Troy shoulders the door open and carries me down the corridor. “Oh yes. They fucking heard us.”
Chapter
Ten
CARTER
Sebastian whines, shifting restlessly on the couch next to me. The sound of running water from the bathroom masks Emma and Troy’s conversation, and it’s taking all my considerable willpower to remain here and not barge in on them, demanding to know what’s taking them so long.
“This is a good thing,” I mutter, as much to Sebastian as to myself.
He peers up at me, his hair disheveled. “I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not fucking jealous. Do you think he fucked her?”
I think of what we heard earlier, when Emma had followed Troy to his office. “No. If he had, he would have knotted her, and they’d still be at it right now.”
I’m almost certain this is true, but the possibility is enough to raise my hackles.It should have been me. Me. Me. Me.My wolf is banging around in my head, demanding to be let out, and I have to forcefully pull myself back from the brink of shifting.
The water shuts off in the bathroom, and Sebastian sits up, his nose twitching with a deep inhale.
“Relax,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “We can’t fuck this up.”
He sends me a dirty glare. “Yourelax. You smell like you’re about to go off. You’re almost as bad as that time one of the wolves in Nebraska was making fun of Troy’s tail.”
I growl at the memory, which does nothing to calm me at all. We’d gone to a big shifter meeting in the hope of finding our last pack mate, but instead, we ended up being permanently disinvited from future meetings. I didn’t mind, because those assholes cared more about protecting that idiot, who’d belonged to one of the largest US packs, than what was right, but I know what Seb is saying.
I take a deep breath through my nose and let it out again, then repeat the process until my skin is no longer crawling with the need to shift.
At the end of the hallway, the bathroom door opens, and Emma comes out, followed closely by Troy. If I thought he was obsessed with her before, always touching her, always hovering nearby, he’s almost plastered to her back now, his attention fully focused on her.
I get it.
Even though Sebastian and I have accepted him without question, loved him and all his scars, he’d been terrified that the fourth member of our pack would take one look at his wolf form and run.
He shouldn’t have worried about Emma. The moment I scented her, I knew she wouldn’t freak out. Well. I’dhoped. And I guess I was right.
Emma sees us waiting on the couch and flushes a deep pink. Then she reaches back for Troy’s hand and entwines her fingers with his. He gives a happy hum, then pulls her into his side, rubbing his cheek on top of her head.
As the steam billows from the bathroom, their combined scents, so rich and delicious, waft toward us. I groan, my dick painfully hard behind the zipper of my jeans. Sebastian isn’t faring much better, but he’s wearing another pair of sweatpants, so his hard-on is clearly visible to everyone. He groans, then presses the heel of his palm to his groin in a clear effort to get his erection to subside, but his hips snap up as if even this rough contact is enough to get him going.
“Sebastian,” I growl, lacing the word with my alpha command. “Calm down.”
He sends me a grateful look and flops back against the couch, breathing hard. “Thank you.”
“Yeah.” I scrub my hand through my hair, then lift my head to focus on Troy and Emma. “We need to talk.”
Troy meets my gaze, and my heart pangs at the happiness and hope reflected in his eyes. Whatever happened in that office, he didn’t scare Emma away, and I’m so fucking relieved. That doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, the full moon will wreak havoc on us, and Emma needs to know what that will mean for her.
Not explaining everything could be dangerous. She’s human, and if she’s not ready, we could seriously hurt her.
Troy settles on the other end of the couch and drags Emma into his lap. She jolts, as if surprised, then softens in his arms, leaning back on his broad chest. Her scent is intoxicating—relaxed, sated, and curious. I want to scramble past Sebastian and lick her neck, lie on top of her, and mark her with my scent, but I hold back. Barely.
Sebastian’s restraint snaps, and he lunges for her and Troy, then does exactly as I wanted to do and squishes her between his body and Troy’s. Emma squeaks, then laughs as she puts her arms around Sebastian’s neck and accepts his kiss.
I let them have a moment, then grab Sebastian by the shoulder and haul him off. “Talk first.”
I don’t use my alpha voice this time, but he obeys anyway, pouting at me. He settles for holding on to Emma’s naked ankle, rubbing circles into her skin with his thumb. I don’t even know if he’s conscious of doing it—he just needs to keep touching her.
“Right.” I clear my throat. “If everyone would hold back from mauling anyone for the next ten minutes, I’ll be very grateful. We have things to discuss, and they concern Emma’s safety.”
