I spoon eggs into my mouth without paying much attention, too focused on the way she’s picking at her food. Tristan’s face pulls into a scowl, but he tempers his expression as she pushes her plate away.
“I was hoping we could have a conversation,” he says. “About us.”
“Okay.” Sienna’s shoulders bunch up like she’s bracing for a blow. Jax pulls his chair in a little closer, his arm laying out across the back of her chair in silent support.
“We haven’t been good alphas. GoodSoul Bonded.”
Sienna relaxes a little as she peeks up at Tristan.
“We haven’t been good alphas,” he continues, “and we’d like to change that. We have some ideas, but I think we’d all like to hear from you. What would you like from us? What do you need, to make you feel comfortable?”
Our omega’s eyes widen as she looks around. “From you?”
We all nod, even Gray from the end of the table. Jax edges even closer, his hand creeping out to play with a lock of her hair.
“We’re starting over, shortcake,” he says firmly. “And we’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
“So,” Tristan presses. “Tell us what you want.”
Sienna looks flustered, her eyes darting around us. “I… I don’t want anything, really.”
Her hands cross over her stomach, a defensive move that Tristan takes in with a curved brow. “Maybe you could have a think about it, and let us know?”
Sienna nods hastily, relief crossing her features. “I’ll do that.”
But then Gray throws a bomb into the mix. He leans forward, his face serious.
“Sienna… your heat will be coming in soon.”
Everybody freezes. Sienna turns a cute but deep, deep shade of purple.
“Gray,” I say, my teeth gritted. “I don’t think we need to talk about that now.”
I’ve obviously never seen an omega in heat, but I hear it’s… an experience. Days of intense need, excessive fucking until it’s over without pause.
I swallow, my jeans suddenly feeling much tighter than they normally do. Even Tristan looks flustered, his usual stoic face replaced with two flares of color on his cheeks. We’re all trying really hard not to look at Sienna but her sudden burst of sweet raspberry scent into the room gives away that her thoughts are probably more than similar to mine.
“This,” Gray says hoarsely, “is why we need to talk about it.”
He looks at Sienna, his face softening for the first time since she walked in. “We know what it feels like when the hormones are in control. I’d like to know how you want to handle it before the choice is taken out of our hands and rational discussion goes out the window.”
Jax nods, slowly. “He’s right, Si. You deserve to have a choice in how you handle your heat. And if you feel you’re not ready for that to be with us, then we should look at other options.”
Sienna pales. “I’d fail the Trial,” she whispers, but Tristan is shaking his head.
“We’ll work something out. Lie if we have to. You won’t be failing this Trial, Sienna. We only have two left, and then we’re free to make our own decisions about how we move forward. I’m sorry that you’re in this position because of us.”
Sienna looks so damn lost it makes me want to pull her onto my lap. My fists clench on the table. We’re not there yet.
“I’ll think about it.” Her fingers trace patterns over the dark wood of our dining table, her discomfort clear.
We all glance around. Jax widens his eyes at me, so I take the lead and stand up. “I was thinking I could show you your room?”
“I know where my room is, Logan,” Sienna says tiredly, but she stands up all the same. “I just need to follow the dust.”
I can feel my jaw tightening at the reminder of fucking Alicia and her little games. “Not the attic. That was never supposed to be your room.”
Her eyebrows draw together in a frown. “It wasn’t?”
