Chapter 23
Brielle
I take a deep breath, ignoring the bruises peppering my arm. The shower washed off his touch, and I feel like I can breathe. Tucking the towel around me, I crack the door open and peek my head out. All three alphas snap their attention to me, and a flush works up my neck and face.
“Uhm. Can I have clothing from each of you?”
Cooper’s lips twitch, and he stands first, grabbing a pair of sweats from his bags.
Ones he had worn earlier in the day while we’d been driving.
Duke stands, his movements a little stiff as he pulls off his flannel and then the shirt underneath, holding it out for Cooper to take.
Maverick looks between them, scratching his neck before grabbing a pair of socks.
A little squeak escapes my lips when he rubs them against his neck, saturating them with his scent.
My heart picks up as Cooper takes them and walks over to me, holding them out gently.
“This good, Princess?”
The soft tone and care coming from the single word makes me melt a little.
These men have reclaimed that from my abusers, and it still remains untainted.
I nod, snatching the clothes from him and shutting the door without another word.
His low chuckle can be heard through it, and his footsteps as he walks back into the bedroom.
I inhale all their scents, the mixture of them calming my turmoil inside.
Honestly, I had already started to feel a million times better just being in Maverick’s arms. I tug on their clothes, smiling at how they hang off of me.
I can nearly pull Maverick’s socks up to my knees.
Brushing out my wet hair, I go over the events that I need to tell them, and what to spare them from.
They don’t need the full sappy story, because I’m ready to put that part of my life behind me.
When I walk back, they all watch me, standing up with wary eyes, and I crinkle my nose because something doesn’t feel right.
I glance around the room before heading to the bed, ripping the sheets off one and then moving to the other and scrunching them together before turning and picking up the pillows to bring over.
“Brielle?” Mav says, a little confused. “Baby, are you nesting? How close are you to your heat?”
I shake my head, facing them with a frown. “A few more weeks, but this is just to comfort me.”
“Let her do what she needs.” Duke’s rough voice cuts through. I glance up at him, glad someone cleaned the blood off his face.
Giving him a small smile, I continue fixing the pillows and sheets until my omega purrs happily, and then settle in the middle of it, taking a long and steady breath.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
Cooper shakes his head, holding out what I assume is a bag of burgers and fries from the smell. “Want to eat first?”
“No,” I say, knowing my stomach is going to turn when I think about them. “Maybe after.”
Duke sinks to the floor, leaning against the wall, his eyes never straying from me.
I know he’s keeping his distance because his alpha must still be feeling a little feral.
Cooper and Maverick settle on the bed across from me.
There are a few more moments of silence, and I'm not sure where to start.
Maverick must know that because he asks, “Who was that?”
I sigh, curling the cuff of the long socks with my fingers. “Leo. He’s…technically my fiancé. If one doesn't count disappearing without a word as a rejection.”
Duke squeezes his eyes shut, and Cooper is staring at the floor, his eyebrows dipping down.
But it’s Maverick’s unreadable expression that makes my stomach coil in fear.
I can’t lose these men, even if we haven’t talked about us being scent matches.
We’ve all circled around each other without saying the truth: we were destined for one another.
But there’s always been something holding us back.
I give Maverick a sad smile. “He wasn’t my fiancé by choice… My parents, they’re very influential in the city we lived in. They are incredibly wealthy, but as their only child, a lot of responsibilities fall on me.”
His jaw tightens. “Responsibility like marrying for the betterment of the family? I’ve seen this played out on those crappy Lifetime movies.”
My shoulders rise in a shrug. “Yeah, kind of. The Westin pack is…” A hollow laugh bursts from me, then, mocking I say, “The city’s most eligible bachelors.
They pursued me, and that made my parents incredibly proud.
I mean, what more could they ask for? The city’s most prominent pack going after their daughter, it’s like a dream of continued vain success. ”
Feeling his stare on me, I face Duke and steady myself. “I met them a few times during societal functions. I was never really drawn to them, like at all. Their scents didn’t disgust me, but I really was drier than a stale biscuit next to them.”
Cooper blows out a chuckle, shaking his head while rubbing his mouth.
My eyes widen. “What? It’s true, and I also envisioned a pack of men that I’m obsessed with. That just looking at them has a waterfall coming from my panties.”
Duke cracks a grin, while Maverick sits straighter. “Jesus, Brielle.”
Then he clicks his tongue. “No distracting us. You know we’re desperate for you, Princess. Tell us what made you so scared of that man.”
