Chapter 8

Henry

" W ould you fucking relax," Gabe grumbles in annoyance as I practically vibrate with pent-up excitement. Shooting me a glaring look, his golden eyes glow in the darkness.

I pause what I'm doing, pickaxe suspended in midair. "Relax?" I huff out a disbelieving laugh. "You're fucking kidding me right now. How the hell do you expect me to relax when we just found out we have a mate? A mate who is an omega. A mate who is the princess of this damn kingdom!"

"I fucking know who our mate is," Gabe snaps.

He's still pissed about the fact that she isn't only his. Guess Gabby boy here has been stalking our pretty little omega for weeks now. Rude if you ask me. Thinking he could keep her all to himself. I don't like it.

But I'm not upset about it, but only because Snow is here, in our cottage. We have no clue why she's here or how she got there, but I call it fate. The Gods are working in our favour.

I've always wanted a mate, I would stay up for hours dreaming of who she would be, what she would look like. Was she nice? Would she like to go on hikes with me? Or maybe cuddle in front of a nice fire.

I didn't think it would happen, though. As we got older, it became clear that our lives would be anything but easy. We worked hard for what we have, and live away from the village for everyone's safety.

We're monsters—Lycans, to be more specific. In lands that are primarily ruled by humans, it's hard for our kind to be accepted. We're big and scary looking. People tend to fear the things they don't understand.

Sadly, if they just took the chance to know us and look past our appearances, they would see that we're not bad.

I grin at my grumpy as fuck packmate. "I'd say you need to chill the fuck out and go blow off steam, you grumpy fucker." I laugh. "But you can't do that anymore, now can you?"

As a beast with primal needs, none of us are virgins. There are other packs in the surrounding villages. When there's an itch that needs to be scratched, we would make trips to go visit the single Lycan female and have a little bit of fun. All but Brady, that is. That boy is as virgin as they come. He's too shy, too closed off, to open up to another person outside our pack and trust someone with something so personal.

But it wasn't something we made a habit of. Casual sex isn't really our thing. Well, at least it wasn't mine. I can't speak for the others.

I'd rather have those moments with someone I loved, someone who was mine rather than a one-night stand or casual partner.

And now, I do. She's in our cottage. And we're here, working.

I didn't want to come, but Dallas and Gabe insisted we come for a few hours of work, giving Snow some time to sleep. Dallas got to stay behind, and I don't think that's fair. Okay, he's home sleeping and he does deserve to take it easy. But what if he wakes up, meets Snow and she falls madly in love with him before we even get back?

Dallas did say it probably wouldn't have been a good idea for Snow to wake up to six monsters looming over her. He has a point. None of us even know if Snow is aware of Lycans or if she's even met one before.

It's not uncommon for people to be frightened when they first see one of us, let alone six.

The idea of Snow being afraid and rejecting us has the smile slipping from my face.

"You okay?" Sullivan asks before sneezing in my damn face.

"Do you mind?" I sigh heavily.

"Sorry," he wipes his nose. "So much damn dust down here."

Gabe is still watching me. I swing my headlamp over to him, and he shields his eyes. "Do you mind?" he growls, mocking me.

"Oh, shit, sorry." I shut the lamp off and move to lean against the wall. "Have any of us stopped to think what happens if Snow doesn't want us?"

All the guys stop working—except Sterling who's sitting on a rock nearby, passed out—letting their arms fall to their sides. We all share a look.

"Fuck," Sullivan groans. "No, but now I am."

"Of course, I've thought about it," Gabe growls. "It's all I've been fucking thinking about since we left the house. You are all happy and head over heels excited we found our mate. But did you really stop and think that there's a very good fucking chance that she's not going to want us? She's a damn princess. And we're monsters. She's not going to want us when she could literally have any man she wants."

A heavy feeling sinks in my stomach at his words.

"Gabe," Brady's normally quiet voice has a bit of a bite to it. "That's enough."

