Chapter Nine

A few hours later, my head was throbbing, and not even the icepack Han had gotten for me was really relieving the pain. Still, I wasn’t stopping.

My position on the large chair in Han’s office was incredibly awkward since I needed both hands to type. I was leaning against the couch, using my head’s weight to keep the icepack pinned in place over the stitches.

Han kept looking back over his shoulder, obviously feeling the pain from how hard I was concentrating and the apparent repercussions from that. It was a weird effect of doing school, but one I was intent on ignoring.

The door to the room flew open, just barely managing to miss Han’s computer screen that was nearby. I gasped loudly, my hand slamming over my chest like my heart was actually preparing to leap from my body.

Jackson didn’t hesitate at the door, coming to gather me against him, uncaring that he almost dropped my laptop on the ground. “Time for a break, rebel.”

“I didn’t get anything done. I have assignments past due.”

“Sebastian handled all of that for you.”

Jackson carried me down the hallway toward his office, adjusting me so I wasn’t cradled against his chest but wrapped around him like a frontward backpack. One of his arms went under my butt to help keep me up while the other pressed against my back until I was leaning my head against his shoulder.

“I want to do my classes now,” I said. “I told Han earlier that I wasn’t going to wait for memories to come back that might be lost forever.”

A blast of cool air made me shiver as Jackson carried me into his office, his scent soaked into the room. Unlike Han’s multiple computers, Jackson’s space had one. A silver, three-tiered cabinet was against the back wall along with several cork boards. It took my brain a moment to realize all the boards had roughly the same information, including a list of names, a map of a city, multiple pages of paper tacked together outlining a ‘SOP’, and even a random address on a sticky note in all the top right corners.

“Is that what made you upset earlier?” Jackson asked.

I was too distracted by the room to answer his question properly. “What is all this stuff?”

“It’s a complete copy of my office at work. All the important information about where I have teams, their safety plans, and whatnot. In case an emergency happens, I need to be able to find them. So, what upset you earlier?”

“It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Explain it to me, then.”

Jackson sat me down on the only chair in the room, standing against the little bit of wall next to the door. His thick arms were crossed over his chest, and despite his naturally stern expression, his scent was patient and calm. The chair was wide, letting me cross my legs in the seat. To stop myself from turning around from the momentum, I reached out to the desk to settle.

“It was private,” I tell him.

He shakes his head. “Nothing in this house is private. Nothing to do with this pack is private. Especially not to me.”

We stared at each other for a long minute, my attitude versus his calm. Part of the reason that I didn’t want to tell him had to do with the fact that I was embarrassed. I let my negative emotions win rather than just talking it out. Was I allowed to have feelings? Sure. But my mates weren’t rude alphas, they genuinely cared about me. And I kept assuming the worst with them.

I broke our eye contact, half deflating as I admitted what had happened. The words just flowed out of me, and I didn’t look back up toward Jackson until I finished.

“I think we all messed up,” he surprised me by saying. “It didn’t help that your heat came on much quicker than anticipated, but we can rectify that now. Let’s go on a date.”

“A date?”

“How else are we supposed to make new memories? Get to know one another again? The issue is that you’re worried about belonging in the pack. The solution is to prove to you just how compatible we truly are.”

It made sense. Was logical. Honestly, it even made me excited. My instincts loved the idea of being pampered and spending time with my mates.

My hangup was the term dating. Did that mean exclusive? Were we no longer a pack as we got to know each other so there was a potential for us breaking up? I didn’t like that idea at all.

With one hand on the desk, I pushed myself side to side in a comforting gesture while I tried to think through accepting the proposal or not.

Pushing off the wall, Jackson stepped closer. He grabbed my hand so I couldn’t turn the chair away from him and then kneeled down in front of me. “Talk to me, Hannah. Don’t keep your worries to yourself. I can feel you starting to panic.”

“I don’t want to break up.”

The words were barely out of my mouth before Jackson growled, his scent spiking with anger. “We won’t.”

