Chapter Eleven – Dulcie
Monroe must take me to bed sometime after we’re finished, because the next morning I wake up in my bed, alone and totally naked.
Once I fully come to, I wait for that used feeling I always thought would accompany giving myself to an alpha, but the feeling of regret and guilt never arrives.
The longer I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the more I feel…
Totally fine, if I’m honest. Like, I could march right over to Monroe’s room and do it again.
That’s such a strange thing, isn’t it? Out of every omega at N.O.A., I was the one who seemed to love being invisible the most. These guys see me, they want me, and I absolutely love it.
I don’t know what time it is when I finally get up and throw some clothes on.
I don’t even go to shower. All I do is brush my teeth and my hair and I’m good.
I don’t want to hide what happened last night—although hiding anything in a shared apartment would be impossible.
Even if Monroe and I scrub our bodies up and down, over and over again, that couch will still smell like us.
When I emerge from the hall, I find Lev, Monroe, and Redd in the kitchen, discussing something while Redd tries his best to cook bacon and eggs. They spot me, and suddenly all conversation stops. Each pair of eyes is on me, and somehow I know exactly what they were talking about.
Me and Monroe and what happened between us last night. Redd and Lev, as they are men, probably were asking all about the details, and Monroe was telling them.
I don’t mind, of course. There are no secrets in a healthy pack, or so us omegas are taught.
I go for some water in the fridge and say, “Morning.” I’m met with a chorus of good mornings, along with sweet pecks on the cheek from each of them.
“So,” Redd starts as he abandons the sizzling bacon on the pan, which means Monroe has to take over the stove, “how was your night? How long did you stay up? Do anything… fun?” His gaze twinkles, while Lev moves to stand beside him, peering around the alpha as they both wait for my reply.
“It was good,” I say, pausing to take a sip from the water bottle. “And I have the feeling you two already know the answers to the other questions.” I shoot a quick glance at Monroe, who, at his location near the stove, is staring at me, also waiting.
Are they trying to see if I regret it? I don’t know what else they’d be worried about. If that’s the case, their concern for me is kind of sweet, and it’s definitely not something I’m used to.
Lev asks, “How are you feeling now?”
Not every pack would be worried about their omega after such a night. In fact, a lot would probably just assume the omega had a great time and never speak of it. It means a lot they’re so concerned about me.
“I’m good,” I say, meaning it. “I don’t…” The moment I say those two words, they must think the worst, because their expressions fall, which causes me to hurriedly say, “I don’t regret it at all. It was really nice.”
Lev’s shoulders fall in what must be relief, while Monroe smiles to himself at the stove. Redd, on the other hand, keeps his gaze firmly fixated on me, and I bet I know what he’s thinking: he’s wishing he would have come out to check on me last night. He’s busy wishing he was the first to have me.
I’ve never teased an alpha before in my life, but I can’t stop myself from saying, “Jealous, Redd?” Teasing an alpha seems like an easy way to test fate. I can imagine some alphas wouldn’t like it.
But Redd takes it with a grin, flashing me a set of pearly white teeth. “Of course I am. I’m sure Lev is, too. You can’t blame a guy for wanting to be with you, especially when said guy is her scent match.”
My cheeks flush. “Well, considering said guy is her scent match, like you said, I imagine he probably won’t have to wait too long.” It’s not outright saying it’s going to happen soon, but… well, at the rate we’re going here, it’s definitely going to be sooner rather than later.
The moment those words leave my lips, the alpha perks up and grins even harder. Considering how easily he got me naked when I moved in, there’s no doubt in my mind that, again, he won’t have to wait too long.
And I can’t lie, I’m curious as to how he’ll hold up compared to Monroe. Not that I should compare them in that way, but what’s the fun in having multiple mates if you can’t do that every now and then?
Breakfast is done shortly. Monroe gives up on dippy eggs, making a big heaping of scrambled eggs for everyone, along with the bacon. We sit at the table together as we eat. The guys wolf down their food like they’re animals, while I take my time. I’m in no rush.
It’s Sunday, which means the guys will have work tomorrow. I don’t know what I’m going to do in this place all by myself—I’ve never been anywhere by myself before, not really. At N.O.A., even when you were alone, you knew there were other omegas just a few doors down.
