Chapter 10 Instincts

I can’t stop primping the house. Can’t sit still.

Haven is coming today. Any minute now she’ll pull up in front of our pack house, and I… weirdly want everything to be perfect.

No, not ‘weirdly’. It’s normal for an alpha to want to provide a safe and comfortable space for an omega. It’s normal for an alpha to want to prove he can provide for her. Alpha instincts that have me plumping pillows and draping the throw blankets over the back of the couch just right.

It’s instinct that woke me up far too early this morning to get started on food for Haven. It’s instincts that sent me to the store twice already today, once because the pillows on the guest room bed weren’t right, and again because Haven mentioned her favorite chips are Funyuns and I wanted to be sure to have them on hand for her. Even though none of the rest of us will eat them.

Instincts, I tell myself as I check the sourdough bread in the oven.

Instincts, I tell myself when I not so subtly rub my face on the pillows on the bed, leaving my scent on them.

Instincts, I tell myself when I casually leave one of my hoodies in her room… you know, just in case she also feels driven by instinct to be surrounded by my scent. Fuck, I hope she is.

Over the last two weeks, we haven’t had a moment alone with Haven. We’ve texted near constantly, seen her at events where her father doesn’t let her out of sight and that weasel, Brian, keeps her close to his side.

I have to wonder if they somehow know she snuck out to see us and Florence, if they gave her the illusion of freedom, when really they knew exactly what she was up to. But then, if that was the case, I’m sure that Frederick Bell would have warned us away from his daughter. The man clearly doesn’t support pack life, and so the last thing he’d want is his daughter being tied to a pack. Right?

It’s why Haven is a big part of our plan. Her being with a pack undermines him and his backwards policies.

“Will you please stop?” Hale grouses at me from his reclined position on the couch. He’s got his laptop perched on his lap, and I am certain he’s busy plotting. Or maybe he’s actually working.

“We want her to feel welcome, don’t we? Like we made an effort?”

He rolls his eyes. “The drugs you’re going to dose her with will do that.”

My gaze narrows on him. “We agreed it would be just enough to loosen her up.”

“We did. Loosen her up, make her more receptive to us, but not affect her cognitive abilities. We want her to still decide, to choose us.”

Right, because it’ll be more painful for her and her father if they realize she let us do this to her. My nose wrinkles as I look away from our prime. Words I know I shouldn’t say bubble at the back of my throat.

This last week, texting with Haven, getting to know her more, I’ve found her to be a genuinely sweet person, kind, caring, nothing like her father. Nothing like the image we’d had of her in our collective brains. We didn’t have a lot to go on while researching her.

Ren is her only friend. The other omegas who’d attended the academy at the same time they did seem to think Haven was nice enough, but a little closed off, a little shy. They told us about a rumor that Haven had slept with one of the male omegas, but when we tracked down the few males who attended when she did, not one of them had admitted to it.

Anyone who has come into contact with her more recently has the same impression of her as we do. Poised, polite, quiet, the perfect daughter to her senator father, endlessly supportive of his efforts.

I suspect if we’d asked Florence Karlin about Haven, we’d get an entirely different view, more like the one I’m forming now. But approaching her one and only friend to get information about Haven Bell seems like a bad idea.

We’re in this now. There’s no backing out. Haven is in our sights, and I honestly don’t know if I’d be able to just walk away from her. But… maybe Creed is right and we don’t have to use her like we intended.

Hale eyes me, jaw set. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts, Tic.”

I shrug. “So what if I am?”

“Jesus, what is it with all of you?” Hale runs a hand down his face. “She’s not the sweet girl you think she is. How could she be when she’s been raised by a monster? You know we have to keep going.”

I look away from him. “I just think it might be worth reassessing… maybe after this week with her. Maybe we can find another way she can be useful besides… you know, destroying her and her reputation.”

Our prime throws up his hands. “Fine. We can reassess after this week, but in the meantime, we move forward as if the plan is still on.”

Something loosens in my chest at his agreement. Even if we still keep track of points, even if we still record every illicit interaction, it won’t hurt anything if we don’t actually use it. If after this week we believe Haven doesn’t deserve to be used in this way, we can just delete it all. No harm, no foul.

