Page 6

Lyle

Anger burns in my chest as I stand in Seraphina’s bedroom doorway, staring at the wreckage of her nest. Seeing that she destroyed the one place she calls safe guts me but what’s worse is knowing why. Knowing that she’s locked herself in this house for years because of the fear of the past repeating itself makes me want to wring that Alpha’s neck should I ever find him. An Alpha making an Omega think her scent was a curse rather than a blessing doesn’t deserve to live.

Callum lets out a low growl as his gray eyes meet mine, a harsh warning to pull it together. I follow his gaze to Seraphina trembling a few feet from me, her wide, glassy eyes cutting straight through me. Fuck . I force my fists to unclench, but that doesn’t stop my thoughts from continuing to race, to form plans, to figure out where we go from here.

What the hell happened all those years ago? Why didn’t Felix ever say anything? He never hinted at any of this. Then again, if Felix knew some Alpha attacked her, that bastard would’ve been dealt with. Felix didn’t play when it came to Fi. None of us do.

Seraphina wraps her arms around her chest, her gaze darting between the three of us like she wants to burrow in the safety we could provide but is too terrified to let herself. I think about all the times we’ve touched her and kissed her. How many times did she flinch inside, waiting for us to turn into him? How many times did she brace for it to go south, only to realize we were just there to hold her together? I’m not sure how I fucking missed it, how we all did?

Seraphina’s words break the silence, her voice still a little shaky. “My first heat was bad, awful. I don’t want to remember it or talk about it but that scent, I couldn’t really figure out what it was but it was everywhere and I just… inside was safer. And now, this.” She gestures to her nest, looking wholly defeated.

I can’t imagine the terror she faced, not knowing who had attacked her and thinking that it could be any Alpha she faced. Ambrose stands and moves closer, his arms opening wide enough for her to snuggle into. Of the three of us, I can see he’s going to struggle the most. He might be more unhinged than Callum or I but he also loves the hardest.

“Fi, angel,” he says, his voice raw with emotion. “Let me hold you, please. You’re breaking my heart.”

She sobs, her gaze flicking to his chest. For a moment, I’m sure she’s going to bolt to the bathroom or the guest bedroom until she gives him a soft nod. Ambrose closes the distance and pulls her against him, our Omega melting instantly as she molds to him, her face buried in his shirt.

He buries his nose in her hair, one arm around her back, the other hand cradling the back of her neck. His purr rumbles deep through his chest, a fragile sigh falling from her lips as her trembling eases just a fraction.

Callum steps up beside me, nodding to Ambrose and Seraphina. “I’m gonna grab some equipment. I’ve got some extra cameras from our security system. Stay here with Fi.” He’s not just asking me to stay. He’s telling me I need her right now, need to feel her close to keep from doing something stupid. He’s not wrong, either.

“Yeah. Got it.”

Callum clicks his tongue, and Ambrose looks up, catching his signal. He nods, then pulls back from Seraphina, moving his hands to cup her tear-stained cheeks. “Hey, Callum and I are gonna get a few things to make sure no one comes in here. Lyle’s gonna stay with you. Is that okay?”

Her eyes flick to me, searching for something. I catch a whiff of her wild berry scent then, cutting through the lavender. And something else. Slick. My breath catches in my throat as my body tenses, pure Alpha instinct roaring to life. My Alpha is telling me to fill our sweet little Omega, to knot her, and then claim her as mine.

But everything else just wants to pull her into the safe cocoon of my chest and block out the world for her.

She lets out a panicked gasp, eyes widening. When none of us move, she relaxes and offers me a smile that means more than she could ever know. “Yeah,” she whispers. “That’s okay.”

I sit on Seraphina’s couch, the cushions sinking under my weight, with her curled up in my lap. She’s fiddling with the buttons on my shirt, her fingers twisting and tugging as she disappears somewhere in her head. The tears stopped a while ago, though I was sure she’d shatter when Ambrose and Callum left to gather a few things she’d need. I saw the way they looked at her, their eyes burning with the need to pull her close, scent her, claim her.

But then she flinched and that was enough to keep them at bay.

And that’s why even with her in my lap, my arms are settled against my side, Seraphina touching me in her own quiet way. Her nose drags slowly along my chest, this sound coming from her that’s something between a purr and a whimper. It’s almost too soft to hear, but it’s unraveling me piece by piece because I have no fucking idea what to do to make this better.

I’d do anything to fix this, to erase the fear that’s got her locked in this apartment, but I’m lost.

A shuddering breath leaves me as I look down at her, her eyes glazed over with the haze of her impending heat, her pupils blown so wide that the blue is almost gone. I’m not entirely sure when her Omega took over, her body giving itself over to biology, seeking comfort, safety, anything to anchor her.

My purr starts up, rattling through my chest as it seeks to calm the Omega in my arms. At first, she stiffens, almost unsure before leaning closer and pressing her ear to my chest. Then her own purr starts up, a much softer, delicate version, matching my rhythm.

God, I think it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.

“I’ve got you, baby girl,” I murmur, running my nose along the top of her head. “I’ve always got you.”

Her scent thickens in the room, overriding the descenter she so heavily coated this place in a few hours ago. My body is threatening to betray me and as much as I want to show Seraphina my interest, I know it’d spook her.

A few weeks ago—without the mess of mates and scents, she would have been intrigued. Now? She’s too raw and it means so much more now that I know she’s ours. So, I tamper down my own desires, willing my Alpha to settle and let Seraphina take what she needs at her own pace.

