“No.” Carter eased her into a chair at the kitchen table and sat down next to her. “That is the one thing we won’t do.” He wiped her tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “Tell us, omega.”
Her sigh was so deep, it seemed to come from her toes. “This is so embarrassing. It was ice cream, okay? I just wanted some ice cream.”
Carter was so wrong.
All three of us burst into startled laughter, while our omega looked from one to the other, lips pressing into a thin line. No more tears. Just rising anger. I struggled to calm myself and stop the guffaws escaping me before she got mad enough to punch us. And we’d have not a single thing to say about it.
“I’m leaving.” She pushed to stand up, but we closed in around her, laughter stopped.
“Don’t go.” Elias reached for her hand, but she shrugged him off.
“Why shouldn’t I? You’re laughing at me, and you said you wouldn’t.”
“You’re right.” Carter was on his feet behind her. “And we shouldn’t have done it, but before you decide to hate us, can we show you one thing?”
“I suppose, if it means you’ll take me home afterward.”
Not something we would agree to, so we didn’t respond, just waved her to the door next to the sink, leading to the garage. If we’d parked in it, as we usually did, she might have already seen what we were about to show her.
Carter, our alpha, led the way with Anathea next and Elias and I bringing up the rear.
“You’re taking me to the garage? Why?”
“Shh.” Carter looped an arm around her waist, a brave move, I thought. “It’s right here, and as soon as you look, you’ll know why we went a little off the rails. Here.” He stopped in front of the glass-fronted freezer we couldn’t fit in the kitchen.
“Is this…is it all ice cream?”
“All of it. We picked it up from a store going out of business and decided it would be just for ice cream. If you need any, I think we’ve got most kinds available locally.”
She scanned the shelves from top to bottom. “I think so too. Wow.”
“Let’s have some and we can talk.”
Carter and Elias each grabbed a premium bar, and Anathea one of those big chocolate cookie sandwiches with the edges rolled in chopped nuts. It seemed we were forgiven at least for the moment as we all returned to the kitchen table. I selected an orange from the bowl in the center and we all started on our treats and hoped they would sweeten the omega’s opinions of us enough to get her to agree to stay with us.
After all, where else did she have to go? Her home was not at all safe—but it would be nice if that wasn’t her only reason for moving in here.
Chapter Seventeen
Anathea
“You could stay with us.” Jayden shrugged while he said it.
“I don’t know if I can.”
Elias put his hand over mine. “Let’s work through it together. Tell us the reasons why you think you can’t.”
“I need my own space. And I pay rent.”
Carter nodded. “Here you will have space of your own. We have an omega suite with a bedroom, ensuite bathroom, and walk-in closet.”
“My lease is up next month, and I need to find a new place. I can’t stay there anymore.”
Jayden reached for an orange and peeled it. I was mesmerized by his movements. Like the rest of the pack, every move was purposeful. An orange became sexy all of a sudden. “We can put your things in storage until you find a place.”
He didn’t eat any of the ice cream. I wondered why.
“I would have to pay rent here.”
