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"She should never have been the one to tell you that," he growls, fisting his hands at this side, jaw working.
"No, you dumbass, you should have." All our eyes shoot over to where Ava is leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at us. "And she didn't, I did. Because you had every opportunity to be honest but didn't. Which caused a series of completely unnecessary events, and now you have to deal with that." Summer stiffens a little in my arms. For what? I'm not sure, but it makes me growl at Ava. It's the first time I've ever done it. Even as an omega, though, and having an alpha growling at her, with two others pissed off within close proximity, she doesn't so much as tremble.
"Oh, spare me. I'm the one who just calmed your mate down off a ledge." Her gaze lands on Summer; she softens a little and continues. "Happily, of course. But one she shouldn't have ever been on in the first place. You're welcome, by the way." That bit was directed at us, not our mate. The growl died down in my chest at the way she spoke to Summer just now. Like she didn't want to be one more bad thing that happened to her today.
"We were just trying to–" Maverick starts, obviously feeling a little defensive at the perceived attack on our intelligence.
"I don't really care what you were trying to do. We're here now. So maybe you should all head home and actually... I don't know... have a conversation?" She tosses a backpack that must be Summer’s over to Maverick. He catches it easily, and we all look back to Ava. Turning on her heel, she pivots and walks back the way she came, leaving us standing there with our wrists red from the metaphorical slap she just gave us all.
"Well," Hudson begins, "that sounds like a hell of a plan to me. Let's go, mate." His cheeks stretch into a proud grin when he saysmate,and he swoops down toward Summer. One arm around the back of her thighs, he lifts her off the floor to carry her over his shoulder. Her torso hits his back, and her tiny hands rest on his ass as she pushes herself off his body.
"Hey! Put me down," she giggles. He ignores her half-hearted protests. "Let me go, Hudson!" Red crawls up her cheeks as blood rushes into her upside-down head, but the smile doesn't drop an inch.
"Never, pretty girl. I'm never letting you go, now." His words are a declaration and a fervent promise. One I feel in every ounce of my being.
Ditto, cherub. You're stuck with us now.
Four
Hudson
My chest feels too tight.Not in a good way, either. The way it probably should feel with my mate draped across my shoulder, her honey and nutmeg scent coating my clothes in an unintentionally claiming way. Especially now that sheknowsshe's my mate. The secrets and evasions for everyone's own good can stop. So why don't I feel better? It still feels like an elephant has found its new home right atop my ribcage.
Images of the four of us standing outside Nonna's Italian restaurant, desperately trying to reach Summer, of us outside her door with no answer, come back to the forefront of my mind. My heart starts to race a little faster, and I bring my hand, the one not currently holding Summer, up to give her a slap on her perfect ass to distract myself and everyone else. They'll be able to tell if my scent sours from the fear, still holding me in a vice-like grip.
"Ouch," she hisses, and then smacks mine back in retaliation. It feels like little more than a feather dusting across my pants, making me chuckle.
We get to Mav's Wrangler, parked in the lot next to Brooke's matte gray Hummer, and I deposit her in the back seat of the jeep, sliding in next to her. Wasting no time, I pull her back into my lap and wrap the belt around both of us.
"Safety first," I whisper, kissing her neck and loving the way she shivers in response. My dick twitches as her full body shiver causes her to rub against my zipper.
Mav climbs into the driver's seat, starts up the car, and waits expectantly for the passenger side door to open. But all three of us look up in time to see Mason hop into the Hummer with Brooke.
Ouch.
I raise my brow at Mav when he looks back at us in his rearview mirror. With just a shake of his head, he puts it in reverse and follows Brooke home. Both my arms are wrapped around Summer at this point, so I feel when her stomach contracts slightly. I lean forward to see her worrying her bottom lip, eyes darting between Mav and the back of Brooke's car.
"They're going to be okay, pretty girl. Don't worry about it." My words are whispered directly into her ear, so Mav can't hear over the hum of music filtering through the speakers. She nods at my reassurance, looking anything but reassured.
Maybe I'll lock them in a room tonight to work through their shit while I keep Summer all to myself.
The sun shines through the window, lighting up the small slivers of honey in my mate's brunette hair, making her look like the Goddess herself.
Yeah. She's all mine tonight. Brooke, Mav, and Mason be damned.
* * *
We’re all conjured in the living room of the pack house, Summer sitting on Mason’s lap as a weight settles over us. It’s time for the conversation we’ve all done our best to avoid. Part of me wonders if that’s why Summer chose Mason to sit by. With three alpha marks on her body, something tells me that’s where her issues stem from. An alpha’s presence right now could do more harm than good–mates or not–depending on her story.
Mason’s got one hand wrapped around her hip, the other playing with her fingers in a flirty, casual way. It seems to be working to relax our mate because she’s staring down at him adoringly. The soft smile doesn’t stay long, though. Brooke sits sideways on the same couch as them, turned toward Summer, and then grabs onto her feet as she starts talking.
“I need to apologize for not initiating this conversation sooner, cherub.” Brooke looks so guilty, I chime in.
“It’s on all of us, Brookie.”
She shakes her head without looking my way. “No. I’m Pack Alpha. It’s my responsibility. That blame lands on me.” Those words are directed at me. But her next ones are for Summer. “The second we all saw you, we knew you were ours. The guys came home from the bar that day, and they couldn't shut up about their beautiful omega mate." Summer blushes at the words, but fuck if they aren't the truth. We were completely enamored from the jump. "I wasn't there, obviously, but the second you stepped foot in the conference room that first meeting with Jerrick, it was obvious for me, too. I broke up with my girlfriend the minute we left Pen2Paper Press."
My brows hit my hairline when Summer growls at her words. It's sort of cute because it isn't a deep growl. More like a kitten purring, but it gets her point across all the same. Our omega is just as territorial of us as we are of her. "Don't worry, sweets, there's no contest. She was the worst." Brooke rolls her eyes at Maverick's words, but they do what he intended, and Summer relaxes again into Mason's chest.
