16. Chapter Sixteen #3
I run a hand through my hair and let out a long breath.
“She came back to herself right after. The spike broke. She was… incredible. Sweet and shy and so responsive it nearly killed me. I didn’t knot her, I didn’t think it was appropriate.
But she came so hard she soaked my face, and I came in my jeans just from that.
Best thing I have ever felt in my life.”
Adrian adjusts his glasses, eyes thoughtful. “Having a pack would not take anything away from her studies. If anything it would give her more support. More time. More safety.”
Chase pushes off the wall, arms crossed tight over his chest. “I would take such good care of her. She would have more free time than she knew what to do with. She would never have to worry about anything again.”
Alex is quiet for a second, then he looks at all of us with that calm, steady apex gaze. “She didn’t grow up with a pack. She doesn’t understand what it can mean for an omega. The safety, the support, the way we could lift her up instead of holding her back. We’re going to have to show her.”
I nod, still tasting her on my tongue, still feeling the ghost of her fingers in my hair.
“Yeah,” I say. “We are.”
The bathroom door opens down the hall before any of us can say more. Elodie steps out looking a little more put together, but her eyes are guarded again. She’s already pulling away.
I feel the shift in the room like a door closing.
This conversation is not over. Not by a long shot.
But for right now, all I can do is watch her walk back into the living room and wonder how the hell we are supposed to let her leave.
She spots her bag on the floor near the couch and walks straight to it. She crouches, opens it, and checks inside like she needs to make sure the whole world has not fallen apart while she was upstairs.
“Thank you,” she says, glancing up at me. “For grabbing my bag and my things from the library desk. I really appreciate it.”
I nod, not trusting my voice yet. She pulls her phone out and starts typing, thumbs moving fast across the screen like she is already putting distance between us.
“Do you know where my cardigan is?” She asks, a shiver running through her.
“On it.” Adrian darts out the front door in a blur.
The three of us just stand there watching her, completely thrown. We’re used to omegas leaning in, flirting, asking for more. Not this. Not polite thank yous and quiet exits and phone screens.
Alex clears his throat and steps forward. He holds out his hand formally, the way only an apex can manage even when his scent is still thick with restraint.
“Alexander Whitmore,” he says in a practiced, rich cadence. “It’s very nice to officially meet you, Elodie.”
She looks up, surprised, then slips her smaller hand into his. A tiny, awkward giggle escapes her. “We’re all aware that I’m Elodie now, huh?”
The sound of it hits me right in the chest.
Adrian comes back through the front door at that exact moment, breathing a little hard, holding her cream cardigan like it’s something precious. He hands it to her shyly.
“Here,” he says, pushing his glasses up his nose. “In case you didn’t catch it earlier in the library… my name is Adrian Sinclair.”
Elodie takes the cardigan and slips it on. The moment the fabric settles around her shoulders she blushes, clearly remembering the stacks, remembering everything. A fresh little wave of her scent blooms in the air, sweet and sunlit and impossible to ignore.
All four of us groan at the same time, low and helpless.
Her phone dings loudly. In the same second we hear tires crunching on the gravel outside.
Elodie glances at the screen. “My taxi is here,” she says. She looks around at all of us, eyes determined. “Thank you again. For everything. And I’m really sorry for… well, for all of it.”
She turns toward the door.
Chase moves before anyone else can. “Cancel it,” he growls, already reaching for his keys. “I will drive you. You are not getting in a stranger’s car like this.”
Elodie stops, spins back, and huffs. The sound is pure stubbornness wrapped in that soft voice of hers. “I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, Chase. I have been doing it my whole life.”
She doesn’t wait for an answer. She slips out the front door and hurries down the steps toward the waiting taxi. The door clicks shut behind her with a finality that feels louder than it should.
Chase is already grabbing his keys off the hook, jaw set. “I’m following them. Just to make sure she gets back safe.”
Alex’s hand lands on his shoulder, stopping him before he can take a single step.
“Chase,” he says, the apex command gentle but unmistakable. “This might be exactly why she is not interested in a pack right now. Let her go. It was an omega taxi, you know those have beta drivers. She will be safe.”
Chase stands there, keys clenched in his fist, staring at the closed door like he can will her back through it.
The gravel crunches again as the taxi pulls away.
I stay rooted in place, still tasting her on my tongue, still feeling the ghost of her fingers in my hair, and realize with an ache that this is only the beginning.
We are not letting her slip away that easily.
Not even close.