Page 38

THIRTY-TWO

Playing: Power Over Me by Dermot Kennedy

The black and blue of my knuckles burn beautifully. I admire and glare at them at the same time. There’s a mix of emotions going through me, but all I can think about is how wonderful it felt to finally be able to punch something, someone , that deserved it.

Stacia is watching the sky through the window the entire way home. The smile on her face is dazzling. Her happiness is almost contagious. Then I remember the cause of it and the artificial emotion doesn’t seem so enchanting anymore.

We play some of her favorite songs until we make it back to the house. She happily strolls alongside us as we make our way inside. Atlas and Ciro are sitting in the living room as we walk in, both in a state of restlessness.

Our pack beta lets out of a breath of relief. “Shit, you guys said there was an emergency?—”

“Stacia, would you like to make a couch nest with me?” Kendall interrupts, looking over at our beautiful blissed-out omega.

Her eyes widen in excitement before she claps her hands and steps side to side with little jumps.

“Holy shit, yes! I’d love that.” She doesn’t wait for anyone before running over to the couch and pulling off an entire couch cushion.

Atlas, who was sitting on said couch, stands up so she can do what she wants.

He keeps his eyes on her, already knowing that there’s something different about our normally demure and timid scent match.

Ciro’s got both eyebrows up to his hairline as he scopes out the situation.

“Let’s talk in the kitchen,” I say.

We all turn to the walk away before we hear a soft voice. “Will you be back?” We turn and I see the pure devastation on her face. She’s worried that we won’t stay with her, and the sight of it hits me right in the chest.

“We’ll be back. We’re getting some snacks. What would you like?” Atlas says, keeping his features schooled. He amazes me with it at the best of times.

It makes me proud to be a part of a pack with such a well-rounded prime.

“Strawberries! And oranges.” She looks at Ciro and winks, and it actually makes us all chuckle.

“You’ve got it, sweetheart,” he says before stepping away to let Kendall help our omega navigate the beautiful fort/nest that she’s currently building.

“So, what’s going on?” Ciro asks once we make our way into the kitchen.

Atlas begins to pull out the fruit we have in our fridge. There’s more options than she asked for, and he’s currently piling them neatly on a platter like a charcuterie board.

“Rory was right, she was at the party.”

The statement alone sounds ridiculous. We weren’t worried when Stacia’s best friend called and asked us to check the location she was at because she couldn’t get in touch with her.

We thought we’d meet her there and enjoy the party with her like we have before.

Never in a million years did I think we’d come upon her in the situation she was in.

My blood still boils thinking about it.

I pick up my fist and show it to them. It’s becoming easier to see now, more apparent that it was used to cause some violence. I smirk looking at it, remembering the satisfying crunch of the loser’s nose.

“Some jerk was holding her against her will, gripping her from behind. I could smell her soured scent like a beacon.”

And god, did I fucking run to it.

Atlas stops assorting fruit to look back at me, finally seeing my knuckles. The look on his face is mixed. He looks pained, but also proud. “Thank you, Uriah,” he finally says, and the sentiment flies to my heart. “I’m guessing he’s pretty fucked up right now.”

I nod firmly. He doesn’t go back to the fruit platter, his expression now serious and concerned. “We should have all gone.”

“There’s no need to do that, At.” Ciro speaks up, looking solemn. “They’re here now, and there’s nothing we could have done. We would have done more than fucked him up if it was all of us.”

I point at him, agreeing. “Anyway, that’s not the only problem.”

“Yeah,” Atlas sighs. “I noticed. Do you know what she’s on?”

Our beta looks confused, his gaze darting between us. “What she’s on ? She’s on something right now?” A sense of urgency sparks in the air, and his body suddenly can’t stand still as his gaze keeps going to the doorway like he wants to run to her.

“I’m not sure. She’s euphoric. She almost screamed when Kendall pulled her to him, but then she wouldn’t let go after. She wasn’t responding to our questions a whole lot, either. She was sweating bullets, but to be honest, it was extremely hot in that house.”

Atlas is deep in thought, his brows scrunching between his eyes.

“We’ll have to talk to her about it candidly.

Not tonight.” He adds the last words sternly, looking between the two of us.

“We’ll let her enjoy whatever she’s on in a safe environment, here, with us.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk to her. Try to get her to understand that we want to be there for her if and when she decides to do it again. ”

I agree wholeheartedly. She’s ours, unconditionally. If this is something she enjoys and partakes in, we want her to at least be safe. That’s the prerogative.

“She must do it from time to time, because she was on something when we met,” Ciro adds. “She was trying to get home so she could trip in her room, that’s what I remember.”

“What if it’s something more, though?” Atlas adds.

I have that instinctual feeling, too. I can’t speak it out loud, though. Something is keeping me from saying the words.

“Tomorrow,” I repeat, wanting to get back to our omega. “We’ll reconvene. And it’ll include her.”

We all nod in understanding. Atlas goes back to making the most elaborate fruit board I’ve ever seen while Ciro and I head back to the living room.

Kendall is helping her drag blankets over the makeshift canopy of cushions when we walk back in.

The nest she’s built is amazing considering how little time it took.

It makes me think about the empty room we have down the hall, and how much it could use her finishing touch. The last piece of home.

She’s right in front of us, but sometimes she feels so far away.

I push that thought aside as we all cuddle up in the blankets and turn on one of her favorite animated movies. Atlas finally joins us after a few minutes and the grin she wears is stunning. Her scent is relaxed, happy, and it soothes me.

One day, this will be a normal night for us. One day, we’ll be doing this and there won’t be anything to solve. I can feel it in my gut that she’s meant to be here with us, meant to complete us.

I just really hope that she wants to.