Chase stood up, grabbing our empty plates. “I'll get rid of these. You guys go get some extra blankets and pillows, and I'll meet you in the living room.
It didn’t go unnoticed that they were ensuring me and Bear weren’t separated. They were respecting our new bond. They weren’t acting jealous or possessive, just caring and understanding.
Was that what it meant to have a pack? To have people who always backed you up and helped you? If so, then I really could get used to having a pack.
Ten minutes later, I was on the sofa, sitting between Bear and Spencer, covered in blankets. Bear threw his arm around me, and I nuzzled into his side.
Chase took the armchair next to us, throwing his feet up and grabbing a deep blue knit throw that I recognized as one of Bear’s projects.
Spencer’s hand reached out, gently resting on my ankle in a firm but reassuring grip. I was sad that Chase wasn’t able to touch me, but there were only so many comfortable positions on the sofa, and piling all four of us on there would probably be overkill.
Still, just being in the same room as all three of them while lounging together, watching a TV show, felt right. When had I ever allowed myself to unwind so much? Usually, I was so focused on studying that I didn’t allow myself time to rest. It was a shame, because as I basked in the afterglow of my heat, surrounded by my alphas, I had never felt so relaxed.
Chapter 38
Chase
“Are you sure you don’t mind me taking you to class?” I asked as Flora fidgeted in the passenger seat.
She shook her head. “I don’t mind. It just feels weird,” she admitted. Her hand absentmindedly went to her neck, over her bond mark with Bear. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous that she wore his mark. Even though we had all participated in her heat, only Flora and Bear had taken that step.
All in good time.
“If he could have come with you without drawing a lot of attention, he would have. But he isn’t far away. He’s one building over,” I said, resting my hand on her knee in what I hoped was a soothing gesture.
Their bond was new, so any distance was mildly painful to them. We knew it was bad when Flora mentioned skipping class so she could stay near Bear after her heat. She had already missed a few classes due to the heat itself, and the last thing we wanted was for her to miss more and have issues with getting her degree.
Flora was officially part of our pack, and we wanted her toachieve all her hopes and dreams. Just because she and Bear had bonded didn’t mean we wanted her to give up on going to college. Getting her degree meant so much to her.
We’d figured out a compromise, though. Bear was in a car behind us and was heading to one of the nearby coffee shops, so their distance wasn’t so vast that it hurt.
Flora had spent all morning snuggled up with him. Her scent was slightly burned, making it clear she dreaded the notion of being apart from him.
When they had bitten each other, all our lives had changed forever. We hadn’t discussed it as a pack yet, but there was no way we would be able to go back to our old ways. How would we go on foreign missions with an omega? Flora wasn’t trained like we were. She couldn’t handle stealth operations.
If we were lucky, we would be able to take jobs like protecting the Garnetts, where we could have a base nearby. Whenever one of us went upstairs to talk to the Garnetts or watch their floor, we could be back to Flora in minutes.
Granted, at this point, she only needed to be close to Bear, but I couldn’t help hoping that one day, she would need all of us that way.
“We could just go back to the apartment,” Flora’s voice was hopeful.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “As much as I enjoy your company, get the hell out of my car and go to class,” I insisted, doing my best to keep my voice serious.
She pouted. “Spoilsport.”
“Go learn stuff,” I said, waving her off.
A small smile graced her face, and she leaned over the center console, planting a kiss on my cheek. Her sweet scent of rose and honey infiltrated my senses in the best way.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Before I could reply, she opened the door, slid out of the car, and started walking toward the building.
After getting out of the car, I closed the door and followed her. We had discussed how we would watch over her. Flora agreed that entering the classroom with me would be somewhat obvious, so I agreed to go in a few moments after her.
As I took my seat a few rows in toward the back, I watched as she unpacked her books. Flora wasn’t paying attention to any other students, but they were paying attention to her.
In fact,several maleswere paying attention to her.
