Chapter 9 In which I have to face the consequences of my actions

I wake up alone the next morning, and although I know it’s ridiculous, I feel a pang in my chest. The newly awakened omega in me can’t help but feel rejected that I’m not with my pack, with my bonded mate. Even Swift apparently didn’t want to stay until morning, even though he promised me he would.

I roll onto my back, taking the blanket with me to keep my breasts covered. The remnants of my crop top are still tangled around my shoulders, but obviously the ruined fabric isn’t doing much to protect the titties.

Why I want them covered, just in case, is absurd as well. They’ve made it clear I’m going to sleep alone, wake up alone, be alone.

That’s fine. Totally flipping fine. I don’t give a shit.

Because even though half of me is begging to go find our pack, the other half of me—the one I’ve been a lot fucking longer—doesn’t really want them. I mean, yes, when I was a teenager, before I very much did not present as an omega, I imagined what it would be like to be an omega. Everyone one does. Or at least everyone who doesn’t already know if they’re an alpha or an omega does. Those of us that are solidly beta always imagine what being one of the other designations would be like.

So I’ve imagined being an omega. Going to one of the omega academies scattered around the country, learning things like managing pack dynamics and nesting and how best to care for your alphas. I’ve thought about attending one of the omega conventions where packs can sign up for thirty minutes of an omega’s time and what it would be like to be courted, to be coveted.

But I gave up on all of that a long time ago. I’m a beta. Have always been a beta.

None of this was in my future. None of it should be in my future.

What should be is countless one-night stands until I find a beta that doesn’t make me want to tear my hair out—Ethan’s blue eyes flitter through my mind—one that I can actually imagine having a life with, and then I’d get married and maybe pop out a beta or two and hope like hell whatever sickness I had when I was younger isn’t hereditary.

But there’s no guarantee of that. Hence, why I don’t actually date people, I don’t make connections. I don’t do relationships. Sure, I’m on birth control, and I make sure anyone I have sex with—last night excluded because I was obviously temporarily insane—wears a condom.

I don’t want kids. I don’t want to pass on years of doctor’s visits and blood transfusions and medications onto some poor unnamed child, and I don’t want my husband or partner to deal with it, either.

It’s easier this way.

With the reminder of just how much I fucked up last night fresh in my mind, I roll out of bed and bring the blood covered sheet with me. A glance in the hallway shows it’s empty, so I make a dash for the bathroom, where I take a quick shower to clean off Swift’s blood and my slick.

I pull on jeans and an oversized cropped t-shirt. I scrape my hair into a messy bun and then grab a pair of socks and my white high top Nikes before heading into the rest of the house.

I’d hoped that I’d gotten up early enough to slip out without anyone noticing, but three members of the pack already occupy open concept living space. Swift is in the kitchen, ingredients, bowls and measuring spoons scattered over the island. I’m assuming he’s making breakfast, but I can’t figure out what it is. He’s shirtless, wearing a pair of low slung gray sweatpants that should be fucking illegal. But even though there’s no fabric on the top part of his body, there isn’t an inch of naked skin. Every bit of Swift, from his neck to his fingers, to his abs, hips and I’m sure farther down under that gray fabric, is covered in ink. Barbells glint from his nipples and, holy shit, he’s even sexier than I thought.

I drag my gaze away from him to Logan, sitting on the couch with a mug in one big hand and a tablet in the other. His glasses are on and his red hair is sticking up, either from sleep or from someone running their hands through it. He’s also shirtless, his freckled skin and a few tattoos on display, and wearing a pair of blue plaid pajama pants. There’s a furrow between his brows at whatever he’s reading, an intense look of concentration on his face.

The last member of the pack present is the one I want to see the least. Maddox slumps at the island, a laptop in front of him. His hair darkened with moisture, clinging to his forehead. His tan skin flushed. He’s wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a tight tank top, damp with sweat. There’s a pair of running shoes on his feet, and based on the thick green drink in front of him, he’s already worked out for the day and is in a recovery period.

