“Espie,” he breathes. Just my name. Anchor.
Lex’s gaze drops to the bare skin above my collarbone where his bite mark sits, then back up to my face. His throat bobs as he swallows.
The room turns heavy with three alpha scents going hot and the air around me grows close. The hairs lift on my arms. I shift toward Aubrey and he puts his arm around my shoulders.
“Hold it together,” Kev mutters under his breath.
Something passes between the four of them. Ezra's eyes flick to Kev. Kev's chin dips a fraction. Lex's hand opens and closesonce at his side. Sera doesn't move. Whatever the signal is, they all read it.
Kev clears his throat. Loud. The sound jolts Ezra back into his body and then he grins at me. A real grin. Wide. He's pleased. He shouldn't be pleased.He's pleased.He turns back to the stove. The fridge hums in the wall behind him. As though there was nothing in that heavy moment.
I don't understand. They all know Aubrey and I bonded. Everything we did is written on us and they'renot coming for us.They're standing there cooking. Shuffling on their feet. Setting a table. Trying to act like this isn’t a big thing. Like theylikewhat we’ve become and… it's…endearing.
“I’ve made mushroom risotto,” Ezra fills the silence we’re not naming. “I wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for, but it's gentle on the stomach. Kev wanted to make steak, but I convinced him that might be too heavy for now. I haven’t forgotten about your barbecue, Aubrey. Maybe next week. There's bread too, fresh from the oven, if you'd rather start with something simpler.”
His voice is easy. Unhurried. As though discerning that their scent-matched omegas have clearly bonded is just a part of his day. And by not naming it, they’ve accepted it. I glance up at Aubrey again. He’s watching the alphas. There’s weight. Watchfulness, as much for him as me, but tension bleeds from his tense frame and when he looks down at me, he whispers, “They’re okay.” He’s surprised, but also not, and I think that’s a good thing. “Are you good?”
And… I nod. Aubrey is watching out for me. For us. If he’s okay, then I am too.
A part of me wonders if I should be shocked. That I should be more autonomous. That already I shouldn’t rely on him as much as I am.
A frown creases his brow and he tucks his knuckle under my chin. “You know you’re everything to me and nothing in me regrets what we are to each other, don’t you?”
Everything.Light blooms inside me. He means it. He means it all the way through.
I swallow against the heat behind my eyes. “You’re everything to me too,” I whisper.
I press my cheek against his knuckle. I let him feel it through the bond instead.Yes. You. You. Yes.We're holding each other up. There's no other way to do this. Neither of us can stand alone.
Lex clears his throat. His eyes are too bright. “If you’re thirsty, there's seventeen different kinds of juice because Kev panic-bought the entire grocery store yesterday. He got four kinds of orange juice today alone. Four. I didn't even know there were four kinds.”
A small laugh tries to climb my throat. I keep it back. Aubrey's mouth twitches and a warm bright pulse spreads inside me.
Kev stands near the counter, arms crossed over his broad chest, his whole body angled toward us. He's watching openly, his dark eyes tracking our entrance, and he's given up any pretense of doing anything else.
“If you're uncomfortable here, we can always bring your dinner up to your room.” He clears his throat. “Whatever you want. Whatever you need. Just tell us.”
Just tell us.
I don't know what to do with that. I don't know how to want a thing out loud.
“Down here's good,” Aubrey lifts his head and I shuffle closer to him.
I nod. “We… want to be here.”
Kev's jaw loosens. “Good. That’s… really good.”
Sera sits at the table, a glass of wine in front of her, her phone face-down beside it. The lamplight catches the rim of the glass and turns the wine the color of garnet. She's slightly apart, larger gaps around her than the other chairs.
Her gaze finds mine. Holds. The need is there and so is the want. I'm caught. I can't look away. My breath stops short as I perfume. Aubrey looks down at me and then his gaze slides to Sera and his own clover perfumes the air the way mine just did.
Ezra makes a strangled sound and turns away from us, his back going stiff. Lex sets a napkin down very carefully. Sera's looking right at me. Then her gaze slides to Aubrey.
“Hey, angel,” she says, soft. Sera's eyes touch the mark and lift away, careful, no lingering.
Pink crawls up his neck. His thigh presses harder against mine. His hand stays in mine, but his gaze stays on Sera. There’s something magical about her and it’s reeling both of us in. They’re all reeling us in.
All of the alphas are scent-matched to Aubrey and I, and they’ve held themselves back for days while Aubrey and I have had each other. I’m the first to admit touch has helped the both of us, but they haven’t had that comfort. They’ve given us space. Time. Given us what we’ve needed without a thought to themselves. A twinge of guilt slides under my ribs and lodges there.
