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“A long time ago there were. Nobody knows really why they’re declining, and I’m sure there are tons of scientists madly scrambling for an answer or solution, but in the meantime, alphas have learned to form packs. With three or more alphas bound together, their chances of finding an omega to bond with significantly increases.”
“So Kit stayed through your shift…” I encourage him, wanting to know how they began. I need to have these pictures in my head so that next time Kit pisses me off I can imagine him as younger and hopeful, courting his first mate.
“When I was off work we stayed in the parking lot talking for another hour, before deciding to walk across the street and have dinner at a local restaurant. He was supposed to keep driving, to chase down an opportunity somewhere else, but instead he stayed. He booked a hotel room and we basically spent the next week together, and at first it was just like this really intense friendship. Everything was easy.”
“When did it change to more?”
“It didn’t take too long for him to realize that we worked so flawlessly together and to consider that we could start a pack. But as soon as he thought of it, he couldn’t drop it. I’m sure you’ve seen that tenacity in him, too.”
I nod, getting sleepy in the heat and almost ready to get out. I want to hear the end of the story first though.
“He started asking me every single day to be a part of the pack he wanted to build, then twice a day, and within the second week I said yes to joining because he just wore me down. I figured I’d be as happy with him as anyone else, and I was excited about stepping out on my own and having something separate from my parents and siblings.
“I brought him around to meet them, and halfway through dinner he just flat-out grabbed me by the face and kissed me.”
“Had you kissed another male before?”
“Nope.”
I laugh. “You must have been surprised.”
“That’s an understatement. My father nearly choked on his steak and my mother couldn’t stop fanning herself in embarrassment. My sister teased me shamelessly and my brother seemed a bit repulsed.”
“Did they eventually accept him?”
Now James laughs. “He wore them down just like he wore me down. He showed up for family dinners constantly, since at that point he had up and let a small apartment in town and had secured a job at the local hardware store, even though he didn't need the money. He’d bring my mother flowers and help my dad work on his car, drive my little sister to dance class and toss the ball around the yard with my brother…I think when they realized that I was still the same person, they accepted it easier.
“Plus, he made it seem so normal to kiss me- he did it so often and so casually that they just got used to seeing it.”
“That sounds like a much different Kit than I know.”
“It does,” James says with a bit of sadness. “I think…he’s toughened over the years because he’s suppressed his alpha demands so long. That Kit is still buried inside. Though you might need a pickaxe to find it.”
I smile at his bad joke, wanting to know more. More about all of them as a pack, more about them individually, more about how they found me. We could start with the easier questions first, though.
“How did you guys meet Colter?”
I can feel James shake his head as he grabs the iced water for me to have a sip of. “That’s a story you’ll have to pry from him. Though I will tell you it all started when Kit and I took home his girlfriend.”
“What?!”
“Like I said, a story for another time. You about ready to get out? Do you feel a bit more like yourself now? More relaxed? I have some tea waiting for you out in the kitchen.”
Is this what whiplash feels like? “Why are you being so nice to me?”
He exhales. “This isn’t going according to plan. Obviously. If we could have swept you off your feet and made you want to join our pack without having to show our hands, we would have. I’m sorry for the way your courtship has been progressing, I know you’re not enjoying yourself at all. We’re going to do better. I yelled at them all and told them I’m taking over courtship control so Kit will have to do what I tell him.”
“He frightens me sometimes,” I admit.
“If he does, it’s because he wants you so damn bad that he’s trying to restrain himself to the brink of insanity. But that’s for him to sort out.”
It’s strange to be told that what I am is getting these three grown men so riled up. “What is it about omegas, exactly, that makes you go so crazy? Like you said Dara didn’t affect you, right? Why me? What’s so special that you chose me out of all the other women at the compound?”
“Your scent. The second we sifted it out of the rest of the compound’s scents, we were lost. We knew.”
“Scent? Like how I think you smell like sweet cinnamon and star anise?”
“Do you find that a pleasant combination, then?” He asks, right in my ear in a low voice. I feel goose flesh break out all over my arms and my neck, my nipples pebbling even in this steamy water.
