Page 44 of Dodging Bullets

Max gave him a heavy look. “That’s not your decision. It’s no one’s decision except Polly’s.”

I didn’t know what I wanted. Crawling back beneath the strong arms of my Alpha, I breathed in his scent until my heart stopped thundering out of my chest. His hand worked up and down my back in soothing lines.

“You don’t have to make a decision now, Sweet Girl. In fact, it would be… safer to wait until your heat is over completely.”

I nodded, thankful for the reprieve. This was too much. I was happy, but could I continue to be so, knowing that out there, the Homestead was killing off kids who were Alphas?

The answer was no. I couldn’t be happy with that. I’d do what I could to stop them, including meeting with the ghosts of my past.

Twenty-Five

Rio

Icould punch Max in his annoyingly beautiful face. Polly was walking around subdued, her scent edged with something burnt and sad, contrasting with the sweetness of her oncoming heat.

She’d been happy. We’d made her happy. Hell, I’d seen her face when we suggested we bring August into the Pack too—like I’d given her a puppy, a kitten, and a lifetime supply of chocolate all in one day.

Then Max had gone and ruined it with the harsh realities of fucking life. If I could save her from the ugly things about the world, I would. Max and I had argued about it, after she’d gone off to bed with Llew last night.

He said she’d been lied to for her whole life; she deserved the truth. I argued that she’d seen enough of the evilness of humanity, and didn’t need to be subjected to more. It was an impasse, and we’d gone to bed angry.

I hated that too.

When we found this fucking Homestead, I was going to burn the whole fucking thing to the ground. I couldn’t even go to the VA and talk through the growing anger in my chest, becausewe’d propositioned August and he still hadn’t given us an answer. Talking to anyone else about it would feel almost wrong.

Sighing, I slumped back on the couch. It didn’t help that my Alpha was so close to the surface that it was a constant battle for control. Riled by the proximity of Polly’s heat and the ongoing threat to her safety, I felt like I was ready to crawl out of my skin.

A knock on the door had me groaning and getting to my feet. Checking the security cameras on my phone, my heart thumped harder in my chest at the sight of August at our front door. Had I summoned him with my thoughts?

Fuck, he was beautiful. Delicate and sturdy at the same time. My Alpha just wanted to chase him, run him down, and fuck him into the lawn. Chase, bite, bond.

Dammit.Maybe I shouldn’t open the door, and instead go and have my third cold shower for the day.

Another knock had me gritting my teeth and pushing the Alpha down. I was in control. I sucked in a deep breath before I opened the door, but it was useless. As soon as his scent hit my nose, the Alpha roared back to the surface.

I growled deep in my chest, making August’s pupils blow out. His scent surged up at the sound, and I stepped back, giving us a both a little space before I reached out, grabbed him, and kissed the fuck out of him.

He cleared his throat. “You okay, Rio?”

It was only practiced vulnerability with August, a trust built over months of therapy, that had me saying, “No, not really.”

Worry shadowed his gaze, before it was gone again. My Alpha huffed that he was being weak in front of his Omega, but the man knew that it wasn’t a weakness to have feelings. If anyone had taught me that, it was the Omega in front of me.

“Can I come in? We can talk about it.” August reached out, stepping closer to me, and I held my Alpha tightly. His Omegascent washed over me, calming the Alpha, and giving me space to breathe.

“You’re welcome here anytime. Just walk in.”And never leave. Stay forever.I led him through to the kitchen. “Do you want a coffee? Max is out, and Llew and Polly are still sleeping.”

August nodded. “That would be great.”

I put a pod in the coffee machine and sucked in a deep breath.Don’t fuck this up for us, I chastized myself.

While the coffee brewed, I turned back around to face August, pushing the worry down. Instead, I reveled in the happiness of seeing August in my kitchen. I couldn’t pinpoint the moments he’d gone from someone who was helping me through the worst parts of my life, to someone who I looked forward to seeing every week, to someone I missed when I didn’t see him, but it had been gradual. If Max hadn’t felt the same way about him, I’d worry that I was projecting my healing onto the Omega in an unhealthy way. But there was something about August that just meshed with us both.

I’d had fantasies of making him ours for so long, had imagined knotting him and marking him so many times in the shower, that it would be way too embarrassing to ever admit.

“What’s happened?”

I kept my voice even and professional as I told August about what Max’s tech guy had found. About the murder of Alpha teens. About survivors wanting to see her. Her spiral. My fears. My argument with Max. It all just poured out of me.

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