Ben placed his lips right by my ear, making me shiver with arousal, and murmured, “You’ve got your work cut out with those grumps. Just know I’m with you completely. I’ll follow you into battle wherever you lead me.”
My cheeks hurt from smiling as I pulled him in for another kiss.
“Alright, I’m off to do some baking,” he said with a wink, squeezing my ass before leaving me with my two scowling alphas.
I rounded on Cam and Theo.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing their reactions had everything to do with their need to protect me.
“Don’t want you to get hurt,” Cam said, tugging me onto his lap. Theo grasped my hands between his.
“I know,” I said softly.
I rubbed my face against Cam’s cheek and neck, scent marking him. The tension melted from his body and he purred. This was the best part of being an omega—soaking up love from my alphas and comforting them in return. I pressed Theo’s hands to my chest so he could feel my own purr.
“The best way to keep me from getting hurt is stopping this government,” I said. “And I need to be a part of that.”
Theo took a deep breath as if trying to center himself. “What do you want to do?”
“I’m not sure what’s happened since Amirah went underground or what the Alliance is even doing now. We’re all too fragmented. We need to at least get all our Alliance friends together so we can share all the information we have and figure out the next steps together. I was thinking we could all meet at Jewel’s shop.”
I held my breath, looking between Cam and Theo to gauge their response. The two of them locked eyes as if they were having a silent conversation. I tried to be patient but finally huffed out a sigh when they still weren’t saying anything or looking at me.
They both smirked at my reaction.
“Alright,” Cam said. “Send out the… err… bat signal.”
“Really?” I gasped. Before they could change their minds, I threw my arms around them, squeezing them into an awkward hug before bouncing off Cam’s lap and rushing upstairs to get my phone. Time to put my plan in motion.
ChapterFifteen
Josie
Ismiled at the flurry of text message notifications lighting up the new burner phone Theo had gotten me. Yesterday I’d texted Poppy, Clementine, and Westin about joining the Alliance’s efforts. They had been all-in on the plan, which I had expected, but what surprised me was their outpouring of love for me. When I’d been trapped in my numbed darkness, I had forgotten there was a world outside my suffering—a world where my friends cared about me.
I blushed as Poppy sent an incredibly explicit text about her and her alphas’activitiesthe night before. Ben materialized over my shoulder to see what I was reading, and I rushed to close the text.
“Wait, that looked very interesting,” he said, trying to take the phone out of my hand.
“We’re just plotting to take down the government. Nothing to see here,” I said in a high-pitched voice, holding the phone out of his reach.
“You can plan my take down anytime you want,” he murmured, wrapping his hand in my hair and giving it a slight tug.
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I said breathlessly.
Ben just grinned as he put a plate of a dozen muffins in front of me with a flourish.
My heart lurched happily as Theo and Cam walked into the kitchen, and a wave of relief washed over me that I had all my alphas together. They had all been in bed with me when I woke up this morning, but the moment had been too fleeting. I found myself getting stressed if we were apart, even if just for a few minutes.
Needy omega.
They’re only here for breakfast, not you.
I tried to stuff the dark voice into a little box, smiling at Cam as he came over and kissed me. Things still feltoffwith the two of them, but I felt more settled after spending most of the day yesterday together, watching movies and cuddling.
My smile almost faltered when Theo stayed in the doorway, his head buried in his phone. He was dressed in a suit and tie, his wild hair the only outward sign of his anxiety. I had the urge to undo his tie and mess up his outfit.
I forced myself to take a breath when he didn’t move into the kitchen, trying to convince myself he wasn’t rejecting me.
