Page 27

Chapter 27

Harlow

I curl deeper into Freya’s plush couch, hugging a throw pillow to my chest. “They’re not perfect, you know. Parker barely looks at me sometimes, and Asher—”

“Hold up.” Freya plops down beside me, her ponytail bouncing as she flicks one finger in the air. “One, they are probably scared.” Another finger. “And two. They’ve been a pack way longer than you’ve been around. You can’t just waltz in and expect everything to change overnight.”

“I know that.” My voice cracks. “And Jagger... God, Parker loves that kid so much.”

“Don’t envy him.”

I throw the pillow at her. “I’m not jealous. I’m just—”

“Why are you here instead of there?”

I reach across the couch and grab another cushion, and press my face into the pillow, breathing in the scent of Freya’s fabric softener. “Jake will use me against Parker in court. I can’t be the reason he loses Jagger.”

“Honey.” Freya’s hand lands on my shoulder. “You might be the reason he loses him by not being there. How’s it going to look when his omega abandons the pack?”

“But Jake’s right—we faked it at first.”

“So what? Be honest about how you feel now. Tell the truth about falling for them, about needing to be part of Jagger’s life. About wanting to be their omega.”

I pick at a loose thread on the pillow. “There’s something else.”

“Spill.”

“I thought...” Heat creeps up my neck. “I thought they’d be fighting over who got to claim me first.”

Freya’s laughter fills the apartment as her apartment buzzer sounded. “You really are a needy omega!”

“I am not! I just thought—”

“You thought gorgeous Harlow Foster would have four alphas eating out of her pretty little hands?”

A giggle flies from my throat. “Yes, actually.”

“Well.” Freya wiggles her eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure Carver would claim you right this second if you let him.”

“I know, but...” I trail off, thinking of Parker’s distant looks and Asher’s hesitation.

“Do you want this pack?” Freya’s voice carries from the intercom panel where she’s jabbing buttons.

“Only if they want me, but yes,” I call back, sinking deeper into her couch .

“Oh honey.” Freya skips back. She grabs a hair band and pulls her copper ponytail and turns it around her finger, clips the band in place, leaving her with a messy bun on the top of her head.

She grins. “You’re being ridiculous. You’ve been an omega for what, five minutes? And you’re already drowning in alpha attention. Meanwhile, I’m twenty-seven, soon to be twenty-eight and the closest I’ve gotten to a pack is that time three alphas ordered cupcakes from my bakery. And I can't even talk about the alphas I have sex with in Club Midnight.”

“I don't think the bakery guys count—” I can’t help but laugh. “Sorry.”

“Of course they count! I wrote ‘Have a sweet day’ on their boxes and circled my business phone number. That’s practically foreplay in my world.”

I keep giggling, holding my stomach. “Freya!”

“What? I’m just saying, some of us have to work for it. You sneeze and alphas appear with tissues.”

A knock at the door makes us both jump.

“Speaking of alphas...” Freya wiggles her eyebrows and throws open the door.

Carver, Asher, and Oliver fill the doorframe.

My heart stutters.

“Why are you here?” Oliver asks softly.

I wrap my arms around myself. “Giving you all some space.”

“We don’t need space,” Oliver replies.

“We need you,” Asher adds.

“And does Parker?” The words slip out before I can stop them.

“Of course he does.” Asher’s voice is firm.

I hold my hands out to them, throat tight. “Will you claim me?”

“Here?” Carver’s eyes darken .

“No, not here and now, but will you?”

Carver stalks forward. “I’ll do it right now. I’ll fuck you in front of anyone. Let them listen to your screams as I knot you and claim you forever.”

Heat pools between my legs, and I press my thighs together.

“Did I make you wet, baby?”

“She’s wet,” Freya tells Carver. “How could she not be with you three begging?”

“They are not begging,” I grumble.

“They are definitely begging.” Freya sing-songs, as she dances around. “Three gorgeous alphas at my door, pleading for their omega to come home.”

“They are not begging.” I roll my eyes.

