Taylor squirmed, his jaw working like he was having fucking cocaine withdrawals.
“Do I look like an omega?” Johnny continued, taking the pressure off Taylor’s groin.
“No,” Taylor replied, letting out a sharp breath.
Johnny held his gaze. “And do I look like I’m going berserk?”
“N-no.”
Johnny dipped his head before pushing off the wall. He tucked his shirt into his trousers and said, “That’s right. Now, let’s talk to Amil about getting Sylvester the Molester sent away, because fuck knows if I can remember how to pull together a case file.”
Taylor nodded dumbly, back still pressed against the wall as he watched Johnny stalk back into the report-writing room.
And that was that.
Good talk.
Misunderstanding cleared up, and no unusual feelings in his dickwhatsoever.
CHAPTER 10
PACK
Taylor
Taylor’s brainwas going into overdrive.
Objectively speaking, all was well. Amil had managed to convince the CPS to remand Sylvester for another six months. One tick in the policing box.
Isla was growing a pair of metaphorical balls, and actually seemed to be settling into her role as the sergeant. She also said she washappywith his work.Happy!Two ticks in the ‘not so shit after all’ box.
Wendy was satisfied after her hot date, which made the atmosphere in the office a lot more relaxed. A tick in the horny old beta box.
And Johnny… Johnny seemed alright. Normal. The bite had already faded to almost nothing. Big,bigtick in the best friend box.
But, something was off. Taylor felt unstable again, and it resulted in him watchingTropic Thunderanother three times whilst pumping weights until his arms hurt. He’d also brought his paints downstairs so he could work at the kitchen table, but unfortunately for the merry band of ring destroyers he’d paintedan entire orc army in two days, which meant they were all fucking doomed.
He heard Johnny sighing every time he found a figurine tucked in some obscure place in his bedroom.
Taylor couldn’t help it—he just had some inexplicable urge to exist in the centre of the house. He caught himself touching things he didn’t usually mess with, like the hoover and mop, and of course Johnny had taken it as a sign that he wanted to start doing household chores, which wasnottrue.
If Taylor really thought about it, it felt like his wolf was doing the equivalent of man-spreading. Putting his scent on everything and holding up a big orange sign that said ‘This, right here, is mine. Now piss off.’
“Stay with the pack,” Johnny growled, his thoughts cracking like a whip over the bond.
Taylor blew air from the sides of his muzzle. He felt itchy. Not flea-ridden itchy, but the skin too tight, body on edge kind of itch. His legs ached too. Even in wolf form he was finding it difficult to navigate the uneven ground of the pack woods.
“I am,” he growled back, drifting between the trees and falling back in line with the kids.
Gabriella yapped, flicking him with her tail, so Taylor nipped her back leg in return. She and Clementine were getting big, all long legged and gangly, just like he and Johnny had been when they were teenagers.
Johnny trailed behind with Marty, his wolf almost twice the size of his omega brother’s.
“Let’s go!” Clementine barked, her excitement vibrating across the bond. She was faster than her sister as she sprinted off ahead.
“Wait for your brother,” Taylor replied, nipping her scruff and pulling her back.
The five of them followed the boundary of the woods, scent marking the trees to map out the perimeter of their territory. They might not live within the pack house anymore, but Maman still asked them to maintain pack lines in the summer.
