Page 27 of A Nest of Maple & Mist

The steam from my coffee rose in a sluggish spiral, mirroring how my body felt. I stared into the almost black liquid. My fingers tapped on the side of the ceramic mug, the warmth doing nothing to loosen the frozen knot in my chest that stabbed like tiny icicles.

My fingers dug into my temples. The sky was still a bruised shade of purple as the sun rose. The house was so loud, despite being the only one awake this early on a Saturday.

Mia’s scent permeated every crevice. Waves of maple cream and vanilla drifted through the vents and hugged the beams, taunting me. A muscle in my jaw jumped, my alpha more on edge than when I first presented.

My fingers dug into my sternum, trying—and failing—to rub away the ache that only grew worse with each breath. All I tasted was her divinity. It drove me mad, knowing I would never have any of it.

Veins bulged in my hand as it tightened around the mug, my knuckles turning white. I downed half of my black coffee in one gulp.

I didn’t deserve her.

This was my punishment: having to be close enough to taste her but never allowed to be hers.

Or for her to be mine.

Fuck.

When I closed my eyes, I saw hers glaring back at me. Dark pupils laced with venom as she chucked that plate at my face.

Mia had never been athletic, but with the accuracy she threw that thing with, I would have thought she’d been practicing for that moment for the last five years.

Skittering sounds interrupted my brooding. A second later, a russet blur launched itself from the shadows, landing with a heavy oomph on my lap.

“Blasted fox. How did you even get in here? Do you have hidden thumbs?” I groaned, my voice sounding as if I had swallowed gravel.

Umbra remained undeterred by my sour mood. She circled once, her fluffy tail brushing against my face as she settled on my thighs. A pair of knowing, amber eyes blinked at me, challenging me.

“I’m not in the mood, Umbra. And I don’t have those cookies you like.”

My hand instinctively found the spot behind her ears that she loved.

“Be nice to her,” a voice chirped from the hall.

Without looking, I knew it was Ty. While his scent didn’t devour me like Mia’s did, I’d know that hint of musk and clove anywhere. The floor groaned with his movements.

“It’s not Umbra’s fault you’re a brooding, needy alpha.”

A second later, nails raked over my scalp in a slow, rhythmic motion. I released an involuntary growl, my head falling back against his firm stomach. The strokes didn’t dissolve my tension but lessened it slightly.

My alpha beamed under the attention of our beta, and Ty laughed. The bright sound made my heart flutter.

“Needy?” I rumbled, reaching up to snag his wrist. I pulled his hand down, nipping at his jaw, delighted when he gasped. “I’m not needy. I’m tormented.”

Even just for a minute. I wanted to drown in him. Disappear in him. Bury my cock so far inside him he forgot how to speak, and I forgot how to think.

“Potayto. Potahto.” He smirked, ignoring Umbra’s protests as he slipped into my lap.

The fox chuffed, the sound indignant as she paced off toward the mudroom. Ty settled against my chest, his fingers stroking my nape. My hands curled around his hips. I buried my nose in the crook of his neck, right over my bond mark.

I blew a hot breath on the spot, and he shivered. Ty smelled like home—musk and cloves mixed with Jason and a hint of Mia. Ty reminded me of safety, of the life I’d built for myself away from my parents and their expectations.

“Have you talked to her yet?” he asked, his fingers moving to my frayed collar.

I stiffened, my teeth grazing over the bond mark to soothe some of the burning in my veins.

“She threw a plate at me, handsome. With remarkable aim. She doesn’t want anything to do with me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much rage in someone so small.”

“Still, she’s our pack’s scent match. She has every right to be mad. You broke her heart over a text message, and then just disappeared.”