After a few minutes Aria, staring over my shoulder and into the kitchen where her clothes lay in a pile on the floor and were probably very wrinkled at this point, managed to say: “Dammit. I’m going to have to pick out a whole new outfit for work now.”
We shared a quiet laugh as we sat together in the dining room, and I finally felt the first glimmers of hope about our future.
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Matteo and Aria leftfor work soon after our ménage à trois in the dining room, and I spent the rest of the morning in my office flipping through DMV photos that the FBI Field office had emailed me last night. They all had the potential to be Jamie Jordan, based on his teenage pictures that we age progressed. There was an incredibly high likelihood that Jamie was the murderer that we were looking for, especially when you took the profile that the FBI had put together. Jamie ticked off more than one box, definitely more than what could be considered coincidental.
He was young, the same age as Tibby, he had never been formally educated as far as we could tell. Higher education required some kind of documentation which, it didn’t seem like he had, even if Marion Burnes had claimed that’s what he was doing. He was the son of the cult leader and somehow had some sort of contact with the man, so it stood to reason that he held some of the same values and views that his father did. So, now the only question that remained was: just where the hell was he? The kid was like Casper the unfriendly neighborhood ghost and, quite frankly, I didn’t believe in ghosts. There had to be somewhere in all of this that he had fucked up, and I was determined to figure it out so that I could protect my pack.
Three hours later, and I had flipped through hundreds of ID photos, tagging potential Jamies and generally giving myself a migraine. I was just taking off my reading glasses and sitting back in my chair when I heard the first strains of music coming from the kitchen.
Curious, I got up and left my office, padding barefoot down the hall as Edwin McCain’sI’ll Beplayed on the Bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. I knew almost immediately that it was Cobb’s music, since there was nothing that the beta loved more than nineties soft rock.
I could hear Tibby’s voice as I stood against the wall in the dining room, not wanting to interrupt a conversation that I wasn’t supposed to hear. Peeking around, my heart gave a little twist as I watched Cobb and Tibby dance together in the kitchen, completely covered from head to toe in flour. They spoke quietly as they swayed, only having eyes for one another as the music played.
Cobb was someone that I had never shared before since Aria looked at him more like a brother and a friend than a lover, and Matteo had never gotten the chance to form a romantic bond with him. So, I stood and watched them sway together, I couldn’t decide who exactly I was more jealous of: Cobb, or Tibby. My conflicted feelings came and went quicker than the speed of light, mostly because an image of Tibby writhing in between Cobb and I as we came together popped into my mind and the jealousy evaporated into thin air. My cock, which had been thoroughly wrung out this morning by Aria, jumped at the imagined scenario.
The thoughts of Tibby and Cobb together in bed quickly fled, however, when their intimate moment turned into an argument. I wasn’t quite sure what was being said, but Tibby was gripping a folder in her hands, and instinct told me that it was her sealed court records.
Their argument became more heated, and I was just about to step in, when Cobb put his hands on either side of the red-headed omega’s face and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
I watched in awe as the two stood in the kitchen like they were the only people in the world. Then, I heard the words ‘Zombie Tabitha’ from Cobb and Tibby repeated it, rolling her eyes at the beta like she thought he was crazy.
Cobb spoke louder now, and I could clearly make out his words. “Weak. You’re definitely getting eaten in the zombie apocalypse. Louder, babygirl, let Zombie Tabitha know she is not welcome here.”
Tibby’s little rose petal lips pursed as she glared at him, before sucking in a breath, her shoulders rising as she bellowed her next words. “FUCK RIGHT OFF, ZOMBIE TABITHA!”
I had absolutely no idea how they’d gone from romantic dancing, to an argument, to kissing and, now, to screaming about zombies. The situation was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled out of my body as I watched the two of them jump at the sound. Knowing that my presence was no longer a secret, I strode into the kitchen. “Uh... who is Zombie Tabitha, and why has a bag of flour exploded in our kitchen?” I asked, trying to hide my amusement.
Tibby blushed, her cheeks and nose turning bright red as she stepped away from Cobb and raked her fingers through her red curls. “That was me, sorry. I was trying to make bread and dumped everything on the floor.”
Opening the pantry next to the fridge, I pulled out the dirt devil vacuum that we kept in there and a broom and dustpan. “No worries, though, invite me to the food fight next time.” I teased, nodding at the streaks of white powder on their clothes.
Tibby’s blush deepened even further, and she wordlessly held out her hand for the broom.
“I’m going to run upstairs and shower.” Cobb hiked a thumb towards the staircase, his eyes were focused on Tibby, and I could see that my beta was just as smitten with the omega as the rest of the house was.
Tibby was busy sweeping up the mess on the floor, the back of her neck pink as she swept it up into a pile. I briefly considered letting them figure their own relationship out, staying out of their business, but as I watched Tibby drop the broom for the second time, it was clear that the omega would be useless until she worked out her feelings for Cobb.
“Little Bit,” I brushed my hand over her shoulder, making her jump. She must have been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she forgot that I was still in the kitchen with her.
Her multicolored eyes met mine, and I could see the indecision in their depths.
“Do you like him?” I asked, watching her expression carefully as she mulled over my words, pursing her pink lips.
After a few minutes of standing quietly in the kitchen, she finally nodded, “Yeah, I do. I’m really sorry.”
I didn’t like the guilty look on her face, reaching down to pull her free hand into mine I asked: “Why are you apologizing?”
“Because you two just kind of figured things out...? I’m not trying to wreck your relationship or anything. I’m going to be leaving in a couple of weeks anyways....” I could see the misery on her face at just the thought of leaving, and I realized, with a jolt, that it was me who was making her feel like this.
I’d been so caught up in keeping boundaries separate, that I’d stunted the natural growth of Tibby’s relationships within the pack. My thoughts shifted to Matteo and Aria’s words earlier this morning about how we were compartmentalizing the different relationships within the pack and making it feel fractured. That was 100% my fault, and I needed to make it right.
I threaded my fingers through Tibby’s and brought them to my lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles to try and convey my feelings. “Tibby, I am so sorry that I made you feel this way. I never intended to make you feel unwanted. You are very much wanted. You are wanted now, and you will be wanted after the trial as well.”
Tibby’s eyes watered as she looked up at me, “Really?” She whispered in a small voice.
