He shrugs. “Slow night. Caught some shut-eye.” Then, without waiting for an invitation, he shoulders his way past me and heads for the living room.
I curse quietly and take one of the cups from the carrier before he gets too far. The heat of it seeps into my hands, the bitter smell cutting through some of the fog in my head. I take a sip. Strong. Thank God.
“Why are the two of you here?”
Levi raises both hands like he’s distancing himself from whatever’s happening. “Don’t look at me. Beau caught me as I was heading to work.”
We end up in the living room—me sinking into the far corner of the couch, Beau sprawling in the middle like he owns the place, Levi perched on the armchair opposite.
Beau glances around, sipping his coffee. “We really should come over one day and paint this place. Give it some color.”
I arch a brow. “Is that why you’re at my door at eight in the morning?”
He grins. “Not exactly.”
Levi leans back, one ankle propped on his knee. “Then what?”
Beau sets his cup down on the coffee table, expression shifting from casual to something a little more serious. “The town knows.”
Of course they do.
Levi groans, dragging a hand over his face. “Fuck. I do not want to deal with this.”
Beau’s quick to shake his head. “That’s not it. I mean, yeah, Roxy told me that’s what everyone’s been talking about, but…” He hesitates. “I wanted to know if either of you talked to her since we left.”
Levi and I answer at the same time. “No.”
Beau nods like he suspected as much. “She hasn’t texted the group chat either. I was wondering if maybe she heard the rumors.”
“Possibly not,” I say, setting my coffee down. “If we’re this exhausted, she must feel like a truck ran her over. She’s probably just resting.”
Beau tilts his head, considering. “We could go see her. Check in.”
Levi nods. “Yeah.”
I hold up a hand. “No. Not a good idea. She needs space. Let her come to us.”
They both look at me like I’ve grown a second head.
I lean forward, elbows on my knees. “She’s only ever been with Betas. There’s obviously something bigger going on there—something we don’t know. And the fact is, we as a pack had a group session. We fucked her…a lot.It must have been new and a lot to take in, especially for an Omega who had never even experienced it in the first place. That’s not nothing. But if we show up on her doorstep right now, we risk pushing her into something she might not be ready for.”
Levi frowns. “Something like what?”
“Like her joining the pack? Look, I’m sure she’s confused and flooded with hormones. What if the sex convinced her that this was something it was not?” I try to explain.
“I don’t like your implication, Simon. We like her, don’t we? And if we just ghosted her, wouldn’t that be worse? If there are as many hormones in her as you say, wouldn’t she feel abandoned? I don’t want her to think the sex was just out of convenience. I want her to know that we like her. Or at least, I know for a fact that I do,” Beau bites back.
“I know,” I say, unable to admit to my friends just how much I like her too, or how much itfuckingterrifies me. “But liking her doesn’t mean we rush her into anything. Not to be a downer, but what exactly would we even be rushing her into? We’ve never talked about claiming an Omega. Ever. That’s a decision we make as a pack—without pheromones clouding our judgment.”
Beau smirks faintly. “You saying the sex wasn’t worth it?”
I give him a flat look. “It was fantastic. That’s not the point.”
Levi shifts in his chair, looking uncomfortable. “You’re saying… give it time.”
“Exactly. We don’t know if she’s here to stay. We don’t know anything other than she went into heat, we were there, and it happened. So, we wait. Let her approach us. Then we talk about what this is.”
Beau blows out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. “I hate waiting.”
