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“Why are you wearing that shirt?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer. He’s already tugging me into him and taking a deep breath. “And why do you smell like Emmett?”
Jedrik moves so quickly, it’s hard to follow him, but he suddenly has Emmett pinned to the wall. “Why the fuck does she smell like you?” he seethes.
“Jed! Let him go.” I dodge Andrik and reach for his twin. “Stop it right now.”
He doesn’t let him go, but does turn his heated gaze to me. “I trusted him to take care of you, but he clearly took advantage of your situation.” He turns his narrowed glare at Ryland. “I trusted you, too.”
Ryland’s jaw drops before he shakes off his surprise at the accusation. “You need to take a breath, man. You’re jumping to conclusions.” My best friend takes a step closer to Jedrik, not showing any fear of the aggression thrumming through the pissed off alpha. He tries to hedge me off as I reach for Jedrik, but I push his hand away.
“I’m not jumping to shit. Her scent on him could’ve been explained by her perfume while she was in heat. But it doesn’t explain why his scent is all over her, or why she’s only wearing his shirt. What the fuck did you do to her?“ Jedrik snaps. His forearm presses against Emmett’s neck harshly.
I’m not sure how he realized this is Emmett’s shirt. For all he knows, it could be Ryland’s, but either way, I need to diffuse things quickly. The moment my touch lands on Jedrik’s shoulder, his stature relaxes, but he doesn’t look at me, choosing instead to pin Ryland in place with his glare while he physically holds Emmett to the wall. I turn to Andrik and give him my best pleading gaze, asking silently for help.
Andrik sighs. “Sorry, Precious. Those are valid questions I want answers to as well.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t do anything to me,” I exclaim, tugging on Jedrik’s shoulder, but he doesn’t move.
“I wouldn’t quite say that, Little Omega,” Emmett rasps.
I hiss through my teeth. Men and their egos needing to boast about their conquests. I shoot him a scathing glare, telling him to shut up. “Jed, please, for me, let him go and I’ll tell you what happened.” I keep my tone soothing, hoping it will appeal to his alpha side to give in to what I want.
Finally, I gain his attention. His gaze flashes to me, taking me in as he weighs his options. This time when I tug at his shoulder, he turns and scoops me into his hold. His hand runs up my spine and into my hair where he fists it. Prickles dot my scalp as he draws my head back and rubs his cheek against mine before moving down to my neck, then my chest.
It draws a purr from the back of my throat, the sound coming out before I realize it. “What are you doing?” I ask as I’m helpless against my body relaxing in his hold. The smoky scent of maple fills my nostrils, along with my natural pears and Emmett’s rich chocolate.
“Marking you with my scent. I can’t stand you smelling so strongly of him when you don’t have a hint of me,” Jedrik confesses.
His twin sandwiches me from behind and does the same on my other side, marking me with his warm spiciness. “Make that two of us, Brother. I can’t stand it either.” Andrik’s heated hands land on the outside of my bare thighs, where his thumbs move in a soothing motion. This is almost perfect. I have my beta best friend and almost all of my alphas in one room. All that’s missing is Kyle.
After he feels I’m sufficiently marked with his scent, Andrik moves to look me in the eye. “Now, Precious, tell me why you’re in your doctor’s shirt, smelling like he knotted you all night.”
Fuck. I do not.
Do I really?
I subtly take a sniff of myself, and Jedrik raises his eyebrow with the line shaved in. Nothing passes his notice.
“While he might not be a part of the show, we’ve been undeniably attracted to each other from the moment we met.” I lower my eyes, not able to watch his reaction. He quickly tucks a finger under my chin to stop my head from lowering, too.
“Verity, look at me,” he says, with a purr on the back end.
When I slowly raise my eyes again, I don’t find what I was expecting. With how much he pushed me away when we first met, I thought I’d find anger, distrust, or even disgust. But none of that plays in his gaze. Instead, I find understanding and affection.
“Tell me what happened after I left you with him,” Jedrik demands.
My cheeks heat, and I battle the urge to look away again. “My heat became so painful, Jed, I couldn’t stand it. Agony was ripping me apart, so he tried to keep things professional by using his fingers to get me through until the suppressants kicked in. But…” I bite my lip, worried about sharing the rest.
“But her heat wasn’t having it,” Ryland cuts in. I smile at him over my shoulder, thankful for him speaking up. “There was no sign of the pain easing. I know your intent was for me to help sate her, but she needed a knot. Her heat was too far along for anything else, and I wasn’t about to watch her endure more torment when they’d been dancing around their attraction. He needed the push,” Ryland finishes with a shrug of his shoulder.
Heat enters Jedrik’s gaze. “You care about the alpha, even if he isn’t a part of the show?” he verifies. I’m surprised he’s not asking more questions about what happened. Even more shocked he’s not ripping into Emmett or even Ryland for letting it happen. Especially when he and his brother worked so hard to hold themselves back.
“I do,” I squeak.
His gaze warms even more. “I knew you weren’t like the other omegas we’ve been around. Do you want him in your pack, Trouble?”
Relief rushes through me, and I can’t help but huff at his question. “Well, yeah. Why would I admit I cared about him, or end up wearing his shirt, if I didn’t want him in my pack?”
He takes my sass in stride, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I’m trying to encourage you to communicate what you want.”
