21. AMIRI

Chapter twenty-one

AMIRI

I didn't think it would be so easy for Camila to open up with us but it's like this beautiful flower struggling to bloom that just needed the right environment. Camila didn't say much after she stared at her reflection in the mirror and told herself she was beautiful. I think the entire afternoon was a bit overwhelming for her but I need her to see herself the way we do. The way that she sees us.

Camila is more than just our mate. She's precious and pure in a way that I vow to protect.

She allowed me to pull her into the shower and clean her up, her eyes flitting across my face and then darting elsewhere. Her cheeks were a permanent shade of red and as much as I wanted to try something else with her, she needed time to process.

Camila lets me direct her, towel her off, and throw on one of my shirts from the drawers in the guest bedroom before I lead her to Sasha's nest. The lights are dimmed low, my Omega sprawled out over the pillows. His eyes are half-open, a sloppy smile on those beautiful lips of his. "You brought me my buttercup," Sasha muses, throwing out an arm for Camila to crawl into. She glances back at me and then the nest before climbing in on her knees.

Goddess, the things I want to do to her in that position.

Sasha catches the change in my scent, his tongue darting out to lick his lips as he wraps his arms around our Beta. "No nasty stuff, Alpha. I'm tired."

"I know, Sash. I know. Maybe we can talk about something softer to go on after this heat than the suppressants. As much as I love you seeking us out for wild sex, it hurts to see how draining it can be on you." I lean over the edge of the nest, running my fingers through his hair before placing a quick kiss on his lips. Sasha doesn't want to lose himself to his heats, even though the typical male Omega only has a heat every 3-4 months. "Get some rest. Kol and I will work on dinner."

The only response I get is a cute little snore and it's not from Sasha.

A smile plays on my lips as I venture into the kitchen after snatching a pair of pants. It's easy to forget clothing in our condo but I'm not entirely sure how comfortable Camila is with that yet. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time before Sasha is going to need Kolsen and I. I don't want to leave Camila outside the nest but I also don't want to force her into something that she isn't ready for. She's had enough Alphas let her down—we don't need to be the next ones.

"Hey."

Kolsen looks up from where he's staring down at his phone by the counter. His hair is dripping wet from his own shower, low-hung sweatpants sitting on his hips. "Hey yourself. How is she?"

"Overwhelmed but coming from Ezra's house, anyone would be." I shrug like it doesn't bother me but Kolsen can see right through me. I might be his rock at times, the one that keeps him sane and in control but Kolsen is my confidence and my emotion. He helps me reconnect with the feelings I sometimes lock away in order to deal with the outside world.

I step up beside him to see that he's been scrolling through a few of our favorite delivery places. He throws an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side, both of us content to stand there for a moment. I've been secretly planning for Camila in our lives since I first saw her but having her here is an entirely different experience. Exciting. Amazing. Terrifying. I keep feeling that one of our desires is going to push her past her limits.

She wants to indulge but will she actually tell us what's too much?

Or will she want to please us until it breaks her?

"Ames, don't. Don't go there. She's not Genevieve." My face scrunches up as I slip from his hold and wander to the fridge for sustenance that isn't chips. I don't know that she isn't Gene.

Gene was a Beta I met about a year ago. She didn't want anything to do with our Omega and she wanted nothing more than the few random nights at Temple when I had the time. It was a perfect situation, with Sasha's blessing, until it wasn't. Gene helped scratch an itch. She was pliant and submissive, feeding into a side of me that I hadn't touched in years.

I loved it.

But that side of me was dangerous— is dangerous. My ability to control myself wanes when in that headspace and even though we had rules and safe words, Gene never used them. I fell deeper and deeper into that world until I realized that Gene wanted to please us and that she thought my acceptance would only come if she did what I asked or suggested.

A disastrous and humiliating moment in the cage at Temple caused me to shut down that part of myself. Genevieve told me that I did nothing wrong, that I hadn't pushed her too far but that fearful look in her eyes told me differently. And when she didn't contact me the next day or the day after, I knew I had fucked up.

Safe words have always been that catch for me but Gene wanted to please. Camila does too and I'm mildly terrified now that I'm thinking that this will be a repeat of one of those situations.

