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Raff walks in, more serious than I think I’ve ever seen him. Usually, the word isn’t even in the dude’s vocabulary.

“Well?” Flint asks nervously.

“Don’t think it’s broken. Maybe a slight sprain, but we’ll have to keep an eye on it.” He doesn’t stop or even glance our way. Just passes through the kitchen and heads upstairs.

Flint and I share a look before immediately following him up to the second floor. A small landing leads to a hallway with three bedrooms, which then opens up into a large open space which is designed for comfort. A large sectional takes up a bulk of the room, with a big screen television hanging on the wall and every game console known to man placed in a cabinet just below it. It’s quiet and private, the perfect spot to have a conversation about what exactly went down outside on the patio just now.

Raff is already laid out on the chaise part of the sofa, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spins, and I’m starting to get a little worried. His scent is mellow, with less of the heavy cinnamon spice it gets when he’s stressed, so it can’t be that bad. I hope .

“What the hell happened out there?”

Stormy blue eyes meet mine. “I kissed her.”

“And?” Flint settles into a seat at the opposite end, elbows hitting his knees as his foot bounces.

“I want to do it again. Badly.”

“She didn’t throat punch you?” I’m trying to wrap my brain around everything that’s happened since the moment Elle walked in the door, but I’m struggling to piece it all together cohesively.

“Nope.” He doesn’t say more, and now I kind of want to strangle him.

“Fuck’s sake, man. Give us more than that.”

He shakes his head. “I get it now, what the Beta didn’t say before. When you can sense her walls are down, you have to shoot your shot. Don’t hesitate. Don’t ask permission—within reason of course. Just take the opening for what it is. Elliott Mitchell is not someone you can wait around for, hoping she gives you a chance. She’s locked down tighter than a military bunker, so when that door cracks open, you’ve gotta be willing to stick your foot in and risk certain death, but damn, is the risk worth it. She tastes like a goddamn Dreamsicle.”

Running my hand through my loose hair, I try to swallow down the little spark of hope inside my chest.

“You think we actually have a chance?” Flint’s hopeful eyes dart between the two of us. “Is that what you’re saying?”

Raff looks at our brother, a small grin tilting a corner of his lips. “That woman has layers, and I, for one, am looking forward to peeling each of them away to get to the sexy Omega underneath them all.”

Flint snorts. “You learn that from Shrek?”

Our short-tempered brother chucks a pillow at him. “So what if I did? He was insightful.”

The two bicker for a few moments while I try to get my thoughts in order. The sound of footsteps moving up the stairs has us going quiet, but they continue on to the Omega suite, followed by the sound of a door closing somewhere above us.

“Of fucking course she’d ask the Beta to carry her up,” Raff mutters.

“You can’t be surprised. They’re a helluva lot closer than we are.”

The other Alpha eyes Flint with a knowing look. “And what the hell is up with you and him, huh? You were looking at him like he was some of that French-style cheesecake from the local bakery you love so much.”

Flint’s face flushes. “He’s attractive. What can I say?”

“You going after him?” I ask.

There’s one thought screaming louder than all the others in my head. I don’t give a damn about who my brother chases—male, female, Beta or Omega—but this particular partner could impact whatever progress we may or may not have made with Elliott.

He shakes his head. “It’s not like that. I’m all in with Elle. I just…” He runs both hands over his face, his bracelets sliding down his forearm. “I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t interest there.”

Raff looks at me. “What about you, brother? You into the Beta too?”

I’m already shaking my head. “Not happening. Elle is the only one I want.”

“So how do we move forward from here?” Flint asks. “Is she still going through with this ridiculous research plan of hers?”

Raff shrugs. “I’d bet money on it. The woman is too stubborn to give in so easily. We just need to be waiting for the opportunity to step in and remind her that we’re here, and we’ve got more to offer than some slimy Alpha who wants to have his knot squeezed without a commitment. She deserves better than that, and I’m making it my mission to prove it to her.”

“The real issue is keeping my possessiveness under wraps. It took all of my self-control to watch the two of them flirt tonight without stalking over there and punching him in his idiotic face.” Finally giving in to the exhaustion hitting me, I drop onto the sofa with a sigh. “She’s ours, dammit. How much longer do we need to torture ourselves?”

Raff leans over and pats my leg. “As long as it takes, brother. We all agreed. Unless things have changed?”

“They haven’t for me,” Flint chimes in, looking between the two of us. “I was actually surprised by my attraction to the Beta because…well… Hell, this is embarrassing.”

My head tilts. “You can talk to us, bro. You know we don’t judge.”

From the beginning, I’ve done my damndest to make sure they knew our home was a safe space where they would be accepted no matter what the circumstance. It would be a place where we could all trust that our feelings and opinions would be listened to and any problems worked through together. I meant it then and I mean it now. There’s no place for judgment here.

“I know. It’s just… I’ve been in a dry spell for a while now because I’m pretty sure I’m mate-locked.”

Both Raff and I stare at our brother in silence. Mate-locks are things of myth, or so I thought. It’s supposedly when your instincts simply shut down because they’ve already chosen a mate, and no one else can stir the same emotions or physical effects that your mate can.

Flint exhales loudly, shaking his head. “Trust me. I get it. I was shocked when I first realized it too. I even did little tests on the rare occasions we’d see Elle. The smallest hint of her scent, and I’d be rock hard, yet you get me in a room full of attractive women—Betas or Omegas—and absolutely nothing. So imagine my surprise when shit started happening the second I got a glimpse of Sy.”

“What does it all mean?” I ask no one in particular.

Raff shrugs. “Fuck if I know, bro.”

“Honestly? I think it might mean that he was always meant to be part of this pack, right along with Elliott.” Flint’s foot begins tapping nervously again. “I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? They’re best friends, and we already know he’s into her too. He’s smart, has a sort of calming presence about him, and isn’t at all intimidated by any of us. He could bridge the gap we’ve been staring across for years.”

Thoughts are spinning through my head, twisting and turning around all of the possibilities and future implications.

“What say you, oh leader of the pack?” Raff asks, flopping back onto the cushions.

“I…” Hell, I’m not even sure I know how to respond to that. Elle obviously respects the man. Trusts him more than us, in fact. Now my packmate is showing interest in him as well. Who the hell am I to say no to something that might ultimately work in our favor? “I’m not opposed. In fact, maybe Flint’s right. He could have keys to some of those doors we’ve been trying to open, which could benefit all of us.”

“As long as I don’t have to fuck him or bond him, I’m good with it,” Raff says, pointing at our brother. “And I’m okay seeing dick, but not touching it, and it's definitely not getting anywhere near my little starfish. It’s got a permanent no entrance sign.”

Laughter rings through the room as Flint and I lose it. The tension from the day dissolves once we start to talk about our plans for the rest of the vacation, what the upcoming season will look like with Barrett on the other side of the bench, and how we’re all hoping that this next year will finally see us realizing some long-term goals that always seemed to be just out of reach.

Maybe our luck has finally changed, and I’m going to make sure to thank West and Barrett for giving us the push we needed to see it through.