“Let’s load these in the car first,” I offered. “There’s a place just down the block.”
I hit the button for the trunk. It slid open and we dropped the bags inside. Now that our hands were free, she took mine again like it was second nature.
Her body relaxed the moment her hand was in mine. As if my touch alone soothed something inside of her.
She’s touch-starved,I reminded myself, trying not to get my hopes up. She needed this contact and I would give it to her.
God, I hope she stayed and let us show her what a real pack could be like. Watching her walk away would absolutely gut me.
I’d never found anyone that felt so right. Even conversation came easy.
As we walked, Lana told me about her childhood here in Westgrave. She even opened up about moving away for college. Even when she brought up her exes, it didn’t feel like she was struggling to talk about it. Now, it felt like she’d accepted they were part of her past, and that was all they’d ever be again.
The hope that sparked in my chest with each passing moment was dangerous as hell.
But I’d risk it all for her.
Chapter
Eighteen
Mason
The house felt empty without Lana in it. Her scent was faint in the space, and I’d retreated into my room before I did something embarrassing… like going into her nest and breathing in the scent on her pillows.
I hated how guilty I felt every time I thought about her like this. Her brother was liable to kill us, and I couldn’t even blame him at this point. We weren’t good at holding back. At least, I wasn’t.
With a sigh, I washed the product off my face. I’d done a mask to make myself feel better. It was so stupid to be jealous of the fact that Wilder was getting alone time with the omega.
It didn’t help that everything felt so new with her. I knew from the moment I saw her, I wanted her. She was finally seeming to come on board and I was already obsessed.
Conrad might think the flirting was just my personality, and in some ways he was right. I did flirt as a default setting. It was a way to not let people in while keeping everything superficial.
But with her, I meant every damn word.
Every instinct screamed at me to claim her, to bite her, to drag her back to my den and have my way with her. Not that I’d ever cross that line. She’d had enough dominating bullshit with her exes.
The audacity of them to still not realize she left without a word. It had been over a month now since she erased herself from their lives. She joined us in January. It was well into February, and she still hadn’t heard a single word from the assholes.
Shoving my annoyance aside, I went into my main bedroom, bypassed it, and walked into my den. Just like Lana’s room, this house wasn’t built for those of us needing extra spaces.
I’d changed my closet just like we had for her. My den was blacked out the best I could manage. Dark velvety fabric lined the walls and even hung over the door.
I shoved it aside and stepped in, my delta settling as I dropped down onto the soft bed. It was cold in here, the system set to accommodate my need for a dark, cool space.
The only thing in here outside of the bedding was a TV. It was simple, but it was mine. That’s what really mattered.
Guilt hit me as I wrapped the new addition to my den around me. It was a blanket I’d snagged from the living room. Lana’s scent was all over it, the exact thing my delta needed to settle.
I’d been trying to keep things under control. My delta was losing his mind the longer she was around but not truly mine. He wanted to claim her, to prove to everyone that she was mine.
Ours.
The moment I had it wrapped around me, I melted into it. My instincts had never felt so content and calm.
My delta was pure chaos. Demanding, impulsive, even a little crazy. Right now, all he wanted was to breathe in our omega. Bite her so she could feel every ounce of our obsession.
First, we had to prove that we were nothing like the men who had fumbled her, and never would be.
