Just then, the timer goes off, interrupting our little moment. Beth flinches at the sound, and I quickly turn it off. Grabbing a fresh tea towel, I pull the baking dish out of the oven. The sweet scent of cinnamon fills the whole room, and Basil lets out a hungry rumble.
“I’m starving.” The dark-skinned alpha pats his stomach.
“It needs a few minutes to cool,” I tell him.
Beth picks up her pace, cutting up the strawberries. She moves quickly, somehow able to remove only the leaves, leaving behind an impressive amount of flesh. Then she chops them up into perfect little chunks.
“Wow,” Tristan leans toward the omega as far as he can. For a second, it looks like he might jump over the dang thing and tackle her. “Now that’s a woman that knows her way arounda blade.” He winks at the omega, running his fingers over the mark she left on his bicep.
This time, Beth's whole face flushes bright red and she ducks her head, unable to look the alpha in the eye. “Is he always like this?” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye.
Basil and I both answer “Yes” at the same time, making Beth laugh.
“Come on,” I say, sniffing the mouthwatering breakfast in my hands. “It’s time to eat.”
Beth immediately reaches for the baking dish, placing her hands carefully over mine. Her hands are warm and small.Perfect. I let her take the baking dish, wanting her to feel like she’s just as much a part of our pack.
Thrumming with absolute joy, I put the chopped strawberries into a serving bowl, then place the cutting board in the sink. I scan the kitchen to make sure we have everything, then I push the silverware drawer shut. It’s weird. I thought I had already closed it.
“Jeremy,” Killian calls me over. “Come and eat, beta.”
I leave the dirty kitchen, eager to sit with my three loving alphas, and our new, perfect omega.
The Living Room
Beth
The paringknife has sat awkwardly in my waistband all damn day.
It threatens to cut me every time I sit, stand, or move too quickly. I need to stash it somewhere, as well as the granola bars I have stuffed in my pockets, but I have no idea where. It’s not like I have my own bedroom in this prison.
It also doesn’t help that I haven’t been left alone all day.
The alphas all wandered off upstairs not long after breakfast, but Jeremy has been by my side ever since. And I have to be honest, outside of being under constant watch, it’s been kind of nice.
I started off the day, forcing myself to laugh and smile, trying to be as bubbly as possible, but somewhere during the day, I found myself actually enjoying Jeremy’s company. He’s fun, and a bit brutal when it comes to sharing embarrassing stories about his pack.
And there have beenmanystories.
“Wait.” I stop Jeremy mid-sentence. “He fell asleep with the cock ring still on?”
“Yup.” The beta laughs with his whole chest, making me crack up too. “Tristan’s balls were purple by the time he woke up. None of us knew because we couldn’t roll the damn alpha. He was passed completely out.” He slices his hands through the air, before leaning in and adding, “The doctor said he was lucky he didn’t lose a testicle.”
“How did he put it on wrong?” I ask, both shocked and fascinated. While I’ve never seen the device before, Jeremy has done a very good job of describing it. In fact, he’s described a lot of things I’ve never heard of before now.I’m very intrigued to see how a garlic press works.
“Hell if I know,” Jeremy says with a little wave of his hand. “It’s called a cock ring. Not a cock and ball tourniquet.” The beta lets out a snort as he pulls his feet under him on the couch. “Tristan tried like hell to keep from going to the hospital, but Killian laid down the law. It was the only time I’ve ever heard Tristan use the age card.”
“Age card?” I ask. “What’s that?”
“Oh, you know.” Jeremy leans forward, picking up his cup of tea off the coffee table. “Tristan was saying that since he’s the oldest, he didn’t have to follow Killian’s order.”
“Wait.” I lean back, processing what he just said. “Tristanis the oldest alpha? Not Killian?”
The beta nods, smiling as if he understands my surprise. “Yup. Tristan is thirty-nine, Killian is thirty-five, and Basil is about to be thirty-two.” He takes a little sip of his tea. “I know most pack alphas are the oldest in the group, but Tristan had no desire to be a pack alpha.”
My mouth falls open, shocked. “Well, in my experience, the older an alpha is, the less likely he is to do any listening.” I shakemy head, thinking about all the stubborn alphas I’ve met in my short life.
“Tristan says he likes it too much when Killian tells him what to do.” Jeremy’s nose scrunches up, and I can only assume that’s a sex joke.
