3
Cinnamon
Saint
J ay carried Artemis upstairs an hour ago. You don't have to be a genius to know what they are doing up there, even without wolfy hearing.
He makes her scream with pleasure, his name rolling from her lips over and over again. Even just the distant sound of her pleasure is enough for me to get off to. I don't know if I've ever wanted someone like I want Artemis Hunt.
Fuck.
When Jay emerges from his room, descending the steps with a satisfied, satiated look, it's confirmation I didn't need.
Don't be jealous. My wolf grumbles, cinnamon fur bristling.
I'm working on it. I snap back.
"Hey, man. What are you watching?" Jay asks, settling into the couch beside me, water bottle in hand.
"Hockey. 4-1," I reply, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth. Jay grunts in return, attention firmly on the screen before us. At least twenty minutes pass before he says anything besides random commentary on the players.
"So, is it a crush, or do you just want in her pants?" Jay's question cuts me off guard, and immediately, that thought—that old fear of being kicked out of the pack rears its ugly head.
"I'm not sure what you mean," I say, choosing my words carefully.
"I see the way you watch her. You can be honest with me, Saint," my Alpha says, but I don't immediately speak. I debate lying, but the thought of doing that to my Alpha makes my chest ache. Even if he's going to kick me out for telling the truth.
"It's not just getting into her pants," I admit. "I wouldn't call it just a crush either, though."
The admission makes me hang my head in shame. Immediately, my thoughts turn to packing away my things and how long it would take to get out of Timber Hollow. It's not the first time this has happened to me. My mother entertained the Alpha of her pack along with another wolf. When the Alpha found out, he killed the other wolf. A few months later, I was born. I'd been raised as the Alpha's son my entire life, trained like Jay to take over in my father's place.
Until my mother told us that I was not the Alpha's son. She'd been pregnant when my father died, hid it, and then continued hiding it for seventeen years. The day our Alpha– the wolf I thought was my father found out, I was kicked out of the pack. Banished. I haven't heard from her since, either.
I don't even know the name of the wolf who sired me.
Jay just nods like this is exactly what he had expected. "Artemis is hard to get over. I get it."
Looks like Jay's getting ahead of the problem. Me.
"So why did you throw us together at the bar?" I fire back, my stomach sour. I can't fathom why anyone would put temptation firmly before their partner like he did tonight. Wolves aren't strictly monogamous, but there are some lines. Like not fucking with the Alpha's girl.
We're going to be left without a pack again . My wolf whispers, his green eyes wide with terror.
Seems like it. I'm sorry.
"I wanted to see for myself. I wanted to know what you would do and what Artemis' reaction would be." Jay answers without looking away from the hockey match.
I grunt. Jay doesn't say anything back for entirely too long.
" And ?" I question, impatience winning out. This feels like torture, waiting for my sentencing. I'd never thought Timber Hollow would end up as another passing memory. I thought we'd found a home this time.
"And what?"
"What are you going to do?" I press, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
"Me?" Jay's eyebrows scrunch together as he swings his head toward me. " Nothing . It's up to you at this point."
"I don't follow." I've got a bundle of knots where once there was a stomach.
"Saint," My Alpha sighs. "Her happiness is the only thing that matters to me. I'm not going to stop anything that makes her smile."
"So, what… Do I have your blessing or something?"
"It's not me that you need to worry about."
"Now I'm really lost."
"I would do anything for Artemis. Let me give you one piece of advice, though. Artemis can flirt like nobody's business. Getting her to flirt with you is easy. The hard part will be getting her to admit that she has feelings at all."
Jay
I see the way Saint looks at her and watches her. I've seen it since the day she walked into the kitchen. He called her Tiny to get a reaction out of her, and she dished him up a heaping scoop of attitude. She's been that way ever since I can remember. Ask her for attitude, and she'll deal it in spades.
Saint and I are alike in that aspect. We like our women to have a backbone. Sharp-tongued. To possibly be contemplating your death on some days– you just never know.
There are very few things I would ever deny Artemis. She could have picked worse options for a third than one of my betas. Saint has the Alpha instinct, the need to ensure his pack is safe and happy.
The very short list of things I would deny Artemis does not include a wolf like Saint Delacroix.
I would give anything to make her happy. Anything for her .
"So if I can make her happy- you, you don't care?" My friend stammers, and I take a sip of water.
"I'm confident that I can and will make her happy, but if you want to try to make her happier with me , I'm not going to stop you."
"And you don't care that I also want to get into her pants?" Saint drawls, fists clenched. I roll my eyes.
"Of course, I care . Artemis is my girl. I care about everything when it comes to her. But, she's hot dude, I get it . It's not my permission you need, though. It's hers."
"And you're not jealous? Mad? Anything?"
A deep sigh fills my lungs before I say anything else. "Artemis is amazing, Saint. I would do anything for that girl. She's been my pack since we were kids." In the end, that's all it comes down to. "I would do anything for her, and I'm not letting her go, but I don't do jealousy. There's nothing to be jealous about, anyway. She's mine to hold, touch, and love, but I would rather chew my arm off than prevent her from being happier . She deserves the world."
Saint grunts in agreement, and I add, "I will fuck you up if you fuck this up, though," as a final reminder.
My Beta grunts again but doesn't respond. The tension bunching his arms and jaw could cut diamonds. He doesn't say anything else, so neither do I. The only thing it comes down to is her. It's up to Saint to get under her skin, to wiggle into her heart. If there is anyone who could make a triad work between an Alpha and Beta, it's us three.
Artemis trusts me, and Saint. I know she does by how she looks at him and seeks refuge from the day in the kitchen with him. They're already close. I'm not worried at all.
The match eventually regains our attention when the Manta Rays catch up with the Gators, tying the game with seconds left in the quarter.