“Owen?” she says, blinking at me. She looks beautiful, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head.
“Is Alexi home?” I ask.
“Oh. Um, yeah.” She waves me in and shuts the door behind me. She wraps her arms around herself, no doubt feeling the chill from outside. “Alexi!” she shouts down the hall.
“What?” he says, running down the hall in nothing but his underwear. Fuck, that man can wear a pair of boxer briefs. Alexi looks between the two of us, taking a long second to appreciate Piper’s appearance, which brings me some relief. They must not have been sharing a bed together. It’s not even jealousy for a specific person. It’s jealousy of not being in the middle of a really hot Alpha-sandwich. “Owen?” he says, blinking at me.
“Hey.”
He looks at me and then to Piper.
“I’ll just go back to bed,” Piper says sadly.
“No, you don’t have to leave,” I say quickly.
“I’ve just got off a really long shift, so I need to get some sleep,” she says. Her gaze stays on mine, and I swear I watch her pupils dilate before she shakes her head. She gives Alexi’s bulge a glance before looking back at me. “Night,” she says softly before retreating back into her room. My chest aches, and seeing her again only makes me realize how impossible it is for us to be apart.
When Piper’s door shuts, Alexi’s hand wraps around the back of my neck. “What’s wrong?” I shrug my shoulders, and he leads me to his living room. It’s nice, if not lacking in some personality. He holds out a hand for me to sit down on the soft navy cushions, and I do. He doesn’t sit immediately but instead looks me over. I wonder what he sees? Does he view me as a pathetic Omega who needs someone to take care of them? No, I know that’s not true. The way Alexi sees me is the way I wish I could see myself.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I shake my head no, and he tilts his head before grabbing some soft blankets and plopping them on top of me. He sits down next to me, his arm and thigh touching mine as he turns on the TV.
“I should have called or texted you before I came over.”
“I told you I’m here for whatever you need.”
“Piper lives with you now?” I ask, and he groans.
“It’s not exactly my story to tell, but she needed a place to stay.”
“But you two aren’t together?”
“Not yet,” he says.
“Oh.”
Alexi rolls his eyes and shifts his body so he’s looking at me. “You’re a part of that not yet,” he says, and I blink at him. I mean, he told me he had feelings for me, and mine are growing for him too. But actually conceptualizing that me, Alexi, and Piper could be a pack doesn’t seem real.
“She doesn’t know my designation.”
“I know,” he says, shifting back to how he was sitting, except he slings an arm around my shoulder.
“She also says she can’t handle a relationship right now.”
“I’m more than well aware of that too. But she’ll get there.”
“I can’t… I don’t like the idea of becoming a pack when I’m hiding my designation.”
“That’s why were going to win the fucking Cup, and me and you are going to retire, and then the three of us are going to live our best lives.”
“You’ve got it all figured out?” I joke, his fingertips trailing patterns on my shoulder.
“Someone has to, so I figured it might as well be me.”
“And what if she doesn’t agree?”
“She will.”
“You’re that confident?” I ask. Alexi leans down to whisper in my ear.
