Chapter 10

Nova

“Good morning, Duchess.” I smile at the little ball of fur curled up on my chest.

She blinks her little eyes open and yawns before letting out the cutest little meow. I pet her head, loving how soft her fur is as she starts to purr.

After finding her and getting everything set up, Duchess slept most of the night on Ian’s lap. I was a little jealous, but when she woke up to eat, she came and sat on my lap for the rest of the night.

I was a little petty and told Ian she was sleeping with me, and no, he wasn’t allowed to sleep in the bed with us. I wanted the time to bond with her, making me her favorite.

I’m not gonna have some Alpha steal my new baby away from me.

He just rolled his eyes with a grin and told me, “Whatever you want, baby girl.” Did I melt on the inside? Yes, but I’ll deny it.

Why is it that anytime he does or says things that would normally piss me off, they don’t? It’s because he's saying it. I hate it. But also, I don’t. I’m complicated, okay?

Of course, Nick had to make some kind of comment that Ian shouldn’t be sleeping in my bed and should stay the fuck away from me all together. I almost let Ian in just to spite his brother, but instead made a joke about him being jealous that his brother was getting his cock slicked all over and he wasn’t.

“Trust me, Joyrider, I don’t have any issues getting my dick wet back home,” Nick told me with a grin, that made me want to punch him in said dick and claw the eyes out of any woman who’s ever touched him.

That was a snap back to reality, and I went to bed. Because I have no business being jealous when it comes to Nick. He’s a dick, and we hate him. We, meaning me and Duchess.

She really does. When we walked past him, she looked over and hissed, all the little hairs on her back going straight up. I just laughed, flipped him off and went to bed.

Looking out the window, I see it’s slowed down on the snow, but it’s still dark and gloomy out.

“I like snow, but I hate when the sun isn’t out,” I tell Duchess. “Same with rainy days. Love falling asleep to the sound of rain against the roof, but it’s depressing during the day.”

Grabbing the cat, I hold her in my arms and climb out of bed to take her over to the litter.

Not so fun having that in the same room as me, but if I’m going to keep her in here with me all night, I’m not going to have her peeing on my stuff.

Stretching, I grab Ian’s hoodie—the one I refuse to give back.

Did I not so subtly tell him he looked cold and should put the hoodie on because I needed his fresh scent on it? Maybe. He grinned, put it on, wore it for an hour, then gave it back, telling me I looked cold.

I took it back and snuggled the shit out of it, because fuck, it was drowning in his scent. Still is.

Grabbing fresh scent blocking panties, I head into the bathroom with the kitten at my heels.

Once I’m dressed in some leggings, hair combed and teeth brushed, I scoop up Duchess and head downstairs, wondering what time it is.

“No. Don’t put that there. Put it over here.” I hear Ian sigh when I’m halfway down the stairs.

“It looks fine where it is,” Will grumbles.

“It needs to be perfect,” Ian insists.

“Everything looks fine, Ian. She’s going to love it.”

My brows furrow with interest. Love what?

“What's going on down there?” I whisper to Duchess as we continue down the stairs.

When I get to the bottom, I freeze, eyes widening in shock. “Oh my God,” I whisper, but apparently, not soft enough.

Ian spins around, an excited grin on his handsome face. He rakes his fingers through his dark locks, looking a little sheepish. “Morning, Nova. What do you think?”

My lips part as I blink slowly, taking in everything at once. “You–you decorated?”

“Yup,” Ian replies.

“Where did you find all of this?” I say in awe. The place looks like Santa's workshop. The fireplace is decked out with garland and other Christmas decorations. There’s a big Christmas tree in the corner of the room, covered in all different types of ornaments, lights, garland, and tinsel.

“Found it in the basement. I’m starting to think they didn’t move anything out, but just put it down there,” Ian chuckles.

“It’s...” Tears well in my eyes.

“I know Christmas is in a week and well, this place was by far lacking the holiday spirit. And I remember you saying something about loving Christmas. I didn’t want you to miss this one, you know? I mean, I can’t go out and get you anything, but...”

He lowers his voice. “Don’t tell, Nick, but I might have taken a few things from our inventory for you.” He winks, and I let out a choked laugh.