Swift sings under his breath while he dices green onions. “ She’s my cherry pie. Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise. Tastes so good, makes a grown man cry. Sweet cherry pie. ”

“Will you shut the fuck up,” Maddox grumbles, from where he’s slumped over a stool on the kitchen island. “We get it. You ate out the new omega last night and she tasted like cherries.”

My brows arch and my cheeks heat, even as his words slap me in the face. The new omega. New. Implying that there have been more. That there are still more, maybe. I have the brief thought that they put me in that tiny room so far away from them because they already have an omega upstairs. One that’s been here longer, that Maddox likes more than me, and the beginning of a whine sounds from my chest before I smother it.

But not fast enough. They hear it.

All three of their heads whip in my direction. The stool scrapes across the floor as Maddox stands abruptly. Logan is a little more leisurely about it, but his light green eyes are entirely focused on me.

Swift gets to me first. Wrapping me up in his tattoo covered arms, his lips pressing into my forehead as he rocks me back and forth gently. “What’s wrong, Cherrybomb?”

I swallow down another whine and shake my head. “Nothing. Sorry, I’m still getting used to being… this.”

Swift pulls back and looks down at me with his gold eyes while Logan moves closer, one dark red brow arched. “This?”

I wave a hand while Swift ducks his head and slides his nose along my neck, just like he did in the coffee shop yesterday. I feel him smile against my skin as goosebumps erupt in his wake.

“Being an omega. I don’t quite have the grasp on the instincts yet.” I wince and meet Maddox’s dark gaze. He has his hands curled around the edge of the island, knuckles white like he’s physically holding himself back from me. “I don’t usually whine like that. Actually, I’ve never whined like that before yesterday. I’ll try to stop.”

“You shouldn’t stop yourself,” Logan says, dropping back onto the couch. “If your instincts tell you to do something, do it.”

My nose wrinkles. It’s a good thought in theory, but my instincts can’t be trusted right now. Especially since I currently want to drop on all fours, shove my ass in their direction and beg for their cocks, knots and bites.

Not what I need to do today. At all.

“Aren’t most instincts of a newly presented alpha or omega a little wacky to start?”

The red head looks at me considering my question. I like that he does that, takes his time to think about it before answering. “Not all newly presented designations. But you’re right, you just revealed yesterday, so it might be a little too soon to totally trust your instincts.”

Relief flows through me at his agreement. I didn’t realize until now that a part of me was feeling guilty for not immediately embracing my omeganess. But until I feel more balanced, I probably shouldn’t make any more big decisions, like bonding with the rest of the pack.

Swift pulls back and tucks a stray stand of hair behind my ear, before trailing his eyes over my body, his gaze reverent.

“I love your shirt, Cherrybomb,” he murmurs, eyes glued to my chest. I look down. If you think I’m too much, go find less. I love this shirt too. And it felt apt this morning in light of Maddox’s reaction to my arrival last night. Swift lifts his oddly colored eyes to me and grins. “I want one. Then we can match.”

Half of my mouth quirks up. I can’t help it. “I’ll order you one.”

Swift chuckles like he thinks I’m adorable. “No, you won’t. Tell me where you got it so we can be twinsies.”

I shake my head at him and eye the rest of the pack. They’re eyeing me right back.

Maddox still looks pissed. “You planning on going somewhere, trouble?” He asks before taking a sip from a mug of what I can only assume is coffee. I want to ask if I can have a cup, but then I also don’t want to ask him for anything.

So I move to the couch and sit down to pull on my shoes and socks. “I need to run an errand.” I’ll grab a coffee while I’m out, too. And breakfast.

“An errand.” How can he sound mad over those two words?

“Yes,” I say, tying my laces. “It shouldn’t take too long.” Well, it might take all day. I don’t know. Depends on how I’m feeling when I’m done. I might want to hide from these men, keep a little distance. Maybe I’ll hit a movie or two. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. Gone to a theater.

