“Like I said last night, I don’t blame you for the attack. We don’t know if it had anything to do with you.”
The thought hadn’t escaped my mind. Kai could have gotten his own enemies in his life. He’d admitted he had them before. However, I also couldn’t ignore the possibility that the attack had been a setup to push me toward his pack. Maybe they had wanted to make threats so being my protectors looked more appealing. Nothing says you’re in danger more than an unprovoked demon attack.
I would hate if that was the truth, but I would be foolish if the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.
“I know I keep saying it, but you shouldn’t have had to get involved. I let you down.” His voice was tight, and I glanced over to him. His hands were balled tightly in his lap. I knew he was upset by the fight. He hadn’t been his same laid-back self since last night.
I reached over and patted his thigh, feeling the hard muscle in his leg. He was tense. He really was concerned. The longer I was with him, the more I began to believe that he wasn’t acting. He seemed to actually care about me. “You didn’t let me down, Kai. You freaking tore off a demon’s head while it was on fire for me. I prefer chocolates, but it matched the situation.”
He relaxed, and he placed a hand over mine. “You have jokes tonight, I see.”
I shrugged. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
“Well, keep that same energy when you meet the guys. None of them are as wonderful as me, but you can’t have perfection that many times under one roof.”
I grunted, glad to hear some semblance of his old self back.
We finally arrived at his mansion, which was down a dark road with an impressive amount of land around it, about half a mile from the main road. It had a large car park and an attached garage. It was too dark, but if I ever came back, I’d want a tour of the land.
We walked inside, and Kai led me toward the back of the mansion. The place had a colonial-style front, but from what I could see from the foyer, the decorations were modern and minimalist. It was all very clean, and everything looked expensive and well put together. I had no doubt that they had cleaners who came every week and had probably hired a decorator to design the space.
When we finally reached the back of the mansion, I paused to look at an open concept space. The kitchen was on the right, the living area on the left and a large dining space was in the middle. Spanning the back of the mansion were floor-to-ceiling windows taking up the wall space and showcasing a striking pool area and more.
However, my eyes weren’t fixed for long on the mansion layout because sitting at the dining table were three large men, and they were all looking at me. I didn’t think it possible, but they were all handsome. How did four good-looking, powerful alphas get together like this? I began to feel a bit self-conscious. Wait, who cared? I didn’t want alphas, so what was I so worried about?
Oh, I know. It smelled like a mixture of scents that were actually making my mouth water and my thighs weak. And I wasn’t talking about food. Sure, there was something cooking in the kitchen, but the alphas were overpowering it. It was a mixture of some very heady scents, and I swayed slightly, feeling dizzy. My heart pounded in my chest, and I fought to keep my hand from going up to my chest in a silly attempt to keep it in. I parted my lips, my breath threatening to leave me.
This is what I feared. This was my nightmare. I was having something very much akin to a panic attack right in front of all this good eye candy.
Kai placed a hand on my back, giving me worried eyes. “You okay, kitty cat?”
I looked over to him, my eyes glazed slightly. He had said words, and I should respond with words. What words? I should answer, but my brain was working too slowly.
I waved my hands in front of me and turned away, heading back to the foyer. I needed to breathe.
“Tone your scents down, boys. It smells like someone dropped a bunch of cologne bottles in here,” Kai demanded.
I didn’t know if that would do any good. I left the house and sat on the front steps, taking in slow gulps of air. “You can do this, Billie. You are stronger than this.” I balanced an elbow on my knee, thinking. “Maybe if I put some tissue up my nose.”
“That won’t work,” Kai said, sitting down next to me. He reached over and rubbed my back gently and damn if I didn’t feel calmer. Stupid alpha touch was actually working.
“What do you know?” I questioned, side-eyeing him.
He leaned over and kissed my shoulder, and I leaned away, giving him a warning point. He had really gotten comfortable with me, as if he had won me over. That was not happening.
“I know,” he began, “Because it happened with the last omega. She actually fainted.”
I knocked his foot with mine, irritation growing. “You didn’t want to prepare me for that possibility?”
He ran his hand over his hair, giving me a sheepish look. “It honestly skipped my mind, it was so long ago.”
Well, that made sense. “So, how was she eventually able to stand it all?”
“It was just the initial shock. Plus, she was already distressed from the attack and her brother. You’ll be fine if you go back in. They’ll be more careful. I promise.” He stood up and offered me his hand.
I eyed it suspiciously, debating if I wanted to run to my car and take off or give it another go. I ultimately decided that I came that far and that I might as well see it through.
I stood up without his assistance and marched back into the mansion, shoulders back, head high. Breathing through my mouth.
