The sliding glass door opened and Finlo stepped in, his face already stretched into a grin. “You’re awake! Raiden and Seven are going to swing past my parents’ place on their way back to grab the crib. My dad’s bundling it all up now, and my mom is tracking down some crib sheets and linen from my sister. Cutie can have her own bed tonight.”
These guys were going to make me cry and they didn’t even know it. I pasted a smile on my face and thanked him, though I was pretty sure he saw through it.
Gatlin grunted. “What did you tell them?”
Finlo shrugged, ambling over so he was beside me. He wrapped me in a hug that seemed to encompass my entire being. “The truth, to a degree. That we found a woman we could all agree on, and she came with a cub for us to spoil rotten.”
Ellar laughed, kissing my cheek and moving back to the fridge to pull out the ingredients for a salad. Finlo nuzzled my hair, and I relaxed into his arms. “We’ll spoil you too, if you let us.”
I was warming to the idea, and that was starting to scare me.
18
Gatlin
Ibreathed in and out through my mouth because fuck, the scent of our new Omega was killing me. Seven and Raiden had arrived home, and with Seven’s sense of smell, he knew immediately what had happened while he was gone. He’d given us all a peevish look—probably for starting without him—but hey, desperate times.
Still, he’d sidled up to Naja and then from behind his back, whipped out a full, albeit slightly battered, bouquet of flowers. I’d watched Naja melt, and then build back up her walls. But we were growing on her, that was for sure.
She’d taken the flowers and whispered a soft, “Thank you,” that was entirely genuine and completely for Seven. I was jealous of my Betas again, for the second time in as many days. I’d always relied on being an Alpha to help me in life, but now, being Alpha meant nothing to Naja. She wasn’t a regular Omega. She didn’t see our designation, not even Raiden’s. She saw us as men, as individuals. I was going to have to up my game.
We’d had dinner, which was basically the same as every night, except it now involved a beautiful woman who smelled like heaven and a little more flying food, thanks to Luisa. Now, I was putting together her crib in the spare room, the one she’d share with Naja. Maybe one day we’d turn it into a nursery for our own cubs.
I shook my head. I was getting ahead of myself. This wasn’t something I would even let myself hope for yet; it still felt too good to be true. There hadn’t been a female Omega even in my father’s generation, so none of us knew what to expect. But caring for people? That was something I knew how to do.
I put on the linen that Finlo’s mom had sent up with the crib. I loved Finlo’s parents, his mom especially. She’d taken me in when I’d arrived, after my father had basically dropped me at the communal share home for orphaned Manix. I’d gone to school on the first day, and Finlo—who’d been actually tiny for a Manix kid, not that you’d know it now—had come up and basically told me we were going to be best friends. I don’t know if it was fate, or the Goddess, but we’d had that fraternal bond almost immediately. So Finlo had taken me home to his parents, they’d moved me into their guest room that weekend, and I’d lived there until Finlo and I created the Huxley-Grey Pack. I was forever indebted to the Grey family, and my loyalty to them was second only to my loyalty to my Pack.
I grabbed a stuffed bear up off the floor and put it in the crib. Then I pushed that clucky feeling that was flowing through my chest right down. Emotionally aware wasn’t in my wheelhouse. I stood back and eyed my handiwork. Looked good and sturdy, the antique walnut edges gnawed on by generations of little Grey babies.
I heard the soft fall of feet walking up the hall and knew instantly it was Naja. She had a sleeping Luisa in her arms, and I gave the crib one last shake to make sure it was secure before stepping away.
“All set.”
She nodded, lightly placing Luisa in the crib, more like she was a bomb than a toddler, but the baby went down easily. We both sighed in relief and snuck out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so we could hear her if she cried.
“I’ll see if we can’t get a baby monitor as well. I’ll call in an order tomorrow.”
She squeezed my arm. “Thank you.”
I didn’t think she meant for the crib, but I inclined my head. “It was nothing.” Dammit, I didn’t know how to talk to her. I knew how to be an Alpha. Knew how to take care of my Pack. I could hit a target with a throwing knife from a hundred feet away.
But trying to convince an Omega that I was worth something when she didn’t give a shit about any of that? Useless.
When we made it back to the living room, you could almost hear the tension in the room. It was a heavy silence as we all looked around the room at each other. Raiden held out a glass of wine, and Naja launched herself at him thankfully. She downed the first glass in one kind of impressive gulp, and then Raiden poured her another with a laugh.
Seven, bless his complete fucking lack of self-consciousness, stood and took off his shirt. I slid my eyes toward Naja, and her cheeks were flushed as she followed a slow path down his body. Seven was beautiful. He was broader than the average Manix. His abs were defined, and the V of his obliques looked like it’d been carved.
The smell of Naja’s heat roared to life and it was like someone had dropped the starting flag. Naja closed the space between her and Seven impossibly fast. But he was ready, catching her in his arms and lifting her up so his lips could devour hers, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. She locked her fingers in his shaggy blond hair and holy shit, I almost came. They were so fucking sexy together.
Raiden couldn’t help himself, drifting closer until Naja reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him toward her until she tore herself from Seven’s lips to kiss him. Finlo groaned beside me, and my dick was so fucking hard I felt like I was going to pass out. But I held myself back, not wanting to overwhelm her with the insanity of an Alpha in rut. Not yet anyway. Let the Betas work her up. We had days, and I wanted the Betas to feel included. The satisfaction of our Omegas was a Pack-wide responsibility, and every one of us did our duty with a fucking smile.
As if he read my mind, Ellar drifted closer as well, standing before Raiden. He grabbed Naja’s chin, giving her a tentative kiss on the lips that she deepened immediately. She pulled back with a gasp, her eyes flying wildly around the room. There was no fear there now though; there was nothing but need.
“Clothes off,” she growled and we all scrambled to do what she asked, except Seven, who seemed reluctant to put her down, like she wouldn’t come back to him if he gave her up. But there seemed to be enough naked flesh around to appease her Omega. Ellar kissed her again, and then dropped to his knees in front of Raiden.
Ah fuck. I gripped my dick and squeezed. Naja’s eyes tracked him, her forehead touching Raiden’s as they both looked down at the pretty Beta on his knees. When he licked his way along Raiden’s straining shaft, she let out a whispered, “Oh fuck.”
Yeah, Omega. We were all in fucking trouble now.