“You’re a newly revealed omega that smells fucking decadent as hell and has recently bonded into my pack. Do you honestly think I’m going to let you just walk around the city alone?”

I scowl and stand up, sliding my palms down my thighs. “Well, I don’t really see how you’re going to stop me.”

Half his mouth curls into a smirk. “Believe me, it wouldn’t take much.”

Swift steps between us, blocking my view of the asshole alpha. “What do you need, Cherrybomb? We can have someone get it for you.” He holds out a giant cup to me. A cappuccino complete with a foam heart on top.

I blink down at it and then up at the alpha in front of me. “Did you make that for me?”

He beams. “I did. I noticed you were drinking it at the cafe yesterday. Took a stab in the dark,” he grins when my cheeks flush at that seemingly innocuous statement as memories of what he did to me last night flood my brain. "And assumed it’s what you like to drink in the morning.” The smile falls from his lips. “It is what you like, right, Cherry? Fuck. It isn’t. I’ll make you something else. I should have asked.”

I curl my fingers around his wrist before he takes it away. “No! This is perfect. I love cappuccinos. They’re my favorite. Thank you, Swift.” That he paid enough attention to me yesterday to remember what I like shouldn’t make my heart throb the way it is, but it does.

No clue why.

I take the cup and cradle it in my hands, breathing in the aroma and the steam. Swift watches as I take a sip, gold eyes intent as I swallow and give a happy moan, then flick the foam from my upper lip with the tip of my tongue.

“Fuck, that’s good,” I mutter, before looking up and finding Logan, Maddox and Swift’s eyes on me. I swear I see a flicker of desire in Maddox’s eyes before he scowls and looks away from me.

Not surprising, I guess, given that I was just moaning like I was orgasming from a sip of coffee.

Swift’s gold eyes gleam as he reaches out and thumbs the corner of my mouth, swiping up a bit of the foam I must have missed and then, holding my gaze, he pops the tip into his mouth. And my vagina weeps.

A needy little whine pulls from my chest and he growls in response.

Shit.

This is so fucking weird.

Heat floods my face at how easily my new instincts take over, at how I want Swift—or Logan or Maddox—to bend me over right now and fuck me, bite me, claim me. I didn’t realize until this very moment how unsettled I feel with having only one bond in the pack.

“What do you need, Sadie?” Logan asks gently, like maybe he understands what I’m going through at the moment. Thought I kind of doubt it. He seemed like he was curious last night, but not about me personally, more about the situation, how I’m a twenty-five-year-old that just presented as an omega. “Why do you need to go out?”

My face flushes deeper. “It’s personal.”

A warm hand slides onto my hip, then around to my stomach, pulling me tight against a big hard body that smells of spiced brandy pears. Luca’s nose nuzzles into the hollow behind my ear, taking a deep inhale of my skin before his tongue darts out to lap at the still healing mating bite lower down.

“Morning, vixen,” he purrs. My instincts are telling me to melt into him, to turn around and run myself all over him, mark him up with my freshly minted omega scent, since sometime between last night and now he showered, washed me off of his skin.

That stings. So does the fact that he left me alone last night, in a room with no fucking windows or a lamp, in a place I don’t know and am not comfortable with. My alpha abandoned me the same night that he claimed me.

I’d always thought that would be impossible, that a newly bonded pair would be inseparable, but then, I guess we don’t know each other and this was as much of a surprise to him as it was to me.

Was it, though?

Luca asked me if I wanted him to bite me to claim me. He knew I was an omega, that we didn’t know each other’s names. He’s the one that bit me. I thought we were playing. That it was just a kinky sex game.

He knew what he was doing when he bit hard enough to break my skin. He knew the bond would form. It’s impossible for it not to. He’s an alpha. Alphas can bond literally anyone. Omegas, betas, other alphas. Betas can’t bond anyone through their bite and omegas can create a temporary bond if they bite an alpha and the alpha doesn’t bite back.

