Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

I scrub a hand down my face.

These last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind. Fuck, the last few weeks have been.

I knew being with Sloane would be complicated. Being with Bram would be complicated.

But now Max is her scent match and in the mix.

Is it wrong that I’m not upset about it? I’ve missed being close with him. There were so many times I thought about asking him out for a beer and just talking through what was going on, but I couldn’t.

It wasn’t just some loyalty to Bram, which I undoubtedly have. No one besides my foster dad has ever looked out for me in that same way. Not only did he make the situation at the diner go away, but he’s never judged me for it.

Neither has Sloane.

Even when I tried to pull away and create some distance, Sloane wouldn’t let me, and I’m so thankful for it.

It’s not that I think I would ever hurt her. I know I wouldn’t. But that side of me coming out honestly scared the fuck out of me. My goal in life has always been to be nothing like him .

I don’t want to open my eyes because truth be told, I’m tired. But then there’s an undeniable bickering that I can’t ignore.

“Give me her,” Bram demands.

“No, she’s comfortable where she is. Fuck off,” Max snaps back.

“Just because you’re her scent match doesn’t make you any more important than me or Ethan.”

“Doesn’t it?” Max says, and I wince, blinking away sleep and rolling out of bed.

Sloane shifts off of Max’s chest and stands there, completely naked with her hands crossed over her chest.

Frankly, she looks both precious and pissed at the same time.

“The fuck did you say to me?” Bram says, taking a step forward, and Max stands to his full height. They’re both large, but Bram is the bigger one of the two in height and bulk.

He is also completely naked, and I do my best to not glance down at his swinging cock. I fail miserably.

“You know how to pick ‘em, sweetheart,” I mumble under my breath, and she glances back at me before staring daggers at Max and Bram.

“I said that I am her scent match, and that makes a difference. I don’t see your bond mark on her, Nilsen,” Max says, going right for the jugular.

I wince, but I also understand that Bram has been digging the knife deeper and deeper into Max’s side. He’s bound to fight back eventually.

“ Yet. My bond mark isn’t on her yet . Because she chose me. She wanted me for me. Maybe you should reflect on why she wants you,” Bram says, and I can’t help but to grimace.

I don’t know if it's the lack of sleep or insecurity, but it makes Max snap as he pushes Bram’s shoulders.

Fuck.

These guys fight all the time for a living, and it shows as Bram pulls back and punches Max in the face. The two Alphas are a swarm of limbs and grunts. I’m not even going to mention how ridiculously hot it also is because it’s so fucked. But Bram is in tight black boxers, and Max’s giant cock is just flapping in the wind while they fight. I’m only a red-blooded male; I can’t control the striking visuals.

When I turn to Sloane, tears are running down her face as she watches the two men she cares for fight over her.

It honestly brings back memories of when I was fighting over her, but this is completely different.

I cup her face as the two men wrestle on the floor. It’s truly pathetic.

“Do you want me to try and stop them? Or do you want me to take you away so you don’t have to see it?” I ask her.

She glances down at the Alphas and back up at me. It doesn’t hurt my ego when she sighs, knowing that both of the men are much larger than me.

“I’ll break up this little fight, and then we’ll take a bath together, alright?”

Tears are staining her cheeks as she nods her head and walks into a corner where she sits on the floor and wraps her arms around her legs. She rocks back and forth and eventually uses her hands to cover her ears to distract from the two Alphas fighting.

With her ears covered, I put two fingers in my mouth and whistle as loudly as I possibly can, getting both of their attention.

They’re both breathing heavily, and it’s clear they will both be walking away from this fight with bruises.

“Look at what you two are doing,” I say, directing my hand over to Sloane. “She’s crying and scared. One of you needs to get dressed and take a walk. If you can’t figure out how to be in here together, we will have to do a rotation where one of you leaves.”

They both grumble, and I cut that shit out immediately.

“You're both her Alphas. She cares for both of you. Grow the fuck up. Look at her,” I say with emphasis again.

Both of their faces fall when they see what their little outburst is doing to her.

“Sloane, baby,” Max says.

“Little Omega, come here,” Bram says.

“No. No little Omega for either of you. She’s mine until you two figure out your shit. We’re not doing this again. So either one of you cools off and leaves, or you figure out your differences so we can get through Sloane’s heat semi peacefully.”

I turn away from their dumbstruck faces and hunch down to where Sloane is in the corner. I pull her hands away from her ears and gently tip her chin so that she’s looking at me.

“Hey, sweetheart. They aren’t going to fight anymore.”

She glances behind me and glares at the Alphas; I hope they both feel shame with the way she’s glaring at them.

