
They were communicating. And yes, it was loud, and yes, their anger was close to the surface, but I didn’t scent their bears at all.
Their eyes looked human even before it deescalated.
They were working it out. They respected each other.
They were what a sleuth should be and not what my birth sleuth actually was.
I was now back in my room, getting dressed, trying to think of what I should make for breakfast. We had eggs, that was an easy one, but I hadn’t paid enough attention to the kitchen to know if we had bread for French toast or if maybe I had to make pancakes to go with them.
For that matter, I didn’t know if they had the ingredients for any of that.
I put making an inventory of the kitchen to see on my to-do list for the day. If the alphas weren’t going to give me a list, I was going to make one for myself.
I hated that I was going to ask them to spend money, but being fed was important, and if they were missing key items, then so be it.
If only I’d come with my suitcase. I had money in there I’d stashed away while in college.
Not a lot. I’d never had “spending” money the way most college kids did, but what I earned as a teaching assistant or other jobs on campus, I squirreled away.
Gods, my father was going to be pissed if he looked in that suitcase.
When I came out, the table was already set and filled with food.
“How did you get all this done? I was just getting changed.” And how didn’t I scent it?
That’s when it hit me. They protected me in more ways than one.
If the food scents didn’t come in, it would mean my omega scent wouldn’t get out.
They had made sure my room was safe for me, even in times of heat.
I wanted to thank them for it, but at the same time didn’t want to discuss something as personal as my heat, and ultimately dropped it.
Cannon shrugged in response to my question about the food. He was not very helpful.
“Are you gonna let me cook at all?”
“Yeah, when it’s your turn.” Tyrone looked at me like I should understand by now. Yes, they had told me, but it still hadn’t sunk in. It was unheard of for an omega to not do the lion’s share of the domestic work.
Breakfast included muffins that they’d warmed up in the oven, granola, yogurt, all different kinds of fruit, scrambled eggs, a baguette, and sausage. They weren’t holding back, and my stomach growled in appreciation. Or because bodies do weird things. I was going with appreciation.
“Do y’all eat like this every meal?” I wasn’t opposed to it. It was more curiosity than anything else.
“We weren’t sure what you liked,” Felix said, handing me the orange juice jug. “We should talk about that this morning.”
“I can eat anything.” I’d always had to.
“Can eat and want to eat are two different things.” Cannon picked up his mug of coffee and took a long sip.
“I want to help,” I said.
He set his mug back down. “I know, but we read your bio and looked into your past.”
I closed my eyes, embarrassed. I wasn’t planning on hiding it from them, but for that to be one of the first things they knew about me was rough. Would it change their view of me? Probably, and I didn’t want that.
And at the same time, it was kind of sweet. It meant, they cared enough about me to bother.
“We paid the auction price to free you, not to trap you into a life of servitude.” Cannon was careful not to say “bought me” and I appreciated that, even though it was technically true.
“I know.” And I did know. Not once did I feel like a prisoner or property. “I didn’t think…it’s just…you know…” Where were my words?
“Take a deep breath.” Felix reached across the table like he was going to put his hand on mine but yanked it back again, just like he had the past few times I thought he might touch me.
I needed to make him feel more comfortable, to let him know those kinds of touches were fine. We were bear shifters. Our beasts needed it.
I did as he said and took that big breath, trying to form my words because they’d never been anything but honest with me. I owed them the same.