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"Pleasure meeting you both," he responded. "I'm Elias, as you probably know. Uh, and, I'm a little nervous."
Anna laughed, covering her heart-shaped pink mouth with one hand. "You're adorable. There's no reason to be nervous. We're here to answer questions you have. Come on over. They have whiskey, but I made a pitcher of mojitos with fresh mint and crushed strawberries. Which sounds good?"
"Mojito, please."
Elias strolled up to the table, snatched a pint glass, and filled it, shooing away his alphas. He was an omega, but he wasn't helpless. His mouth watered at the sight of the pink drink, and it tasted just as good as it looked. Refreshing, and sweet enough to satisfy his pallet.
"Ah," he gasped, smiling. "Thank you, it's fantastic."
Anna tipped her own glass to him. "I'm glad. Now, I've been told you want to know more about our pack situation and how we handle it?"
Elias nodded. "If you don't mind."
"Not at all. I'll tell you our story and perhaps it'll help you understand your own," she replied, taking another drink. "We met when I was twenty-six, and it was actually through Levi. Charlie was one of his coworkers at Weston Construction in the accounting department. He was at a party Levi's father invited my family to, and, according to him, he fell in love at first sight."
She gave him a playful tap on the cheek with her hand, smiling. He captured it and held it there, planting a kiss on Anna's palm.
"It's true," he said. "I've been obsessed with you ever since."
Anna blushed, averting her eyes. "Anyway, we started dating while supervised by my family. It was all very rigid. I only met Henry by sneaking out to visit Oakford one night with Levi and Charlie. We ended up at a club, and I got really drunk on tequila, dancing with anyone and everyone. Henry was one of them and he got my number. It was a miracle I even gave him the right one."
"You were drunk, but it didn't diminish the sweet smell of you or your kind heart. All you did was ask questions about me and tell me how handsome I was."
Anna hid her eyes behind her hand while shaking her head. "Don't remind me. I don't drink that much anymore for a reason."
"It was charming, trust me."
"Still is when you get lit," Kellen added, sitting forward and leaning his forearms against his knees. "Once they realized they wanted a poly relationship, they moved here to escape Anna's parents. They never would've agreed to multiple partners for their daughter. I'm a local restaurant owner down the road. It's called Cluck. I specialize in fried chicken of all kinds with homemade dipping sauces."
"Which I was obsessed with," Henry added. "I ate there four times a week for the first year we lived in this house."
"And sometimes I'd go with," Anna added, lips tilted up and eyes faraway. "Kell and I like a lot of the same books. We'd talk about them while I sat at the bar. His work suffered for it."
He laughed. "Barely. Talking to you was the highlight of my day."
"Only when Anna brought up the depth of her emotional attachment to him did we suggest including him in our pack. We could see how much they cared for one another, and their scents matched well," Henry explained.
Elias was surprised a pack member joined more than a year after moving here. It wasn't instant or fated. These four were nothing more than a group of people willing to make their love work at whatever cost. He regarded it as a privilege to hear their story and see their happiness.
"Wow," he breathed. "And forgive me if this is too presumptuous of an ask, but do you have hyperactive pheromone syndrome?"
Anna's brows shot up. "No, not that I know of. Why?"
Elias had to resist the urge to glance at Levi for his reaction. Apparently, Anna not spending her heat with him had nothing to do with any sort of condition. That meant their situations were drastically different, but he wasn't upset by the news. Elias still got something out of spending time with their pack. It was the realization that love wasn't something structured between one alpha and an omega. Nor was it instantaneous between everyone. It was something to be built and cherished along the way, just like life.
"I suffer from it," he admitted. "That's why I haven't mated yet. My pheromones cause alphas to lose control. Every single one I've been with couldn't handle me during my heat, so I was hoping being with multiple people might be better…"
Anna sniffed, eyes turning soft. "And your heat is here. It'll hit within the day."
He nodded, glancing down at the empty glass between his palms. "I'm afraid. Not of my alphas, but of myself."
Elias sensed them moving nearer, enveloping him in their comforting presence. He took a deep breath, ignoring the simmer of heat in the bottom of his stomach that rumbled in response. Anna was right. He'd fall into a heat induced haze by the end of the day, and then there would be no hiding or running anymore. It was real.
"I can't give you advice on anything other than the bond between an alpha and their omega. Once you seal it with an intentional bite, you'll be threaded together. Your very biology will change and morph to better suit one another. Perhaps that would help both them and you in your time of need."
He glanced up. "So you're suggesting we bond before my heat starts?"
She shrugged. "It's only an idea."
