Page 102 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys

Wyatt appeared at my side. He wrapped an arm around me and patted my shoulder. When I looked at him, he shrugged and lifted both eyebrows. He guided me away, towards the rest of our pack huddled near the doorway into the living room. When we were all collapsed on the sofas, Wyatt did what he always did—took command.

“Got a feeling we need to keep an eye on her tonight. Someone outside that door at all times.”

“We can’t treat her like a—” I started to protest, but Wyatt cut me off.

“Not to force her to stay inside the room, mind you, but to make sure she doesn’t make good on that threat to run away the minute we’re not watching. If she’s serious, she’ll try tonight when she thinks we’re all sleeping.”

“She’ll hurt herself,” Levi breathed out, tilting his head back against the cushion and reflexively reaching up for a pencil, though none was tucked atop his ear right now. He frowned when he realized, dropping his hands to start picking absentmindedly at his cuticles.

“I’ll take first watch tonight,” I volunteered, ready to return to the door and sit outside of it for an eternity if necessary.

The others chimed in, quickly establishing a schedule. Two hours each, through the night. Ten hours of coverage. When we fell silent, the room felt heavy. Wade picked up an animal husbandry but quickly tossed it back down again. Cooper grabbed the remote, then kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. Bits of dirt crumbled off the souls of his boots. None of us had thought to kick them off at the door like normal. He turned on the television and started flipping channels, finally landing on the Rodeo network.

Without actually seeing the barrel racers and bull riders, I stared at the screen.

The way our Omega was acting seemed to stem from more than regret over signing a bad contract. Her words felt too raw. She acted too wounded.

What had we done?

Brought an unwilling woman to our home, and now planning to guard her door like jailers?

But the possible alternative—letting her storm off into unfamiliar wilderness in the dead of night—seemed worse than making her feel trapped.

The rodeo livestream ended, quickly replaced by an old western.

Our pack had never sat in this sort of uncomfortable silence before. We’d always been in sync. When I’d first arrived at Sagebrush, having already fallen in love with Levi and Coop, I’d slipped into place seamlessly.

Now though, something didn’t fit. Or, rather, something that should fit was resisting.

I wondered what Nelly was doing in Coop’s room. I wondered what she was thinking. She’d not made a peep since we’d come into the living room.

About an hour into the movie, I stood up abruptly. I needed to move, to do something. The light outside was fading. It was almost time to guard Nelly.

“I’m going to make coffee,” I announced, heading towards the kitchen.

Another hour and four cups of coffee later, my pack mates were dozing—either in their rooms or on the sofas—and I was settled on the floor outside the bedroom, trying not to breathe too deeply. Nelly’s Omega smell was wafting through the gap at the bottom of the door, and it smelled better than anything in the damn world. I said a silent prayer to the Great Mystery.

Give me the strength to not body slam this door into splinters so I can see her again.

Cooper appeared at the end of the hallway, his frame silhouetted against the dim light from the living room. He approached with a steaming mug in each hand, offering one to me. I might shake out of my skin if I drank a fifth cup, but I took it anyways.

“Thought you were sleeping,” I said quietly.

“I tried, didn’t work.” He shrugged, leaning against the wall, his eyes locking on the door.

“Try again,” I suggested. “If you stay awake now, that two-hour shift is going to feel mighty long.”

Coop drew in a deep breath that made his nostrils flare. His hand twitched at his side as he fought the urge to reach for something forbidden. In this case, the doorknob separating us from her. His upper body began to lean forward. I cleared my throat softly. He gave himself a shake, glancing down at me.

"I'll relieve you in two hours," he whispered.

"Try to sleep,” I told him again.

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled but made no move to leave.

Neither of us spoke for a long moment, the silence filled with the weight of what it meant to have our Omega here yet just beyond our reach.

“I fucked up, Boone.” Cooper’s voice was tattered at the edges. When I looked at him, I could see one hot tear slipping down his cheek, the moisture somehow calling enough light from the living room to highlight his remorse. “I feel like I forced her here. Surely Eros wouldn’t make her come to us if she hated what we offered, but…” His words faded away.