He looks like he wants to say something, but stops himself, instead leaning forward and kissing the side of my face.
“I think you should probably have our numbers, huh?” he says, glancing down at my phone.
I hand it over to him and he adds their contact info, first names only, and starts a group chat with all of us. No one immediately responds and I assume Mack must be sleeping, too.
Should I be concerned that I haven't seen him since my heat? I know I should speak up and ask these questions, but I just don’t have the capacity to right now. These past few days have been a lot to process and even though I have an inkling about what I want, it feels crazy to say it outloud.
“Is there anything else you need?” Cole asks.
Yeah, to know if I’m here over some guilt, martyr complex, or if this could be more. Could they possibly want to court me after just knowing me for a few days? It took a year before my exes were officially courting me, which was a secret. Not to mention that after a year of dating, and a year of courtship, they still wouldn’t commit.
I feel needy thinking about it. They don’t owe me anything, they’ve done more than enough. Yet, my little Omega heart is bursting at the seams wanting answers. They have to know that the ball is in their court right? That I’m interested but I don’t want them to feel obligated to court me because they helped me?
Now would be an awesome time to have a girlfriend to talk through all this with.
Instead of saying any of that, I give him a polite smile. “No, I think I’m going to call my Gran if that’s alright?” I ask.
“More than alright; invite her over, we’ll get take out. I’d love to meet her,” he says with a smile before giving me privacy.
Gran will be able to get a better read on the situation. I need to get her over to this house immediately.
Chapter 16
Cole
As soon asI hear Shiloh chatting with her grandmother, I make my way back to her room and plop down on the bed, smacking Jonah’s ass harder than necessary. He wakes up with a grumble, his irritated gaze locked in on mine. I shoot Mack a text, telling him to come and meet us in here.
“What the fuck was that for? Where’s Shiloh?”
“Helped her in the shower. She’s on the phone with her Gran,” I say, shifting the pillows behind me and crossing my ankles, making myself comfortable. I’ve never spent any time in this room, but I have to give credit where credit is due, Claire can decorate the hell out of a bedroom. “Things with her ex-pack are worse than I thought. She didn’t really say much, but her reaction when I asked how they treated her wasn’t great. I think we need to take things slow with her.”
Jonah groans and cuddles the pillow under his head.
“Maybe she needs the opposite,” he suggests.
“I gave her phone back.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “And?”
“She scrolled, didn’t seem upset or happy, just asked to call her Gran and to have her over.”
“She didn’t say anything about them?”
I shake my head. “No. She didn’t say much at all. I mean, fuck, she just broke up with a pack and went through a rough heat, it’s a lot. The last thing she needs is all of us going full Alpha on her ass and making her feel like she needs to make a decision so quickly.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“What if I’m not and you scare her off before we even get a chance?” I counter.
An exacerbated sigh from the doorway has us both turning to see my brother leaned against the frame, looking at us like we barely have two brain cells to rub together.
“What if we just ask her?”
“Ask her what?” I ask.
“If she’s ready for another pack to court her, or if she needs time. Maybe lay it out there that we’re interested but willing to take it as slow as she wants. Fuck, ask her if she still has feelings for her old pack and if she’s ready to move on. We all agreed to help her with her heat no strings attached,” Mack says, sounding way too fucking smart.
“Seems he got all the brains,” Jonah mumbles, cuddling into Shiloh’s pillow.