I’m not sure how long we stay like that, her curled in my lap, our purrs weaving together. It’s a steady hum of noise that’s slowly lulling her to sleep when she suddenly sits up, the haze lessening slightly. “Where are Ambrose and Callum?”

I brush a strand of hair from her face, careful not to linger there. “Callum’s grabbing stuff to beef up the security for the apartment and Ambrose is looking for pillows to fix your nest.”

She frowns, her brows knitting together. “How’s he gonna know which ones to choose?”

“Good point. Let’s call him.” I fish my phone from my pocket, my free hand steady on the couch so I don’t jostle her. I tap Ambrose’s name in and switch to video call, his face filling the screen, a cheeky smile playing on his lips as I sit up a little to hold the phone in front of us.

“There’s my sweet girl,” he muses. Seraphina twists around to meet his gaze, her attention darting around the aisle of pillows behind him.

She pouts, her lips pursing in that adorable way that makes my heart trip. “You didn’t take me with you,” she accuses, although there’s a hint of playfulness to her tone.

Confusion flickers through my expression and then I remember Ambrose always takes her on video dates. It’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen him do. He’ll call her up, walk through a mall or park, or beach, showing her everything like she’s right there beside him. He talks to her the whole time, pointing out dumb stuff like a tacky shirt or a seagull stealing fries. It’s his way of bringing the world to her since she won’t leave this place. I tease him about it sometimes, call him a sap, but he shuts me up quick when we get home, fucking me silly until I can’t think straight. Worth it every time.

Ambrose’s grin softens as he tilts his head, his silky hair following the movement. “Did you wanna see some of the pillows I picked out?” he asks. It’s always amusing watching this man soften for Seraphina in a way that he won’t do for anyone else. “I had no fucking idea there were so many options.”

He flips the camera, panning across a shelf stacked with pillows in every color and texture. Fluffy ones, smooth ones, some with tacky patterns. Seraphina huffs, a tiny, frustrated sound that’s so damn cute I almost laugh. “That’s not even the right color,” she growls, her fingers dropping from my buttons and fisting in her lap.

I watch as she carries on with Ambrose like she’s right there in the store with him. They’re going back and forth, Seraphina settling further into my lap the longer they talk. I’m not even sure if she’s aware of the way she thrives beneath our attention but I hope to make her see it sooner rather than later.

Ambrose keeps picking up pillows and blankets, running them by her as she nods her head with approval or shakes her head in disgust. When he picks up a pillow with too many frills or the wrong shade, she shakes her head frantically, growling at him through the phone. “No, Ambrose,” she scolds, her finger jabbing at the screen. “That’s too bright. I said silver , not gray.”

The Alpha just chuckles, his hazel eyes glinting with mischief. “Alright, sweet girl, silver it is.” He pans the phone across another shelf, stacked with pillows in muted tones that gradually morph into brighter ones. She mumbles something about orange, Ambrose making a beeline for the color. He snags one of the bigger ones, grinning like he just won the lottery. “This one is nice! But uh, is this, uh, sunburnt orange?” he asks, turning to a store employee nearby. The woman, a middle-aged Beta with a name tag pinned crooked, looks like she’s been caught in headlights staring when she wasn’t supposed to.

Ambrose’s face flushes red, the man sometimes forgetting how fucking gorgeous he is. Add in the piercings and tattoos and he’s the entire package. The woman offers him a genuine smile but the desire flicking up in her expression has Seraphina snarling in my lap. There’s no doubt in my mind that her instincts are driving this interaction but I love it.

The phone quickly flips back to Ambrose’s face as the employee starts apologizing. “Oh god, I’m so sorry.”

Ambrose blows a little kiss to the screen to calm Seraphina. “No, it’s fine. I’m picking out pillows for my Omega, but I’m shit at colors. She said sunburnt orange, grays, and blues. I got the two colors but I don’t know which of these is the right shade.”

Calling her his Omega has Seraphina wiggling in my lap, her scent spiking until it smells like spring in the living room.

“I, um, need the bathroom,” she mumbles, sliding off my lap. She nearly slips on the hardwood as she hurries away, her scent trailing her like a cloud. The moment the bathroom door clicks shut, I relax back against the couch, reaching down to relieve some of the pressure in my pants.

Ambrose’s voice pulls me back to the screen. “Is she okay?”

The employee is gone, a few more pillows in the cart as he leans against one of the shelves. I run a hand across the stubble of my chin, letting out a heavy sigh. “She has been for a while. Still jumpy, but she was purring for me. It’s so fucking hard not to touch her.”

He snorts, shifting a pillow under his arm. “Why do you think I volunteered to get pillows? I don’t envy you, man.”

“Her scent’s really strong. I’m drenched in it. I hope she lets us spend her heat with her. It’s gonna be a fucking honor.”

“Yeah, but we gotta figure out whatever’s in her apartment first. Call maintenance, make sure there’s no leak or some shit.”

“Callum already did,” I say, glancing at the mudroom door where they left. “I was instructed to just be her teddy bear.” I pause, my voice lowering so there’s no way Seraphina will hear it. “I’m gonna need you to fuck me when we get home, Jesus Christ.”

“Let me get this shit over there before I find you fucking your hand in the guest bathroom.”

Ambrose blows me a kiss before ending the call, my grin fading as my gaze trails over to the bathroom. I have a feeling that this day isn’t going to go how any of us want it to. I just hope she’ll let us help.