28. Blake

28

Blake

A foreign scent brings me out of my stress-induced sleep, a mixture of whiskey and cedar filling my nose. It's a pleasant aroma but one I've only caught faint notes from before. When I finally open my eyes and realize who I'm leaning on, it comes back to me.

"Who is that?"

Luca hums against my chest, trying to curl in tighter as if he isn't already plastered against me. I need my Alphas in here. No. I need to be at home with all of them. This isn't my nest even if being in here is less chaotic than out in my office. I can't imagine what the employees are going to say after seeing me carted up here. God, I should have never left the fucking car.

"Blake, you keep searching for something."

I frown and sit up a little, wondering what I need. I haven't been this in touch with my Omega for years and it's disconcerting. I also know there's a scent in my office that I don't recognize but need closer. "Who's out there?"

Luca sniffs at the air and then smiles, his entire face lighting up. "Maceo." I can see that the lawyer is going to have a part in my life but I thought it was going to be just Luca. "Do you need him in here?"

"I need to see him. I… I can smell him but I can't-"

"I know. It's an Omega thing. We have to know what everything is to feel comfortable sometimes. I'll go get him." He slides out of the nest and I'm about to grab him back when I realize I don't mind the idea of Maceo being in the nest. I just need to match the scent with him and then go back to sleep to forget that Hudson was ever here.

Oh, and I need my Alphas. And Luca.

And Maceo.

Fuck.

Suddenly, Maceo is standing at the edge of the nest, looking wildly uncomfortable. My heart beats a little faster for a man I've seen a billion times and never felt anything for. And yet, in this moment, I need him in addition to my mates. I feel fucking guilty for even thinking of Maceo as more than the family lawyer but I need his scent closer.

I need him closer.

However, I can't find the words to speak, some part of me in distress because of the decisions I'll have to make. Maceo won't share. Not like Luther and Grayson. This can't work and I'm making a bigger mess than can be fixed on top of the mess we're already dealing with.

Maceo's laid-back demeanor has been switched out for the calm expression on his face, Luca sleeping on the other side, his mouth open and drool pooling on the Beta's shirt. I stifle a chuckle at the scene, at how perfectly Maceo fits between us and then the guilt rushes back at me. I caught the tail end of Maceo panic texting, most likely my Alphas for permission so I know that the Beta isn't acting on his own accord.

His arms pull me a little tighter into his chest and I give in to the feeling—maybe a little too much when I dig my nose into his collarbone. Maceo shoots up and scoots back into the nest, throwing me a sheepish smile. He's adorable after a nap, not an adjective I would normally use for the man. However, his mussed black hair and wild (hazel) eyes flitting around the nest add an innocence to him that softens his outer appearance.

Add in the fact that he's very obviously aroused and reacting to our scents and the nervous laughter I've been holding back bubbles to the surface. I'm a wreck, stressed out and terrified of what happens now, my body unsure of how to deal with reality. So, I laugh. Maceo looks highly concerned at my reaction while Luca is still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What—what's so funny? Luca-"

My Omega crawls over to me and I flinch at his touch, wanting to lean into this crazed emotion before sliding to the other end of the scale. The forced happiness doesn't last as I start sucking in air, trying not to panic as I remember Hudson's fingers around my neck and the threats he whispered in my ear.

"Hey, you're with us. I know what you're going through, okay? It's terrifying, the nightmares haunt me but it gets better."

I can't seem to see through the panicked haze as I start searching for more than what's in my nest. This Omega bullshit is annoying as fuck. I stumble to my feet, Luca yelling something but I brush it off. No one is in my office but that doesn't stop me from all but crawling across the hallway, pulling Luther's chair from under the table, and forcing myself into his lap.

The panic stops, his thick arms banding around me. "I've got you, love. Where is Maceo? I thought-"

"Good. I just… Hudson…" Frustration bleeds through me at the inability to form my words around taking in gulps of air. Grayson sits beside us, running his nose along my temple and cheek to further calm me. Both of their Alpha purrs start up, a similar but more powerful sound than Maceo's. I didn't even know a Beta could do that but that's the least of my worries. I can tell that my Alphas think Maceo did something. "Maceo good. All good. Smells good."

