Page 22

22

F aye

Someone is always knocking on my door.

I wake to the sound, just barely managing to yank a blanket up over my naked body when Ezra and Cayson walk inside, their eyebrows shooting to their hairlines when they see me sandwiched between Maverick and Xander. Xander’s arm is thrown over my torso, and Maverick is facedown in the mattress, his ass bare for everyone to see.

I’m so embarrassed that I feel like melting into the mattress and disappearing.

“Wake up,” I hiss, smacking Maverick so he can cover himself, then scooting up the bed, so I can sit.

Ezra is politely averting his eyes while Cayson is laughing and making some crude joke I can’t hear over the roaring in my ears. How is it that I walked into these games a virgin with literally zero knowledge of men, and now I’ve had four different guys in my bed? These guys must have changed some fundamental part of me. How? I have no idea.

“ Uoof ,” Maverick groans, not opening his eyes.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Cayson says and laughs, tossing his ball so it bounces off of Maverick, who lifts his face sleepily, grinning at the other alphas.

Xander stirs next to me as well, but he’s wearing boxers, at the very least. I don’t know when he put them on, but I’m grateful that he did. It makes this awful situation just a little more bearable.

Maverick yawns. “Sorry, I had quite the workout last night.”

“A workout?” Xander asks, frowning. “I’m tired from all the things our mate did in bed.”

“Gods,” I mutter, my cheeks burning.

“Good morning,” Xander murmurs, pulling me close and planting a kiss on my cheek.

My face feels like it’s on fire, and I wait for Cayson and Ezra's reactions, but they both seem to be enjoying this situation a lot. Way too much, actually.

“It seems you had a good night, too,” Ezra says, grinning.

“It looks like our little Faye worked them hard. Maybe too hard. Try to leave some liquid in their bodies next time.” Cayson sits on the edge of the bed, while I press my hands to my flaming cheeks, and tickles Xander’s feet with a throw pillow.

“ Actually ,” Maverick begins, casting a smile my way as he slips into boxers, “I prefer my liquid exactly where it is. I just think you wish you were here.”

“Yeah, let’s make it a party bus next time,” Cayson says, wiggling his eyebrows as Xander sits up and grabs the pillow from him, then tosses it across the room. “I call shotgun.”

Wait. What the hell is shotgun? Are they talking about what I think they’re talking about?

“Well, I call front seat,” Maverick says, patting his lap.

Oh my gosh, they are!

“Gods,” I say, wrapping the sheet securely around me. “Shut up .”

“Obviously I’m driving,” Ezra says, pretending to examine his nails.

“I’m happy in the back,” Xander says quietly, which makes the guys burst out in laughter again.

Despite how crass it is, and how embarrassed I am, the thought of being with all of them at once sends ripples of want through me. What would it be like? Could I even handle that?

How can it be that before meeting them, I was okay with the idea of being celibate for the rest of my life? And now, here I am, ready to go again after days and days of being with these men in different ways.

“As much fun as this is,” Ezra says, clearing his throat, “there is actually something that we need to talk about.”

My heart plummets into my stomach—is Ezra going to tell the others about our scheme? For some reason, I’m more worried about that than that he has any problem with what’s going on between us. Or has something else happened? I think of how much he cares about his pack, and as much as I know he cares about me, I also know that he would leave in a second if his pack needed his help.

“Lance came to speak with me last night.”

“Lance, the ultima?” Maverick asks, the smile slipping off his face as he sits up, scooting back so he can sit next to me on the bed. He pulls the blanket over us and takes my hand.

Wordlessly, Xander scoots up to sit at my other side. Sandwiched between the two big men, their body heat caressing me, my anxiety eases, if only by a little bit.

“Right,” Ezra says, clearing his throat and pulling up a chair. Cayson is sprawled out at the end of the bed, and grabs his ball from the floor before tossing it.

“That can’t be good,” Xander says, his voice gruff.

“He came to tell me that Kurt is suspected of involvement with the murder.”

“What murder?” Maverick asks, his eyes darting from me to Ezra.

Ezra looks to me, as though giving me the option to explain things if I want.

I can’t even open my mouth. They’re actually doing an investigation? And they might have found evidence proving that Kurt did it? Maybe nobody will ever believe me about my brother—but Kurt going away for this would be something, far better than how things are now. Knowing that he was locked up, unable to get to me, unable to come knock on my door—it would remove so much of my daily anxiety.