My humor drains in a second, and I glance away from them, rubbing my arms. “My parents came to an understanding with them, basically forcing my hand. I thought I was going on an early morning breakfast date, but it was…an engagement party.”
My thumb rubs along the scar on my ring finger where the ugly diamond they’d tried to force upon it had nicked it.
“Leo… He got me alone in the back garden with two of his packmates, and he thought…” I take a deep breath, ripping off the bandaid.
“He tried to force himself upon me, and when I fought him off, he tried to bite me into a forced bond. Thankfully, one of his other packmates saw us and barked at him to stop. I wasn’t sure if he was saving me, or maybe he didn’t want me in the bond.
I didn’t take the time to sit around. I ran from the party and went back home.
That was the day we left on our road trip.
I packed what I wanted, stuffed my bag with a small amount of cash, and left without a word to anyone. ”
Duke growls, standing, and we all hurry off the beds. I run my hands down his chest, shuddering when the noise from his throat turns to a softer purr.
“I’m okay. I’m okay. Honestly, I never expected him to find me here or I would have been better prepared. I promised myself the next time I saw him I was going to cut off his balls.”
Maverick splutters out a laugh before shaking his head.
Cooper frowns. “How did he find out? We need to figure that out because you’re right. It’s weird he saw you here, and not back home in Brackenridge.”
“Either way, what are we going to do with him now? You didn’t tell anyone about what happened that day, did you, Princess?”
I shake my head. “No. Once Kinsey called, I was determined to forget about the day and my past. I was never going back.”
Duke pulls me into his arms, kissing my head. “I’m keeping you.”
A smile tilts my lips upward and I inhale his scent, my chest warming at his words. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, to be kept by people who love me. “Promise?” I whisper, low enough that only he hears.
He squeezes me tighter. “We should get married.”
All three of us jerk in shock, startled by Duke’s declaration.
“W-what? Where did this come from?”
He looks at Maverick. “You’ve dealt with some rich snobs sniffing around your dad’s ranch. Remember when they were trying to say you were too young to take over the estate? How they put in petitions to take it from you?”
Maverick’s face looks thunderous, and he nods. “I see where you’re going. Brielle, do your parents have the means to cause trouble legally?”
“Like what?”
“Like psych orders? To plead she’s incapable of making her own decisions?” Cooper adds, and understanding clicks for me as well. He’s probably had to deal with something like that with his mom.
I swallow harshly. “I wouldn’t put it past them, but how does getting married fix that?”
“As a pack,” Duke explains. “We file as a pack, and we take you as our omega.”
Goosebumps roll over my arms, and my heart flutters with hope. The men of my desires are silent, waiting for my answer.
“I think I can speak for all of us,” Maverick says, “when I tell you that we’ll do anything to protect you.
You are our future. And this isn’t how any of us planned to propose to you, but you’re it for me.
I want your bond, your babies, to be in a pack with you.
At the end of the day, Princess, you’re our future.
” I know they want to do this to protect me, and it’s sudden, but yet, the thought of marrying them makes me happy.
The thought of officially becoming a pack feels more right than anything I’ve imagined for my future.
Every day I’ve spent with them the past few weeks has only made me fall more in love with them.
I have no doubt they are my scent matches, my destiny.
Cooper rolls his eyes, pushing Maverick out of the way to stand before me, cupping my face. “Hi,” he breathes out.
I smile. “Hi.”
His honey-colored eyes roam over my face, and he leans down to press a soft kiss on my lips before pulling away. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife? I promise to get you a big-ass ring before we’re home.”
Duke presses into us from behind, pushing my hair off my shoulder to kiss the crook of my neck. “You already know how much I want you.”
My heart soars, and I rest my head on his shoulder and take a deep breath, because I’m unable to hold back a nagging thought.
“You're asking someone who had binders full of her dream wedding to ditch it all and elope in the middle of the night.” A small whine escapes before I can control it.
I hate how spoiled it makes me sound, but I always hoped that my wedding would be the one day I could finally have everything I wanted.
Not what my mother wanted for me. If I get the men of my dreams, I want the day to be perfect, but also the thought of waiting longer to make them mine causes an ache in my chest.
Cooper scoots to the side to let Maverick closer to us.
“You’ll have whatever you want when you become our queen. We’re asking for a piece of paper that only matters to the courts. Everything else we build is between us.”
I search his face and nod with a softer smile. “Then let’s get married.” Nerves flutter in my stomach, but the good kind. The anticipation that my life is about to truly begin.