13. SASHA

Chapter thirteen

SASHA

Amiri is still staring at the list an hour later, like a kid in a candy shop. He's crossed off three things, happier than I've seen him in a while. There's a slew of things I want to quiz Camila about when I get the chance, wondering how ready she is for things on that paper. The left side is tamer—butt plugs, handcuffs, floggers, etc. But the right side? The exhibitionistic items have me salivating from the fantasies flitting through my head. I didn't get a chance to really look at the back but I can only imagine the absolute depravity that is outlined there.

I asked to see the list when we left the apartment to return to the club but he just pointed me to the backstage and disappeared into his office. If he wasn't such an awkwardly private person in public, I would have tried to drag out an answer. As it stands, I do need to check on the girls before we leave the rest of the night to management.

With Camila gone, I don't really want to stay. Well, I'd love to run back upstairs and stuff my face into that lounge where her scent is the heaviest. Kissing Amiri helped a little but it's not enough. I'm already drunk on her taste. Even knowing we'll see her tomorrow is not soon enough. I rush through my goodbyes, Natalie laughing when she figures out that I've met Camila. By the time Kolsen and Amiri are finally ready to leave, I'm vibrating out of my skin, hot and irritable, confused, and anxious.

Something is wrong.

"Sash, what is going on with you?" Kolsen asks as he drags me into his lap across the backseat. Whenever we drive to the city apartment, one of my Alphas sits back here with me. I don't mind the gesture but for once I'm thankful for it. He cups my cheek, tilting my head up so that our eyes meet. "Talk to me, baby. You're really pale."

"I-" My face scrunches up as a wave of disappointment rushes through me and then sadness. These aren't my emotions. "I don't know what I'm feeling. I just… something is wrong." I tear at my chest, anxiously shedding my shirt as the emotions strengthen. Then it clicks. "It's Camila. My buttercup. Something is wrong. Alphas, I… she's not in pain but fuck, where is my buttercup?"

If I didn't think we were mates before, I do now. Only true mates can feel each other before they've even bonded. Just before we were bonded, in that fire, I felt Kolsen. His rage, his need to get to me, his love and every last emotion running through him. It's one of many reasons I don't fault him for the anger he holds—it's because it's justified.

With Camila, her emotions are sporadic—annoyed, frustrated, a little terrified but there's no pain accompanying those. This link between us continues to strengthen as we head down the main road into the heart of Ansdale and I can't stop from thinking that we need to turn around and go back. Frantically, I pull out my phone and call her, glad that I grabbed her number before she left .

It goes straight to voicemail.

My anxiety heightens at the thought that something might have happened since she returned home, that her father wasn't really okay with her going to Temple. I don't have to go down that terrible road when the car jerks to a stop seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I sit forward, about to ask what we're doing when my gaze snags on my buttercup leaning under the hood of her car, her ass propped up for any passerby to see.

One moment I'm staring out the window and the next, I'm launching myself out of the car. Kolsen grabs for me but I dodge his grasp, unable to think of anything other than Camila's safety. Unfortunately, my sudden appearance has Camila shrieking, a wrench above her head before she realizes it's me. "Buttercup, what are you doing out here? I thought we sent you home." Slowly, I step toward her, my arms stretched out as I wait for her to acknowledge the gesture. For a moment, I think she's not going to move until she melts against me, all those weird feelings slipping away.

She buries her head in my chest. "A lot of things happened after I left. What are you doing out here?" Camila pulls away just enough to see Amiri and Kolsen approaching, her cheeks flushing a deep red that I can just barely make out from our headlights. It highlights the few black smudges on her chin and arms, making her that much more adorable. "You're going home? Right, of course you are."

Kolsen slips the wrench from her grip before looking under the hood. "Do you have any idea what you're looking at, love?" Camila's frustrated groan is answer enough. "Contrary to popular belief, a wrench doesn't magically fix everything." He tinkers with a few things that I couldn't name if someone paid me to and then shakes his head. "It's going to need a diagnostic, I think. What happened before you pulled over? "

"There was a pop sound and then it turned off." She shrugs as if it's no big deal but I can tell that there's something else, a much bigger reason why she's out here in the middle of the night.

