twenty-five
Xenia
My heart is filled with contentment. I want nothing more than to never leave this nest with my alphas. All three—wait—where is Wren?
Wren pushing open the door answers my unspoken question, and both Pierce and Luther jolt up beside me.
“It’s Ruth, you both need to go out there. She won’t let me near her.” There is concern in Wren’s voice, but it’s off.
As my eyes drift to the window, my mind flashes back to the promise I made him.
The snow is nearly all gone now. It should be safe to drive.
It is time for me to leave.
“Go check on her, Wren will be here if I need anything.” Leaning up, I offer Luther a quick kiss to his lips. I attempt to repeat the move with Pierce, but he catches me by the hair. Deepening the connection.
“Ours,” he groans before releasing me. His charcoal hair is disheveled, but his usually dark eyes are bright and shining in what can only be described as happiness.
My guilt weighs heavily, but this is for the best. It isn’t goodbye. I just need to figure out how to escape Vinny’s attention.
Pierce gets up, his bare ass on full display as I attempt to not ogle him. He finds his boxers, pulling them up over his muscular thighs.
Luther laughs from behind me, but then his golden eyes narrow. “Is Ruth okay? What’s going on?”
Wren opens his mouth, but I can tell he hasn’t prepared himself for an investigation.
“You should check on her,” I interject, squeezing Luther’s arm. “I’ll be right here when y’all get back.”
The lie slices up my stomach as it spills from my lips. I want to swallow it back down, but it’s too late now.
Luther presses a kiss to my forehead before he follows Pierce’s lead. But this time I don’t watch as he dresses.
I am trying to not let my shame sour my scent as it already has my insides.
Wren physically pushes both men out the door, slamming it shut behind them. “Go check on her!”
I wait thirty seconds before jumping up. “Is it time?”
“It is. The snow has melted, the roads are clear. Put this on.” Wren pulls his sweater and a pair of sweats from behind him. “It will help mask your scent and keep you warm.”
I don’t say anything, simply do as he requests. Shrugging the jacket on and pulling up the sweats, I tie the drawstring and lean down, rolling up the legs. Masked in his scent, I somehow feel both safer and sadder. The realization that I am betraying them, that I am leaving two of my alphas behind for who knows how long is both devastating and necessary. I will do anything I canto not put them in danger, and I know with certainty that Vinny is going to be a problem.
“Let’s go,” Wren says. “I just heard the back door slam shut and we don’t have much time. We’re going to take my car. It’s stuffed away in the separated garage. They won’t be able to hear us leave from there.”
Wren wraps his arm around me, opens the door to the nest, and guides me down the hallway to the front. It is odd how in such a short time this is alreadymyhome. It feels like I'm saying goodbye.
“You’re going to come back as soon as it’s safe. We can’t live without you. At least not anymore. You understand that I just need to make sure everyone is safe, make sure that Vinny doesn’t come after us, that he doesn’t kill us.”
“I understand.” We’re out the front door now, and I want more than anything to look behind me, to try to find Luther and Pierce outside through the back, but I know if I see them, I won’t be able to leave.
This is harder than I thought it would be.
Wren is leading me across the driveway now, past the carport, towards the detached garage. He tugs me around the side to an unlocked door.
He gently pushes me in first before shutting it behind us.
The room is dark, save for a single floodlight above the lone vehicle in here.