I raised my hand about head level, explaining, “Bonding is like here. Top tier, forever.” Lowering my hand to my stomach’s height, I added, “Dating is here. We’d be going back a step.”

“Wrong. We will always be here.” He placed his fist under my hand, raising it up back to the imaginary line I drew for bonding. “We’re dating you in name only. I won’t let anyone take you from me, not even you.”

“You’re crazy,” I whispered, even as my stomach tingled at the aggressive compliment.

To that, he just grunted.

“So that beta…”

“Which one? Koda?”

“The one who flirted with you and Seb that sent me into a heat.”

“Is that what caused all these doubts you’ve been having since your heat? You think we might want someone else? Oh, rebel,” he tsked. “I will happily prove to you every day that you’re the only one I want.”

“Even if I never remember?”

“One day, you’ll become so confident in my love and adoration for you that you won’t ever doubt me. That’s my goal. So yes, even if you never remember. You’re mine. And I can’t wait to watch you fall in love with me all over again.”

His words were honest, but I still snorted a laugh at his phrasing. “You’re cocky, huh.”

“With good reason, rebel.”

When he winked, another round of tingles started at my stomach and spread upward to my cheeks, pulling my facial muscles into a wide smile. Flashes of memories from my heat reminded me how good it felt when he’d knotted me and I squirmed on the seat, the chair making my movements more exaggerated.

“C’mon, I want to clear the air with the others.” It must have been a rhetorical question because Jackson picked me up and carried me out of the office and back down to the first floor. “Pack meeting. Living room. Now.”

Jackson’s alpha bark had me straining to beat him to the couch even though he hadn’t let me go. As soon as I saw Sebastian and Zeke, I wanted their scents on me. When I tried to get out of Jackson’s arms, he just squeezed me tighter.

“Let go.”

“Kiss.”

I rolled my eyes at the demand even as I leaned in, teasing him with a short, quick kiss to his bottom lip before pulling away. He didn’t let me go. Growling, his hand came up to the back of my neck, pulling my face against his. This kiss was overwhelming, my alpha was completely in control, devouring me, tasting me.

When he pulled away, I tried to follow, wanting more. I tightened my legs around him, at least as far as they reached around the large male, clinging to him in the hope that he would finish the tease he started.

Instead, he just chuckled, easily pulling my limbs off him and settling me on the couch between Zeke and Sebastian. I snuggled close to both alphas, and everyone simply ignored my hint of lavender arousal in the air. Mostly.

Seb chuckled, even going so far as to press his face close to my neck and take a deep inhale of my scent. Which, of course, only made my arousal bloom more. Han was sitting on the couch’s arm next to Zeke, and he leaned against the back of the couch to reach out an arm and touch me. And Zeke was just barely touching me, his fingers gently tracing a random path along my inner knee and upper thigh.

“Let’s get down to business so we can do dinner,” Jackson started. He stood in front of the fireplace—unable to sit on the little table since my deformed art project was still there—and looking completely relaxed as he surveyed his pack. “Hannah hasn’t been feeling stable in the pack, so it’s our job to step up.”

Just like that, the lazy, arousal-filled air seemed to disappear. Tension replaced it with a hint of sadness and anxiety.

Jackson continued, “We’re going to start taking her out on dates. We’ve already talked about it, courting her again, but now we need to actually make plans—”

“I call dibs on first date,” Zeke said.

“Now, wait a minute,” Sebastian started. “That’s not even fair. Jackson wasn’t done talking.”

Zeke shrugged. “You snooze, you lose.”

“Maybe we should let Hannah decide,” Han suggested.

“She can decide the second date, I already called first,” Zeke said.

Around and around the playful arguments kept going. I hid my smile by biting on my inner cheek, enjoying the way they fought to spend time with me. Looking up at Jackson, the male was already watching me, a smug smile on his face. He winked, sending a thrill through my body.