That’s what I’ll tell myself to get through this.

My alpha is already straining against me, hating the idea of using any omega in this way, but especially Haven.

Footsteps clatter down the stairs and Jude bursts into the room, followed by a much more subdued Creed. “She’s here!” he crows, bouncing on his toes. “She just called up from the gate.”

Nerves immediately grip my stomach. What if she hates the house? What if she hates her room? Or the color of the walls, or if the couch isn’t comfortable enough for her?

Then we’ll change everything until she loves it, until she thinks of it as her home.

I bat the thought away. It’s too early to be thinking like that. No. I shouldn’t be thinking it at all. Haven is not our omega. We will not keep her when this is over. We can’t. Not only would it not be fair to her, but… well, we wouldn’t be able to actually bond with her.

Haven is not our omega. She never will be.

I don’t know why reaffirming that to myself hurts.

Creed must feel it, because he looks at me with his brows arched, the surly expression he’s had on his face since we announced she’d be coming to stay with us morphing into… understanding.

“The cameras are running?” Hale asks, drawing my attention away from Creed. Jude nods.

“Yep, they’re all running.”

“You removed the ones in my room,” Creed says. It’s not a question but a statement, and Jude doesn’t miss a beat.

“Of course I did. Wouldn’t make sense to have them running when you aren’t playing the game.”

He’s lying. I know he’s lying. I can feel it in our bond, but Creed hasn’t opened his side of things for a week, ever since the first time we hung out with Haven. Under Hale’s instruction, Jude left the cameras in Creed’s bedroom. Our prime is determined to make Creed a part of this, a part of the plan. I think he wants Creed just as damned as the rest of us.

I can’t even blame him. I can feel our packmate drifting farther and farther away from us. Without this plan, without revenge, I’m not sure we’d still be a pack. I think Creed would have abandoned us a long time ago.

The rumble of an engine filters through the walls, and Jude grins, still bouncing on his toes. He moves first, hurrying toward the door and yanking it open as the engine cuts off. The rest of us follow our golden retriever packmate, emerging from the house just as Haven and Florence step out of the other omega’s beat-up car.

Our mark is wearing a pair of maroon leggings and an oversized knit cream sweater, Her hair is up in a messy bun and there is no makeup on her face, a far cry from the sexy little button we met at the bar, but somehow more appealing.

My alpha rumbles his pleasure at the sight of her, and I swear my dick gets hard from just looking at her.

With a squeal Haven launches herself up the steps, and Jude laughs as he descends. They meet in the middle, crashing into each other in a tangle of arms, mouths meeting in a frantic kiss. Strands of her hair escape that haphazard bun as my pack mate devours her mouth. Hale smirks as he watches, his eyes flicking up to the security camera over the porch, no doubt catching the omega’s reaction to us.

My stomach knots. Guilt tries to rear up, but I force it away. Haven means nothing to me. She is nothing more than a means to an end. I grit my teeth and harden my heart, descending the steps until I’m next to the still kissing couple.

Haven pulls back when she senses me, and Jude growls, bending his head to kiss her again. The omega laughs and swats at his chest even as her cheeks go a delicious shade of rosy pink. “Stop it,” she demands when Jude bends to trail his mouth over her cheek nibble on her ear. “Let me say hello to your pack.”

“And goodbye to me,” Ren calls from where she’s pulling a bag out of the back seat of her car. “I’m all for you guys getting freaky up in here. Just wait until I’m gone, please. I don’t need to see my best friend get mauled by a pack of wild animals.”

Jude laughs and Haven ducks her head against his chest, muttering something I can’t make out. She takes a deep breath and pulls herself away from him, turning toward me. “Hi, Tic,” she says shyly. Her lips are pink and plump from Jude and I find myself staring at them, wanting to taste them for myself. So I do. I pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger and press a gentle kiss to her mouth, slow and soft and sweet. So sweet. Pineapple and chili dance over my tongue when her lips part to tentatively explore my mouth. She shudders and moans. I swallow that shit down, devouring it like I haven’t eaten in days.

