Pack of Lies, page 13
That was an omega instinct I’d seen mentioned in books but had never experienced. Make alphas care for you.
“No. I might need one of you to sleep with me, or I can stay up until the evening and sleep then when you do, Jubilee.”
“I’ll cuddle you to sleep, honey, don’t worry.”
A small smile slipped across my face, my body weighed down with tiredness. Honey was a sweet pet name. I didn’t hate it. The cab driver was turning the corner onto the street where the apartment building was when Reese’s phone rang.
He looked at the call display and his smile went tight, but he answered. “Denzel. What do you want?”
In the tight confines of the car, I heard every word from the other line. “Where the fuck are you guys? There was something about a hospital?” Denzel asked.
His voice was distant and there were faint traffic noises. Reese didn’t look pleased but sighed. “We’re at Sirena Estates, just pulling up in the cab now. I’ll explain when you get here.”
Denzel started to say something else, but Reese hung up on him. Whatever irritation the pack members had with their pack lead was compounding. Every time I observed them interacting, they got shorter and brusquer with Denzel.
I didn’t ask about it because I was too tired to entertain the conversation. Letting Reese help me out of the car and into the elevator, there was a heavy sense of relief when they unlocked the door to the apartment.
This place was beginning to feel like home. It hadn’t been long, but when Denzel offered me the out, I didn’t think I was going to take it. Not after tonight, and how much these two had cared for me.
“I’m going to have a shower. I feel kind of gross.”
“You did spend some time unconscious on a downtown sidewalk,” Jubilee said, half serious and half teasing. “Do you need any help?”
I shook my head. They watched me intently as I wandered further into the apartment, trying to see if my legs would give out. They were as overprotective as Denzel, but in a much more productive way. “I’ve got it. I’ll leave the door cracked so you can check on me if you think I fell.”
Skeptically, they let me wander into the bedroom I shared with Jubilee. I stripped down and found some fresh clothes from the pile of clean stuff, then soaked under the spray for long enough I started to prune. My mind blocked out all memories of the hospital and focused on the alphas.
They’d cared for me. That was something I’d never had.
When the bathroom door slammed open, I startled and then met Denzel’s eyes through the clouded glass of the stall. His hair was wet and dripping, chest damp and a towel slung around his waist. The amount of panic in his blue eyes made my heart flutter, but then I glanced down at him again.
He’d clearly needed to see me to make sure I was alright.
So why had he showered first?
What had he been doing last night that was dirty enough he didn’t want me to see him right away?
I bit my lip, picturing blood and maybe a series of horrible favours he’d done for the Madame, whoever she was. Hopefully, he hadn’t killed anyone for me. Or if he had, hopefully they’d been bad people.
“I’ll be out in two minutes,” I said. “But I’m in one piece.”
He looked me up and down once, not seeing much through the glass. I assumed since he saw no red he deemed my state acceptable, and nodded. Denzel left the bathroom and I shut off the water, toweling off and dressing before wandering out into the main area again.
Reese and Jubilee were on either side of the couch, both glaring at Denzel. The pack lead was still damp but now fully clothed, leaning against the dining room table. He saw me as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom and stalked over, giving me another once over.
“How’s your head?” he asked gruffly.
I shrugged. “Been worse.”
Following Jubilee’s beckoning, I went over to the couch and settled between the two men. It left no room for Denzel and he grit his teeth before going back to the dining room table again.
“Now, who’s going to tell me why the fuck you were downtown?” he asked.
There was the annoyance I’d been expecting eventually. The moments of sweet had been nice, teasing me with what he could be if he stopped trying to control every second of our lives and play the blame game when things didn’t go his way.
“We were on a date,” I said.
“You go on dates every day. There was no need to go downtown for that. You all should have known there would be too many triggers in that area.”
I rolled my eyes. “I go on walks every day. Like a dog. There’s a difference. We went out to eat a bunch of different food and sweets, and it was amazing until that motorcycle caught me off guard.”
He growled, his gaze darkening and aura flaring. I had no doubt if he’d been with us, he would have punched the owner of the motorcycle right in the face. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t his fault sudden loud noises exacerbated my migraines, Denzel would see it as partially his fault. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t been there for the moment it happened, but that deep down part of me still wished he’d made it to the hospital.
“You shouldn’t have been there. I assumed I didn’t have to order you three to stay in this area, where it’s safe,” Denzel muttered.
His glare met Reese’s, and Jubilee looked uncomfortable and mildly pissed off. There was more going on here than met the eye. Did they not want Denzel to offer me a plausible option to leave? Or was there something deeper, that I hadn’t been able to eavesdrop on?
“What are you expecting me to do? Stay in this area my whole life?” I asked.
“No. We’re going to move to our house eventually.”
“Ah, so I’ll be your housewife and never leave there, instead.”
The way he tensed told me that was exactly what he was hoping for. “You’re safer if you’re not in an environment that can trigger your side effects.”
“You haven’t known me for long, so I guess I can forgive you for the ignorance,” I said dryly, “but every environment can trigger my side effects. Being alive is enough of a migraine trigger sometimes. I manage.”
