“How are your cramps?” Ren asks.
“A little better.”
They’re definitely easing, but I’m still so slicked up and know it’ll take more than a foot rub to give me the relief I crave.
Cole returns, holding up a sweaty, old T-shirt. “I got it out of Damon’s laundry basket.” He wrinkles his nose at it. “I don’t know whether this will?—”
“Give me!” I hold out my hands. Damon’s scent is exactly what I need. I’ve slept with his hoodie every night since we met. It’s a poor substitute for having him here, but it’ll do.
“I told you she has a feisty side.” Laz chortles and continues to lotion up my feet with his magic fingers, making me wonder what else they can do.
Cole watches as I bundle up and inhale the tee like I’m trying to suffocate in it. “Damon should be here.” He settles down next to me again. “What else can we do?”
“Can you … stay with me for a while? Maybe put something on the TV to distract me from the pain?”
And your knots, I think.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere,” Cole says as Laz picks a light-hearted comedy. “I contacted all our professors. We’re not leaving you.”
“Thank you,” I manage as drowsiness sweeps over me—a common side-effect from the patches. The deep yearning still bubbles inside me, but it’s becoming more muted as the tiredness takes hold.
“Take a nap if you want to,” Ren whispers, running his fingers through my hair as Laz tucks my feet away and puts a blanket over my legs. Cole’s hand dwarfs mine, anchoring me in place.
Feeling so comfortable between them, it’s easy to drift off, sending me into a world of fever dreams filled with the four Silverwood Pack alphas.
FOURTEEN
Cole
She smells homey, like fresh clothes drying in a summer breeze. And also like wildflowers, a scent that when combined with her slick brings out another side to me. The warm vanilla and honeycomb smells are so sweet and decadent, making me want to dive between her thighs and devour her like a dessert.
Instead, I stay as still as I can, watching as she snuggles into Ren’s chest. I’d love to run my fingers through her golden hair, the highlights shining under the flickering fairy lights make it look almost auburn. Her pink heart-shaped lips part when she snores—a fact that I’m sure she’d be mortified about but I find adorable.
Upon arrival, she seemed terrified. She struggled to look at me initially, her fear-filled eyes ping-ponging everywhere as her lower lip trembled. I could sense that she was afraid to trust us, but she also desperately wanted to… or, at least that’s how I read her body language. And when she straight up started begging for a knot. Well, fuck.
Seeing her with Ren now makes my heart swell with pride. Ren has always struggled to find his place, to be truly comfortable with his designation. He once confided in me howhe sometimes wished he was a beta because he didn’tfeellike a true alpha. Then Belle came along and made him feel worse.
Belle was the last omega we considered as a potential match for our pack. She outwardly rejected him, refusing to join our pack if he remained part of it. She took what little confidence he had and crushed it beneath her heel.
However, I’m seeing a completely different side to him today, and it’s all thanks to the fragile omega who stumbled into his arms, marking him as her safe place. She brought out his protective instincts and forced him to step up. She’s exactly what he needs.
When Ren told us he’d found his scent match, I was sure he was mistaken. First, because scent matches are so rare. Second, I figured Ren—a hopeless romantic at heart—might have misread some signals. Yet the moment I saw her, I knew she was going to be ours. She is the omega we have been waiting for. Even Laz—who can barely stop joking around for two minutes—was running around the house like a chicken with his head cut off while trying to gather supplies to help her. I’ve never seen him care about an omega or what an omega thinks of him before today.
Her scent has wrapped itself around our hearts, and now she’s holding them in her tiny hands.
As a pack, we’re intrinsically linked. But because we’re all so different, I thought the chance of us finding an omega who could give us all what we need was slim to none. Hence why I’d opted for an arranged match with Belle. Belle’s father—a senator with significant influence—is friends with my dad, so it made sense on paper. Belle ticked all of my father’s boxes, and our match would have furthered his business interests. Unfortunately, she was arrogant, shallow, and cold. There was no romantic spark or ounce of attraction between any of us, and the way she treated Ren was just plain cruel.
So far, Faye seems like Belle’s total opposite, and I’m desperate to know more about the shy omega in our arms. I try to glean all I can from the information I have on hand. Her dress has been patched a few times. I can tell it’s been intricately handsewn back together, showing that she either prefers to fix things rather than throw them away or doesn’t have enough money to buy new ones. She seems to hate being an inconvenience and is super appreciative. I mean, she even cried at Laz’s thoughtfulness. All of which makes me think she needs a pack of alphas to treasure her and show her true care.
I want us to be those alphas.
“I told you,” Ren whispers. He’s obviously transfixed by her; he hasn’t taken his hands or eyes off of her for hours. I don’t blame him; there’s no denying that she’s stunning. She has an incredible body—petite yet curvy in all the right places with a small waist and plump breasts. A rosy glow blooms over her smooth, milky-white cheeks, her chocolate eyes seem wise beyond her years, and she has the cutest button nose that I want to kiss. “She’s incredible. Isn’t she?”
In her sleep, Faye stirs and reaches for my wrist. When she strokes my jumping pulse, I start reciting baseball stats in my head to stop myself from instantly getting hard. I don’t want her to wake up and think that she’s surrounded by a group of alphas who plan to take advantage of her.
“She’s…” I don’t want to get Ren’s hopes up yet. We don’t know whether Faye even wants to bond with a pack. “Certainly something.”
“You feel it too, don’t you? Our connection?” Ren doesn’t want to let this go.
