Page 13 of Going Down Smooth: Part One

Inside, I’m fighting a losing battle with myself. My heart yearns for them, always has. This heat stirs up emotions I’ve suppressed for so long, and I’m afraid of what may come out of my mouth. My brain is trying to rationalize the situation I’ve found myself in. On one hand, I know I am safe. Knight, Lox, Nate, and Trey won’t hurt me. On the other, I should leave. I’ve hurt them enough, and I don’t know if my own heart can stand their loss a second time.

You’re the one that ran.

I should lock myself away with my toys I brought along with me, ride out my heat alone until my head clears. But this pain, this aching need for these Alphas, is real. I whine just thinking about taking a real knot. All four of them draw in a deep breath, the pheromones coming off them are off the charts. They all growl in unison, all too aware of what I am in need of.

I can’t think straight. I can’t believe I whined like a child in need of pacifying. There is no way I can do this alone. I don’t think I can survive it. Another wave of cramps twists my insides, making me bite the inside of my cheek. I can hear them speaking, no, arguing, and it finally dawns on me how checked out I have been since they engulfed me in their presence.

“We won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do!” Nate snaps, making me lift my eyes to peer into Lox’s big dark-brown eyes. Of course, he chooses that moment to roll them at me, my chin still resting in his hand as he winks and replies.

“No onewill ever force Mercy Smooth to do anything. Even with the shit Ben just pulled from beyond the grave.” He offers me an apologetic smirk, but I shrug one shoulder in response. I have no words. He’s not wrong. “All I’m saying is that she needs us,” he says as he drops his hand from my face only for Knight to take his place.

I do need them. I do.

Knight lifts my chin once more, searching my eyes for something. I am sure I look like an addict in need of my next high. Sweaty, twitchy and in need of a dick fix. Like right now. I can see the sadness in Knights eyes, almost a plea. For what, I am not quite sure. It’s as if he’s begging me for something but I am clueless to what that may be. Is he wondering if I’m going to run. No chance in hell that’s happening. Maybe he is begging for me to trust him, them—screw it. I don’t know. My brain is running a hundred miles a minute as I wait for him to speak. He opens his mouth then closes it. Trey and Nate growl in response, making me turn quickly to look at them both but Knight quickly brings my head back around to face him.

He ignores them and focuses on me. “What do you need? It’s painfully clear—” he pauses, adjusting his very hard cock in his pants. I can’t help it, I stare at it, my eyes lock on the huge bulge as if I can somehow summon x-ray vision and see the goods for myself. Lox chuckles as Knight clears his throat, breaking the siren song that’s calling to me beyond his zipper. “It’s very clear you’re in the beginnings of your heat, Mercy. I know this is not an ideal time for this to happen, considering what was just said back there, but we will do whatever you ask. All our instincts are screaming to get you somewhere safe. To take care of you. It will be hard to pull Trey away but if you ask us to leave, we will.”

Just Trey? I want to ask but I keep my mouth closed.

Knight drops his hand, and they all step away to give me space to process his words. I whimper from the loss of their nearness, and I find myself growing angry at myself for being so out of control. This. This is the reason why I struggle with who I am. I would have never let my emotions ride me so hard in the past. Well, I have never felt like a weeping, leaking mess of hormones and pheromones before, whose sole purpose is to be filled to the brim with knots and cum. But here I am. I hurt so bad that the pain threatens to rip me in two. How can I walk away from the men I’ve trusted all my life? Are they offering to help me? Or are they just worried about losing a chance at Smooth Bourbon?No. No, Mercy, that’s not it and you know it. Fuck, I can’t think.

Pushing past the pain, I stand up straight and wrap my arms around myself protectively. “I’m not leaving,” I say through my clenched teeth. “I am not giving up my father’s company, especially after what Christopher said back there.” I point towards my family home, trying to push past the hurt I feel for the words he spoke. My father has turned my life upside down in less than an hour. I look at the four men, the four Alphas in front of me. Once upon a time, they were my whole world. My pack. To stay means to take them back, to mate with them. Forever. Honestly, that was never the problem. Now, I’m not so sure that my fears were warranted. Or that might be the hormones talking.

“I didn’t expect you would, Mercy.” Knight sighs, holding his hands up in front of him like I will bolt at whatever he is going to say next. “We can take this slow. I know your heat is going to make us all a bit crazy. Ultimately, you are in control. Let us help you through this. You tell us what you need and want from us, and we will provide it for you. But Mercy, if you are staying”—he looks behind him, as if he is having a silent conversation with Trey, Nate, and Lox. When he turns around his eyes are all business. He locks eyes with me and I can feel the power in his gaze. I match it with my own. Fair enough. They have to protect themselves, and it hurts to know that they need to protect themselves from me— “No running. If you are with us. You are with us. Let us prove to you that you no longer need to run, Mercy. We are your home. We always have been. I know there’s a lot of water under the bridge and hearts in need of mending, but we have time to fix the cracks that broke us.” Knight steps forward and offers me his hand. I wipe away my tears, but they keep flowing. I’m scared. The fear of the unknown, just like before, is making me indecisive, but my time is almost up. I check my phone. Five minutes.