Amiri gently tugs her out of my arms, pinching her chin between his fingers as he twists her head right and then left. "You're not hurt?" She hums her response, eyes brightening a little from all the attention we're giving her. Oh, she has no idea how well I can spoil someone and I will be spoiling the shit out of her. My attention drifts to her car, Kolsen still playing around with what's under the hood.

I take the moment of distraction to look into the front seat and frown at the packed bags. "Camila, what's going on?" When I twist to look at her this time, her face is ashen, a twinge of fear and failure resting in her expression. "Camila…"

"It's nothing. I just need a good tow and a ride to the motel." Unfortunately, those are the wrong words to say around my Alphas. I can't remember how many times I've tried to do shit on my own, regardless of how inefficient it is. When Amiri finds out, he usually fucks the bad idea out of my head. Kolsen is much more terrifying, his possessive and protective side a lot to handle. I've grown to love it but the number of times he's asked me why I won't just ask for help are too many.

And Camila just admitted that something is wrong.

She should be tucked in bed in her pretty little tower at Ezra Thomas' house, not on her way to a motel in the middle of the night.

Both of their growls cause her to step away and back into my arms, Camila unsure what to do with their response. She flinches when Kolsen slams down the hood and I decide right then that Ezra is on my shit list. No way a woman moves like that out of reflex—they move that way out of habit. "Did your father hit you?" My words are laced with vitriol, Camila trembling against my chest as she stares at my Alphas.

"No. He didn't hit me but he threw me out. Said that I could stay under his roof and abide by his rules and choose Teo or leave. So, I left. I'm not choosing Teo."

The way she says that tells me it isn't because she's found us, her mates but that Teo is truly a piece of shit. I want more details but it can wait until later. The current problem is that our mate was about to sleep in a seedy motel, one that I'm pretty sure isn't even open at this time of night. Camila's shoulders sag in defeat as she pulls me to lean against the driver-side door. I take my time wiping off the little smudges, trying not to smile as it might make things worse.

Kolsen rounds the car to stand in front of us as I silently plead with him not to terrify her. I'm used to his possessive ass but I'm not so sure Camila will enjoy that side of him as much as I do. "Camila," he clears his throat to soften his words but it does nothing to drown out the rattling growl from Amiri. "I am not taking you to a motel to stay the night, not when we have a perfectly good bed that you can use. And no, sleeping in your car is not an option."

"I just-"

"There is no just , Camila. I will not watch you suffer while you're trying to be strong. Did you know that Sasha could feel you? Your frustration? That little bit of terror running through your veins? And what were you doing out of the car, propped up like that, and barefoot?" My gaze dips to her feet which she's now trying to hide. There's no use. "Just for the night, Camila. We'll figure everything else out tomorrow morning."

She swallows nervously, looking between the three of us as I tighten my hold on her. "You have a guest bedroom, right? "

"If you think you're sleeping anywhere but in my nest where I can hold you close and make sure you're safe, you're mistaken." Camila opens her mouth to protest but I'm not having it. "No, I felt everything. I had no idea what that was and I know you're strong. I watched you throat punch that Alpha but you're allowed to ask for help." Without giving her another chance to try and talk her way out of staying with us, I bend down and slide an arm beneath her thighs to pick her up.

She squeals and kicks, pressing against my chest for me to put her down but I shake my head as I stalk over to the car. One of my Alphas can grab her bags. "Put me down. I'm not all that light, Sasha. I'll come home with you but-"

"First, I will not be putting you down anywhere. You've been standing on the pavement with bare feet. Second? You're very light." I stand just outside of our car and squat with her still in my arms, watching as those full cheeks turn that beautiful shade of red again. Goddess, I'm going to enjoy figuring out how to keep her cheeks that color.