7. Belle

Bright green eyes gaze down at me surprised while I lay pinned to the ground, heart beating through my chest, and so much for my sneak attack.

The male hovers above me, a strange expression written on his perfect face, and the sight of him takes my breath away…

Now, this is a beautiful male. Just like the ones I have read about in my books.

Soft eyes the color of woodland moss, high, sculpted cheeks, and chocolate brown curls. He has a small cleft on his chin too, and I gaze at it, fascinated.

Francis"s face had always been smooth. As a matter of fact, he barely even had a chin, let alone a cleft.

He also had thin, unremarkable lips while this male… His lips are round, plump, and shaped like Cupid"s bow.

I"m too stunned to speak. The male literally knocked the breath from my lungs.

He shoved me to the ground pretty hard, and the blood still pumps hot through my veins.

But when he cups his hand around my cheek, warmth explodes inside my chest, and then I lean into his touch like a cat receiving a pet.

I think I even purr like one.

His soft touch… I have never felt anything like it. And his scent…

I didn"t know that men could smell that way. Sweet but also strong, and do I detect something floral? Lilac?

It trumps Francis"s musty newspaper any day of the week.

"It"s okay, we"re not going to hurt you… Everything is fine…" he whispers.

His voice, his concern, and his scent and touch… It"s all too much, and I feel the stresses of the last twenty hours catching up with me at last, yet I can"t pass out.

He may look good, but I still don"t know if I can trust him yet.

The other male looms into view, and my head spins when I get a look at his face.

Not only am I confronted with one beautiful male, but two…

This one isn"t as delicate as the first. He has a square jawline like the strong men in my books and smells of rain and forest leaves. And his eyes are a beautiful gray, like the color of the sky before a storm.

His black hair reaches his ears, and I resist the urge to lean up and run my fingers through it.

The locks resemble silk.

"You all right, Omega?"

I"m too stunned by his deep, baritone voice, his concern, to pay much attention to the strange word.

Did he say… Omega?

What is that?

Why is he so much larger than the other male? It makes no sense. He has to be at least six foot four, and my vision swirls.

I"m too weak to get up, so when the smaller male helps me to my feet, I melt into his touch.

I don"t know what is happening to me. Sure, I have been running all night, and I have barely eaten in days, but why am I so drawn to him?

When he touches me, my hunger and pain go away, and it really makes no sense.

It"s almost like he has magic fingers…

What else can he do with those hands? It"s not even worth thinking about. Especially as my scent blooms and fills the forest with that sweet caramel.

The smaller male"s pupils blow out when he picks up on the scent, and then something hard sticks out in his pants.

Holy shit, that"s his…

He"s aroused. By me.

Impossible. I am not attractive.

Well, Francis said I was a beauty, but he never made me feel appreciated.

He never touched me.

But this male can"t keep his hands off me.

"Fuck…" the bigger male hisses, facing away from me now, and was it something I did?

Are they upset by my scent?

"Where have you come from? Have you been running all night?" the smaller male asks, his voice strained.

He still has an erection.

The larger male can"t even look my way anymore, and what is wrong with him?

Hold on, is he… growling? Like some kind of wild animal?

No. Not possible.

"What"s your name?"

Head spinning, I peer up at the small male"s green eyes again, and I don"t know how I know… but I feel like I can trust him.

"B-Belle…"

His pupils widen further, and then he whispers my name, trying it out on his heavenly lips. "Belle… Why am I not surprised?"

What"s so surprising by the name?

Without warning, he swoops me up in his arms, and the forest flies in every direction.

I"m not going to last long.

He looks at the other male, a worry line wrinkling his sweet face. "Jay…"

"I know…" the bigger male grumbles, still avoiding looking at me, and my heart plummets in my chest.

Jay. So, that"s his name…

Finally, I look at my green-eyed friend, vision darkening at the edges. I"m losing consciousness, but if his eyes are going to be the last thing I see, so be it.

He must see the question in my eyes, for he says, "Rian."

"Rian…" I repeat before the darkness takes over, and the last thing I recall is his sweet smile.

My heart thunders in my chest. The first genuine smile I have seen in years.

The last time I saw a smile like that, it belonged on the face of the boy in my dreams.

The face of my brother…

Home.

I am finally home.