Page 19

Chapter 19

Ava

A major sign of my impending heat is my restlessness.

I’m one who likes routine, usually. It’s helpful when you work with animals, since they rely on us and on that routine for their mental well-being. But right now, I can’t seem to sit still. I want something, and I can’t seem to stop moving around until I get it. I’m buzzing with energy.

I need a distraction. I need something. I’ll take just about anything at this point.

I have no idea what I’m looking for as I go into the living room, just that I’ll know it when I find it, and I’m so tunnel visioned and scatterbrained at the same time that I don’t see anyone else is there until I hear Garrett say,

“Where’s the fire?”

“Oh my god!” I blurt out, literally jumping a bit off the ground.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Garrett’s stretched out on the couch, and fuck, I’m sure he didn’t plan this when he sat down this way but it really shows off his body.

He’s so firm and muscled, with a stocky build and long legs to give him the height to loom over me.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, you’re fine, I’m just… jumpy.” That’s not the right word. “On edge,” I correct.

“Jumpy, huh?” Garrett gives me a slow once-over that has me shivering. It feels like all it takes is just one look from him or the other members of the pack and I’m filled with an uncontrollable fire. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

He shifts and pats the couch. I walk over, unsure of what he’s going to do. I sit down, and Garrett reaches over… and starts to massage my head.

I go stiff with surprise, but then quickly relax into it. Garrett’s gruff, but when it comes to the physical, he’s gentle and looks after me. I close my eyes, relaxing more and more bit by bit until I feel like I’m a puddle against the couch.

For a moment, there’s just silence. The two of us being in the same space, Garrett touching me in a way that is intimate, but not sexual.

I’ve wondered about this, because I’ve had my suspicions, but I haven’t wanted to ask so far for fear of offending. But I figure… now’s as good a time as any. And I want answers, so that I can move forward properly instead of questioning.

“How much convincing did Caleb and Ethan have to do?”

Garrett doesn’t pause in his massaging. I suppose he expected me to ask him. “I thought you might have figured out I was reluctant.”

“I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to be unfair to you.”

“You’re not. I was the most on the fence about having you live with us.”

I’d nod, normally, except I can’t really when my head is being massaged like this. “I see.”

Garrett gives an amused chuckle. “I don’t know that you do. It wasn’t because of you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Is this the… it’s not you, it’s me?” I tease him gently.

“Kind of. But not in the way you think. It’s not that I didn’t want you.” Garrett growls a little in the back of his throat. “It’s because of my family.”

“Your family?”

“They’ve always had particular expectations for how I would live my life. One of those things was that I would have a particular kind of Omega as my mate.”

I frown. “What kind?”

“The kind with…” Garrett pauses. “Breeding.”

It’s such an crude way of saying it, but I know what he means. He’s not saying it for himself. He’s quoting whatever his parents said. Whatever they tried to put on him.

“They wanted me to pick someone wealthy and connected. My parents don’t seem to care about anything except wealth and connections.” Garrett’s tone is low and rough, a bit disgusted, but his hands are still gentle and firm as they massage my scalp.

“Sounds like you don’t agree.”

“You got that right. I had a lot of fights with them. I don’t subscribe to how they see the bond between Alpha and Omega. We barely speak anymore.”

There’s a pause, and then he adds, “I know that my family money is how I was able to help us jumpstart this company. But I don’t ever want to rely on something like that to make my way. I made my own way, with my own pack. And I’m going to pick my own Omega.”

“Even an Omega who grew up poor?” I whisper.

I can’t see him with my eyes closed or with my head at this angle, but I can feel his surprise. “You don’t…”

“No, I want to share.” It’s not just that it feels fair. It’s also that I want him to see all of who I am. “I had two Beta parents. They really didn’t teach me anything. They weren’t around much. And I try to forgive them for it because they were both working so hard to make ends meet. We never had a lot. And they thought I was a Beta. I also thought I was a Beta. So… they had no idea there were things to teach me.”

“Do you talk to them?”

“No. Not since I went to college. Sometimes I think that’s how Marcus could get to me. I didn’t have anybody to fall back on. No parents to care about me. I was an easy target.”

“How your parents treated you isn’t your fault. They should’ve been there for you.”

“I know. Or. In my head, I know.” I shrug. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell my heart that.”

“Well, we’ll have to keep working to change your heart’s mind until you really know it.”

His hands slide away from my head and down my neck. I arch up, urging them farther down. I want his hands all over my body. Heat is simmering just under my skin. I know we’re talking about something serious, but at the same time, his hands on me are melting me into a puddle, and I don’t want to resist it.

“I know I’m not what most people see on paper as the ideal Omega,” I whisper, staring up at him. Garret’s hands massage farther down my body, making my breath hitch. “I’m independent. I don’t want to just be a homemaker. I like my freedom. I have no family connections.”

“You’re the ideal Omega for us,” Garrett replies. His hands massage my breasts, and I whimper, arching into his touch. My legs spread, wanting, presenting . “We want you for who you are. We cherish you.”

His head bends down so that his lips are right at my ear. “We adore you.”

Garrett’s gruff. I would dare say that a lot of the time, he’s cranky. But his voice right now is filled with nothing but sincerity.

Suddenly, just having his hands on me isn’t enough.

I push myself up, take his face into my hands, and kiss him.