And yet...
Listening to my body, I—I think my omegawantsthem to chase me.
Yesss, we want my alphas to work for it.
I actually slap my hand over my mouth, horrified. Oh my god, this is so... primal. So embarrassing. And did I just think of them as "my" alphas? That's presumptuous. That's ridiculous. That's—
Focus. I need to be logical. But first, I peek back around the corner to see if they're still—
"N-Naomi."
I shriek and spin around. And there they are.
"How did you—were you—can you teleport?!"
They're all panting as hard as I am. Felix has his hands on his knees, looking like he might actually die. Liam is leaning against a lamp post, chest heaving. Silas just stands there, gulping air, staring at me with an expression I can't begin to decode.
We must look absolutely insane. Four adults in various states of collapse, gasping for breath in the middle of Lakeview. And right next to us—oh, perfect—the carolers have fully set up on the corner.
"What," Silas pants, "the hell, Naomi?"
"You're fast," Felix gasps between breaths. "Like, really fast. That's actually impressive."
"You were going to—on the ICE!" I manage, still struggling to get enough oxygen. "In front of EVERYONE!"
"It just came out that way!" Silas says, defensive. "I was high on winning and you were there and it felt like the right moment—"
"All those people! Cameras! The whole town watching!"
"We know!" Liam straightens up, finally catching his breath. "We're sorry. We should have thought—"
"Siiiilent niiiight," the carolers sing sweetly behind us, "hooooly night."
Oh great. Seriously?
"Are you going to run again?" Felix asks, and something vulnerable creeps into his voice that cuts right through my spiral.
"What?"
"If we try to talk to you," Silas says, pulling himself upright. "Are you going to bolt?"
I look at them. They're wrecked. Sweaty, probably exhausted from the game and the chase, and their scents are somehoweven more intoxicating now than it was in my memories. But underneath all that, they look... scared.
"Please don't," Felix adds quietly. "There's something we need to say."
"I'm not running," I say, even as my legs twitch with the urge to do exactly that. The carolers continue their song, getting to "O Holy Night".
Silas takes a step closer. "We won tonight."
Something cracks in my chest. "I saw."
"And you stayed," Liam says. "You came to the game."
My eyes start to sting and I blink rapidly, trying to hold it together. "I'm so sorry I was late—"
"You came," Felix interrupts gently. "That's what matters. That's all that matters."
"Look," Silas says, and his voice drops to something raw and unguarded. "I'm not good at this. At words. At feelings. But you make me want to be better at it. When I saw you in the VIP box tonight, after thinking you'd left, after playing the worst period of my life... something clicked."