“Seems like there’s a bit of backstory to fill in here,” Ezra says, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair. It falls right back into place, perfectly, as though he never touched it.

“Seems like it,” Xander repeats.

“Okay, well,” Ezra says, clearing his throat again. “You may or may not know this, but Faye’s brother was murdered, and it was Kurt who killed him. When she went to her pack and tried to tell them what had happened, they dismissed her because of Kurt’s political standing.”

Maverick’s hand tightens on mine under the blanket, and tears prick at my eyes. I wonder if the day will ever come when I don’t mourn for my brother. Except, I am grateful that by bringing these men into my heart, it’s eased some of the pain from losing him. I haven’t replaced him, I just have people to be with me when I’m struggling now.

Ezra continues. “As you know from last night, Kurt is an asshole who wants to hurt Faye, but you don’t know the background of it all. When we came to The Selection, Kurt started to use his position as an alpha to take advantage of Faye. He assaulted her multiple times, and has been threatening her relentlessly, supposedly as revenge for daring to report him for his crimes.”

I swallow thickly, watching as the men in the room all hear my tragic backstory. But there’s not an ounce of pity on their faces—instead, I see only lethal intent. Maverick and Xander haven’t even heard the whole story yet, and they already look like they might go at Kurt.

“We were out, shifted in the woods and going for a run, when we found an omega—Serra—that we’d all gotten to know. Dead. And she was killed in the same fashion as Faye’s brother. When we went to the council with it, they practically dismissed us.”

“Exactly like what happened at home,” I breathe, and I feel Xander press his body closer to mine, his touch calming me.

“Right,” Ezra says, his eyes softening when he looks at me, before returning to Maverick and Xander. “His most recent attempt to control and bully her was to claim her as his omega. Neither Cayson nor I were intending to take an omega during The Selection, but we stood in, also claiming her so we could help to dissolve any sort of claim Kurt might have on her. Also, so we would have a better position to interfere and keep him away from her. But the ultimas, Hector in particular, are insistent that Faye explore the mating bond with Kurt.”

So, now they know, but what will they think?

“I see,” Maverick says, glancing at me. “That explains a lot.”

“So your bond with Faye is fake…?” Xander asks softly.

I avert my gaze, embarrassed. “They faked the bond to protect me.”

“You guys are claiming this isn’t real?” Maverick is almost laughing at the idea.

“Our bond is something… we need to talk about. Privately. Very soon,” Ezra says, and when our gazes meet, his expression is serious.

I shiver. Does he mean what I hope he means?

“What did Lance say when you spoke with him?” Xander asks, his leg still pressed firmly against mine, but his eyes on Ezra.

“He came to my room last night to tell me that they’ve found some evidence to implicate Kurt in the crime, but that it’s not enough. Apparently, Lance was outvoted in his proposal to remove Kurt from The Selection. The ultima is worried that, if Kurt hears about this attempt to remove him, he might become even more violent toward Faye.”

“Let him fucking try,” Maverick says, his eyes blazing. His hand tightens even more, sliding up my arm, an anchor to the ground. I feel such a rush of affection for him that it’s like a shock to my system.

“Right,” Cayson says, his eyes skipping throughout the room, landing on each of the other men. “So, we’re all agreeing that there’s not a chance Kurt gets within ten feet of her?”

“Agreed,” Xander says.

“It would be a good idea,” Ezra agrees. “We need to be extra careful with Faye, moving forward. We need to always assume Kurt is lurking in the shadows to attack her. The guard needs to remain at the door. Any time she leaves this room, at least one of us needs to be at her side.”

I let out a breath, trying to keep control of my emotions, but even with all of them here, I still can’t stop picturing Kurt and what he might do if he gets his hands on me. I gasp a little, trying to get some air, and Xander looks at me in alarm.

“Give her some space,” Ezra says, standing and coming to the edge of the bed.

Maverick and Xander back off a little, and I push myself up a little further, tipping my head back and inhaling desperately.

“We’re not going to let anything happen to you,” Ezra says, and the others nod in agreement.

Gently, each of them places a hand on me, and it’s the right amount of support—enough to be comforting without being stifling. I let my head fall onto Maverick’s shoulder, relief washing through me.

Kurt doesn’t stand a chance against my four alphas. For the first time in a long time, I don’t need to worry about him hurting me. Right?

I don’t know.

Cayson smiles at me. “Tell you what. How about tomorrow, during free time, we plan a surprise for you?”

I return his smile. “I would love that.”

That sounds like just what I need.