Page 43 of Two For the Show
They must have just finished their act.
I forgot how good all of us smell together. I never appreciated it before, but now that my suppressants have worn off, it’s all I can think about. With the two of them so sweaty, I can practically feel the crunch of an apple beneath my teeth.
“You two need to be in an ice bath,” I say, trying to sit up. Quinton holds me tighter.
Dario chuckles. “We did fine without ice baths beforeyou came around, Doc. Matteo said we needed to have a pack meeting?”
“I did. It’s time we seriously discuss what Alex’s being back is going to mean for all of us, and what we’re going to do about her old pack.”
The mention of Tripp, Rich, and Greg has my stomach doing a flip. Dario must notice, because he wedges himself into my nest and wraps himself around my back. “Don’t stress, Alex. We’ll figure it out.”
“Is everything alright, Q?” Jude asks, settling at the end of my bed. “That cut looked bad.”
Quinton grins, his eyes sleepy. “Yeah, I’m good. The good doctor got me all fixed up. You even helped, a little.”
My face heats. “Quinton, don’t you-”
“I got to sniff her panties to help with the pain, and I happened to notice a familiar scent. Perhaps a note of taffy.”
I’ve never seen the showrunner blush, but he does now. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s not what you think.”
“It’s not?” Dexter asks stiffly from behind Jude. “Because that seems pretty cut and dry.”
I squeeze my eyes tight, throwing my head back. Fine, if this is how they want to start our first pack meeting, we may as well. “It was from a pheromone treatment. If all of you would like to give me jars of your cum, you too can get your scent all over me.”
The room is quiet for a beat before Dario starts to chuckle behind me. It’s contagious, and eventually we’re all laughing.
“You jerked off into a jar?” he asks Jude. “Like, honest to God, jerked off into a jar for her?”
Jude waves dismissively. “I’m her prime Alpha. She asked me to. I want her to get better.”
Matteo interrupts before the conversation can derail anymore. “Speaking of getting better. Quinton and Alex need to bond for him to get better. But, rightfully so, Alex doesn’t want to rush into this like it’s a medical treatment. I, more than anyone, recognize what a commitment a bond is.”
I still feel bad about bonding Matteo without his consent, even if he had the ability to force my bond out. I never should have put him in that position, and I don’t want to lose control of myself like that again.
My Omega hindbrain decided to take over everything and force the issue, the hussy.
“So, we need a plan to handle her other pack,” Dexter says, sitting down next to Jude. We’re cramped on my full-sized bed, but I can hardly hold myself back from rolling around and covering myself in all of our scents. “Any ideas?”
“What if you go to the media?” Dario asks, stroking a hand down my side. “Call a press conference, say that you left of your own free will, and have settled in with another pack and are happy, and to stop the search.”
As nice of an idea as that is, it’s not going to work. I’ve thought about it myself in the months since I left.
“My FOS is going to be the story they focus on. Rich is also my scent match. It was documented during our registration as a pack. They’ll say I need him to get better. He could easily force his way in here, even if we managed to find a state where we could register as a pack, given that I have another on file before we went public. And since Tripp and Greg are his pack…”
“They’d be able to come with him,” Jude finishes for me. “And it’s not like we could get rid of them after such a public joining.”
I nod. “Exactly. It would put us where we are now, butthey’d also have access to us. And I have no doubt they’d find a way to push you guys out. Tripp’s dad is connected. He could pull some strings and get us back to Florida, where he’s governor and Omega rights aren’t as progressive as they are in other states.”
Quinton makes a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat. “Fucking backwards ass state.”
“Hey, that’s not fair. The state is gerrymandered to hell and back, and there are some wonderful people there,” I say, feeling protective of my home, even if I’m a transplant.
“Okay,” Dario says, ignoring Quinton’s interruption. “It looks like we’re going to have to get creative, then. How can we get them to let Alex go? To drop this narrative that she’s a runaway and let us live our lives?”
Dexter hums softly. “Well, making a spectacle of the clowns worked, right?”
“We got flooded with supportive emails and social media posts,” Jude confirms. “They all appreciated how we stood up for our Omega.”