“Your muscles spasmed and you passed out in the fucking street,” Denzel growled. “That’s not managing.”
Any warm and fuzzy feelings for him were officially gone. Body tense, I avoided the urge to stand and make this a face-to-face argument. It was better if I sat here and let Jubilee and Reese run their hands along my skin, calming me down.
“That’s just my fucking life, Denzel. If you’re not going to let me live it, you’re just as bad as the Centre. Maybe I should have stayed to see the GPRE shut it down, because somehow being in their custody sounds more appealing than being with my scent matches right about now.”
His mouth opened to argue with me, and then he blinked a couple of times. “Scent matches? I thought you didn’t believe us.”
“I didn’t. It’s been a slow path to acceptance but the scent vials were the final nail in the coffin. Your scents were stronger than the rest.”
“You lied to me?” Denzel asked in disbelief.
Reese let out a little snort, and when I looked at him he was furious. His free hand, the one not touching me, was clenching the arm of the couch. Muscles in his jaw ticked and he’d never been more ready for violence. Tense, coiled like a cat about to strike. What had set him off?
“Thorn needs to sleep,” Jubilee cut in, standing up and giving me a hand off the couch. “She had a long night, which you would know if you’d been there.”
The discreet jab made Denzel growl, but he and Reese were still locked in a staring match. Their auras were tense and rippling, as ready for violence as the men themselves were. I wondered if I should stay and calm them, especially Reese with his aura that didn’t always follow usual patterns. Jubilee led me away, though, and I wasn’t keen on getting between the two alphas even if an omega aura could be soothing.
In the bedroom Jubilee tucked me under the blankets and then got in beside me. No sounds came from outside the room until a sudden crash and then the front door slamming. It was hard to tell who had left because the man that remained was still stomping around. “Ignore them,” Jubilee murmured.
His arms curled around my body, and I snuggled back against him. Despite the pain of the last twelve hours, it was a step forward for us. Before, Jubilee and I had only cuddled in the mornings, after he’d unintentionally wrapped himself around me in the night.
With the comforting scent of vodka and licorice the only thing in my space, I drifted off, this time into a dreamless sleep.
SEVENTEEN
THORN
I didn’t wake up until the sun shone orange through the cracks in the curtains, setting over the horizon. At some point Jubilee had swapped out for Reese, and the big man was wound around me now, breathing softly. He was less clingy than Jubilee, holding me lightly in his grasp with half a foot of space between our bodies.
The wheat and hazelnut scent was overlaying what remained of Jubilee, and I enjoyed having both clinging to my skin. I missed Denzel’s scent despite my anger at the man himself, knowing it would complete the trifecta of comfort.
Letting the slim line of sunlight warm my skin I barely stirred, waiting for Reese to wake up. The sun slowly vanished as night fell.
He didn’t awaken for a while, but eventually he began to groan in his sleep. An increasingly large bulge in the loose-fitting boxers he was wearing began to poke me in the ass, his scent heavier with arousal from whatever dream he was having.
I released a little moan, moving my hips back to meet him as his arousal got to me, but when I rubbed against his erection he stilled.
“Fuck,” he murmured sleepily. “Sorry, precious.”
He moved backwards, only keeping one hand precariously placed on my waist. Whining, I tried to put a lid on my arousal again.
It was difficult to do. I’d never been aroused by an alpha before and hadn’t understood how much it would affect me. At the Centre I’d lost my virginity in a kitchen cupboard to my friend, Three, but we’d never had much sexual attraction to each other. We’d forced it, because neither of us wanted to lose our virginity in some other way at the whims of the Centre.
They’d taken enough from us already.
Thinking of that place, and how I’d moved on from being content to never wanting to go back, was enough to calm me down.
At least until Reese got up from the bed with a soft grunt and sauntered over to the bathroom. His hard cock wasn’t contained by those boxers at all. Most of my view was his ass, which was equally tempting, but from the glimpses I got of his front, I couldn’t ignore my arousal.
Squirming in bed as he shut the washroom door behind him, I knew I was perfuming up the place. If I was lucky, the scent wouldn’t filter out into the living room, but if I was unlucky Denzel would be well aware of how aroused his pack member made me without even trying.
“Sweet lord,” Reese hissed the second he opened the door and stepped back out.
“Can you come back to bed?” I asked, turning over so I wouldn’t watch him move.
Like it helped.
The bed dipped and he groaned. “I shouldn’t get back in this bed with you like this.”
“Why not? I’m your scent match, aren’t I?”
I knew as well as he did why it was dangerous. Whether I was staying wasn’t yet set in stone. If my scent match touched me, I might end up ruined for anyone else.
I didn’t particularly care.
In my years at the Centre, I’d never daydreamed about a pack or love. If they didn’t work out and I let the Madame hide me among the normal omegas as she was apparently capable of doing, I wouldn’t try for anyone else. There were too many risks as a gold pack omega in hiding, and not enough rewards. All I wanted was freedom, and it may or may not involve a pack.
“You’re aware it’s not that simple right now, precious.”
“Please get in bed.”
