Every time that I let myself forget about Hezekiah Jordan, he crawled right back into the forefront of my thoughts like a disease. Just the thought of him reminded me that there was some psychopath trying to burn me alive, and it reminded me that I’d have to face the man who was the main character of my nightmares in five short weeks. Even if I felt happy and safe in this apartment, I knew that it was all fake. The feeling of being watched crawled up my spine and I glanced around the dining room as if a masked monster would come barreling in any second.
Then, my face began to tingle, and my mouth opened and closed as I tried to form my panicked thoughts into words.
“Uhh, Tibby?” Cobb was already standing up from his seat, his dark eyes locked onto me, and Matteo’s hands were already reaching for me. “You’re pale, are you feeling like you’re about to pass out?” The alpha asked.
“No, I’m fine.” My voice felt like it was far away, “Totally awesome. Cool as a cucumber. I’m definitely...well, actually, I think that I am going to pass out. Just for a second....”
My vision tunneled as someone shouted from far away and everything went black.
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When I finally cameto, I was lying flat on the couch and someone had put a wet washcloth over my eyes. Someone had pulled my feet into their lap and, judging by the way they were being massaged, I was pretty sure that Matteo had my little piggies firmly in his grip.
“No massaging Matteo,” I grumbled weakly, “I’m too woozy to feel horny right now.”
“Hey guys? She’s up!” Matteo called, and I could hear several pairs of feet approach, and the scents of the rest of the pack surrounded me.
Sliding the washcloth off of my eyes I was immediately confronted with Theo’s freshly shaven face all up in my business, “how are you feeling Little Bit? You scared the shit out of us just now.” He was so close that I could smell the mixture of bergamot and spearmint on the tip of my tongue, and I shuddered with pleasure at the way that the permeating scent soothed my frayed nerves. I swear being an omega sucked sometimes, because my instincts had literally the worst timing. The three alphas in the room zeroed in on me, their pupils dilating as my scent changed and suddenly the mood shifted from concern to, well, something else.
“I can’t always control it,” I said to no one in particular, my face flaming as I held the washcloth up to my face to hide from them. The embarrassment from passing out was almost completely replaced by the embarrassment of being turned on in front of four people, two of which that I wasn’t romantically involved with.Yet, the tiny voice in my head whispered, and I battered her away. She had gotten me in enough trouble to last us both a lifetime.
“If it makes you feel better, I can’t really smell it,” Cobb offered and, you know what, thatdidmake me feel a little bit better. At least there was one person in this damn house that couldn’t smell it when I was being a total horn-dog, but of course he then had to add: “I usually can tell, though, because you get this look on your face....”
Whap! I smacked him square in the face with one of the down throw pillows, pleased when it made a satisfying thud.“You aresonot being helpful here, Cobb.” I scolded. His nickname slipped out before I could stop myself. I hoped that he didn’t mind me using it out loud. I had stopped referring to him by his full name days ago in my head, but I had never said it out loud.
Thankfully, the beta just laughed, unperturbed by my use of his nickname.
“I thought you were too woozy to be horny?” Matteo teased, his fingers stroking the sole of my foot and tickling me.
I did a self-check of my body, realizing that the earlier dizziness had worn off quickly and I felt just fine now. “Apparently, omegas bounce back fast.” I replied primly and crossed my arms over my chest as the alpha rumbled with laughter.
Cool dry hands slipped under my jaw, and I leaned into them, deeply inhaling Aria’s comforting rose scent as she knelt down in front of me. “Sorry for freaking you out.” She murmured, her amber eyes full of regret and worry.
“No,” I shook my head. “I would rather know these things. Iwouldpromise to get better about the whole fainting thing, but I think it’s a defense mechanism.” I pushed Matteo’s hands off of my feet so that I could stand up. The four people in the room held their hands out, as if ready to catch me should I decide to suddenly drop again. I was tempted to yell ‘TIMBER’ and drop just for fun, but I was pretty sure that the pack had definitely had enough of me dropping for the night. My legs wobbled slightly under my weight but held firm and I was pleased that I had bounced back so quickly.
“It would make sense,” Matteo’s tone shifted and I could tell that he was in doctor mode again. “It’s like your brain is an overheating computer and when you get upset or anxious, it just needs to shut off for a few minutes in order to cool down.”
“So, what you’re telling me, is that I have the brain of a fifteen year old laptop and I’m forcingThe Sims 4to run on it...am I following you correctly?” I grinned at him and the poor alpha looked confused.
“What’sThe Sims 4?” Matteo asked, looking completely confused. He couldn’t be serious, The Sims had been around for over twenty years. What rock had this alpha been living under?
“Well, how about we finish our dinner and I’ll tell you all about it, grandpa?” I teased and was rewarded with a swat on the ass.
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The rest of dinnerwent off without a hitch and eventually Cobb and Theo had returned upstairs to stare at what Aria referred to as their ‘murder wall.’ Together, Aria, Matteo and I cleaned up after dinner, Aria filling me in about everything that she had done over the past week. It was like a dam had broken and she now felt comfortable enough to share with me freely. She told me all about the lawyer who was handling the trial, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for Darian Bellis. I didn’t even want to be involved in what was going to inevitably be a shitshow of a trial, and I had lived through it. Aria assured me, though, that he was whip-smart and probably one of the best young lawyers that she worked with, but I could see that she was still worried. As I put the dishes in the dishwasher, I could feel her clear distress about the whole situation emanate out of her like a baseball bat to the head. Finally, I reached out and ran a comforting hand down her arm and squeezed her hand. She needed a distraction from her shitty week and I had just the thing.It’s now or never, Tibby.I mentally psyched myself up, and poured us each a glass of wine.
“You know,” I began, sipping on the tart pinot grigio and letting the alcohol give me courage. “I was fully prepared to seduce the two of you tonight, but fainting kind of threw a wrench in that plan.”Smooth, Tibby.I mentally kicked myself.
Luckily for me(and my absolutely shitty flirting skills), my words summoned Matteo faster than you could say Beetlejuice three times and the alpha appeared next to me, “Did I hear something about being seduced? Color me curious, little omega, what exactly were you planning?”
Matteo’s stare was intense, and I found myself blushing because, in retrospect, my idea seemed incredibly silly. One time, when I was sitting in the coffee shop at the academy, I overheard one of the omega alumni gossiping with her friends. They had tried to be quiet, but their giggles and random squeals had made it incredibly hard to focus on the book I was reading. So, like the nosey woman that I am, I eavesdropped.
The omega was talking about how she had accidentally pissed off her alphas, and how they had been ignoring her for a week. It definitely didn’t sound like the healthiest of relationships, but what she said next had stuck with me. After having had enough of being ignored, the omega took things into her own hands, literally. Apparently, she had decided to spread her lust-must (her words, not mine) around the house and her nest, and it had thrown her alphas into a rut. They’d been too tired afterward to stay pissed off at her and she had solved her problem through the power of incredibly kinky sex. Does it sound completely ridiculous? Absolutely, but I was willing to try everything to get this relationship train back on track.
