“That was weird,” Luc said.
“Yeah, let’s not do that again,” I responded with a grin. “It’s good to see you.”
“Good to see you,” Luc said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Theo wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me flush to his body as he scowled at Luc. I rolled my eyes, elbowing him in the stomach.
“Tone down the alpha nonsense,” I hissed. I was frustrated with him. He kept flipping from being super sweet to being stressed and overbearing, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it.
Theo huffed but loosened his grip on me.
“Did Charlie come with you?” I asked Luc.
“No, she wanted to, but she’s had some health issues, and it just seemed too risky. But she’s been working with Amirah and I’m sure she and Ben will coordinate security and hacking stuff. I don’t really understand any of it,” he said with a shrug.
“Wait, Charlie is your omega?” Ben asked Luc, coming to stand next to us. “How did I not put this together?”
“Wait, the Charlie you’ve been working with is Luc’s Charlie?” I looked between Luc and Ben.
Luc grinned. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t put it together.”
“Wait, that’s so cool! A hacker omega,” I said, looking up at Ben. He squeezed my hand.
“Josie, your friends are in the back,” Jewel said, barely glancing up from whatever she was looking at.
My lips twitched at her abruptness.
“Emir is back there, too,” Maximo said. “Trying to excavate a path so we have room to meet.”
Jewel snorted. “The back room is fine the way it is.”
Maximo just shot me a look that told me not to believe her.
“I’ll meet you back there?” I asked my alphas. Ben and Cam nodded, but Theo took my hand and pulled me aside.
He opened his mouth to speak and then hesitated. “I just… shit. I’m sorry. I’m messing everything up.”
I furrowed my brow in confusion. He cupped the side of my face, running his thumb across my lower lip.
“I know I’m not handling things well, but I want you to know that I trust you,” he murmured. “And I’m so proud of you.”
I melted a bit, my body flooding with warmth at his words.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “I love you.” I didn’t like this awkward distance between us and knew we needed to have a longer conversation about what was going on with him.
“Love you, too,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Meet you in there.”
I felt lighter as I walked into the back room. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, and then I did a double take. The room was filled with floor-to-ceiling boxes, piles of clothes, and every other item you could imagine. It was absolute chaos.
Clementine’s head popped up from behind one of the boxes.
“Josie!” she shouted, scrambling over the piles to get to me. She threw herself at me and promptly burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
I hugged her tightly. “I know, it’s okay,” I murmured, squeezing her tight.
I didn’t blame Clementine—she’d been in the dark like the rest of us.