But I don’t want to maul her, not yet. So I pull back. Peck her mouth one more time. “Hey, angel.” I smooth the hair back from her face and smile down at her. “Go greet the rest of the pack. I’ll grab your bag.” I urge her up the stairs toward Hale and Creed, both of them looking ravenous. As she approaches, Hale steps forward and Creed steps back. Jude and I watch his retreat, watch as Haven’s face folds into a confused frown that then melts into the mask we’ve seen far too many times. The one she wears around her father and his supporters. Hiding from us.

Hale folds her into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. “Missed you, mouse,” he murmurs into her hair. I’m surprised by his restraint. I’d half expected him to have his cock out and inside her within the first few minutes of her being here. He’s that dedicated to this path. But he just curls his big body around hers protectively, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as she grips the fabric of his shirt like she doesn’t want to let him go.

“Missed you, too.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” a voice huffs from a few steps behind me. “I’ll just carry this all the way up by myself, shall I?”

I can’t help but chuckle at Ren’s acerbic tone, and I turn to help her with Haven’s bag. She sighs when I take it from her, flexing her hand. “Thank you, Atticus. I’m strong, but like… ballet strong. I’m not built for lugging heavy things around.”

“No,” Haven calls from the top of the stairs where she’s still nestled against Hale’s chest. “You just stand on the literal tips of your toes for hours, break your feet and can leap four feet in the air.”

Ren nods. “That’s right and I look graceful as fuck while doing it.”

I laugh again. I can’t help it. Under any other circumstance, I’d want to get to know Florence Karlin. She’s funny as fuck and dedicated and loyal, with a smartass mouth. I don’t feel the physical pull toward her that I feel toward Haven, despite that she looks like a cartoon princess. But I’d like to be her friend.

The problem is that these are the circumstances in which we’re meeting, and just like Haven can mean nothing to me, Ren needs to be just as meaningless. I need to charm her, get her to trust us too, so she supports Haven’s relationship with us, but I need to keep my own emotions out of it, keep myself locked away.

Florence eyes all five of us and blows out a breath. “Okay, well, I can tell when I’m not wanted, so I’m gonna go.” She stalks up the stairs and all but yanks Haven away from Hale, who glares daggers at the other omega, like he can’t believe she would dare do such a thing, like he wasn’t ready to let Haven go yet.

Hale may not want to admit it, but he’s not as all in on this plan as he thinks he is. No, he’s drawn to Haven Bell just like the rest of us. I glance at Creed, who is standing with a gloomy expression and his arms crossed over his chest. I suspect he’s trying to keep from touching Haven, from holding her the way the rest of us have. He probably won’t go near her in any of the places he knows there are cameras… which is everywhere. There are cameras and microphones in every area of the house, even his bedroom.

But he doesn’t want to take part in the game, so he’ll keep himself out of it. Even if that means shunning Haven.

Hale’s going to hate that.

I fucking admire it.

As Ren and Haven whisper back and forth, I get the distinct impression that Creed is right. We’re going to regret taking this course of action. Maybe not in the next week, but sooner than we’d like to admit. Haven is one hundred percent capable of burrowing her way past our defenses, setting up house in our chests where our hearts should be.

I glance between Creed and Hale, trying to decipher the right course of action. The right way to play this. Should I follow Creed’s lead and stay away from her physically, to better distance myself from the eventual fall out? Or do I stick to the plan?

Maybe there’s a middle road… one where I cannot feel like a total asshole for being with Haven, touching her, kissing her, and eventually fucking her. Maybe I should say I don’t want to play anymore.

Already my alpha is straining against the notion, hating that we’re planning to use an omega in this way, and I’m not even on the board. Though… with that kiss on the front walk, I actually am. If I don’t add my points, Jude or Hale will do it for me.

Hale looks up over the heads of the still hugging omegas and meets my eyes. Shit. He can feel it, feel the confusion, the doubt on my side of the bond. He sends a wave of reassurance, calming me, telling me this is the way.

I blow out a breath and nod, to show him I understand.

It is the way forward.

And just like I thought before, there’s no guarantee we’ll actually use the footage or the game.

No, if it comes down to it, we can always decide to leave her out of it, leave that part of it out of it, at least. But she’ll still know when things go down with her father. She’ll know we were the ones that did it. That we approached her because of him.

And when that happens, well, I know for a fact we’ll all feel like pieces of shit.