“Enough,” Jackson said, not unkindly. “I think it’s only fair that Hannah’s first alpha gets her first date. Just makes sense.”

That comment just got the whole argument started over again.

Eventually progress was made when Han admitted, “I can concede to not being the first date since the shit I ordered hasn’t arrived yet. But when it does, I want that immediate weekend.”

“What did you buy?” I asked.

“You’ll find out when it gets here.”

That didn’t sound like an ideal solution. “Why not just tell me?”

“It’ll be a surprise.”

“No, thanks. Just tell me.” Waiting weeks to figure out what Han had planned sounded like torture.

Sebastian chuckled behind me, pulling me onto his lap even as I maintained eye contact with Han, demanding an answer. He didn’t tell me anything. Huffing, I crossed my arms over my chest, officially pouting as my mind offered no ideas as to what Han could be waiting on.

“So, it’s settled,” Jackson said. “Zeke first, then Seb, then me. Han will take whatever weekend is closest to his items arriving.”

Everyone nodded.

“Next, I think it’ll be good for us all to verbally reassure Hannah that she will be the only omega we’ll be dating. The incident with the beta delivery driver has her rightfully worried.”

Still holding me in his lap, Seb swore, somehow pulling me tighter against him. “I promise, we were not accepting of her advances, Hannah. We always order for the food to be left so we didn’t bother to check when we opened the door.”

I snuggled harder against Seb’s chest, his tropical scent and beating heart truly reminding me of the ocean. “She tried to touch you.”

“I didn’t want her to. Didn’t ask her to. Didn’t lean into her. She tried to come into my home, where my injured omega was, she was lucky my mother had trained me to control my emotions, or I’d have properly gone into a rage.”

Jackson grunted in agreement. “I’m used to high intensity situations. I practice keeping myself centered. It’s the only reason I didn’t let my instincts take over.”

I felt the tiny kernels of tension in my body disappear. My emotions had been so blinded by how angry and hurt I was, I’d forgotten my alphas. They didn’t want to be touched by a random beta. They didn’t want a delivery person coming into their private home.

“Should we tell her supervisors or something?” I asked. “She made you guys uncomfortable. Hit on you. And even tried to enter your private residence. That shouldn’t be allowed.”

“It’s already handled, rebel,” Jackson admitted.

That didn’t feel like enough. Now that I wasn’t throwing myself a pity party, I realized how wrong it was. “Handled, how?” I needed to ensure my alphas were properly protected. Rather than just rolling over and letting someone take them, I was going to defend my pack. “Tell me.”

I tried pulling out of Seb’s grip, knowing Jackson had the answers I wanted. Instead, I found myself in Zeke’s lap, facing Seb who was grinning like he thought my attempts to demand information were adorable.

My lips parted, about to continue my demand, when I felt a hand on my head, just gently stroking my hair. No words came out as I waited, feeling a finger part my hair before taking one of the designated sides and starting to run more fingers through the strands. I knew it was Han, he was the only one behind me, but my thoughts about everything else disappeared, especially when he used his nails to slightly scrape my scalp.

I moaned at the pleasure, my head falling backward to give Han better access.

“Before we get too distracted, there’s one last thing we need to discuss.”

I peeked a single eye open toward Jackson as he spoke.

“Sex. Our conversation about limits and preferences was supposed to happen before Hannah’s heat.”

That was when I became a mix of arousal and nerves. Jackson talked about the kind of sex we used to have, explaining in tediously sexual words about chasing me, holding me down, smacking my ass. All of which I agreed to, loving the idea of giving over to my base instincts, especially with my protective first alpha.

Sebastian described our intimacy as the time when I took charge. He let me be on top, riding him how I wanted. I was beginning to understand that his nickname for me went beyond just being cutesy.

Then it was Zeke’s turn. Han stopped playing with my hair, a silent way of telling me to pay attention. “Of course, we all have our one-on-one time with you, Hannah. But Han and I… We’re together.”

“I knew it,” I said, smiling wide with my own internal pride.

