Chapter 42

There was food and exploration. The house was cleverly designed, and there was so much more space inside than it looked like. The basement, which was the size of the entire house, helped. It housed their gym, Rowan’s growing space and industrial kitchen, Hawk’s music room, and Cade’s rope studio.

He winked and told me it was for more than just rope, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the dark beams of wood and all the different colors of rope hanging on the wall.

They all had bedrooms, and there was an empty one for me. Joel had a room on the first floor where he’d worked on all their admin tasks for the escort business and played games.

But I was still tired from the heat, and I needed to get my clothes and everything else from my parents’ house before I passed out again.

Cade gave me a pair of sweatpants to put on, and I smirked. “It’s Clarity. I’m sure there have been more scandalous things than an Omega walking outside in nothing but a t-shirt.”

I was teasing him. I didn’t want to go outside half-naked, but I wanted his reaction. Cade didn’t disappoint, stepping into me with that look that told me he wouldn’t mind bending me over the nearest surface and reminding me who he was, Beta or not.

His voice was gentle in the quiet, but I still shivered. “I’m about to get possessive. Are you going to let me?”

It wasn’t a question about this moment, but our boundaries together. I already knew they could change and shift. None of them gave me any doubt. Right now? I wanted them to own me.

So I bit my lip and nodded.

One hand pushed me against the wall, the other slipping between my bare thighs. He wasn’t touching me where I so desperately needed him, instead grazing my skin so lightly I could barely hold myself still. Those rings he always wore added a shiver of cold.

“What’s between these gorgeous legs of yours belongs to us now. Like hell am I going to let anyone else scent it because you’re outside without panties, or worse, catch a glimpse of it.” A smirk that made my stomach tumble. “So put the fucking pants on, princess, or I’ll do it for you.”

“Gonna tie me up while you do?”

He laughed. “No, I wouldn’t need to. But I still want to tie you up, among other things. The heat didn’t change that.”

I ran my fingers over the scruff on his jaw. “I wouldn’t have picked you for this.”

“What do you mean?”

“You all have such different hobbies and things you like, but if I’d had to choose, I would have said you would be more like Joel than Rowan.”

Cade leaned in and brushed his lips over my cheek. “That a problem?”

The silky darkness in his voice reminded me of the way he gripped my throat the first night they all pleasured me. “Definitely not.”

“Good.” The hand not currently between my legs found its way into my hair, making sure I didn’t look away from him. Those infernal fucking fingers still teasing my skin and not giving me nearly enough. “Do you know what started it all?”

“No.”

“I was always interested,” he said. “But I’d never really explored it. Then I met someone who was like me and it opened up all the possibilities.”

He was so close and smelled so good. Perfume filled the air in the hallway, betraying me. “Like you? What does that mean?”

Cade’s hand tightened in my hair. “I’m a Beta.” The words were a velvet whisper. “I can’t knot you and keep you squirming exactly where I want you. I can’t bark and expect you to obey. I have to earn that.” He smiled then, lips brushing over mine. “And that makes it so much sweeter when you do.”

“Who says I want to?”

“Only you can say that,” he murmured. “But your heart is racing, your pupils are wide, you’re perfuming and barely breathing. So you tell me, princess. Are you curious?”

I was tempted to tell him no. To pull away, put on the pants, and go out the door to the car. But I couldn’t lie to him. We hadn’t spent much time one on one yet, and I wanted to see what happened when he was unleashed. Because he was fucking right. Being a Beta meant absolutely fuck-all with the raw dominance dripping off him, and I wanted to obey. I already knew it would be different than what was between Joel and I. This would have more push and pull, but he would win.

Always.

I wanted him to win.

I wanted to obey.

He was right. I was curious. I always had been, and I’d never had a chance to experience it. Now the entire world was at my fingertips, including this.

“Yes.” I wet my lips. “I’m curious.”

“Then tomorrow, after we’ve both had more sleep, you’re mine. I’m taking you down to the studio and having my way with you. Right?”

“Right.” I shivered, though it was warm, the heat of the day spilling through the nearby windows.

Cade pulled back and released me, including the teasing between my thighs. “Now put the sweats on so I’m not half a second from making you come on my face or from decking the first man who looks at you.”

The pants had fallen to the floor when he held me, but I put them on, unable to stop my smile. He and the guys were taking me down to the estate to get all our things. They didn’t all need to come, but they claimed they didn’t want to be apart, and neither did I.

When the sweatpants were rolled a couple of times so I could walk without tripping, I reached for Cade’s hand. “You said you hadn’t explored it until you met someone like you. What does that mean?”

One squeeze of my hand. “I always wanted to be an Alpha. Never really felt like a Beta. I had these instincts that felt out of place, and I still struggle with it sometimes.” He shrugged, but he was looking away as he guided me to the SUV. I made him turn back to me, his expression a mix of shame and embarrassment.

“I’m the last person who’s going to judge you for struggling with shit, Cade.”

“I know. But I don’t like the struggle. I enjoy who I am and this pack. You. So when it comes up, it’s hard. But I’m getting better.”

I pressed my body closer to his. “Does me obeying you make you feel more like an Alpha?”

“You obeying me makes you feel like you’re mine. And that’s all I need. Promise.”

