“I don’t want to be a job, though.”
Monroe’s jaw clenches as he waits a moment before he answers, “That’s not what I meant. Taking care of you isn’t a job. It’s… it’s what we were born to do.” His hand fiddles with his fork, and for a while, it seems the über alpha is at a loss for words, as if he’s afraid anything he says next will be taken the wrong way.
I look down at my lap. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Redd speaks up, “Don’t apologize. It’s okay. We know what you meant.”
“Yeah.” Lev nods. “You’re part of our pack now, and we take care of each other here. We might not live a life of glamor and fame, but we can give you a good life.”
I believe them, I do. Maybe it’s the old me peeking through, the me who couldn’t ever picture herself settling down with a pack who actually cares. “I just never thought this would happen. It’s going to take a while for me to get used to all of this,” I say.
Redd reaches over to me, lightly touching my arm. “As long as it takes, we’ll be here.” The moment his fingers brush my skin, he gives me goosebumps, and I struggle not to let my mind go back to the bedroom and how easy it was to give in to him.
His words of comfort make me feel at ease, but his touch makes me feel like I’m on literal fire. I internally struggle with the back and forth, until he eventually pulls his hand off my arm and continues to eat, totally unaware of my turmoil.
My horniness, really. It’s like these guys unleashed something inside of me, something that had spent all these years blissfully hidden away, something I didn’t know existed until now. And now that the animal is out of her cage, so to speak, I don’t think she’ll ever want to go back. These feelings, these desires… they might just be the new Dulcie.
Things fall to a comfortable silence after that. Everyone is so focused on eating the food while it’s warm—that and tossing fast glances my way. I don’t eat nearly as fast as they do; they scarf their food down like they’re starving.
Maybe it’s because they were starving, maybe they didn’t eat at all today. I, myself, barely touched breakfast and I spent lunchtime packing.
When it’s time to clean up, I help them even though they tell me they have it handled. They cooked, so it doesn’t feel right to me to let them clean it all up as well. I help load the dishwasher under Lev’s guidance while Monroe and Redd clean off the table and all of the countertops in the kitchen. Loading a dishwasher, believe it or not, isn’t something we ever did at N.O.A. As small as it may be, it’s new to me.
We crash on the couch after that, though they let me watch whatever I want. I keep playing the movie I started before dinner. Most of the guys are all yawns immediately. It’s not super late, but if they were anything like me yesterday, they didn’t sleep at all.
It’s nice, sitting on the couch, being surrounded by them. Unfamiliar in every way, but nice at the same time. Something I can get used to. Being around them, constantly inhaling their scents; if this is my new normal, I’m more than okay with it.
The night wears on. One by one, the guys disappear to shower and go to bed. Redd is the last one to stick around, and I tell him I’m going to stay up a bit more. We had one TV at N.O.A., and it was in the common room, so our TV privileges were cut off at ten every night.
Plus, if I’m honest, as exhausted as I am I’m not all that tired.
“All right,” Redd says. “Goodnight, then.” Before he stands and leaves, he leans over, takes my face by the chin, and kisses me in a way that reminds me of earlier. My heart jumpstarts in response, and I’m too dazed at the end of the kiss to say anything to him. The last thing I see before he gets up and gives me his back is a wide, devious grin.
Oh, that one. What am I going to do with him?
Now that all the alphas are gone, I can sprawl out on the couch. All these streaming apps were another thing we didn’t have at the academy; anything that cost extra money was something we simply did without. The shows and movies on them are totally new to me, and it’s a little overwhelming. There’s so much out there that sounds good. I end up making my own profile and watchlist on the streaming service I’m currently on.
After some scrolling, I decide on starting a TV show that’s about an omega who’s dating multiple alphas. Each week she sends a few of the alphas home. There are multiple seasons of this show out, with multiple omegas as the headlining star, so I start by going way back to season one.
It’s actually pretty entertaining. You’d think it’d be a quick thing, but in order to be on the show, all of the contestants have to agree to get shots that temporarily nullify their sense of smellduring production. Theoretically, it puts every alpha on the same playing field, levels things out so the headlining omega doesn’t choose her final mate the first week.
I imagine, once those shots wear off and their smell comes back, things get dicey, especially during the reunion shows. What if she picks an alpha and they make it to the end, and then at the reunion she smells her scent match there and comes to the realization she chose wrong?
Maybe that’s the point, or the hope. Reality TV is all about the drama that ensues.
Honestly? Casey would’ve been perfect for this show. She’s an omega who loves to have everyone fret over her, for all attention to be on her. Besides the fact that she’s got herself a pack now, she’s a nobody, and I don’t think producers will ever choose a nobody omega to be their next headliner.
I watch a few episodes, and then I get hungry again. I pause the show and search the kitchen for some snack that doesn’t require much cooking. I must make too much noise, because soon after I start the search, I’m joined in the kitchen by a shirtless, semi-sleepy Monroe.
Let’s just say that über alpha has more than a six pack on his abdomen. He is one fine-looking alpha, that’s for sure.
“What’re you looking for?” he slurs his words a bit as he runs a hand through his black hair and yawns.
“Something easy to eat. A snack.”
With another yawn, he mumbles, “How about popcorn?”
My eyebrows lift. That could be good.
