“No, thank you,” I reply, and he quickly moves on. We only have tonight in the suite that Sam got for us, and I don’t feel like wasting it by drinking and passing out. But even though our dinner is delicious and we’re in the most romantic place possible, I can’t help feeling like my alpha has something on his mind.
“Is everything okay?” I ask him.
When he sees my watchful glance, his face pinches with stress. “I have something to tell you.”
“Oh, okay. What’s up?”
“I had a moment of attraction. To someone else.”
I blink at him. “What?”
“The other day, my alpha reacted to someone else. I’m so sorry.”
His words evoke some strong anxiety in me. I didn’t expect to hear this from him, not after the day we just had together, and I suddenly fear the worst. My mind replays all the bad situationships I had in the past, how I was always dropped for someone better. I’ve never felt this heart-ripping pain with my scent match, and a part of me still doesn’t understand his words because they don’tfeelreal to me.
I take a deep breath and realize that my omega is calm in my chest. I’m the only one freaking out, connecting memories to this confession like they’re in the same ballpark. This is my person, mypartner. So I put my silverware down and give him my full attention.
“What happened?”
He bites the inside of his cheek, shame written all over his face. “It was towards Opal.”
Relief soars through me. I think back to our date, our almost-kiss, and the puzzle starts to assemble right before my eyes. There’s not a single ounce of uneasiness still lingering as I hear our roommate’s name in his mouth, but before I can tell him how I feel, my alpha flusters into a spiral.
“She made me breakfast and she was reading a textbook and I don’t know what happened but my alpha suddenly stirred and I couldn’t stop staring and I’m so sorry.” He threads his fingers through his blond locks and adjusts them in a nervous tic. “If you want me to find her somewhere else to live, then we can do that. I’m so sorry this happened. I don’t have any excuses.”
I snort at the fact that he was aroused by herstudying, like the studious Virgo he is. When he sees the amusement on my face, he pauses.
“You’re… not upset?” he asks, his face scrunching in confusion.
I shake my head as another chuckle falls out. “No, I’m not.”
My jealousy was about to rear an ugly head, because I was imagining faceless dudes seducing my alpha away from me. Dudes much more manly and smarter than me, but the minute he said Opal, all of that fell away. This actually makes my omega feel happy, which is bizarre, but I’ve already accepted that the redheaded omega has stirred something in me that I can’t explain. Knowing that my alpha feels the same way causes something to nudge up against my instincts.
“I like Opal,” I admit. “I like having her around. There’s something about her. She doesn’t bring out the possessive side of me, and she makes me feel very secure.”
Sam takes my hand across the table, and his skin grazing mine makes me suck in a breath. I don’t think he fully understands what I’m getting at. Omegas are notoriously territorial, but Opal is different. She has been since the first timewe locked eyes and she stumbled through our introduction. When I saw her watermelon water bottle, it satiated something inside of me that I still don’t have the words for.
She brings out instincts in me that shouldn’t be possible, but I don’t have any reason to fight it. In fact, I don’t want to. The only thing I want to fight for isher.
Two omegas in one pack is normally seen as weird, but I don’t see any issue with it. If I were to ask any omega to join our pack, it would be her. The image of it feels as natural as if we’d met another alpha meant for our pack. I just have to be honest about what I want.
“I don’t want her to leave,” I tell him firmly.
He nods and looks at me with the utmost respect in his eyes. “I’m surprised by how cool you’re being about this.”
“Trust me, I was about to freak out. But it’s Opal…” I shrug, trying to insinuate the reason why, but he doesn’t blink an eye. He is my sweet, smart alpha, but reading between the lines has never been his strong suit. It’s why he’s run into social trouble before, seeming very monotone and straight-laced when he really doesn’t understand cues or bullshit that much. It’s one of the things I love most about him.
“Now, let’s finish our meal, because I’d like to take advantage of every second of alone time we can get.”
There’schampagne waiting for us, a warm fireplace, and black rose petals spread across the room. It’s beautiful, but I don’t want to play around with niceties. I only want to do one thing, and that’s to please my alpha.
He tries to walk toward the tub of ice to pick up a bottle, but I stop him with a hand around his tie. “I have plans for you, Alpha. The toast can come later.”
He smiles almost drunkenly, his full stress-free self becoming unhinged by my determination. “Oh? If you insist, Stardust.”
I nearly moan, his nickname for me reminiscent of the first time we met on that quad. His insistent use of it continuously reminds me of how beautiful that day was, how enthralled we were with each other from the very first inhale of each other’s scents. And now, his is blooming so erotically that I want to breathe in every last remnant of it.
He undresses me slowly, taking in every inch of skin as it comes into contact with the warm air. My body is illuminated by the fire, the light making the ambiance of this room even more erogenous. Paired with the slight snowfall right off the balcony, the juxtaposition of the two elements makes everything cozy and soft. I feel powerful as he leaves me bare, ravishing under the orange glow. Every part of this moment feels so perfect, making my heart beat wildly in my chest.
