“Well, if you need any help, let me know,” Tex offered.
“I will,” Carver said, shooting him a quick smile in the mirror. He knew that he could always count on Tex to have his back.
16
Peter
After his talk with Carver about having a safeword, Peter was feeling much better about his situation. It was like the difference between having and not having a net to catch you when walking a tightrope. Carver and Tex were still intimidating—looming and grabbing him in ways that made his belly tingle with excitement—but just knowing that he could make them back off was a massive relief.
He’d tried it before the two alphas went to the gym. Pinned against the wall with Tex licking into his mouth like he was starving, Peter had mumbledyellowwhen Tex stuck his hand down his pants and tried to finger his hole. Tex had grinned, hand moving back to the outside of his pants and just groped him while the kiss continued.
He hadn’t been upset that Peter had told him to slow down, and when he backed off, he’d grinned like Peter had done something good.
The pleased look on his alpha’s face had given Peter tingles like he couldn’t believe.
Tex and Carver had left shortly after, telling him that they’d be back in a few hours.
Alone in the house, Peter sat in the living room, fiddling with Carver’s iPad with the TV on in the background. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but go back to his sister’s Instagram page. She’d posted twice just that morning, implicitly bragging about the beautiful resort she was staying at. She was wearing a white sundress and a straw hat, and in each picture she was smiling like life couldn’t be better.
Peter looked at the pictures, resentment and fury welling up inside of him, and wondered how she could live with herself. She’d knowingly set him up and destroyed his life. The betrayal was like a fresh wound, and Peter didn’t know how to get over it.
He didn’t think he could get over it.
Turning off the iPad, Peter put it aside, determined that he wasn’t going to look again. It was only making him upset. He grabbed the remote from the TV and flipped through the channels, finally landing on an ancient rerun ofFamily Feud. Sinking back into the couch, he settled in to watch, enjoying the high energy and the playfully naughty answers some of the contestants were giving.
It felt good to be able to just sit and watch TV by himself.
The episode finished and Peter turned off the TV. He made himself a cup of coffee, put on the new coat Tex had bought him at the mall, grabbed a blanket, and went out onto the back porch. Tex and Carver had a huge back yard, lined on all three sides with nothing but forest. The lawn was reasonably well-trimmed, but Peter could see that at least half the growth was made up of weeds and flowers.
It looked more like a clearing in the woods than something cultivated, and given the wolfy nature of his two alphas, that was probably intentional.
Peter liked it. The back porch had a swing, and Peter sat down and made himself comfortable.
It was a luxury to sit and enjoy the fresh air. He could smell the forest, pine and the freshness of the outdoors, and even though it was closer to winter than spring, he could hear a few birds singing.
Sipping his coffee, Peter was content just to sit there and enjoy himself. The blanket draped over his lap kept his legs warm, and the puffy coat Tex had insisted he try on in three different colors did an excellent job with the rest of him.
Thoughts drifting, Peter wondered what it meant for him that he was pardoned. Omegas matched through the delinquency program had severe restrictions on what they could do—their alphas given complete control over theirdomestic rehabilitation—but omegas that matched through the regular program had no such restrictions. They were just as free as their alphas.
Peter didn’t want to get his hopes up, having learned through bitter experience that life liked to disappoint you, but he couldn’t help the hope that maybe he could finish school and get a normal job.
The sound of the sliding glass door leading from the living room to the porch opening startled Peter out of his thoughts and made him turn his head. Tex walked out onto the porch, rubbing his arms against the chill.
His sweatpants and tank top weren’t exactly warding off the cold, the top exposing more skin than it covered up. Peter didn’t know why, but the way it bared Tex’s pecs and the sides of his abs was somehow even hotter than just seeing him shirtless.
“There you are,” Tex said, smiling. “Enjoying the fresh air?”
Peter nodded. “It’s nice out here.”
“Yeah, we love it. When we first moved here, we lived further away from the woods right in the middle of the suburb. It was awful.”
“You couldn’t find anything bordering the forest?”
Tex laughed. “Not in our price range. Carver didn’t want to accept any help from his parents, and we couldn’t get a loan to cover the cost of a house like this. It only took a year for him to change his mind and ask his mom to co-sign for a mortgage.”
Peter could relate to that. His parents had been wealthy, always there to offer support, but he’d wanted to make it on his own. It wasn’t until they died and his sister and uncle started managing things that everything fell apart.
“So, do you want to come in?” Tex asked, rubbing his arms again. He leered. “You could join me for a shower.”