Luca told Maddox last night he’d slipped into a rut and accidentally bit me. I’ve never seen an alpha in a rut, but… that’s not what it seemed like happened.

He knew what he was doing. Luca fucking knew.

He bonded me. And then left me.

I swallow down the whine that wants to escape and step away from him. He holds me tighter, like he’s ready to fight me on it, but then his hand falls away from my stomach and I turn to face him.

A furrow appears between his brows. “What’s wrong, omega?”

I shake my head, sinking my teeth into my lip. “Don’t call me that. It’s too weird.”

Half his mouth quirks up. “But it’s what you are, vixen.”

I look away from him and drain the now cold cappuccino. “Still weird.” I shoulder my purse and glance at the other occupants of the room. “I’ll be back.”

“Wait, what?” Luca says. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, holding it before letting it out. Apparently, being bonded to this pack means I lose all autonomy.

When I open my eyes, they’re all there, all five of them. Ethan gives me a sweet smile that I don’t return, and it flickers out. Guilt grabs hold of me, but he also left me alone last night. And my omega is pissed about it.

I look back at Luca. “We weren’t safe last night.”

He tilts his head like he doesn’t understand. My gaze flicks to the other members of the pack, and Logan looks like he’s the only one who understands what I’m saying. “You knotted me and came inside me.”

Luca gets this pleased grin on his face, as his blue eyes drop to my crotch, like he’s imagining the aftermath, his cum dripping down my legs. “Fuck, yeah, I did. Multiple times.”

There is no reason the look on his face, that spark in his eye, the way his voice just dipped lower, should make my thighs clench in need.

Focus, Sadie.

“Okay,” I say slowly, hoping he’ll get what I’m trying to say. “Well, I’m just gonna grab a morning after pill.”

A growl of protest rips from him. “No.”

“You’re not on birth control?” Maddox shouts, sounding pissed as hell, and a part of me shrivels up and cowers in the face of his anger at me. That’s gotta be the omega part of me.

The beta part of me holds up a finger at him, in the universal wait motion, keeping my gaze on Luca. “Yes, Luca.”

He shakes his head ruefully, inching closer to me, that smug male pride back all over his face. “No, vixen. If my seed took root in your belly, then we’re gonna let it flourish and grow.”

“No, we aren’t. My body, my goddamn choice. I have enough shit going on right now that I really don’t need to add a baby to the mix. Let alone one from a pack that might not-” I cut that thought off and look at Maddox. “I am on birth control. I have an implant. Normally, I use condoms every time I have sex, but last night was… different.” Luca grunts his agreement. “And I’m an omega now and I don’t know if there’s different birth control for an omega versus a beta? Is it strong enough to stand up to a knotting? I’d rather just… get one, to be sure.”

“Sadie,” Luca tries again, his voice softer, his hand drifting to touch my elbow. “Please, just think about it-”

A harsh laugh pulls from my chest. “Think about it? Like you thought about it last night when you bit me and bonded me without even knowing my fucking name, Luca? Really?” I move closer to him, finger pointed at his chest. “I am not having your fucking baby.”

There’s a flash of hurt in his gray eyes, a pain that slices at me too. Especially since he lets me feel it through our bond. But then his smirk is back. He reaches up and cups my jaw with one big hand tenderly. “Oh, yes, you fucking are.” There’s a dominance in his voice that makes my omega tremble, that makes her want to roll over and submit to him. But I’ve only been an omega for less than twenty-four hours and I refuse to do that.

“Luca,” Ethan warns, but Swift is already moving, slipping between us, with his back to my front and a huge fucking butcher’s knife to Luca’s throat. My entire body freezes, and I’m not sure what I should feel because on one hand I hate the sight of that sharp blade pressed into Luca’s neck, but also, it’s clear that Swift is on my side in this argument and he’s willing to fight for me.

It’s really fucking hot.

