"Yeah?" Camelia asked faintly. It was the best she could do under the circumstances, and Evan's eyes narrowed a little as he jerked his head to the side.
"Come with us. We need to talk to you about something. Urgent."
He reached out and grabbed Camelia's hand before she could protest the abruptness of the request, and she trailed after him into the liberal arts building, James following so close behind her that she could feel his body heat radiating against her back. She would die before she admitted it, but it was nice.
Even if he was in a bad mood and she wasn't sure why.Shewas the one with a reason to be upset, damn it.
Evan pulled Camelia into a small meeting room and shut the door once James had followed them in. Once both of them turned to look at her, she practically shrunk under their gazes. Their attention was so much more intense here, in this littleroom away from witnesses, and she ignored the way her pussy clenched at the sensation of being their sole focus,again.
"Camelia..." Evan started, but Camelia interrupted, biting out her words sharply.
"Did you know?"
Evan furrowed his brow in confusion, and James raised an eyebrow at her. His stance had softened a little when the door had shut behind them, enclosing the three of them in privacy, but now his shoulders stiffened again with the accusation. "Did we know what, exactly?"
His voice was mildly mocking with the question, the same tone that Camelia hated so fucking much, and she glared at him, stepping up and poking him firmly in the chest as she repeated, "The law. The one that was passed two days ago banning suppressants. This morning when you saw me. Did. You. Know."
Evan's eyebrows raised practically into his hairline, but James' expression softened a little. He reached out and cupped Camelia's chin with both hands, pressing his lips together. Camelia forced herself not to lean into his touch as he said, much softer, "No. Of course not."
"We just found out. We were coming to tell you." Evan's expression shuttered a little, a hint of anger in his eyes as he bit out, "That would be really shitty news to get from someone else."
"How did you hear about it?" James prompted, drawing her attention back to him. His gray eyes were intense as he looked at her, and Camelia swallowed hard as Evan stepped around his friend, crowding against Camelia's back and cocooning her in their warmth.
Protectingher.
"Pharmacy," she said softly. "I was going to fill my prescription."
"Fuck." Evan's breath brushed over the back of her neck with the curse, a clue to how close to her he really was. Camelia bit herlip as she ignored the part deep, deep inside of her that thrilled at being in her Alpha's presence again.
Fuck. No. Not mine. Alphas. Not my Alphas. God, get it together, Camelia.
"What are you going to do?" Evan's voice was softer when he spoke again, and his hand brushed against her hip before it dropped away. Camelia shivered, and James still hadn't released her face. The way that he was looking down at her...it was like he had a million things that he wanted to say, but he was waiting for her to respond before he decided which was the most appropriate.
The amount of care that was hinted in that one expression...Camelia couldn't stand it. She looked down, gently away from James' hands as she mumbled, "I don't know. I only found out half an hour ago. And I spent a good amount of that time being pissed off because I thought you two were keeping something from me." Her voice broke a little on the last sentence, but she pushed through, ignoring the way her heart fluttered unevenly at the feeling of Evan's chest brushing against her back. "I...I haven't thought far enough ahead to figure out what I'm going to do about school. Or life. God, this changes everything." She buried her face in her hands, and for a moment she forced herself to take slow, deep breaths so that she wouldn't start to panic.
A moment later, James wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her forward so that her cheek rested against his chest, and Evan pressed close against her back so that their breathing was in sync. His hands gripped her hips comfortingly, his fingers tracing over the sliver of skin that was revealed by her low-slung pants, and Camelia sighed, relaxing a little.
"We'll help you decide, if you want it," Evan said softly. "Whatever you need."
Whatever you need. It was distressingly close to the soft praise and promises that they both had uttered during her heat, but Camelia knew that those words couldn't be trusted. Anything said during heat was inherently untrustworthy, riddled with hormones as all parties were.
This, though...This felt real. Almost too real.
"I need to talk to my Dad first," Camelia mumbled, the words muffled against James' chest. She couldn't stop her hands from rising to trace over his muscles, feeling the firm flex of them as he hugged her a little tighter. "He might have an opinion."
"You have our numbers when you're ready to talk about it." James' voice was low and soothing, and he smirked gently at her when she looked up at him. “Unless you’ve already deleted them.”
The smirk told Camelia that he knew that she hadn’t. It hadn’t even been a thought to cross her mind, if she was being honest, but she still wanted to argue with him. Tell him that he didn’t know her as well as he clearly thought he did.
When Camelia didn’t respond, James’ smirk grew a little wider. Then he shook his head, gently disengaging his arms from around her waist and stepping back. Evan did the same, squeezing her hips firmly one more time before he stepped around her to his friend's side, leaving Camelia feeling shockingly cold and alone.
"We're here for you when you're ready for us, Camelia," Evan said, his voice low and intent. “We know you need some space. Let us know when you’re ready to talk.” His blue eyes gleamed at her with something unknown, something almost dark, and then he and James turned and walked out of the meeting room together, leaving Camelia alone with her thoughts and the sudden renewed interest of her pussy.
Chapter thirty
It was another week before Camelia's father returned home for the deeply unpleasant conversation that they needed to have about her new prospects, and Camelia spent every moment of that week looking over her shoulder. Every glance was an attack, every question a stab to her embattled psyche.
Aria noticed the first day Camelia was back when they were having lunch, of course, and asked Camelia what was wrong.
