Definitely both.
“I figured you’d be thirsty,” I say, offering her the glass of ice water I somehow managed not to drop.
She stares at me sideways, those hazel eyes wide and uncertain and slightly accusatory, then snatches the water from my hand like she’s afraid I might change my mind and withhold it. Condensation drips down the glass onto her fingers as she brings it to her lips and gulps it down desperately, like she’s been wandering a desert for days.
I watch the column of her throat work as she swallows. A single drop of water escapes the corner of her mouth and trails down her chin, her neck, disappearing into the towel tucked above her breasts.
My cock throbs.
Get it together, Slater. You’re supposed to be the controlled one. The pack leader who thinks clearly under pressure.
She finishes the entire glass in one go, then sets it down on the small wooden side table with a decisive thunk before plopping back down on the bench across from me.
“You planned this whole thing with Nina, didn’t you?” Her voice is accusatory but not angry. More resigned, like sheexpected this kind of manipulation but isn’t sure how to feel about it.
I try to stare at her seriously, try to focus on having an actual productive conversation about trust and moving forward. But it’s damn hard when I know every delicious inch of what’s hidden beneath that single layer of white terry cloth. The perfect curve of her breasts, fuller than I’d imagined. The dip of her waist. The soft roundness of her hips. The way her thighs pressed together when she was standing there naked and exposed.
Every detail is burned into my memory now. Permanently.
I’m struggling to get my head straight, to think about anything other than peeling that towel away and exploring every inch of skin I just saw.
“Nina contacted me first,” I admit. “And honestly, I wasn’t going to come at first. Told her I needed more time to process everything, to figure out what I actually wanted to say to you.”
I pause, studying her reactions. “But then I was surprised when you didn’t show up at our place today, because after my offer last night on your show, I thought maybe you’d take me up on it immediately. Come over. Talk things through.”
Her fingers twist together in her lap, nervous energy radiating off her in waves. “I wanted to. God, I wanted to so badly my entire body hurt. But I was terrified.”
“Of what?”
“Of seeing that disappointment on your faces again.” Her voice drops to almost a whisper. “Of making things worse somehow and saying the wrong thing and completely destroying whatever tiny chance I might still have.”
She glances at me quickly, then away. “Nina made a convincing case, didn’t she? About how badly I’m struggling?”
“She said you’re close to convincing yourself that we’ve written you off completely. That you’re spiraling into this darkplace where you’re certain we hate you.” I catch a subtle shift in her scent then, just a slight increase in intensity. Vanilla bean and sweet citrus and warm almond milk, but richer now. Deeper.
She’s reacting to us being alone together in this heated space with almost nothing between us.
I notice the way she’s staring at me too. With hunger. My body responds immediately, blood rushing south, my erection straining even harder against the towel.
“And you haven’t?” she asks quietly, her voice vulnerable. “Written me off?”
I lean forward slightly, needing to come across as not too intense or serious, because Dylan specifically made me promise before I left not to scare her away. Mason backed him up. Even Jasper agreed that I needed to approach this carefully.
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” I say with a slight smile.
She exhales shakily, and I watch her chest rise and fall beneath the towel. “So… you really want to help me take down Reed?”
“Straight to business.” I can’t help the sarcasm that creeps into my voice. “I like it.”
But then I let the humor drop completely, my expression going serious. “Look, Anita. We have things we need to work through. Trust issues that won’t just disappear overnight. Communication problems. Boundaries that need to be established and respected. But I’m not one to run away from something just because it’s complicated or difficult.”
I hold her gaze steadily. “You’re my scent match. All four of us feel it, that recognition, that pull, and if you’re serious about actually making this work and not just saying pretty words, then I’m here to put in the work too.”
“You have no idea how much I’m into you,” she blurts out suddenly, her words tumbling over each other in a rush. “Intoyour whole pack. All of you. Damn it, Slater. I have never in my entire life fallen for anyone this fast before. Never had people constantly in my thoughts every waking moment. Day and night. It’s completely consuming me.”
She’s breathing heavily now, her pulse fluttering rapidly in her throat.
“And it’s absolutely terrifying because my last pack rejected me. Threw me out like I was garbage they couldn’t wait to get rid of. Told me I just wasn’t what they wanted, that I didn’t fit their vision of what an Omega should be. So they refused to help me during my heat, insisting I needed to work on it myself and not be so reliant on them. It was excruciating.” Her voice cracks. “You know how much that destroys you? How much it makes you question everything about yourself?”
