Page 119 of Cost of Courting

“Because you need to come up here and see this.”

Bailey sighs but climbs up and shuffles until he’s sitting next to me.

“Now, why am I up in the tree?”

I point to the carvings. He goes silent, his fingers drifting over the grooves.

“When did she do this?”

“Selene carved this when we were kids. Edric would hide from his dad up in this tree. It was his one safe place. So, sometimes we would sneak in and climb up and hang out here with him until his dad fell asleep or left.”

I follow the memory of her carving our initials in the wood and surrounding it with the giant heart.

“She said we were destined to be together.” I smile and lean my head back against the trunk. “However, those two letters, B and R, they were not there when we came back a few weeks ago.”

Bailey snaps his head in my direction. He turns back to the trunk and reaches out, dragging his fingers across them, loitering on the new marks.

“Why are you showing me this?”

I lean closer to the omega. “Because I know you’re still thinking this doesn’t work, and it’s not quite fitting right. Because you are wondering where you fit.” I tap the trunk. “You fit here. Selene decided.”

Bailey doesn’t say anything, so I lean back, getting more comfortable.

“Selene is the one who pulled us together. When we hit our alphas and started presenting, we could easily have imploded. We were strong, too strong. Our personalities clashed. We couldn’t find a way to fit together. But she smoothed us out, took the edges off our tempers, made us want to change so we didn’t make her unhappy. Becoming Pack Dread was a choice, Bailey. I know we stole your bonds during a heat, but you still have to choose us.”

Bailey watches me. I can feel it, but I keep my eyes on the light dancing through the leaves.

“I did choose.”

“Did you, though? One foot out the door isn’t in.”

He doesn’t answer me, and, after a while, I get this itchy need to get back, so I swing out of the tree and drop to the ground.

I pause, looking back. “Are you coming?”

Bailey drops, but, before I can take a step, he slams me against the bricks, pinning me there.

I wiggle back, almost purring. “Did I upset my poor little baby, Omega?”

Bailey growls and shoves me hard. I laugh as I bounce off the bricks, but it dies in my throat when he presses up against me, and I feel how hard he is for me. That omega apple pie scent entwined with vanilla steals all my good intentions.

“Bailey, you’re about to lose your chance to choose.”

He presses his nose against my neck.

“I did choose. I chose this pack.”

“Who are you, then?” I tease in a whisper.

“I’m Bailey Dread.”

A shiver goes up my spine. The pure, glorious pleasure of hearing those two words come out of his mouth.

I wait for him to get nice and relaxed, nuzzling my neck, and then I spin and twist out of his hold, reversing out positions.

With a playful bite on his shoulder, I grip his hips and slide my hands down and up the front of his thighs. His cock is long, thick, and hard, and when I drag my hand over it, the omega in my arms shudders violently.

“Tell me what you want?”

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