This? This would be completely different from that. Good thing I have lots of TV shows to catch up on.
“So,” Redd is the one who breaks the silence of the table, “there is something we should probably mention to you.” He glances at Lev, who nods, something unspoken passing between them. Monroe, on the other hand, stays silent.
I glance between the alpha and the beta.
“What is it?” My heart might skip a beat, mostly because anytime someone says that, it’s usually not a good thing, whatever it is they want to mention.
I know I need to get myself out of my old way of thinking, and I’m working on it, day by day, but sometimes it’s easy to slip back into old habits and expect the worst.
He must sense I’m worried, for he hurriedly says, “It’s nothing bad, I swear.
It’s just… well, um—” He reaches for his neck and rubs it, while Lev simply gives me a semi-awkward smile.
“—we didn’t mention it before, because we didn’t think it was that important, but seeing as how we’re in a pack together, you should know… ”
The alpha rambles, like he does when he’s nervous. I honestly don’t know what to say at this point, so I don’t say anything. I simply wait for him to say it, whatever it is.
Redd finally gets to the point when he says, “Lev and I, we… sometimes we… pass the time with each other.”
When he says it, I give him a weird look. “I don’t get it.”
“Well, it’s just—”
Lev takes the reins of the conversation, saying, “We didn’t know when, or if, we’d ever find a mate for our pack, so when nights got long and we got a little…
let’s just say physically frustrated, we helped each other out.
” He glances at Redd, then back at me. “It’s probably something we should’ve told you before, so you could make an informed decision joining the pack, but, well, with everything, it sort of fell to the wayside. ”
Oh.
Oh.
Out of everything they could have said, that’s the last thing I expect, mostly because I haven’t picked up on any vibes between them. Whatever it is they do, maybe it’s just physical and not so much an emotional thing?
I look at Monroe. “You, too?”
The über shakes his head. “No. Not me. The only dick I want to touch is mine, and the only hands I want on mine are yours—or mine, if your hands are busy. I never participated in their… releases.”
Redd almost looks like he wants to be sick. “Is that too weird for you?”
“Honestly…” I pause, trying to think of how to respond as the new information settles in my brain. The guys must get the wrong idea again, and their crestfallen expressions are the reason why I spit it out in the simplest way possible: “No.”
“Good,” Lev says with a sigh, while Redd only stares at me, probably waiting for me to explain myself. Or maybe the alpha doesn’t quite believe me.
Pack dynamics are different between packs. No two packs are the same. I can’t judge them for what they did, what they do, or what they will do. If they want to get busy while I’m with Monroe, I won’t be upset. If anything, it might be hot to watch.
Even if emotions are involved and it’s not just physical, I think I’d be okay with that, too. If you can’t be yourself with the members of your pack, then who can you be yourself around? Pack is family. Pack is life.
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” I say, and I say it firmly, directing it toward Redd, who still looks as though he doesn’t believe me.
“I promise. My best friend actually just joined a pack with another male omega, so I imagine she sees a lot. I’ve never thought about it before to tell you the truth, but…
” I shrug. “I don’t know, maybe I’m intrigued. ”
Yeah intrigued is the right word. Curious. Like I want to see it for myself, see what these two get up to when they’re alone and sexually frustrated.
“Intrigued,” Lev echoes me. “We can work with that.” He busts out a wide grin before getting back to his breakfast.
That wasn’t a conversation I thought we’d have over breakfast, but at the same time, now that it was, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even as the day wears on and we hang out with each other, lounging around the apartment, I can’t get it out of my head.
I never thought about any of them like that. I never really thought of any alpha or beta in a sexual manner before these guys, so it’s an entirely new concept to me, but like I said before, I’m intrigued. I’m not turned off. I don’t think it’s gross or disgusting.
It’s so new to me, it’s about all I can think of throughout the day.
Later that afternoon, Lev is sitting with me on the couch, subjected to whatever silly reality show I want to watch, while the two alphas went to workout at the local gym. He has his arm around me, and I lean against him comfortably, our breathing in sync.