Page 27

“Yeah. I got them.”

“Yes,” he says with playfulness that usually charms me, but not today. I meet Tyler’s gaze, still reflected in the window.

“You’re the best.” Niall reaches into the paper bag in my arms and pulls the small box out. He takes a bite and hums. “You should buy stock in them.”

Tyler drops the pan in the sink with a loud bang.

Niall frowns at him.

“Sorry. It slipped,” Ty says without turning.

“Okay, Real Housewives is calling,” Niall says. “Come to bed when you’re done, babe?”

“I’ll be right there.”

Niall smiles at Tyler, who glares contemptuously in return, then heads into our room. I squeeze past Tyler in the narrow kitchen, and take my time unloading everything. Tense silence swells as I place Niall’s favorite ice cream bars into the freezer one by one, gathering my courage.

“I’m sorry about him,” I finally say. “Did he… Did anything happen?”

Tyler turns off the tap and dries his hands on a towel like he wants to strangle something. “No. You think I’d ever do that to you?”

“It’s not you I’m worried about.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about your omega. You should worry about—” He scrubs his face with his hands. “Never mind.”

“I’ll talk to him. I don’t want him bothering you.”

He looks at me, really looks at me, like he sees all of me, like he misses me too. “I think I should move out.”

I slam the freezer door shut. “What?”

“Yeah. Things are getting serious with you two, anyway. I’m sure an engagement is on the horizon. Then marriage, then a baby. There’s no room for me.”

“A baby?” I scoff. “I don’t want you to move out.”

“Well, I don’t want to stay here with the way things are.”

A thought occurs to me. What if he’s found his own omega? He’s been so damn secretive. Jealousy curdles in my stomach, the same jealousy I had when I walked in. I don’t want to share Tyler with anyone.

“Are you dating someone?”

He exhales a bitter laugh. “No. But maybe I should. Maybe we need distance. Maybe that’s what I need.” He tosses the towel onto the counter and leaves. He pauses, hand on the door to his room. “Don’t invest in those brownies. You already have a lifetime supply of Grackle Juice. His taste is terrible.”

You have a lifetime supply. It used to be we.

I woke up the next day with Tyler’s words still in my head, haunting me like a hangover.

Then Niall went into heat. I’ve spent the last three days fucking him, and I’m pretty sure my knot is going through the motions. My heart just isn’t in it. Fucking him feels like an obligation preventing me from working things out with Tyler.

I’m afraid I’ll knock on his door and find his things in boxes. I’m exhausted.

Niall squirms on the bed next to me, slow, shallow breaths deepening as he wakes. He grinds his pert ass on me before his eyes open, before I can even say good morning. He whimpers, kicking off our covers, then flounces onto his stomach, and presents.

I almost bite my nails. Almost. Instead, I press them against my lips until it hurts.

“Pay attention to me,” Niall whines. “You have an omega in heat, and you’re not touching me.”

“Sorry. I will. I…” I rest my hand on the curve of his lower back. “I think I’m getting sick.”