The fridge door is slammed closed, Kolsen pressed up against my back. "She. Isn't. Gene. Camila is our mate and you will take care of her the same way you do Sasha. You won't hurt her. I know that." His lips settle just behind my ear, coaxing the sensitive skin until I relax against the cool metal of the fridge. "If it bothers you that much, give Camila something that's just between the two of you. Something that she can touch or say or do that is her safe word but in a way that's comfortable for you."

"I-" I twist around so that I'm facing Kolsen, staring into his pale blue eye. "How do I make this work without losing myself again? I love her submission, the way she goes pliant, the way her cheeks turn red but not-"

Kolsen's brows raise, most likely at the fact that I've said more words today than I usually do in one sitting. "Make sure she knows she's a good girl regardless of what she does. Sasha had to learn the same thing—that as long as he followed the rules, he was a good boy. Either by coming when you said to, holding back when you commanded, or using one of his safe words when he needed everything to stop. We just have to give Camila something to latch onto, a safe base. It won't be immediate."

He leans in to press a kiss to my nose before stepping back to the counter. It feels like a weight has slipped off my shoulder, the idea of giving Camila something to inconspicuously tell me that she's uncomfortable is genius. I just have to figure out what. A problem for tomorrow as we determine what's for dinner. "Sasha likes that Thai place down the street."

"We haven't had it in a while. Sounds good to me." Kolsen presses a few buttons and then huffs out a sigh. He presses both hands flat on the counter and then angles his face to me. "We never had a good moment to talk without them in earshot. That incident at the gallery isn't Teo's first brush with the law. Unfortunately, his parents have enough money to make everything go away for the most part."

"Seriously? Do you know what happened between them?"

"Bits. She doesn't seem to want to talk about it but Teo isn't going to spend more than a night in jail. If that. He's going to be a problem and I don't like the look in her eyes when he's around. It's not really fear so much as terrified annoyance. I don't even know how to describe it but I'm real close to getting a restraining order."

Kolsen isn't the only one thinking in that direction. Teo should know all about encroaching on another Alpha's territory. He's playing with fire because we aren't just protecting a woman we've decided to date. We're protecting our mate and that biological connection makes this conflict that much worse. And while society will be on our side should it come to a true physical altercation, in the eyes of the law, unless Camila is bonded by an Alpha's bite, we'll all be in trouble.

Kolsen isn't done though, a smirk playing on his lips as he folds his arms across his chest. "Teo's father showed up and wasn't happy I was part of the other party. Tried to hand me a few grand under the table to keep this between us."

"He wanted to settle?"

"Yes, but I told him that he has to work that out with Camila. We'll have to talk to her about what she wants, if she even wants to see Teo again but I'm not settling shit without her consent. He ruined her livelihood and terrorized her and her friend. A few grand for a payout is embarrassing." Kolsen gestures to the art still sitting by the door.

He doesn't even have to explain why they're here—other than Camila losing her job. Those colors are Sasha's. They always have been and I bet he saw those canvases and immediately needed them in the condo. The paintings are gorgeous and I would be proud to display them across the living room and in the bedrooms. Then an idea hits me. "You think she'd paint something for Temple ? We could hang it by the bar."

"Fuck, I hope so."

I snort. "You're just thinking of her naked and covered in paint, aren't you?"

"You aren't?"

I take another moment to form the right words to catch Kolsen off guard. "No. I'm imagining a night where we invite Teo to a settlement meeting at the club and let him watch one of us show him how to truly make Camila scream. Watch him lose what he didn't cherish. Watch him scream at us for defiling a woman he wanted to make his pack Beta while we make her ours." Kolsen's nostrils flare before the devilish grin I love so much spreads across his face and he stalks over to me to drag me into a tongue-licking kiss.

He grinds his hips against mine, drawing a grunt from the back of my throat. "You say the sweetest shit, Ames. Get her to agree to it and I'll pay for the show. Goddess, I hope she lets us watch." I mainly said it to rile him up but it's not a terrible idea and Camila did say that she was okay with everything on the list.

We head toward the nest, Kolsen mentioning something about food showing up in two hours. That's when I remember one last thing we've sort of pushed out of focus. Camila and Sasha are curled up together, a tangled mass of limbs.

Tomorrow is Sunday.

I'm kind of hoping Camila asks us to go with her.