“Go help Basil,” I say to Jeremy as I take the stack of plates from him. He wants to be with Beth. I can feel it.
“Really?” The beta looks up at me with stunning blue eyes.
“Go.” I give a little jerk of my head.
Jeremy’s expression brightens, and he kisses me quickly on the lips. “Thank you, alpha.” He pauses next to Killian, kissing him too, before running off.
“How was Beth?” Killian asks the second Jeremy’s footsteps fade.
“I don’t think I did a good job of soothing her,” I say as I load the dishwasher. “She stayed flushed and fidgety all day.”
“Yeah. I noticed that,” Killian says, and I frown. “But I’m sure it wasn’t anything you did or didn’t do,” he quickly adds, but it doesn't make me feel any better.
“I didn’t purr for her,” I blurt out, and Killian’s eyes go wide. “I didn’t think about it until now.” Shame grips me. “I don’t know why, but it didn’t click that purring would soothe her.”
“That’s okay.” Killian reaches up, cupping my cheek. “Before Beth, I had only ever purred for my sister, and that was years ago. It felt weird purring for her the first time.”
“But you did feel the need? Right?” I ask, staring into his dark blue eyes. “Instinct drove you to purr for her?” I need to knowexactlyhow he knew what to do.
“Tristan.” Killian’s voice is soft and even. Not judging me. “It can take some time for it to feel right. Give yourself some grace.”
“What if this means I’m not right for her?” I pour my guts out, unable to keep it in a second longer. “I feel so deeply drawn to her, but it’s like my body doesn’t know what to fucking do.”
“No one knows what the fuck to do with a distressed omega.” Killian snorts as if I’m being ridiculous for expecting different. “You’ve never been around an omega before,” he says flatly. “It takes some time. Don’t?—”
Someone knocks on the front door, making me tense. Killian’s lean body reacts the same, abs flexed and fists tight. We both abandon the dirty dishes, stalking down the long hallway to the front of the house. I peer through the frosted, narrow windows next to the door. I can see two large, shirtless men standing on the porch, but I can’t make out their features.
Killian slowly opens the door, and I immediately recognize Bosco’s foul stench. The fucker reeks of wet stone and withered moss. It’s sickly sweet, like rotting death.
Tugging off my shirt, I toss it aside so I’m in only my jeans, then follow Killian outside. I immediately zero in on Bosco. He stands off the porch, flanked by two of his men. All three of themare shirtless and covered in sweat. They look like they came from a fight, their knuckles busted and a few bruises forming on their chests.
“What do you want?” Killian’s voice is flat and hard, not in the mood to play games.
“Is that how you greet all your guests?” Bosco smirks as he puffs out his chest, trying to look bigger. More intimidating.
“Either speak up or get the fuck off my land,” Killian commands, and Bosco’s smile falters.
One of his men rocks on his feet, clearly not caring for Killian’s tone. I recognize him as one of the fuckers that jumped us on our way to the Morder. He’s big and wide with a buzz-cut and bushy beard. The other alpha is young, probably even younger than Bosco, if I had to guess, which is concerning since Bosco is pretty much a child himself. I stare at the boy, noticing a rather nasty black eye.They definitely just came from a fight.
“I just came to give you a friendly warning.” Bosco’s gaze drifts, checking out the whole front of our house.
“You could have sent a note.” Killian scans the trees in the distance, and I quickly do the same. Bosco appears to be alone. No backup. But you never know.
“I thought it would be better if I delivered this message in person,” Bosco smirks again and the wind pushes his hair into his eyes.
My fingers flex, wanting to punch him in his smug face so fucking bad.
“A few of my men went missing last night.” Bosco’s tone is sharp, making it clear he thinks we did something to them. “I was wondering if you saw them.”
“Haven’t seen them,” Killian instantly answers.
“Are you sure?” Bosco’s hard gaze flickers to me. Flashes of their dead bodies lying at the bottom of the Rockwell Cliff flash in my mind, and I smirk. “I’ve heard stories about how peopletend to disappear on your land.” He looks me up and down, and my shoulders square on instinct.
That’s right, fucker.Iam the nightmare that roams these lands.
“Your men disappeared onmyland?” Killian drops his hands to his sides, his fists at the ready. “Why the hell wouldyourmen be onmyland?”
Bosco hesitates, clearly not expecting that question.Idiot. “They were headed to town,” he quickly recovers. “They had to skirt around your border. I can only assume they overstepped. There’s no way of knowing.”