The need to cry is there. Not out of sadness, but out of joy. Fucking hell, this Alpha. I didn’t ask for him to come into my life and change everything I thought I wanted when it came to Alphas. Or the fact that I didn’t want an Alpha at all.

And here he’s done more for me in three days, than anyone has in my whole life.

“Nova?” Ian asks, face falling. “Are you okay? Was this too much? Shit, it was, wasn’t it? I–”

Putting the cat on the couch, I make my way across the living room and throw myself into Ian’s arms.

He grunts, but immediately wraps his arms around me.

“Thank you,” I murmur against his chest. “I love it.” Tears sting the back of my eyes, emotions thick in my throat.

When I pull back, I wipe at my eyes, not making eye contact. “Don’t think too much into that,” I tell Ian.

“Too late, baby girl.” He chuckles. “I’m already planning our wedding in my head.”

I smile at that, because I’m in too much of a good mood to pretend that I’m not falling hard and fast for this Alpha.

“I helped,” Will mutters.

I laugh, smiling. “Thank you. Guess the only Scrooge this year is Nick.”

Will and Ian give each other a look.

“What?” I look between the two of them.

“He’s still sleeping. He stayed up late, ahh... working.” Ian scratches the back of his head. “He doesn’t know we did this.”

“Is it going to be a big deal or something? It’s just a tree.”

“He kind of hates Christmas,” Will admits.

“What? Why? Who hates Christmas?” He really is Scrooge. I shouldn’t be surprised, though.

“It’s personal. Not our story to tell,” Ian answers. “But don’t worry, we’re not going to let him ruin this for you.”

“Good. If he has an issue with it, he can stay in the basement. He spends a lot of time down there anyway. Does he have a portal to Hell down there or something? You know, it would make sense with him being the devil and all,” I mutter, moving over to the tree to get a closer look at all the decorations.

They’re quiet for a while, letting me take in all their hard work.

“Something bad happened to me on Christmas, but I didn’t become the Grinch,” I finally say, turning around to see the two Alpha’s watching me. Ian’s brows furrow.

“What happened?”

Biting my lip, I look away, focusing on a cute reindeer ornament. “My dad died in a car crash. It was our favorite holiday. We had our own Christmas traditions. Like going to get photos with Santa.” I laugh, turning to face them with watery eyes.

“Not going to lie, I was tempted to get one this year when I saw the three of you working the North Pole at the mall.”

“You saw us working?” Ian grins.

“Oh yeah.” I lick my lips, eyes roaming his body as I remember what he looked like in that elf costume. “Sexiest elves I’ve ever seen. Took everything in me not to push my way to the front of the line.” I take a step toward Ian. “But I’d much rather sit on Santa's little helper's lap.”

“Nothing little about me, Little Doe.”

“Little Doe?” I cock my head to the side. “I thought I was Baby Girl.” I grin.

“You are. Always. But when you look at me with those doe eyes, fuck me, Baby Girl,” he groans.

I chew on my lip, ready to deny what he’s saying, that I don’t look at him like anything. But it would be a lie.

Because if I wasn’t already tempted to change my mind on how I felt toward a certain Alpha, after what he did for me just now... I’m seconds away from baring my neck and demanding he mark and claim me.

“Whatever,” I mumble. “It’s better than Cupcake or Pumpkin.”

“Damn it. There go my pet name options,” Will jokes, and I can’t help but grin.

“Oh, a funny one are we?”

Will just gives me a side grin. “Hungry?”

“Yeah.” My smile falls and I struggle not to get lost in his emerald-green eyes.

These men are supposed to be criminals. Assholes. The worst of the worst. Then they go and do shit that makes my Omega heart swoon. So not fair.

An hour into The Grinch , our very own Grinch walks into the room. He takes one look at the place and reminds me that not all the Alpha’s in this house are decent people.

“What the fuck is this?” Nick snaps.

“It’s called a Christmas tree.” I roll my eyes, grabbing the remote to pause the movie.

“I fucking know what it is,” he growls. “What's it doing here?”

“Seeing how Christmas is only like a week away, the guys thought this place could use a little sprucing up.”