“You did?” Han asked.

I glared at the male. “I don’t think I like your incredulous tone.”

Zeke chuckled, turning my attention back to him. “I don’t know if you remember during your heat? I knotted your mouth.”

The words, any words really, disappeared from my mind. My jaw dropped open as I stared at Zeke, trying to make sense of what he said. Knotted my mouth? Was that even physically possible?

I vaguely remember sucking on Zeke, how good he tasted and how Han’s presence behind me had pushed me further onto Zeke’s cock. I did come out of my heat with an ache in my jaw, but I didn’t realize that came from a knotting. I figured I’d just … sucked a lot of dick.

“And—” I cleared my throat “—you do that often?”

Zeke smirked. The purely sexual look on my typically relaxed mate’s face had me leaning in to kiss him. When I pulled away, I watched as Han turned Zeke’s face, kissing him, too.

Watching my two mates kiss had my scent blooming, my arousal heating me up from the inside. It was like watching porn, having them in front of me, and all I could do was watch.

Sebastian used everyone’s distraction to pick me back up off Zeke’s lap. The male immediately pulled away from Han, glaring at Seb who wasn’t even looking at him.

“Did you make your hair appointment?” Seb asked.

I shook my head. “I forgot.”

“That works out. I meant to tell you that you have some company’s number in your phone that you really like. Where is it, I’ll show you?”

“Where’s what?”

“Your phone.”

“Oh, yeah.” I looked around, expecting it to jump out at me. It didn’t. “I have no idea.”

“Someone call it.”

We all waited patiently, not talking so we could hear the ring or vibration. Nothing happened. In fact, the only ringing was from Han’s phone making the call.

“Well, it has to be in the house,” I told them.

All of my alphas started laughing, but they also started to help me look for it. It wasn’t in the kitchen or the dining room. And according to Han it wasn’t in his office. Jackson checked my nest.

It was then I’d remembered I’d shoved the device between the couch cushions a few days ago that I found it, yelling at the house as I tried to turn it on. “It’s dead.”

“Here.” Sebastian grabbed my phone, plugging it in and waiting for it to get enough juice to turn on. The cord he’d used to charge my phone was long, like ridiculously several feet long. As soon as he got the number he needed, he handed me the phone to make the call. “They’re still open.”

The name was Glamorous Emporium, and I couldn’t help but snort as I hit the button for the call.

It rang only twice before someone picked up, their voice soft and sweet. “Hello, angel, this is Mayer. What type of service can I get you scheduled for?”

“I’m Hannah—”

“Oh, Hannah, yes, you are due to come in. Are you thinking of a touch-up or are you ready to do another color? Which did you pick last time?”

I pulled at a strand of hair as if I needed to double check the color before admitting. “Purple. But I do want to change it up.”

“Wonderful, how exciting. We have an opening in about four weeks with your usual stylist.”

Four weeks? How popular was this place?

I stared at Sebastian who just nodded his head like that was completely acceptable.

“Hannah?”

“Oh, yes, sorry. Four weeks. At what time?” I didn’t want to wait that long at all. The restless energy inside of me had already cemented what I wanted to do, and waiting was like trying to ignore an itch. A part of me felt bad since Mayer sounded so sweet and weirdly familiar with me. But I didn’t know her, and any sense of loyalty was lost with my other memories. I hadn’t even considered that my memory loss would affect even my hair stylist.

When we hung up, I made up an excuse about checking that the date worked, essentially politely denying the appointment. I didn’t feel like I’d accomplished anything. So, I scrolled through my contacts and called the only name I recognized.

Koda picked up almost instantly, “Hello, hello.”

“Hey, Koda—”

“Hannah!”

Apparently, my voice was easily recognizable. “Yep, I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me out with something.”

When I looked over at Seb, an amused and curious look on his face, I couldn’t help leaning over to kiss him. Our lips broke apart when I smiled at Koda’s excited tone demanding I tell her what I had planned.