I took a deep breath to steady myself. There was no need to be defensive. Bear was just trying to be supportive.
“I liked what we did,” I finally said. I didn’t know how to express how uncomfortable it was for him—for all of them—to know about my symptoms after years of hiding them.
Bear nodded and leaned in for another kiss before standing up. He went into the closet and pulled on a t-shirt I assumed belonged to Gray. I raised an eyebrow, and he just grinned.
“Someonetook my shirt and I think Gray can spare one.”
My lips twisted into a smile, but it quickly fell.
“What about Liam and Gray? They hate each other,” I said, wrapping myself up in a soft blanket.
Bear sighed. “I’m not fucking happy with Gray either, baby, but Liam is a protector. He cares so much about the people around him. Made him a shit fighter, to be honest.”
“Fighter?”
Bear ran his hand over his short-cropped hair, looking unsure for the first time. “That’s how we met back in the day. We both did underground fighting.”
I imagined Bear and Liam in a dark boxing ring with their shirts off, sweat trickling down those deliciousVs leading to their…
Bear cleared his throat, and I jolted out of my fantasy. “Now I want to know what you were thinking,” he said with a smirk.
“Nothing,” I said primly. “Were you any good?”
Bear snorted. “Fuck yeah, I was. But then I injured my knee and some other shit happened…” He trailed off, momentarily lost in his memories. “Anyway, haven’t done it for years.”
There was a knock at the door, and Henry slowly pushed it open. “Can I come in?”
I held my arms out to him and he joined me on the bed, pulling me into his lap. Henry had a quieter energy from the alphas, and it made me feel calm, especially with how disorienting everything was right now.
“You ready to go shopping?” Henry asked.
“I guess.”No.
I’d hated shopping for as long as I could remember. My uncles always made a huge fuss whenever I needed back-to-school clothes, or if I asked for money to go out with friends. My stress around money had only worsened lately, making shopping an all-around miserable experience.
“It will be fun,” he said, squeezing me tight. “Promise.”
“I don’t need anything, though,” I said. “And I don’t have a lot of money right now.”Or ever,but sayingright nowmade it sound better.
Henry gently gripped the back of my neck, his brow furrowed. “You need stuff to make the road trip more comfortable for you, especially since you’re still coming down from your heat. And you won’t be paying for any of it.”
“No, I can’t?—”
“You’re not going to win this argument,” Bear said, appearing in front of me. There was a challenge in his eyes that made me want to push back and submit at the same time. When I didn’t say anything, he grinned.
“Good girl, now let’s get going.” He pulled me off of Henry’s lap and smacked my ass on the way out of the room.
47
WESTIN
“She’s not putting anything in the cart,” Bear said.
“No, no, she put that eight-dollar t-shirt in there,” Henry said.
“It was fifty percent off, so only four dollars,” Liam muttered. “Maybe she doesn’t like the store? We could go somewhere else.”
“This is supposed to be the best spot for omega shit,” Gray said.