“This isn’t our fucking house. This is a place to hide out until we can leave,” Nick scolds his brothers. “Stop acting like this place is our home.”

“They did it for me. Relax,” I mutter, moving to stand.

“That's the problem. They shouldn’t be doing fuck-all for you. You're supposed to be our hostage.”

“Keep thinking that, buddy.” I grin. “Hostage would imply that you're holding me to gain something. No one is going to pay fuck-all to get me back. Face it, you're stuck with me. And if not you, he is.” I point to Ian, who fucking beams at me like I just offered him the moon.

“Really?” he asks with so much hope in that one word.

Damn it. I can’t crush his heart and tell him I’m just trying to get his brother going. Because I’m not. Not really.

“Depends.” I shrug. “If you promise not to be a controlling Alpha dick, maybe I’ll consider keeping you after this.”

“Fucking hell.” Nick shakes his head. “You’re fucking pussy whipped, Ian. She’s talking to you like you’re a fucking dog. Gonna follow behind her like a little puppy too?”

I’m about to tell him to fuck off, that I’m not a bitch and I won’t treat him like one, when Ian stands up.

“Yeah, I am. And you’re damn right I’m pussy whipped. No, not pussy whipped. Omega whipped. And not by any Omega. My Omega. If my girl wants me to drop to my knees and kiss her feet, I’ll do it. If she wants me to kill every person who’s done her wrong, I’ll do that too. And if she only ever wants me for her heats, I’ll be right there beside her, because anything she’s willing to give me is worth the world in my eyes.”

He says it with such passion that my fucking insides get all twisted. I’m screwed. Yup, totally and completely fucked. Because this man is officially my Alpha. He just doesn’t know it yet. Can’t make it that easy for him.

After Nick’s little bah-humbug moment, he went downstairs to the basement like he always does. Ian, Will, and I watched the rest of the movie with Duchess snuggled up, purring away on my lap.

“I’m going to get started on supper,” Ian says, leaning in to give the side of my head a kiss. My belly flutters, doing nothing to help with the pure torture their combined scents have been putting me through the whole movie.

Good thing I’ve seen this movie a million times, because if I didn’t and you asked me what it was about, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Thankfully, I have a few scent blocking pads left. But I’m going to be out soon, and once I am, the jig is up and I’ll be outed for how much being around these Alphas affects me.

I’m fighting, fighting so damn hard to pretend they don’t, but with each passing hour, it’s getting harder and harder.

Ian has already managed to change my outlook on Alphas. Okay, not Alphas as a whole, just one particular Alpha. A tall, dark-haired Alpha who’s been nothing but good to me.

“Anything you want, Little Doe?”

Little Doe. Fucking hell. Even the nickname has my pussy clamping.

I look up into my Alpha’s eyes. My Alpha. Because that’s what he is, and I’m a fool to think otherwise. He looks down at me with adoration. The insecure Omega in me says it’s all an act, that he’s just playing me, but I know it’s all self-sabotage, because the way that man looks at me can’t be faked.

I’ve heard stories about how fast things can happen between Alphas and Omegas. The primal urges, the hormones, our biology all play big factors, but I’ve never experienced it for myself.

It’s not exactly like the stories I’ve been told, maybe that's because of the circumstances and how we found each other. It also doesn’t help that one of my scent matches is a raging asshole and the other one doesn’t seem to want this anymore than his brother does.

But there’s a pull between Ian and me for sure. And maybe one between Will and me. But that one I’ve been fighting, because I’m not about to make a fool of myself. It’s already going to be hard enough to feel the rejection for real when we leave this house.

So, you would think that would mean I’d do whatever I can to keep distance between Will and me, right?

Yet, when he stands up and tells us he’s going to go shovel, now that the snow has slowed a bit, while Ian makes supper, I jump to my feet and offer to help, getting a meow of protest from the kitten as I place her on the couch.

Will looks at me with a raised brow.

“Are you sure about that?”

“I need some time outside of this house.”

“It’s dark out.”

“So?” I frown. “I’m not afraid of the dark.”

He chuckles. “Good to know. But what I mean is there’s not much light outside apart from the porch light. Might make things difficult getting around.”

