Stuck With Me
KANE
We stepped out of the alley and headed back toward the Bistro.
Scarlett was already standing outside the entrance, notepad in hand, looking like she’d been waiting for us the entire time. The second she spotted us, her eyes scanned me and Rhys from head to toe, searching for blood or evidence of violence.
She shoved the notepad toward us the moment we got close enough.
*Did you hurt him?*
I looked down at the neat handwriting, then at her worried face, and let a slow, mean smile spread across my mouth.
“Hurt him?” I repeated, voice low and almost cheerful. “Nah. I just explained what would happen if he ever opened his mouth about you. You know… the usual. Broken bones. Missing tongue. Maybe a shallow grave if he was really stupid.”
Her eyes went wide.
A tiny, horrified gasp left her lips even though no real sound came out.
I laughed, reached down, and scooped her straight off the ground. One arm under her thighs, the other around her back, I spun her in a full circle while she clung to my shoulders in shock.
“I’m joking, love,” I said against her hair, still grinning. “Mostly.”
I set her back on her feet but didn’t let go completely, keeping one hand on her waist.
Rhys stood a few steps away, watching us with that calm, unreadable expression of his. Saint had already moved closer, hovering at Scarlett’s side like an over eager puppy.
Scarlett punched my chest lightly, cheeks flushed, and mouthed something that looked a lot like *not funny*.
I caught her hand and pressed a quick kiss to her knuckles.
“It was a little funny.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but the worry had already started to fade from her face.
That was enough.
Kaiden glanced at Rhys.
“We good?”
He gave a small nod. “He’s not going to be a problem.”
I looked back down at Scarlett. “Now… still hungry, or do you want to go home?”
She hesitated, then pointed toward the Bistro behind her.
Still hungry, then.
I grinned and steered her back toward the door with a hand on the small of her back.
“Come on, love. Let’s feed you before you pass out on us.”
And if anyone else so much as looked at her the wrong way while we were inside…
Well.
I’d already had practice today.
We ended up back at a corner table.
Scarlett ordered some kind of fancy sandwich and a fruit drink.
Lily got a pastry. The rest of us didn’t bother with much, I just wanted to watch Scarlett eat.
Her throat still wasn’t fully healed, so she took small, careful bites, and every time she winced even a little, my wolf got restless all over again.
“You should’ve let me break his arm,” I muttered under my breath.
Rhys didn’t look up from his coffee. “Unnecessary. The message was received.”
“Still would’ve been satisfying.”
Scarlett kicked me lightly under the table.
By the time we finished eating, the café had gotten busier. A group of young Omega girls a few tables away kept glancing over. One of them whispered something to her friend, and both of them turned pink when they caught me looking.
I raised an eyebrow at them.
One of the girls actually giggled.
Scarlett noticed.
Her whole posture stiffened. She followed my gaze, saw the table of Omegas staring, and her expression went flat. Jealousy rolled off her in a sharp little wave that made my wolf practically purr.
I liked that.
A lot.
So, of course, I made it worse.
I stretched my arms over my head, making sure the movement pulled my shirt tight across my chest, then casually draped one arm around the back of Scarlett’s chair again but this time I let my fingers brush her shoulder in a slow, obvious way.
One of the Omegas across the room almost dropped her phone.
Scarlett’s eye twitched.
I leaned down until my lips were near her ear.
“Something wrong, love?”
She turned her head and gave me a look that could’ve killed a weaker man. Then she wrote something in big, angry letters and shoved the notepad at my chest.
*STOP ENCOURAGING THEM.*
I laughed under my breath.
“I’m not encouraging anyone.” I glanced back at the table of Omegas and gave them a lazy half-smile. One of them actually covered her face. “They’re just looking. Can you blame them?”
Scarlett kicked me again, harder this time.
I caught Scarlett’s chin gently between my fingers and turned her face toward me.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” I murmured.
Her eyes flashed. She mouthed something that looked a lot like *You're so annoying*.
I just grinned wider.
By the time we finally stood up to leave, Scarlett was still shooting little glares at me every few seconds. I kept my hand on the small of her back the entire walk out of the café, just to make sure every Omega in the building saw it.
Outside, the afternoon sun was warm.
Scarlett walked a little ahead of me, arms crossed, still annoyed.
I caught up easily and slung an arm around her shoulders.
“You’re stuck with me, love,” I said cheerfully. “Might as well get used to it.”
She looked up at me, eyes narrowed… but the corner of her mouth twitched like she was fighting a smile.
Yeah.
She was mine.
Whether she liked it or not.
By the time we pulled up to the house, the sun was already starting to dip.
Lily muttered something about changing and disappeared upstairs the second we walked through the door. That left the five of us in the entryway.
Scarlett’s scent hit me harder the moment we were inside.
Maybe it was the closed space. Maybe it was the leftover adrenaline from earlier.
Or maybe it was just the fact that I’d been smelling her blood and her jealousy all afternoon and my wolf was still wound too tight.
Whatever the reason, the second the door shut behind us, her scent wrapped around me like a fist.
Sweet.
Warm.
Ours.
My cock twitched.
I stepped closer without thinking, crowding her against the wall just enough to make her look up at me. Saint was already hovering nearby, eyes half-lidded, like he was fighting the same urge.
Scarlett pulled out her notepad and wrote something quickly.
*I’m tired. Going to sleep.*
My wolf snarled.
Sleep?
My wolf snarled.
Absolutely not.
I placed a hand around her waist. “Stay down here with us, love. You can sleep later.”
Her scent hit me harder up close. A little irritated. It made my mouth water and my cock twitch in a way that was getting dangerous. I wanted to bury my face in her neck and breathe her in until the rest of the world disappeared.
Before I could pull her in, Rhys’s voice slid through the bond, calm and firm.
*Let her go. We have things to handle.*
I clenched my jaw.
*Now?*
*Yes.*
I exhaled hard through my nose, then forced myself to step back. Scarlett blinked up at me, clearly surprised I wasn’t pushing. I reached out and brushed my thumb over the edge of her jaw, voice rough.
“Go rest, love. We’ll be here.”
She studied my face for a second, then nodded and slipped past me toward the stairs. Saint watched her go like a kicked puppy. The second her footsteps faded upstairs, I turned on Rhys with a glare.
“What the fuck is so important?”
Rhys’s golden eyes were serious.
“Rut season,” he said quietly. “It’s starting.”
The words hit like a punch.
My entire body went still.
Rut.
Fucking rut season.
Of course it was.
No wonder my wolf had been clawing beneath my skin all day. That explained why Scarlett's scent had been hitting me harder than usual, why every little thing she did made me want to pin her down and mark her until she couldn't walk straight.I dragged a hand down my face.
“Shit.”