Page 15 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Briar

I did not want to go to the nursery. I didn’t even want to be in Moon River right now.

What I wanted to do was to ring Candy and see if she and Riley had made some progress on developing a heat suppressant, because I was in hell.

Mum was supposed to sit in the back of the alphas’ very nice SUV, but Gideon had to intervene.

“We’re not sure where the nursery is, Maggie.” Why did he have to shoot her that perfect smile? All white teeth against tanned skin. “Did you want to ride up front and give us directions?”

Use the GPS, I wanted to shout. Hell, even use an app on his phone to work out where we were going.

Instead, she just smiled as he opened the front passenger side door with a flourish, climbing in and leaving me to do the same.

I scrambled into the back seat, hoping to get one by the window, but the far door opened and Jace got in on the other side, leaving me boxed in the middle.

I looked back over my shoulder to see Mads standing in the other doorway, a smirk on his face.

Apparently, I was going to ride all the way over to the nursery jammed between two alphas.

Fuck my life.

I focussed on the small things: pulling my seatbelt over me and clicking it into place, settling against the leather interior of the car, then planting my feet on the floor.

Even the fine tremor in my thighs as I fought to keep them clamped together.

Anything but the feeling of both men as they sat down beside me.

Shrinking back wouldn’t work. They were too damn big. My whole body stiffened as I felt Mads’ leg press against mine, then I jumped when Jace did the same.

“Everything OK, omega?”

Jace’s voice was rough, his tone pitched so only I could hear him, but looking up into those blue eyes was a mistake. My lips parted, ready to tell him about the state I was in. But I couldn’t. He was not my alpha, not my mate.

So why did his pupils expand, the black swallowing the blue iris?

No, I wanted to say, right as I took his hand and slid it between my thighs to discover why.

My hips tilted, almost able to feel the way it would be different.

His finger would be thicker, more callused, and would hit me right where I needed it.

As if able to read my mind, he moved closer until I could see every dot of reddish blond stubble, the small crease on his lip where the skin had dried hard.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, edging just a little closer, when the car was put in gear.

I jerked back, pressing my skull against the headrest and forcing myself to stare at the windscreen.

The ride over to the nursery happened in a blur.

I stared out the window, conscious that my old neighbourhood whizzed past, but only just. Because every breath I took sucked their scent deeper into my lungs, turning my body to fire.

My hips moved slowly but surely, lifting up from the seat, the tension between my thighs glorious, right before settling back again.

I’d tell Mum there was an emergency at the warehouse.

That thought was like a piece of paper blown into a firestorm, quickly burned up.

That Candy had a fall… Nope, I couldn’t use the exact same accident Mum had had.

My mind raced, but it wasn’t to come up with an excuse to let me scuttle out of town. Instead, my eyes slid sideways.

If I thought my state went unnoticed, I was wrong.

Mads watched me with complete fascination, the tiniest of smiles on his face.

I wanted to wipe that off, right before I replaced it with my cunt.

He’d be a greedy one, I just knew it, drawing me down harder and eating me out with everything he had, not letting me hover for a second.

And Jace? My head whipped around to find those blue eyes had turned to fire.

His hand rose, and I saw the faint tremor there, but what the hell was he doing?

Getting ready to touch me, that’s what my heart hoped.

But that shouldn’t happen. In class, my science teacher had said that alphas could only smell the scent of their fated mates to avoid indiscriminate matings. So there was no way?—

“Here we are!” My head whipped around to see Mum looking at me with a bright grin. “Let’s go and get some plants before it gets really hot.”

I wasn’t going to survive the summer. Sweat was already beading across my forehead, my armpits uncomfortably damp, despite the air conditioner.

I had to move out of my childhood bedroom.

I’d rent a room. No, a cabin, one with the coldest climate control and soundproof walls, far away from everyone else so I wouldn’t scare the neighbours as I rode out this heat.

But that wasn’t the only part of me that felt far too moist. With effort, I plastered a smile on my face.

“Roses and snapdragons, right?”

As I scrambled out of the car, Jace took my hand.

That twitch of his lips made it seem like he knew exactly what was going on, but that couldn’t be right.

I was left wondering as he pulled me after him.

His grip was firm, masterful, and most of all, had me wondering exactly what else he could force me to do.

Then I saw we had an audience.

There was a kind of anonymity that I liked very much about living in the city.

I could’ve been doing something very strange on the street, and while people would look sideways, they wouldn’t report back to the friends and family, the news spreading through the entire town by evening.

That knowledge and the eyes of the other people keen to buy plants in the early morning had me jerking my hand free of Jace’s.

“Briar—” he started to say, only for dimples to appear in his cheeks as he smiled.

“Mum, I’m just gonna…”

I didn’t bother to ask for permission or clarify, just marching on down an aisle.

Brightly coloured flowers and small shrubs and trees were the only witness to my cheeks burning bright red.

I had to call Candy. There had to be something, anything, to get me through this.

I’d be their first shifter test subject if that helped.