“If you can do it, so can I.” I place my hands on my hips, raising a brow. “Is this you telling me you don’t want me to come?”

His eyes flare, and I swear I hear him muttering something under his breath that sounds an awful lot like, “Trust me, I’d love nothing more than for you to come.” But maybe that's just my ears playing tricks on me.

He raises his hands. “You wanna come help me, by all means, little Omega, join me.”

My belly flutters at his words.

“Good. Because I was going to come even if you didn’t want me too.” I grin as I move past him to go upstairs and change into something warmer.

As I pass, this time I know for sure I hear him whisper under his breath. “Again, I want nothing more than for you to come.”

I nearly trip over my feet, head whipping around to look at him. But he’s putting on his coat and boots, not looking at me.

Ian chuckles, getting my attention. “Have fun, Little Doe.” He winks before heading into the kitchen with the kitten in his arms.

When one thinks of what it might be like to be kidnapped, I’m almost positive no one expects it to be like this. It’s almost like having roommates and hating two of the three of them.

Okay, maybe I only hate one of them. Will’s growing on me. Even though I sure as fuck don’t want him to.

Nope, Nova. We are not going to think about that right now.

Running upstairs, I quickly change into something warmer, a little too eagerly I might add. Excitement courses through my veins, but I pay that no mind, because then I’ll overthink, again.

When I make it outside, I find Will standing at the end of the stairs, two shovels in hand.

“Where did you find those?”

“In there.” He nods his head toward a building a few feet away from the house. I squint, trying to get a better look at it. He chuckles. “It's a garage.”

“Oh, right.” I nod. “This place has a lot of little buildings on the property.”

Will only nods, handing me the shovel.

“So, where do we start?” I ask, the vapor from my warm breath making a cloud in front of me. It’s really fucking cold outside. I have no idea why I’m even out here right now.

But as I stare at this sinfully sexy Alpha, his curls peeking out from under his hat, I know why.

I haven’t had much time, just the two of us, since I’ve gotten here. Never really cared. Until now. The more we watch movies together, sitting close to one another, his eggnog scent with underlying tones of cinnamon, making my pussy ungodly wet and my mouth water, the more I’m drawn to this mystery of an Alpha.

My Alpha. My fucking scent match. God, it’s taking everything in me not to rub up against him and cover me in his scent.

I’m so damn wet right now.

“You take the deck, and I’ll start making a path to the truck.”

“You got it,” I tell him, taking the shovel. He gives me the smallest smirk before turning around and getting to work.

I watch him for a moment, bending over to scoop up some snow, throwing it off to the side.

Biting my lower lip, my belly starts to heat, and I’m glad he’s far enough away he can’t smell me perfuming like crazy right now.

Ian is the exception to my no Alpha rule. That’s it. No more.

If I accept more Alphas, then they might start to overpower me and get a big head, and that’s not what I want.

There’s no harm in looking, but not touching, right?

Cocking my head to the side, I continue to watch like a fucking creeper as he works, hypnotized by the way he moves. The little grunts and puffs he makes after a few minutes has me clamping my thighs together.

He stops, putting the shovel in the snow and takes his hat off. His hair is damp with sweat and I find myself wanting to fucking lick it off. Damn it. What's wrong with me?

Wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket he turns to look at me with a raised brow. “Are you going to just stand there and watch me all day, Little Rabbit, or are you going to actually do something?”

Busted.

“Like what?” I grin slowly, looking him up and down. “I might be persuaded if you’re a good Alpha and get on your knees and beg me.”

He grins, shaking his head with a low chuckle that goes right to my clit.

“You very much are a Little Rabbit, aren't you? Horny little thing.”

“I’m an Omega. You're an Alpha. What do you expect?” I cross my arms in a challenge. “Add in the fact that we’re scent matched, I don’t have much control over it, you know.”

His face falls. “Trust me, I know,” he grumbles. “But I don’t mean sex. I mean are you going to actually work or just watch me do it?”

“Whatever,” I mutter, huffing as I turn around and head back up onto the porch. I get the thing clean in less then a few minutes, but I’m totally over it by the time I’m done.

Leaning the shovel against the steps, I look over to see that Will got a hell of a lot more ground covered than I did in the same amount of time. “Stupid Alpha,” I mutter.