“Okay. Sir.” I winked.

Cade hissed out a breath and kept me close. “You’re going to be the death of me, princess. We’re going to talk about what you call me tomorrow or we’re never getting to the car.”

I opened my mouth to tell him yes, sir, and he covered it like he knew he was coming. “Anyway,” he said with a grin. “I had all these impulses that didn’t make sense, and I didn’t really think you could be dominant without being an Alpha. Then one of my friends invited me to a BDSM club. That was all it took to set me straight. There were Alphas on their knees for Betas. Betas dominating. Even Omegas taking charge.

“Just because something is true for most doesn’t mean it’s true for all. Kinky people are just kinky, no matter their designation. And I embraced what I wanted without feeling strange about being a Beta. Which makes that insecurity go away.” He inclined his head. “Most of the time.”

“So I’m kinky?”

All he did was raise a single eyebrow, making me dissolve into laughter. Yeah, there wasn’t any question about that.

Hawk’s arm came around my waist and pulled me away. “Let’s get down there and get back. I want to take a nap with my naked Omega.”

“Why do I think that a naked nap is going to turn into not a nap?”

“I’ll try very very hard not to let it,” he said, helping me into the car. “But shit happens.”

“I have to sleep sometime.” I laid my head on his shoulder. “Otherwise you’ll have a zombie for an Omega.”

Hawk buckled me in, and I didn’t fight him on it. They wanted to be possessive and protective. They wanted to do things for me. It wasn’t because of money or obligation, and I didn’t mind it when I knew it was what they wanted. “Even if you were a zombie, you’d still be cute.”

We all laughed. It didn’t take long to get down to the house, the guards waving us by. Joel turned around from the front seat. “Do you want to pack your stuff or do you care if we do it?”

I paused, thinking through everything I had. It’s not like it was a huge hardship if I left something here. We could just come get it. “I’d like to talk to my mom and Ellie if you could grab it for me.”

“Sure thing.”

Geoffrey opened the door for us. I smiled at him. “Is Mom in her office?”

“She is.”

“Thanks.”

The guys went towards the guest suite—not before Rowan kissed me hard enough that Geoffrey cleared his throat—and I went in the opposite direction. I knew the way by heart, because her office used to be my nest. I was up here all the time.

What she’d done to it was really beautiful. She’d opened the space up and made it light and airy, with peachy colors that made it seem like the transition from inside to outside was seamless. But still stark enough it could be a blank slate for her designing.

I rapped my knuckles on the doorframe. “Knock, knock.”

Mom turned around and pulled her reading glasses off. She was dressed casually for her, in jeans and a t-shirt that probably cost as much as a week’s paycheck from my bartending job.

She smiled. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. Were we expecting you?”

“No. Just finished the heat this morning, so we came to grab our things.” I wandered in and curled up on the end of her couch. “Where’s Ellie?”

“She’s at her final fitting, actually. I wanted to go with her, but I have a deadline tomorrow.”

“Oh. I can come back.”

I went to stand, and she waved a hand. “Talking to my daughter for a few minutes isn’t the same as taking two hours to go to a fitting. I’ll be fine. How are you?”

My face flushed pink. My family had never been… embarrassed by sex, but it wasn’t something we talked about openly. And they didn’t know yet about the truth of the heat.

“I’m really good,” I whispered. “They’re my pack.”

She laughed. “I would hope so.”

“No, Mom. They’re my pack. When my heat kicked in, so did the scent matches. They already knew, but hadn’t told me because—” I cut myself off. The six of us hadn’t talked about how we would break that particular news to my family. If we would be up front and honest about how we met or keep a white lie in place.

I didn’t want to say anything more before I talked to them.

But mom stared at me in utter shock. She was quiet for so long I thought I might have broken her. But then she was standing, her eyes filled with tears as she sat beside me and pulled me into a hug. “Oh, Isolde, I’m so happy for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” She swatted my arm. “I’m a bit sad someone’s going to take you away from me again when you just got back, but you deserve this kind of happiness.”

I really smiled then. “I’m not going far. You know that house up on the cliff?”

“Yes.”

“It’s their house.”

“No it’s not.”

“It is. I came out of the heat haze and wandered outside and nearly lost my head.”

Mom took one of my hands in both of hers. “That’s such good news.”

“Do you think Ellie will care if I don’t stay here?”

“I think if your sister were here she’d be pushing you out of the house faster than I will. As long as you’re here for the rehearsal on Friday, and you know, the actual wedding.”

I huffed a laugh. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss it. I’m glad the heat didn’t happen later.”

“Ellie would have understood.”

“I still would have felt bad, though.”

Mom stood and crossed to her desk, pressing a button to call one of the staff. “Where is your pack?”

“They’re packing everything up in the suite.”

“So you have time to talk for a bit? We haven’t had a chance.”

One of the staff stepped in and mom ordered a tea tray.

They wouldn’t care if I spent time with my mom. I nearly rolled my eyes at the automatic thought. There had been times with Beau where spending time with my family had been an issue. That worry was long gone. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good. I want to hear more, because I know my daughter, and even over those video calls, I know there’s a lot you haven’t told me.”

I made an innocent face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“We’ll see. But first, tell me more about them.”