“Swift!” Maddox roars. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Swift ignores his prime alpha and glares at Luca with those gold eyes of his. “Back the fuck up. Do not intimidate her. If Cherrybomb wants to get a fucking morning after pill, then we’ll buy a hundred of them and keep them on hand just for her. If she decides she never wants your cock anywhere near her again, then you’re going to have fun fucking your hand and Ethan’s ass. If she never wants to have any of our fucking babies, then that’s what we’re going to do. You do not get to force her into motherhood, fuckface. You already forced her into a bond, when what we should have done was courted her properly.”

My heart flutters in my chest at his speech, at his insistence to do this at my speed. He was listening last night and even though I can already tell it’s not his strength, he’s going to be patient with me, for me.

Luca’s blue eyes flick from Swift to me, standing behind him and he sags, the edge of the blade pressing into his skin a little more as he does. “I meant later. You’ll be having my baby later. Not right now. Of course… Of course not right now. I know you’re already going through a lot, vixen. I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck is the world coming to when Swift is the voice of reason in this pack?” Ethan mutters with a roll of his eyes.

A gentle hand at the base of my spine pulls my attention to Logan, his pale green eyes intent on my face. “I’ll take you.”

I really don’t want anyone to take me. I want to go on my own, to get some space between me and this pack that I both yearn for and hate at the same time. But if they aren’t going to let me leave alone, I suppose Logan is the lesser of all the evils in this room. He definitely seems the least offensive to me and my omega right now.

Well, and Swift. But I’m not sure I’m ready to find out what running errands with Swift would be like.

Half of Logan’s mouth quirks into a small smile. “Just give me thirty minutes to get ready and I’ll take you, okay?” He smooths a hand down the side of my face and then collars my neck gently. It’s so fucking weird how that makes me settle, calms me down, like he should always have my throat in his palm, like it was meant to be there.

The tension drains from my body and his smile grows, a hint of that alpha pride in his green eyes.

“Eat some breakfast, omega,” he murmurs, thumb stroking over my pulse point. “And then we’ll go.”

At the mention of breakfast, Swift drops the knife from Luca’s neck and spins toward me, Logan’s hand on my neck pushes me out of the way, while Luca lunges to grab the wrist of the hand holding the knife.

“Careful, asshole! Don’t go swinging knives around our omega like that. You might cut her.”

Swift’s gold eyes widen the slightest bit before he smirks at me. “Something tells me cherrybomb doesn’t mind a little blood.” My eyes widen and I shake my head at him. But I don’t know why. It’s pretty clear Swift is gonna do what Swift is gonna do.

Thankfully, he doesn’t give any more details about our interlude from the night before, just takes my hand in his (the one not holding a knife) and tugs me over to the island, where Maddox is still sitting, pretending for all the world that I’m not here now that it’s clear Swift isn’t going to slaughter Luca.

Swift directs me to a stool, pressing on my shoulder to get me to sit down. I don’t think I’m getting out of this, so I sigh as I set my purse next to Maddox’s green juice.

“I didn’t know what you liked, Cherrybomb,” Swift says rounding the island. “So I made pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and toast.” He pauses and looks at me with wide eyes. “You’re not a vegetarian or vegan, are you?” Before I answer, he’s already looking back in the fridge. “We have some yogurt and fruit. Oh, oatmeal? Um…”

“Swift?” He doesn’t turn to look at me, still fretting over what to feed me. It’s kind of cute. I’ve never had anyone so worried about my preferences before. My mother was a ‘you get what you get and don’t throw a fit’ kind of person around the dinner table, even when she made something that upset my stomach after my most recent round of injections. If I didn’t want to eat what she put in front of me, then I just didn’t eat at all.

“Swift,” Maddox all but barks from next to me, making me jump and drawing the blond alpha’s attention. The prime jerks his chin at me.

My cheeks heat as I smile at Swift. “Everything you made sounds delicious. Though for breakfast, I usually prefer something sweet.” I prefer sweet things all the time, but I can’t live off of donuts and gummy candies, so I try to limit my intake.

He beams at me. “Pancakes?”