Grabbing a handful of snow, I grin as I make a snowball. When he bends over, I pray to the Gods my arm is still as good as it was in high school and throw it as hard as I can.

It sails through the air, hitting the target perfectly. It hits his ass with an audible thud, exploding on impact.

“What the fuck?!” He jumps up, grabbing his ass. Spinning around, his wide eyes shoot to mine.

I burst into laughter, grabbing another handful.

He narrows his eyes, tossing his shovel into the snow. “Don’t you dare, Omega.”

“Or what?” I challenge with a smug smirk, holding the snowball up.

“Don’t start something you know you can’t win,” he warns.

“Who says I won’t?”

“Nova.” His voice is low, deep, and sounds like a warning. Fuck, does it do all the dirty things to my naughty spots.

Naturally, I ignore his warning and toss the snowball. Right into his face.

I gape, eyes widening as fear fills me. He wipes the now melting slush off his face and shoots a dark glare my way.

Oh fuck. He’s pissed, so fucking pissed.

For a moment, I think he’s gonna come after me, maybe punish me?

But he surprises me by quickly grabbing snow and making a snowball of his own before throwing it right back at me. It hits me in the chest, exploding in my face, making me squeal from the cold on my rapidly warming skin.

“Like I said, Little Rabbit. Don’t start things you can’t win.” He gives me a smug smirk, like he won.

Fuck that. I’m not going down without a fight.

He doesn’t expect it when I start to throw snowball after snowball at him.

“You little shit!” he shouts, but there’s no heat behind it. There’s even a little hint of humor in his words.

He starts to throw them back. I scream and laugh, ducking behind a tree.

My heart is pounding and there's a grin on my face that goes from ear to ear.

I’m out of breath and sweating but fuck, why is this so much fun?

A few snowballs explode against the tree, but when they stop and everything goes silent, my stomach drops.

Did he leave me alone, outside, in the dark? Did something happen to him that I didn’t hear?

I stand there, breathing heavily, blood pumping in my ears as I try to relax.

My eyes scan the darkness in the distance, wondering what could be out there.

I’m too distracted, not paying attention to my surroundings.

The sound of the snow crunching behind me is louder than my breathing. Then it stops, only the sounds of the winter night forest fill the air.

A hand covers my mouth, stifling my scream.

“Don’t you know not to taunt a predator?” Will's voice has a whimper slipping free. A thrilling fear rushes through me.

He moves from behind the tree, his hand still over my mouth as he moves me away from it, pressing my back against his chest.

My eyes flutter closed as my nostrils flare. No glove covers his hand, leaving his bare skin against my mouth. His hand is big, warm, and fuck, even that smells good.

“Look at you, Little Rabbit, trembling. You're at my mercy now,” he murmurs, wrapping his free arm around my waist.

This time, I moan when I feel his stiff cock press against my ass. “What should I do with you, hmm?”

My mind goes blank, being replaced by the need for him to touch me, kiss me, fuck me.

“It would be so much easier to let you go. You're a lot more trouble than you’re worth, you know that, Little Omega?”

That sobers me up a bit. My eyes snap open and I narrow them, ready to shove out of his hold and tell him to get fucked.

Then his mouth is at my ear, his warm breath fanning against my neck.

“So tell me why the idea of never seeing you again, never touching you, tasting you, makes me want to tear the fucking world apart until I find you again?” he asks, the words a rumble in in his chest.

A gush of slick slips free and my belly cramps.

His Alpha pheromones mixed with his words have me fucking needy as hell right now.

I’ve never felt more Omega than I do in this moment. And I know with my upcoming heat, it’s only going to get worse.

A growl fills the night air. It’s not a wolf or a bear. No, it’s the deadly Alpha who has me in his clutches, seconds away from snapping.

So when I part my lips enough to let my tongue slip free and lick the palm of his hand, it’s enough to make him snap.

Another growl rips through the air and in a second I’m shoved against the tree and Will’s lips are on mine, devouring every whimper and whine that leaves them like they’re the air he needs to survive.

I’m fucked. I’m totally fucked right now. And I can’t seem to find a care in the world about it.