Gabe's attention snaps over to the white beast. His face softens slightly. "I don't mean to be a dick, Brady," he starts, earning a snort from Sullivan. Gabe shoots him a glare before bringing his attention back to Brady. "But I have a point."

"Okay, yes, you have a point. But you don't have to try and bring us down with it. I think before we get it in our heads that she already hates us, why don't we go home and talk to the girl?"

"I like his idea." I nod my head. "I'd like to avoid a mental breakdown of rejection if possible."

Gabe rolls his eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"So, can we, like, go home now?" I ask eagerly, grinning from ear to ear, that excitement rushing back.

Gabe grumbles, "Fine."

"Yes!" I grab my things and rush over to Sterling. "Yo, Sterling, wake up!"

He mumbles something but doesn't open his eyes.

"Wake the fuck up, or we're leaving you behind," Gabe barks, making Sterling jump up.

"I'm awake. I'm awake." He bends over and grabs his pick, ready to work.

"Too late for that." Sullivan rolls his eyes. "Could have used you an hour ago."

"Did I fall asleep again?" Sterling asks with a guilty expression.

"Yes." We all answer at once.

"I'm sorry! It's the damn insomnia. I have no issues staying awake all night. Yet as soon as morning hits, that's when the sleepiness does."

"You should take the sleeping pills Dallas prescribed you," Gabe tells him.

"But they make me feel gross," he counters before yawning wide. He looks around. "Are we done or something?"

"We're going home." I grin.

His eyes widen. "We get to see our mate?"

Gabe growls. "You're all acting like we've been in love with her for years. We haven't even talked to her yet. I bet you fifty bucks she takes one look at us and goes running back into the forest."

"Damn, man," Sterling says. "Do you like to make babies cry in your spare time or something? What crawled up your ass."

I bark out a laugh as Sullivan grins and Brady sighs softly.

"Fuck you," Gabe snaps.

"Nah, man, not into men."

"I mean, if you ask me nicer, I might consider it," I snicker.

"He would have to get on his knees and beg me," Sullivan chuckles.

Gabe's growl rumbles off the walls of the mountain as he storms towards the exit.

"Do you guys have to fuck with him?" Brady asks.

"He's being a dick," I point out. "You can't expect us to just take it all the time."

"I know. But..." Brady looks back towards his brother.

"I get it, I do. You're protective of him. But he's a big boy, Brady. He's pissed that his little obsession isn't just his anymore."

"It's not just that," Brady insists.

"I know." I nod.

The walk home is more like a run for me. I'm ready to leave the guys behind, eager to get back to the cottage and see our princess.

But the guys take it as a challenge, and before I know it, we're all racing through the woods.

I'm grinning like a goof, panting heavily when we reach the cottage. "I win, mother fuckers!"

"Only because you cheat!" Gabe sneers.

"I didn't see you there." I shrug. "My bad."

"You're a fucking shithead, you know that?" he snaps

I just smile and shoot him a wink before throwing the front door open.

"We're–" My words are cut short at the sight before my eyes. "What the..." I whisper as I watch the little raven-haired princess slip-sliding her way down the hallway. The hallway that is currently covered in bubbles.

"Almost there." I hear her grumble as she continues to struggle.

The other guys come into the house behind me.

Dallas's bedroom door opens, and he peeks his head out. "What is going–"

Snow's eyes widen, her head snapping to the side to look at Dallas. I see it, the look of pure terror as she takes in his form.

To make matters worse, Gabe opens his big mouth. "What the hell?" he barks.

Snow's head jerks in our direction, and my stomach twists at the fear in her eyes when she sees us.

And just like Gabe suggested she might do, she lets out an ear-piercing scream.

But she doesn't take off running. No, her eyes roll back, and she passes out right into Dallas' arms.

Our mate saw us and was so scared she passed out. He looks back at us, his face gutted.

Just like how I feel.