“Time to clean up, pack,” I announce. “Our Soul Bonded is coming home tomorrow, and I want the Alicia stink gone before she steps through the door.”
39
LOGAN
“Stop it.” Gray slaps my hand away.
I frown at the elaborate display of pale pink flowers in front of me. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
Gray rolls his eyes. “All omegas like flowers.”
Jax glares over at him. “She’s not just any omega. Or have you forgotten?”
I watch Gray closely, picking up on the flex in his jaw as he looks down at the ground. Something is going on with him, but we don’t have time to debate it now. Sienna and Tristan are due back any minute, and we’ve scoured the house to within an inch of its life.
It’s not enough.
I don’t even know how we begin to come back from the way we’ve treated the omega who’s supposed to be our fated mate.
Somehow, I don’t think a bunch of flowers is gonna help.
There’s a rustle at the door, and then she’s there, Tristan fussing over her as she limps inside. I swallow as I take her in. I don’t think I’ve reallylookedat Sienna properly, really taken her in since our Bonding Ceremony… and she doesn’t look like she did then.
Gray is frowning when I glance across at him, his blue eyes taking in the sharp edges of her shoulders beneath her thin tank top. The curves that drew my eye have all but disappeared, her eyes sunken and her lips chapped as she glances around at us uncertainly. Her hair hangs limply around her face, the vibrancy of the pink curls dulled.
My heart feels like there’s a fucking fist clamped tightly around it, squeezing.
This is what we did to her. She’s a shell of the girl that came to us two weeks ago.
What thefuckhave we done?
Tristan’s arm is a gentle hold around her frail shoulders, his eyes full of emotion when he looks at me, the same shame I feel reflected in his gaze as he looks back down to Sienna.
“Hi,” she whispers, tucking some stray hair back behind her ears.
Jax clears his throat, stepping forward. “Hey, shortcake.”
She flushes, her cheeks deepening to a beautiful shade of pink as Jax carefully wraps his arms around her. Her eyes close as he gently squeezes her, and the sheer longing on her face sends a giant crack right down the middle of my heart.
I get in line behind Jax, waiting my turn. Sienna glances up at me shyly, chewing on her lip as I lean in and wrap her up. She feels like fine china, nothing like the omega I scent marked at the first trial. I can’t scent myself on her any longer, the tangy lemon replaced by her own delicious raspberry ripple entwined with Tristan’s deep, tangy scent.
I can’t resist rubbing my cheek against her hair, desperate to leave some small part of myself behind as we pull apart.
“Are you hungry?” I offer. “I’m gonna cook breakfast.”
She tilts her head. “You are?”
I rub at the back of my head at the slight suspicion. She already knows none of us are great cooks, but I can manage some eggs. “You need to eat,” I tell her, tempering my tone so I’m not demanding it.
She glances down at herself, her arms wrapping around her defensively. “I guess I could eat.”
Tristan is already ahead of me, fussing around the refrigerator as he yanks out the different fruits we bought at the grocery store first thing this morning.
Jax sticks close to Sienna, sliding out a chair for her to take a seat. Gray appears a few moments later, his manner subdued as he takes a seat towards the end of the table.
The atmosphere is undeniably awkward as Tristan and I hustle, Tristan chopping enough fruit to feed most of Navarre. I crack eggs into the pan, whisking them up into scrambled eggs, adding a pinch of salt and some pepper before tipping them out into a bowl and grabbing some plates.
When we’re all sat down, Tristan serves Sienna first. We all watch her nibble at a piece of apple, and she glances around. “Are you eating?”
