Page 68 of Want It All

She searched my face. ‘Is it your job to do something, Seb?’

‘No, of course not. But it’s in my best interest. Inourbest interests,’ I amended. ‘I’ve never seen Tristan heartbroken, and I don’t like it.’

‘I’m not sure what you can do about it,’ Rose said tentatively. ‘It seems like they need to sort it out for themselves. But they’re not speaking, so –’

‘So wemakethem talk,’ I said, struck by sudden inspiration.

If the alphas wouldn’t break the silence, thenwewould.

‘Wemake them? How?’

Rose hadn’t grown up in a pack, but I had. I knew how hard it could be to manage multiple personalities, especially when they had egos like my parents did. It wasn’t true that a pack’s emotional balance stemmed from their omega – while my omega mum was a lovely person, she wasn’t interested in mediating pack squabbles; that role fell to my dad – but I was willing to take up the task if I needed to.

I bit my lip. ‘You were talking about a movie night.’

Rose frowned; a lock of hair fell into her face. She tucked it behind her ear. ‘Yes, with Byron. We hadn’t organised a date yet. But –’

‘What if we had one for the four of us?’ I blurted. ‘Just all of us in one room, with popcorn and something to watch if it gets too intense, and we just let the alphas … sort it out? If they need to snarl at each other, they snarl at each other. If they need to fuck it out, they fuck it out. But we’ll be there to make sure they stay human – partially, at least – and hopefully by the end of the night, they’ll be past this bullshit.’

‘Sebastian,’ Rose said, obviously working hard to keep her voice level, ‘do you really think that’s a good idea? You and me –’

‘I know,’ I said, reaching out to cup her jaw, stroking my thumb over her cheekbone. Her eyes fluttered. I didn’t seem to be able to stop touching her, and the library was almost empty, so I wasn’t about to hold back.

‘Andthem,’ Rose went on, a faint look of horror dawning over her features. ‘I can barely contain myself withyou, but if they’re with us, I –’

‘Would it be such a bad thing?’ I said gently.

She still thought I was a beta. I knew I liked her scent and wanted more of it. I wanted to scent herproperly, not just a hint on the breeze, not when it was dampened by blockers and cancellers. Maybe – justmaybe– if she scented me, she’d feel the same.

More likely, my scent would make her nose itch and she’d leave, but I was getting sick of wondering.

‘You’d be safe,’ I went on, when she didn’t answer, ‘and with people who’d rather cut their own hands off than hurt you.’ I slid my fingers down to cup her nape. ‘You’d be safe withme. We’d all be on blockers, so it wouldn’t be like the scent party. What have you got to lose?’

She gave me a wry look. ‘Besides my heart?’

My own beat faster. ‘Your heart is safe with me, Rose.’

‘I’m not sure I believe that.’ She looked away, her brow creased as she thought about it. ‘So much fora degree, not a pack.’ She was quiet for a long moment. ‘Okay,’ she said at last, just as I was beginning to sweat. ‘Okay. I can do it. But how do we get Byron there?’

I grinned. ‘That’s the easiest part of all. All you need to do is tell him it’s happening.’

She directed her frown at me. ‘That won’t work.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Try it and report back.’ My mind was working overtime, planning what we’d eat, what we’d drink, which movie to choose, and what music I could put on when it became clear that we weren’t going to watch a movie at all.

I could make alet’s-watch-the-alphas-fuckplaylist.

Or aneat-Rose-out-until-she-screamsplaylist.

Why not both?

My cock jerked as my mind conjured a picture of her spread out in my nest – naked, of course – her lips swollen from my kisses and her arms reaching for me.

I stifled a groan, because I wanted – I needed –that. I needed to hear what she sounded like when she unravelled, what her skin felt like beneath my fingertips, what her hair looked like wrapped around my fist.

That.

‘Seb?’