He did as I’d asked, and this time he curled around me for real. His erection pressed against the curve of my ass, his much larger form engulfing mine. Slick was pooling between my legs, more than I ever remembered producing. My thighs were damp, and we’d done nothing but touch, not even rubbing.
“We can’t do anything,” he murmured. “Only… touch and cuddle.”
Cuddling isn’t enough for me.
The thought stayed in my head, thankfully, but my body was aching for more. I was becoming desperate for the kind of touches he wasn’t giving me. His fingers in my pussy. His cock rubbing against my ass as he ground against me. I wanted his cum coating my skin and then I wanted more to fill me up, his knot stretching me to the limit.
I stayed frozen, not trusting myself to only touch. Touch was a broad term. I knew what he’d meant by it. We could only cuddle, like this. My body didn’t like this cruel denial though. Maybe last night had been a sign I was going into heat soon, or maybe this was how I was always going to react to my scent matches when we got this close to each other.
We breathed together, mine short and panting despite not exerting myself at all.
I’d almost worked myself up enough to give up on the idea of touching but not moving, when the door to the bedroom opened.
“What are you two doing?” Jubilee asked, sounding scandalized.
I jolted upright and he looked relieved at how clothed I was, his eyes wide. Was it wrong that we’d been so close to intimate?
Scent matches were often intimate with each other — far more and far sooner than we’d been. Jubilee’s mild horror told me it was wrong, but I didn’t know why. Maybe their pack expected only group activities, though I couldn’t imagine Reese would be pleased by having that restriction placed. Neither would Denzel, for that matter, though he was light years away from being this close to me in bed.
Reese growled low in his throat and sat up too, the blanket falling to pool in his lap. His cock tented it. “We were cuddling.”
“Walking in here was like walking into an orgy. That’s how much arousal is overflowing in this room right now. My cuddling with Thorn doesn’t get either of us that worked up,” Jubilee said. “We can scent you guys in the living room.”
More arousal may have flooded me at the knowledge that Denzel was out there in the living room, knowing I was horny without him in here. I bet he was salty about it, and something about the idea of his annoyance made me wetter.
Hopefully, neither of the alphas could tell what had caused my scent to get the tiniest bit thicker.
“If you want to cuddle me too, that can be arranged,” I said.
I may have spoken loud enough for Denzel to hear me. He would know the invite wasn’t meant for him.
Jubilee bit his lip, shaking his head. “No, we shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Why not?”
They were oddly resistant. It made me doubt myself, wondering if my weak sense of smell was lying to me after all. My scent matches should have trouble resisting me when I was clearly needy. I imagined Reese was trying to protect my heart if I chose to leave, and Jubilee was trying to protect his own, but I wasn’t sure I was wanting to leave anymore.
“You were in the fucking hospital last night,” Denzel rumbled, appearing abruptly beside Jubilee. “There will be no cuddling. Reese, get the fuck out of the bed.”
I stiffened, glaring at him. Reese hesitated in moving, despite the weight of the pack lead’s aura behind his words. “It’s my choice if I’m feeling well enough to do anything,” I said. “My migraine is gone. The worst ones pass the fastest.”
“You could trigger another one if you do too much too soon. Stay on bedrest until the morning, and then maybe you can talk about cuddling.”
“What do you know about my migraines? You weren’t even there last night.”
The words came out petulant and a little hurt, which wasn’t the vibe I was going for. I was supposed to be angry. He was controlling my life. The Centre hadn’t even controlled me this much, not in the past few years since their experiment on me failed.
Everyone fell into a hush as I averted my eyes from Denzel. Showing my weakness when it came to him was dangerous, because he could use it against me, but I’d as good as admitted it.
I’d wanted him with me at the hospital.
He cleared his throat and I didn’t look up to see his expression. “Stay in bed,” he said, his tone less harsh than before, but still aggravatingly demanding. “Reese, out.”
Reese complied this time, leaving me alone in the big bed. The three of them left me alone, closing the door on their way out. I flopped back down on the bed, my arousal still an ache between my thighs.
Was there any harm in making myself come?
I wasn’t sure I knew how. Self-loving wasn’t something I’d done when I’d been at the Centre, not with cameras in the majority of rooms and a prevalent risk of discovery in the rooms that weren’t covered. I might try it out and fail, leaving myself even less satisfied than before.
I squirmed for a few minutes, but Reese’s scent was too heavy in this bed. My hand slid down my stomach and stopped at the hem of the borrowed boxer shorts I wore to sleep. Playing with the elastic for a while, hearing their voices out in the living room made me decide to push my hand beneath it.
My fingers found my pussy soaking wet, slick enough to take a knot. I wouldn’t be getting one, but maybe I could make myself come regardless. Clumsily pushing my fingers along my folds, I pressed one inside me and found the foreign feeling wasn’t especially pleasant, nor unpleasant. I pumped it in and out a few times, experimentally, then gave up the endeavour and ran my fingers back up to where my clit was.
Finding it was easy, but pressing the little nub didn’t make stars explode behind my eyes. It wasn’t as easy as it was in the romance novels. I’d taken a moment to read over Reese’s shoulder, astounded by how those women seemed to come four times on each page.
