Page 20

Penn

The morning after Rumor and Wilder were together for the first time, she came padding into the kitchen where we alphas were having breakfast, her cheeks red and a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her scent preceded her, stronger and more floral than usual.

Her heat was coming on strong. She’d wanted to be with us before this happened, and looked like she’d just made it.

“Good morning, Rumor.” I went over and gave her a soft kiss. She leaned into it, lips parting to deepen the kiss. Much more assertive than she’d been before. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Nothing,” she bit out. “Coffee.”

Oh, yeah, it was definitely in full force.

“Come sit down,” Wilder urged, “and have some toast and jam at least. You need to keep up your strength with your heat.”

“Yeah?” She swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. “I’m just so hot. If this is what it feels like, no wonder suppressants are used. I just took a cool shower, and I think I need another one already. Between the sweat and the slick…I can’t imagine feeling less attractive.”

Vargas smirked. “You look pretty hot to me, and not hot in a bad way.”

“How can you say that? I must just look so gross.”

“Anything but,” I murmured. “You know how heat works right? It makes the female want her mates but also the mates go wild for her. The scent alone had me stiff as sticks.”

“Is that an expression?” Vargas asked. “Remember, English isn’t my first language.”

“I don’t think so. I just made it up.”

“Whatever. It isn’t helping me to get past this misery.” Rumor marched over to the sink and stuck her face under the stream of water. “This sucks so much.”

Wilder gave us both a look, and we nodded. “Rumor, before you go in any deeper, we’d like to ask you something.”

“Sure, what?” She sounded less tense now. “Anything.”

“If you’re in agreement, we’d like to mark you and take care of your heat before you get any deeper into the haze.”

“After breakfast,” I added.

“And that’s what I need my strength for?” She started to protest then stopped. “Okay, toast and eggs and bacon because I will need a lot of strength for this, I think.”

I was making basted eggs using the bacon grease when Rumor’s phone buzzed on the counter.

“Could you get that for me?” she asked. “It’s probably just spam.”

Sad, but she really didn’t have anyone but us to call her. She’d been totally cut off from her whole life except her friend Lily who had managed to call a couple of times.

“I’ve got it.” I was closest. “Oh, what the hell?” I read the text and handed the phone to Rumor. “Just delete it.”

She frowned, but when she read the screen, she just shook her head. “Why?”

“I don’t know, but let’s enjoy our breakfast and not think about it too much.”

“It’s insane,” she muttered, but helped herself to a slice of toast just as I slid the plate of eggs and bacon across the table to her. “I don’t understand her at all anymore.”

After we ate, Rumor wandered off to shower and dress, and I was alone with the other alphas. “What was that?” Wilder asked.

I pushed the phone Rumor left behind across the table to him, and he swiped the screen. “What is this? Why does she want to know if we’ve marked Rumor? If her heat has come on. They’re twins. Maybe Reyna thinks their heats should line up or something? But why would she care? She made it pretty obvious that she has no love for our omega.”

“That’s a puzzle.” Vargas studied the phone in turn and frowned. “But I don’t like it. I don’t trust that alpha female. It’s not like she calls every day to chat up her sister and see how things are going. Her only contacts are like this, demanding personal information in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.”

“Agreed.” I moved to clear the table, trying to think of a reason that was not sinister. She didn’t want to know if they lined up, did she? Did females do that? I’d never heard of such things, but I did have limited experience with females. “I think we need to be extra vigilant with her. That pack was about as sleazy as any I’ve seen and if they are behind this, nothing good can be happening.”

“But she’s safe here.” Wilder cracked his knuckles. “As long as we’re on the homestead.”