Page 35 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

“Oh…” That pink flush in her cheeks was everything I didn’t know I needed. Her eyes went wide as she stared up at me, but only for a second. It felt like a hard mask replaced that spontaneous response, right before she reached for her bag. “You don’t need?—”

“But I do.” I tried for something light hearted and cheeky and failed utterly. My omega was leaving without me and my wolf was kicking my arse for letting this get that far. “So where are we going?”

“We?” Briar tried to wrest the bag from my hands and failed. Hey, I might not be the brains of the outfit, but I was at least strong. “I’m going to see a supplier, see if I can make amends for what’s happening.”

“Road trip?” I went over to her car and deposited her suitcase in the boot. “Cool. I’ll drive and you can provide the tunes.”

“No. No, no, no.” She kept saying that as she followed me around to the driver’s side door. I poked my head in and saw it was a newer model with a press start. Cool, I’d have this baby humming in seconds. “I’m going and you’re going to stay here and win the town over.”

“Nah…” I settled against the door, ignoring her as she tried to wrench it open. “Can’t let you do that, omega.”

“Jace.”

“Briar.”

I took a step forward, my hand finding her cheek.

That’s when all the noise in my head went suddenly quiet.

The wolf didn’t want me focussing on a damn thing but her.

That’s how I caught the fine tremor in her body as it came alive at my touch.

That sweet, sweet, scent of roses filled my nose, now with a delicious vanilla accent.

Gods, she was getting close to the peak of her heat.

Days locked up rutting, that would be the only way she’d be satisfied, and there was no damn way she would be wandering the world without me by her side to see her through it.

“You’re getting close,” Mads announced, forcing Briar to spin around. “That’s a very vulnerable time.”

“Something I’ve been through before,” she snapped before wiggling her fingers. “All by myself.”

“Not like this.” If Mads and I had Briar sandwiched between us, Gideon cut off the last escape route. His hand darted out, paused, and then came to rest low on her pelvis. “We did this to you, so we need to help you with it.”

For a second, I thought our mate might give in. She didn’t want to, as evidenced by the stubborn set of her jaw, but her breath came in faster and faster the longer we stood here.

“Jizz in a cup.”

I let out an explosive snort at her response, unable to believe what I was hearing.

“That’s—” Mads started to say.

“Not how it works.” Gideon could be a cold bastard, so it was fun to see that mask crack. His wolf was staring right at her. “Fresh semen works because it tricks your hormones into thinking you were just mated. A specimen in a jar?” He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s dead, non-viable.”

“I’m going somewhere hours from here.” There was a challenge in her gaze. “Somewhere away from the trials, the town, the Hart pack. You won’t be able to prepare for the next trial.”

“Don’t care.”

I wish I had Mads’ casual attitude about these things, but nope, a thin tendril of habitual fear slid up my spine. The wolf bared its fangs at it, because we were in charge, not my emotions.

“If that’s what you need, then we’re going with you,” I replied.

“In my little car?” She shook her head. “I won’t stop you, but you’re gonna find it cramped.”

“Our car is big enough for all of us to fit comfortably.”

Gideon moved around to her boot and opened it, grabbing both her bags before she could protest. She had a few things to say as we walked back to our house, but was pretty much accepting her fate when he shoved them and my bag into the back of our car.

“Give me a second to grab some clothes,” he told her, “and to get changed. No more than ten minutes.”

She was going to protest, but that time limit seemed to settle her.

“Ten minutes.” I may have looked as she crossed her arms, noting the way her breasts plumped upwards. “Any longer than that and you get left behind.”

“So where are we headed?” I asked, pulling up the map app on my phone as my brothers gathered supplies. She rattled off the name of a place three hours away. “Pretty country up there.”

“The best,” she replied with a sigh. “I was going to stay in the guest house for a day or two to get my head straight.”

“Head straight.” I stepped closer, finally letting my finger trail down her sternum. No talk of living separate lives now. She shivered at my touch, her nipples pressing hard against the thin cotton of her t-shirt. “Multiple orgasms. Potato, potahto.”

“No one actually says that…” she breathed, right as the guys returned.

I snatched the keys from Gideon’s grip, sliding into the front seat and starting the car as everyone got in.

And that’s when I realised I’d been played.

Thinking I’d have our mate beside me the entire trip, I’d volunteered to drive, but Mads steered Briar towards the back seat. Gideon followed along as if led by a string, resulting in her wedged in the middle between them.

“Not sure if everyone needs to be in the back seat,” I grumbled.

But no one listened to me, did they? If I was cursing my life decisions, Gideon had it worse. He stared down at our omega as if seeing her for the first time, utterly transfixed.

We were one hundred percent completely fucked, yet somehow I grinned as our parents came stumbling out of the house, wondering what was going on.

No time to stop and discuss it, I could see the futility in that when I spied their sour expressions.

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, that’s what Mads always said, so I took a leaf from his book.

I sketched them a cheery wave as I drove past.