“Sound perfect.”

I can practically feel Maddox next to me needing to say something, and he finally breaks as Swift slides a plate full of fluffy flapjacks doused in strawberries and chocolate sauce with a dollop of whipped cream on top. “Give her something with protein, too.”

I arch a brow at his commanding tone, wanting to tell him to go fuck himself, but my logical side knows that he’s right. I need protein for energy. Swift scowls at him, and I can tell it on the tip of his tongue to argue, but I reach across the island and lay my hand over his. “Bacon?”

He beams at me and a moment later, I have a plate filled with more bacon that I could ever hope to eat. If I’m honest, I probably won’t finish the pancakes either, but I’m sure going to try.

Luca and Ethan head to the coffee pot pouring out mugs of the dark brew and then turning to regard me, like they want to say something, but they don’t they just watch me as I eat. Which is really fucking weird, but I ignore them as best I can. Even when Luca nudges our bond, like he wants me to open it for him.

Swift settles onto the stool on my other side, his own plate filled with a mishmash of everything he made. He pauses when I cut into the pancake and lift the first bite to my lips, watching as I chew and swallow. His gold eyes are almost as dark as they were last night.

A drop of the chocolate sauce lingers on my bottom lip and when I lick it away with the tip of my tongue, all the males in the room groan.

I’ve heard of this happening… or rather, I’ve read about it in those smut books Vee got me addicted to. So I know if I say something like ‘what?’ one of them will tell me it’s criminal for me to make noises like that while I eat. So instead of saying anything, I just focus on the food. The faster I do, the sooner I can get out of here and get a break.

I really fucking need that break. Even if, technically, I won’t be alone. Logan will be with me.

I’m not used to having so much testosterone around me. Certainly not so many alpharomones. And my newly minted omega is desperate for more. I refuse to be that kind of omega. You know, the one that whimpers and whines over every alpha in the room, preens and presents for them.

My phone vibrates in my purse and I suck a smear of chocolate off my thumb before I reach for the device. Only as soon as I’ve unlocked it, the asshole next to me—Maddox, not Swift—snatches it out of my hand.

“Hey! You can’t do that!” He ignores me predictably and I watch as he types out a message and hits send before handing the phone back to me.

“Who’s Vee?” he asks like he has a right to know.

Frowning, I look at the text chain with Vee.

Vee:

Lost track of you last night.

If you’re alive and well and still in town, you wanna meet for brunch?

Me:

I am still in town, but I can’t meet you.

Something came up.

I’m sorry.

I roll my eyes at the stilted message Maddox sent to my best friend. “Jesus, that’s what you came up with? She’s definitely going to be worried now.”

“It’s a perfectly fine message,” the prime alpha defends. “Who the fuck is Vee?”

“Sylvie Kinsella,” Ethan answers, meeting my glare. I never told them her last name. Which means he looked her up. Used his hacking skills to check into her. Probably Sorrel too. I make sure he sees how much I fucking hate that. “As in the Alver City Kinsellas.”

I scowl at him as the prime alpha next to me curses under his breath. “Why are you texting with a Kinsella?”

I scowl down at my phone as three dots appear. “She’s my best friend, Maddox. And she’s going to wonder why I suddenly sound like a freaking auto bot.”

And sure enough, Vee’s message conveys just how much that didn’t sound like me.

Vee:

You good?

I arch a brow at Maddox and flash him the text before responding, delighting in his grunt of disapproval at what I send back.

Me:

Yeah, I’m good. Sorry, an asshole took my phone for a second.

He says I can’t leave… but not in a creepy way…

In like a sexy way… *winkyface emoji

You know, like he wants to fuck me again.

Me:

That’s the thing that ‘came up’

His dick, Vee. I’m talking about his *eggplant emoji

Maddox chokes on nothing and I laugh as I glance over at him. His face is red and I don’t know if it’s from embarrassment or lack of oxygen.