“Come take a bath with me?”

She scrunches her nose at the idea, and I trail my hands down her arms.

“Warm water would feel so good on your muscles. I’ll take care of you. Your Alphas are going to work on their behavior problems,” I promise, and she eventually concedes, letting me carry her bridal style over to the bathroom.

“Oh, and one of you put the stew in the crockpot,” I say, not even glancing at the two men before shutting and locking the door.

I set her down on the counter before turning on the faucet of the tub and closing the drain.

“We’re going to need a bigger place for your next heat. This small apartment can’t hold both of their egos,” I tell her, dropping some bubbles and shit into the tub.

“It’s been a few hours. Let’s take that diaphragm out,” I tell her as I turn around, and it’s the first smile I get out of her since the two Alphas got into it. “You know, you’re kind of a menace not in heat, but you’re down right devious during your heat.”

She just grins as she parts her legs, and I slide two fingers inside of her and grab the edge to pop it out of her. I wash it off in the sink before putting the purified water in the sterilizer and turning it on to clean off the device.

“You know, the chances of me getting you pregnant are like slim to none,” I tell her, and she shakes her head in disagreement.

Her hands are gripping my waist as I step between her legs. There’s some commotion in the bedroom, and I sigh and grab her face.

“They are big boys. They’ll figure it out. It’s just you and me right now. That’s all that matters.”

She smiles as I lean in and kiss her swollen lips. Even as a Beta, I can appreciate her sweet scent, but I’m thankful I can still keep a clear head about things.

“I’m always on your side, Sloane. No matter what, I’m always in your corner, okay?”

She bites her lip and nods her head, spreading her legs even further. Her slick pools against the counter.

“Alright, none of that, it is indeed tub time.”

She makes a noise of protest as I pick her up and bring her into the bath with me but slowly starts to melt against the warm water. I sit behind her, cradling her body as I use the pink loofah—per the manual—to use her unscented body wash—also per the manual.

“Not trying to brag, but I do think reading your little binder before your heat put me at an advantage here,” I tell her, scrubbing her smooth freckled skin.

She melts into me like butter, and I can tell her muscles are tense from sleeping on Max’s chest like that.

I kiss her shoulder, and she sighs. I wonder what’s going on in her head right now and how much she’s going to truly retain.

It’s a chicken shit move. But I’ve had this weighing on me too long.

“That night at the diner, I didn’t mean to push you away after. I was just scared,” I tell her. She hums but doesn’t speak. Not that I thought she would.

She isn’t facing me, and she likely won’t remember the conversation. But that’s okay, I really just need to get it off my chest.

“Growing up, things were terrible in my house. My father beat my mother near daily. I wasn’t excused from his fists either, but she primarily took it all. My mom was sweet. I remember all the small moments where she tried to make things special for me. We didn’t have a lot of money, but she would make me a cake on my birthday and take me to the park. I don’t know how she got my gifts for Christmas, but she made it happen.”

I scrub her skin gently, and slowly, the fear of telling Sloane the truth fades away the more I share.

“I don’t know why she didn’t leave. I can only assume she had nowhere to go, no money to get us out of that situation. Until, one day, my dad hit me so hard he fractured my jaw. I cried throughout the night. When my dad went to work the next day, she took me to the hospital and admitted abuse was happening in the house and requested I’d be removed from their custody.

“I remember being so upset and wondering why my mom didn’t want me home with her. But on my second night in a new foster home, my social worker came to visit me and told me that my mother had passed away and that my father was in jail. I found out later that he had beaten her to death.”

Sloane’s body stills against mine, and I wonder how much she is understanding and retaining right now.

“So when I tell you I’m not a violent man, I mean it. I’d never, fucking ever, raise my hand to you. Who I was that night scared me, but I know I’m not like him, and I’m sorry for pushing you away, and I’m sorry for word vomiting this all to you now when you likely won’t remember it when you’re done with your heat. I just needed you to know that you’re my priority, and I’ll always keep you safe, sweetheart.”

The water sloshes over the lip of the tub as she perches on my lap. When I look at her face, I swear it’s like she’s fighting with her rational mind. She sighs in frustration as she cups my face and furrows her eyebrows.

“Special,” she says simply, lightly tapping my cheek, making me smile.

“Fuck, you’re cute.”

That makes her smile as her fingers explore my face. It’s sensual and far more intimate than I expected her heat to be. She leans down and kisses me before wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing me tight.

“Being with you is the most special I’ve felt in a long time, sweetheart,” I whisper, and I swear the Omega holds me even tighter than she did before.