My hands shook as I tried to grab my phone out, only for Jace to appear before me.

“Briar—”

“Gotta make a call.” I pointed to the phone, as if he hadn’t already seen it, taking everything in with those keen eyes. “Work emergency.”

“Whatever you need, Briar.”

That was a sweet enough response, but that step forward, right into my space was not. His shadow should’ve given me some relief from the fierce sun rays, but instead, the darkness felt close and still. It took me two tries, but I finally tapped on Candy’s contact.

The phone buzzed and buzzed, and that’s when I realised what was happening. She’d be face down in the sheets right now after a late night bender, no doubt with several companions.

“It’s Candy,” the voicemail said. “Leave a message on the beep.”

My eyes flicked up, seeing Jace standing over me, his breathing coming in harder and faster than usual, and I knew there was no damn way I was leaving a message about going into heat.

“Hey, it’s Briar. Just…” One eyebrow cocked up and Jace grinned, as if he knew exactly what was going on.

“Gimme a call when you get this.” Ending the call and shoving the phone into my pocket, I straightened up and faced him down.

“Let’s go and look for some plants.” I peered past his shoulder.

“Pretty sure the lavenders are over there.”

With a quick movement I got around him, but as I drew abreast, a hand landed on the small of my back, forcing me to jolt. People looked up as we passed, focussing on that small gesture.

“Look, I’m not sure how they do things in Glen Hallow,” I muttered, low enough that only he could hear. “But here people talk.”

“And what would they say, Briar?” he asked, his thumb drawing small circles on my skin.

I swallowed, my mouth filling with saliva, even as I felt the pulse start up between my thighs. That was enough to have me whirling around to face him, pulling his hand free.

“They’ll assume that you’re courting me.

People will think I’m your omega…” My voice broke on that, but I shook my head, forcing myself to forge on.

“That you’re my alphas.” He was about to say something, but I didn’t want smirks, flirty asides, or anything else.

If they were serious about becoming alphas of this town, then they needed to face facts.

“And trust me, if you want to become the ruling pack, nothing will get Omega Hart angrier than some alpha that trifled with another omega.”

“I know exactly what I want,” he said, taking a step closer.

Take another step, my body begged, another and another, but that wasn’t my destiny. Mum appeared at our side with a broad smile on her face.

“Found all the plants,” she announced. “There’s this new rose cultivar that’s incredibly resistant to black spot…”

I nodded and smiled and pretended like I was hearing everything she said, even when my focus was trained entirely on the men around me. The alphas flanked us on each side, escorting us towards the sales desk, but when Jace tried to pull out his wallet, I waved him away.

“Save your money for people that need it,” I said, my black credit card making a snapping sound as I placed it on the counter for the sales assistant to tap. “Competing to become alphas of Moon River could be expensive.”

The sales girl looked at the two of us, not wanting to touch my card as the alphas just stared. I grabbed the card myself, tapping the machine to make the sale and then put it away when the receipt was printed.

When we got home, I thought I was off the hook.

Mum could tell the alphas where she wanted the plants and I could retire to the shower, easing the tension inside me, quickly and quietly.

Instead, she looked quite pale as she got out of the car, myself and Gideon moving forward to give her a hand, but she refused help.

“I think I’m going to go inside and have a little rest.”

There was no arguing with her drawn expression. I had the door unlocked and was helping her inside, when Mads spoke.

“We’ll get the garden sorted for you, Maggie.” He looked around at the front yard. “If we put the roses in a line by the fence, then a line of lavender…”

That was not how a garden like Mum’s should be set out. It wasn’t a formal one full of sharp angles.

“Straight lines…?” I stepped away from my mother. “The roses need to go in the centre of each section of the garden beds.” I gestured vaguely at the yard. “Then the lavender and salvia placed around that.”

“Lavender closest to the roses. Salvias along the edging. You can help the boys work out the placement, can’t you, dear?”

With a pat of my hand, Mum sealed my fate. I couldn’t refuse as my mother hobbled inside, only to collapse down on the couch.

“Sound alright with you, omega?” Mads asked with a grin.

“It’s not omega.” I sounded ridiculously snippy, but I couldn’t seem to hold that back. “I’m more than my designation.” Before they could say something stupid, I turned for the door. “I just need to grab a hat and some sunscreen and then I’ll help you lay out the garden.”

Another omega’s alphas, I thought once I got inside my room, my hands shaking as I drew a broad-brimmed hat and some oversized sunglasses out.

But as my hand smoothed over my body, I found that I didn’t care much about some man or woman I’d never met.

It was far too easy for me to imagine my little hands replaced by far bigger ones.

The hat was jammed on my head, my glasses hiding my overheated expression as I marched back downstairs.

“Tell the alphas that I’ll make them some lunch.” Mum was lying on the couch, her eyes falling half closed, even as the TV blared. “I’ll make them some nice sandwiches and homemade lemonade.”

“Of course, Mum. Just… get some rest.”

Her head nodded even as her eyes closed, right before I opened the door and stepped out.