Page 10 of Enticing Little Omega (Twisted Little Tales #5)

William

I felt it before I even saw him.

Annerly's presence, steady and calm in our bond, pressed up against the edges of my panic like a balm. I'm supposed to be the Alpha. The protector. But instead, my Beta, my lover, my best friend serves as the calm in the storm.

My heart hadn't stopped racing since Drew called last night to say they were on the road.

I shouldn't have been surprised.

It certainly shouldn't have come as a surprise that they agreed to Christa's conditions. I knew they were done with their mom as much as I knew I loved Annerly with every fiber of my being. But because of Tracy there was this poison in our bond, a poison that was too hard to get rid of.

But I needed to work on it.

Because they were coming.

Today.

I stood in the doorway of our borrowed cabin, arms folded, gaze fixed on the road leading into town like it might grow fangs and bite me. My Alpha paced beneath my skin, uncertain and restless.

"Won't be long now," Annerly said behind me, voice warm, soothing. He didn't need to say it aloud. He already felt the tension coming from me. The dread curled up tight in my chest like a snake waiting to strike.

I didn't turn around. "What if this is a mistake? Them coming?"

"It's not a mistake," he said simply. "This is how it's meant to be. You know it, love."

He wasn't wrong. I knew that. And his simple reassurances should have been enough. Our shared bond pulsed between us, real and undeniable. I could feel his confidence shining through.

Our bond was still fragile, still new. I'd only marked him a fucking week ago! And now we were putting everything on the line.

"What the fuck is wrong with me, An?" I pulled at my hair as I turned around and stared at him. "Why am I this freaked out about our pack, our goddess-given pack showing up?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word in, I carried on with my rant.

"I'll tell you why. They'll stumble in here, two bumbling idiots and we'll be right back where we were before we left. Tearing at each other's throats and fighting so much that we won't give our Omega the attention she deserves." I swallow hard. "Then we'll lose her. And them. Again."

He took hold of my hand and pulled me into his embrace. "Hey," he soothed, resting his head on my shoulder. "You have to show a bit of trust."

"I don't know if I'm ready for this, An," I muttered into his hair.

"You don't have to be ready, Will," Annerly said. His hands slid up and down my back, slowly stroking. "We just have to be honest, and open."

I let out a breath and stood up straight. "I spent the last two years thinking we lost our chance at this. That we'd never be able to fix our pack."

"And now we get to try." He pressed a kiss to my shoulder through my shirt, soft and careful. "But we have to really give it our all. Give them a chance to prove themselves, too. Okay?"

I nodded, but it didn't settle the storm in my gut. Because I remembered the last fight with Anton. The shouting. The way he looked at me like I was betraying our pack, when it was them... them and their mother.

No.

That wasn't fair.

It never has been fair.

They had no choice in who sired them. And if we hadn't gone to that damned bonding party their mother had thrown us we wouldn't even have met our Omega.

Drew and Anton were pack. They were pack even before I met Annerly. We were friends once. Brothers. We could get back to that.

We would get back to that.

For us.

And for Christa.

The thought of her stirred something low and aching in me. She's giving us a chance to court her. To get to know her and show her we were worthy of her. I could only hope that she fell for us, agreed to mate us before she realised what a mess we were.

A pair of headlights crested the hill, drawing me from my turmoiled thoughts.

Fuck.

They're here.

As the car drew up into the driveway, I took a steadying breath and grabbed hold of Annerly's hand in mine.

They didn't know we'd formalised a bond between just the two of us, and it wouldn't serve anyone if we hid it from them.

No more damned secrets.

Together we stepped to the front door and opened it, heading out to greet our pack mates.

The car hadn't even fully stopped before Drew spilled out of the passenger side, practically vibrating with excitement. Anton was slower, more composed as usual, but I could see the tightness in his jaw, the tension in his shoulders.

I stood taller, keeping Annerly's hand clasped firmly in mine.

Drew's eyes immediately dropped to the connection between us, and I braced myself for... I don't even know what. Judgement? Disappointment? Annoyance?

But his face cracked into a grin so wide it nearly split his face in two.

"Well, isn't this great fucking news," he said, voice full of that familiar teasing warmth that used to drive me up the wall. "It's about time you two admitted what the rest of us knew ages ago."

I blinked. "You... knew?"

"You two were the only ones in denial." He scoffed and stepped closer.

"I'm glad you two figured it out. There was a time where I thought I might have to lock you two in a cabin together and force some kind of mating heat to get you to just kiss.

" He clapped my shoulder, then surprised the hell out of me by pulling me into a hug. "I really fucking missed you, Will."

Annerly chuckled beside me, and when I glanced his way, he was smiling too. His usual, quiet peaceful smile.

Anton stepped out and closed the car door behind him. He stood there a moment, looking between the three of us, and then his gaze landed on our hands. His brow furrowed—just a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes—but then he nodded once and stepped closer.

"That's one less thing to figure out," he said, voice low. "I'm pleased."

It wasn't effusive or a floral blessing, but coming from Anton, it was a huge fucking deal.

"Thanks," I managed. "It's still new, though."

"I mean, yeah. That figures," Anton murmured, his eyes lifting to scan the cabin, the woods beyond before taking a deep breath. "Fuck man. It feels good being around you two again."

And it did.

It felt right. Now I felt like a bit of an idiot that I was worried to start off with. They were pack. They were family.

As much as we were missing a piece after we lost our Omega on the same damn night we found her, being a pack split in two was like having a limb removed.

We still had a lot of issues to sort out between us, a lot of nasty words thrown around and things that couldn't be taken back. But maybe... just maybe, we could get past it.

A beat of silence passed between us.

Then Drew, never one to let a moment hang too long, clapped his hands. "So. When do we get to see her? I'm ready to win our Omega's heart."

Annerly snorted. "Pace yourself, Romeo."

And with that, the tension in the air eased off.

"She's working today and asked us to steer clear of the diner for now. I thought we could give her a few days before we drop by and formally present ourselves and offer to court her," I told them.

"Huh. A few days. So what will we do with ourselves until then?" Drew asked.

"There's always day drinking?" Annerly offered, and all four of us laughed together for the first time in what felt like decades.