“Really? Because from where I’m standing—” Freya gestures dramatically at the doorway, “—it looks a lot like begging.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Of course I am, honey. That’s why I’m going to get knocked up by some mysterious alpha during my next heat and do this whole thing alone.” Freya flops onto her couch with a theatrical flair, like she is suddenly exhausted.

Asher and Oliver exchange a look before turning to her. Asher’s voice softens. “They’ll find you. Your alphas. They might have already come for coffee or grabbed a cake from your bakery, but you just can’t see it yet.”

Tears well in Freya’s eyes. “Don’t be nice to me.”

“We’re not,” Oliver says. “I waited for Harlow. I knew she was mine, but she wasn’t ready to be mine.”

My heart does a little flip-flop at his words, warmth spreading through my chest .

“Yeah, well.” Freya wipes her eyes. “Look at her—she’s gorgeous, curves in the right places. She’s just perfect. I’m just the crazy baker with the word vomit and too many curves.”

“You’re beautiful,” I protest. “You’re funny—I’m not. I’m a needy bitch. You can get to a man’s heart through his stomach. I’m more likely to poison him. So who’s the better catch?”

“She has a point,” Carver says, lips twitching.

I grab my cushion and hurl it at his head.

“Coffee?” Freya stalks toward her kitchen, suddenly invigorated. “I’ve got fresh beans from that place downtown.”

“Please.” Asher’s nostrils flare. “And are those muffins I smell?”

“Just came out of the oven thirty minutes ago.” Freya winks. “Maybe you should bring your omega to the bakery more often. I could teach her.”

Carver’s nose twitches. “That’s not an awful idea. Could use someone who can actually bake cakes in the pack.”

“I can bake!” I protest, crossing my arms.

Freya snorts. “Honey, you don’t have the knack and I don’t have the patience. Remember when you tried to make cookies? You got bored halfway through and started eating the raw dough.”

“That was one time!”

“It was the three times I tried to teach you.” Freya busies herself with the coffeemaker. “And I’m too busy running a business to teach lost causes.”

“Cheers,” I huff.

Asher’s laugh fills the apartment, but his expression turns serious as he faces me. “Speaking of lost causes, you’ve got Parker all wrong. He wants to claim you—desperately. But his mother drilled it into all of us that an omega’s wishes come first. His parents’ pack is very traditional that way. ”

“His mother said that?” I blink.

“She did. It’s why she and her alphas have such a strong bond. They respected her choices from day one. They refused to claim her until she presented herself to them.”

“Oh.” My chest tightens with unexpected emotion.

“You’ll love her,” Asher says softly. “She’s perfect. Like you.”

“Ugh!” Freya throws a dish towel at me. “You really are a lucky bitch. And for that, I’m definitely keeping my muffin recipes to myself. And I might unfriend you.”

I laugh. “You would never do that. Your baby will need me.”

The apartment buzzer cuts through our laughter. Freya rushes to the intercom panel.

Carver stalks to the window, peering down at the street. His shoulders are tense, protective instincts clearly on high alert.

“Now you’re regretting it,” Asher says, lips quivering. “Should have brought my practical SUV. No one’s going to look twice at it.”

Freya waves her hand dismissively. “This neighborhood’s only sketchy after dark. During the day, the scariest thing around here is Mrs. Peterson’s chihuahua.”

I can’t help but laugh at their banter, the tension in my chest finally easing.

But it’s when the door clicks open. My breath catches as Parker fills the doorframe.

“Sorry, I had to sign off on a ton of paperwork for Carver’s legal team.” His eyes find mine immediately.

“You came,” I whisper, hardly daring to believe it.

“She thinks you don’t want her,” Asher says. “Because you won’t claim her. I tried to tell—”

Parker takes one hesitant step forward, then suddenly he’s rushing toward me. His muscular arms wrap around my waist, lifting me off the ground and spinning me in a circle.

“I want you so much my teeth ache,” he growls against my neck. “So much I can barely think straight when you’re in the room. So much that watching you with Jagger makes my heart feel like it might burst.”

Freya throws her hands up. “That’s it. If I ever meet an alpha who doesn’t look at me the way this pack looks at Harlow, I’m going on suppressants for the rest of my life.”

“And hide from your fated mates?” I ask, still wrapped in Parker’s arms.