“That is not what is happening here, trouble,” he gasps out and I toss him a smirk, even though my chest tightens uncomfortably at the name he just called me. Trouble. It’s like he and my mother have already talked about me. She’s always said I’m more trouble than I’m worth.

And here he is, an alpha that smells like a dream, calling me the same thing.

Vee:

Yeah, I gathered that from when you said ‘dick’, Sade.

Hey, remember that time we got lost in the woods?

I smile down at my phone. How could I forget? Sylvie and I had thought we’d try our hand at being outdoorsy, when neither of us has ever been that. We’re both much more indoor kids than adventurous. We’d wanted Sorrel to come with us. She knows the woods around Lake Kilrose like the back of her hand, since she grew up there.

But she’d had to work, so we’d gone it alone. And gotten hopelessly lost. Thank god I’d thought to bring a satellite phone. I may be impulsive, but I’m not stupid and I know people disappear in the woods all the fucking time. We’d gotten in contact with Sorrel, sent her pictures of the landmarks around us we thought might jog her memory and within an hour Sorel had found us and guided us out to the woods.

Cause she’s just that freaking awesome.

Just like Vee is. I try not to let tears prick my eyes at her obvious concern for me. “What’s the address here?” I ask, without looking at Maddox. Silence greets my question and I lift my eyes to find him watching me, a hard tilt to his chin. “The address?” I prompt. “My friend wants to know in case you decide to murder me and chop me into tiny pieces.”

Still silence.

I puff out a breath. “Okay, fine.”

My fingers fly over the screen to send a text as I move over to the floor to ceiling windows in the livingroom.

Me:

You worried about me, Vee?

Don’t worry, I’m fine.

I take a picture of the view, then the street below the building, trying to get as much detail as I can. Then I turn and snap a picture of Ethan and Luca on the couch. Logan in the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee before he goes upstairs to get dressed. Swift sidles up behind me.

“Whatcha doing, Cherrybomb?”

“Sending pictures to my friend, so she knows where to find me if shit goes down.”

He hums and wraps an arm around my chest, pulling me back into him, then takes my phone from my hand and snaps a picture of the two of us together. It’s such a simple move, so natural that it makes my heart clench. Swift is… by far, my favorite of this pack at the moment.

No prizes for guessing who’s the least favorite.

Swift presses a kiss to my temple. “Send her that and send it to me, too. I want to make it my background.”

My chest clenches even harder as he slips away from me, but I push it aside and turn until Maddox is behind me with a scowl on his face. I snap a picture and then send the lot of them to Vee. I toy with the idea of telling her I’m with the Falcone pack, but the intention is to make her feel more comfortable with my situation, not worse.

I have the feeling that finding out I’m bonded to a criminal pack would only worry her more.

She’s dealing with enough with her grandmother’s death and the pack that rejected her. She doesn’t need me to heap my bullshit on her, too.

So I keep that nugget of information to myself. It’s enough that she has my general location and pictures of their faces. I know she won’t need them, though. As much as they don’t want me here, I can’t imagine any of them hurting me.

Vee:

Good. Tell them if I don’t hear from you tonight, I’m going to the police.

Warmth suffuses my chest at her obvious concern as Logan pads down the stairs, wearing a pair of jeans and a gray button up with a maroon cardigan over it… I kid you not. That, combined with his glasses and his artfully messy red hair and freckles, makes him look like a nerdy professor that I want to do extra credit for. So not fair.

He smirks when he catches my eye and I purposefully look back at my phone, pretending like I wasn’t just imagining him bending me over a desk in an office filled with books where he can spank my ass and fuck me heard. Definitely was not thinking about that.

Me:

Aw, you really do love me.

Vee:

You know I do.

Also, don’t think I’m not going to grill you about what the hell that is.

Last I saw you, you were with two men, now you’re with five?

I try like hell to not let giddy excitement flow through me. But holy shit, do I have a story for her and some unknown reason, I’m all fluttery about it.

Me:

Babe, you have no fucking idea.

I’ll tell you later.