Grayson snorts at the way my body tenses up. "We thought as much but that's a decision he and you have to make. Not us. Besides, you and Luca deserve the world. Whoever that is."

I snuggle in closer, wishing I was back in the nest so I could feel both of them pressed up against me. Luther tightens his hold on me, murmuring something before a door opens and then closes. I tense again, realizing that I interrupted something. "Just the detective, love. Fixing up a few things and filing for an order of protection. He should have never been in the fucking building."

"I should have never left the car."

Luther pinches my chin and roughly angles my face up to see his. "You shouldn't have to be scared of walking outside. I've told you too many times that the world is your oyster, that you should be able to do whatever you want and that isn't changing. We might have to take it a little slower now that we know things but I'm not planning on seeing that kind of fear in your eyes ever again. Or in Luca's."

He kisses me like he's going to lose me, like everything we've built together is going to fall apart. I cling to him, needing him to know that I'm not going anywhere. I'm happy right here in our strange ass pack. Grayson steals me away from Luther and straddles me on his lap, giving me a similar kiss but this one I can feel the fear and disappointment that Grayson hadn't rescued me sooner. My Alpha claims me, taking special care to avoid my neck.

"I am so fucking sorry for not getting there sooner, babe." Grayson's hands settle on my waist, his hips pushing up involuntarily. He's hard and I'm needier than usual but this isn't the time or place to start something. "Let's go home, alright?"

I nod, sagging against his chest in relief. We'll have to address the Hudson situation eventually but there's something else pressing on my mind. "What about Maceo?" It feels selfish to even ask and I don't know why my need for him didn't pop up the first time I met him. "I don't know why but he feels… it works but I don't-"

Luther chuckles as he leans back in his chair. "Blake, Omegas don't always choose a mate because of a scent match. Sometimes it's a biological connection or event that brings them together. I'm pretty sure that Luca and Maceo are scent matches. With you, I think it's something much deeper, something that would only surface in a situation like this. Shitty as it is, he might be your mate just in a different way."

I'm too tired to figure out what that means.

Grayson helps me off his lap and gathers my hands in his. "What Luther is trying to say is that this is going to be weird and it's going to take some time getting used to another dominant male in this pack if that's what Maceo chooses. You and Luca need him. I can see it, feel it. There's been a change in the last few days and I can't say I wasn't blindsided by it but I don't mind it."

"It isn't all about me, Gray. It shouldn't be-"

"You and Luca are our Omegas. It absolutely should be all about you. You are the pinnacle of the pack and I know you don't like that kind of spotlight but get ready."

I weather a small smile just as Maceo pushes inside the office, Luca grinning at the three of us. He's real close to Maceo's side but not touching, obviously just as confused as I am about wanting the third male. "Need me for anything else?" Maceo shoves his hands in his pockets, reminding me of an awkward college student than a man nearly ten years my senior. "As much as I'd love to hash out everything here and get all four of you on the same page, one of you is in preheat and the other looks like you're about to keel over. Distressed Omegas are like a beacon." I open my mouth to protest when a snarl slips from the Beta. "I don't care if you own the fucking company, Blake, you need rest. Both of you."

I stand there, stunned, waiting for either Luther or Grayson to lash out at Maceo. After all, a Beta just ordered a mated Omega to do something in front of his Alphas. Only silence meets my ears until Luther's chuckles fill the room. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He rises to his feet, Luca scurrying over to his side for sweet kisses.

In just a day or two, Luca has gone from being terrified of touching my Alphas to seeking them out and I fucking love the change. It's a testament to how much an environment can change an Omega's emotions. Luther tugs me into a hug as well, my Alpha holding us both against him. It feels perfect like this, beside Luca, surrounded by mates that I didn't even know I had. I also want to just curl up at home in Luca's nest.

"Get home safely. If you're good, maybe we'll have a little fun when we get home."

With the way Luca's cheeks pink, I know those words were for him. However, I also know that Luther doesn't want me to exert myself any more than I have to. I decide not to bring up the fact that Hudson's scent blasted through the medicine. We spend a few more moments there before Grayson leads us out of the office and to the car.