“Please.” Is all I can manage as another cramp takes me by surprise, making me take a sharp inhale of breath. “Get me out of here.” I finally manage as I send a text to Mr. Brock.

Me: I’m staying.

Mr. Brock: This is excellent news. I will make the necessary arrangements. Congratulations.

My phone falls from my hands as my knees give out. But I never hit the ground as Trey’s strong arms scoop me up and hold me close to his chest.

“We’ve got you, Songbird, and we are taking you home.”

I let Trey soothe me as pain washes over me like a tsunami and takes me under.

EIGHT

TREY

Songbird. My nickname for her falls from my lips with ease as a one my favorite memories spring forth in my mind.

“Mercy, if you’re going to sing, sing girl. Stop playing around with the piano keys and play. You’ve come too far in your training to falter now. You’ve let those boys distract you. They follow you around like puppies and if I didn’t know better. . . You know what? Never mind. I need to tell your father to stop giving in every time you want to rush off behind him when he goes to work. You’re thirteen, you could present any day now. You need to start focusing instead of running through the woods and rolling around in the dirt with Knight, Nate, Trey, and Maxim. You might not be able to do that soon. If you present as—”

“I won’t. I know I won’t!” Mercy snaps, stopping her momma from fussing as she paces in front of a shiny black grand piano. Mercy slumps on the bench at her momma’s words but huffs out a stubborn breath, then straightens in the seat.

I stand in the hallway of the Smooth pack house, watching from the doorway. Hoping that I am not shooed away as Mercy places her hands on the keys and begins to play. Her voice lifts, echoing through the family music room, and I close my eyes as the warm notes slide down my body like a warm embrace. Like a songbird waking up the world with its morning melody, Mercy wakes my soul. I know then that she’s mine. Every time she has to practice, I hide in the shadows, out of sight just to hear her. Mercy sings like her life depends on it, and I stare transfixed because I know for sure in this moment, I want to do what she is doing. I want to play and sing, just to be near her. To hear her voice lighting me up with joy. My voice mingling with hers in a beautiful duet of our making.

“Trey Stevens, are you going to stand there with your mouth open or are you going to finally come over here and learn right along with her? Maybe then she will take this more seriously.” Mrs. Smooth purses her lips, one hand placed on her hip as she uses the other to beckon me over. My feet move on their own as Mercy looks up with a smile that makes my chest ache. She scoots over for me, patting the seat beside her and I go willingly. I knew then that I never wanted to leave. I will master the piano and it will be our thing.

“Knight, we are not prepared for this.” Nate’s panicked voice cuts through my memory, bringing me back to the present. My arms wrap protectively around Mercy as she lays across my lap in the back seat of our SUV. The moment I saw her knees bend on the drive I ran and scooped her up in my arms. I had a feeling that she was barely managing; by the sheer force of her will she stood before us, her mind and body warring with itself. I knew it could have gone either way back there, but my heart soared with one word uttered by her.Please.To me it said help me, save me, I need you.

“We will make it work. We have plenty of room in our house. We can make her comfortable. Right now, we need to remain calm for Mercy’s sake.” Knight tries to reassure Nate but takes a deep breath himself, then groans from his position in the driver’s seat. He turns around and looks at a sleeping Mercy. Well, a passed-out Mercy. His pupils blown, and eyes wild as he takes in a deep inhale of her scent. I agree with Knight, we need to remain calm. All of our control is hanging in the balance. None of us know what we are doing. We’ve never had an Omega in our home. We only know what we learned in school, but it’s far from reality when it is thrown in your face. I feel possessive and want to bare my teeth at my brothers. To curl over her body like a certain obsessed creature from one of my all-time favorite books. I would laugh if the situation wasn’t so intense right now.

“Nate, maybe you should have ridden with Lox,” I say, keeping my voice calm, breathing through my mouth as I try to control the urge to lay her down on the seat and bury my face in her pussy. My cock is so hard, it’s painful, and I can’t shift to get into a better sitting position. I know if she was awake, she would feel it poking her in the back. Yep, it is getting that bad back here, surrounded by her scent. Her body calls to mine even while she’s sleeping fitfully in my arms.

Out of all of us, I have better control over my Alpha urges. Maybe it’s because both of my parents were Betas and I lean more towards their natures than my own. My brothers joke about me having a sixth sense; always knowing what they need and when, it’s such a Beta trait—the need to nurture and take care of those around us. I guess I inherited it from them, honestly. I only had two parents, regular upbringing, nothing special. Not like the rest of them and I genuinely don’t begrudge them for it. I was lucky I got the best of both worlds. I was able to straddle the fence, my feet resting on either side of the various pack dynamics. It made me adaptable. When I presented as an Alpha my mother and father were shocked. It wasn’t uncommon in our society for two Betas to birth an Alpha but it was still a surprise.

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