That Saturday morning, Lila came over with food from her bakery. She placed the food down on my counter and followed me to my bedroom. My space was a tornado aftermath of clothes, toiletries and other things.
She put her hands on her hips and looked around. “So, you finally made your decision.”
I nodded, picking up a sweater and folding it. “Yep. After a month, I really believe they’re good guys. I’m trusting my gut and my dad.”
Lila pursed her lips and kept looking around. My room wasn’t that big, and she’d been over many times. Something was up.
I stopped folding clothes. “What’s going on?”
She gave me a wide-eyed look as if she were surprised by the question. “Nothing.”
I kept looking at her.
“Only, are you sure you are making this decision of clear mind?”
“What does that mean?”
She moved a pile of clothes at the edge of my bed and sat down. “You’ve been attacked now twice, and these seemingly very awesome guys have made themselves extraordinarily available to you. They want you, and now, with the clock ticking for your heat, you want them. You had only one date with another possible alpha and didn’t try again even though Chilli said she had another suggestion or at least give Anil another shot. Not that I agree with that.”
I frowned, crossing my arms. I was supposed to be the pessimistic one when it came to my omega situation, not Lila. “Where is this coming from? I thought you were team hot guys. It’s just a trial run.”
“I’m always team hot guys. But before all that, I’m team Billie. I know you say this is a trial, but just don’t get too caught up and forget. I don’t want you having regrets about them, but I also want to see where your head is at. We have to talk about the connection between the attacks and your decision to move in with them temporarily. Both attacks happened around the guys. Is that coincidence or something else?”
I knew where she was going with this, and I’d stayed up many a night thinking about it. “You’re wondering if they’re behind the attacks?”
“It certainly would be convenient. They had your dad’s vote, but you were hesitant, so say they added this new threat to push you to make a decision.”
“But wouldn’t my dad know if they were shady like that?”
“Maybe they weren’t before, but now they got desperate.”
I rubbed my forehead. I’d gone through all the scenarios and ruled the guys out. Without an attack, I’d come to the same conclusion. I felt completely safe with them. Sure, I got intimidated by them from time to time, but they’d never done anything wrong. Hell, even Lance using his alpha purr and command felt harmless, and I still had enough strength to at least acknowledge what he was doing.
“It makes sense,” I began, “But the truth is, they were already doing things to win me over. They didn’t need this threat. That was very clear.”
Lila tilted her head from side to side. “Yes, but without the threat, would they have even been around you as much? If you didn’t need their protection, how close would you have bonded? Would you be deciding to live with them, or would you still be deciding from the comfort of your apartment?”
I kicked my foot out in frustration. “Why are you raining on my parade?”
She chuckled. “I know you were looking forward to living in the house of hotties, but I had to say something.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t move in.”
She scratched the side of her neck in thought. “I mean, you aren’t moving in fully. You’re just staying with them for a while. Getting the full immersive alpha experience. That’s not so bad. I guess the biggest issue is if you like staying there.”
Even if I enjoyed living with them, if they were behind the demon attacks, I could never trust them. I didn’t want to get caught up with a bunch of guys who were willing to put my life at risk to get what they wanted.
I dropped my shoulders, feeling unsure again. I could be walking into the lion’s den, although everything in my gut told me otherwise. “The only way to find out the truth is to figure out who’s behind these demon attacks, and I’m having zero luck. The police don’t know shit, and the coven hasn’t found anything either.”
Lila sighed. “We could also do a lie detector spell on the guys to at least rule them out.”
“Yeah, I thought about a lie detector spell, but it wouldn’t work. You have a demon and a fae in that group. They could use magic to hide the truth. Even bespell Ty and Lance. Our best bet is to capture the next demon that tries to attack me and hold it for questioning.”
Lila blew out a raspberry, folding a leg up under her bottom. “So, it’s a waiting game until then. Fine, go to your house. Have all of the sex. Just because you have an orgy doesn’t mean you have to decide to make them your alphas.”
I rolled my eyes, rubbing my forehead. “Please, with the orgy talk.”
“If anything feels off, even the slightest, then let me know. As long as they don’t claim you, you are free to do what you want. The orgy alone won’t bond you.”
