Page 31 of Perfectly Yours

So do I.

“Not an obligation. I just-”

“Go home and sleep, sweetheart. Text me when you get home so that I know you’re safe.” Macon waits for me to dress before walking me to the front door and kissing me one last time. It’s a promise for more, the guilt growing inside of me. I need to tell them. That two-week deadline is bullshit. I pull away, thrusting myself out the door with a little wave.

Next week. I’ll tell them next week.

I race home on my bike, only pausing when a shutter echoes in the darkness a few feet away from my apartment steps. I glance around, looking for the culprit but find none. Uneasiness settles in my gut that someone followed me home from the Astors.

But that can’t be true.

Can it?

Chapter twenty-three

MACON

Monday morning, I find myself sipping a French roast with Savin’s head in my lap, my poor Omega passed out from the stressful flare of his heat. He shifts and then groans before settling again like he’s been doing for the past hour. I fucked him back to sleep after Ellie left two days ago, Savin crying a mixture of our names as he stuffed his face into the shirt she left behind. And while this is the least amount of pain I’ve seen him in, he’s still hurting and it breaks my fucking heart.

Ellie messaged me after she got home, a simple ‘home’ and a ‘thank you’. The messages put a smile on my face knowing that she was amenable to the changes in this relationship and working through the awkwardness. One of which is cleaning my home. As much as I would love her scent in this space, I don’t want her to be our maid.

The sweet texts back and forth give me hope, including the call last night right before her set. Savin wanted to show up but I couldn’t see that going well.

I flip through the set of papers, reading the legal statements again to ensure that Ellie’s contract as Savin’s PA is ironclad. He found the contract before I could mention it to him, the Omega demanding that I call Ellie immediately to finalize it. A few kisses later, I got him to back off and give her until Monday when she’d return.

My phone buzzes on the kitchen counter as Savin gorges himself on a lasagna that the chef left for dinner. He freezes, stares at my screen, and then squeals before picking it up. “Ellie?” I grab my Omega by the arm and drag him over to my side before stealing my phone from him. He starts to whine but I put it on speaker so he doesn’t completely terrify her.

This is what I meant by his ever-changing moods. Sometimes he leans into those Omega instincts, the excited, happy-go-lucky Omega that wants nothing more than to please his mates. Other times, he’s stoic and his scent is muted. And still others, he’s in pain, trying to pretend he isn’t. “Ellie?” I ask, weathering the excitement in my voice.

“Yes, hi, Alpha.”

She’s taken to saying that over the phone. It’s only been a weekend but I fucking love the word falling from her lips. Savin looks at me, confused as to why she’s calling. I shrug. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

“Nothing. I'm just… calling? That’s how this works, right?”

It hasn’t taken me long to figure out that Ellie isn’t as brazen and strong as she puts out. She’s fierce and beautiful, inside and out, but I’ve realized that she wants to lean. She just isn’t sure someone will catch her if she does. The few texts and calls we’ve shared over the past two days have given me an insight I wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Like the fact that she enjoys sharing the little tidbits of her life with me. Things as simple as getting home safely, that she found a new coffee shop, that she thinks she’ll pass her exam. I’m sure she’s texted Savin a few times as well but it’s surprising how much she flourishes with just having someone to listen to her day.

“Yes, sweetheart. It does. Are you at work?”

“Just got here. I’ve got a new routine that we’ve been practicing that Tati and I are going to put out.” I can hear the smile in her voice and can imagine the way her face brightens.

“That’s wonderful, sweetheart. Did you eat?”

There’s a pause and then Ellie clears her throat. “I wasn’t hungry but Carleen packed me something.”

I’m a little worried on that front as she hasn’t been hungry for the past two days. Nerves or something else, I’m not sure. However, hearing that her sister sent her with food warms my heart. “Make sure to eat it. You need your strength.”

“Why? Plan on tiring me out?” She jokes.

A playful growl rumbles in my chest. “When you come back over? Definitely.”

Savin cuts in. “Or we go there. We can go watch Ellie.” His eyes light up at the idea as if he just realized what he said. With him just coming off the cusp of his heat, I am absolutely against the idea. He claps his hands together and grabs the phone. “Ellie, we’ll be there in-”

I chuckle, shaking my head, reading Ellie’s silence as shock. “Sweetheart, enjoy your set. I hope you blow them all out of the water. Savin and I will still be here,” I state firmly, glaring at Savin to stay put. He’s one second from running down the hall to get changed.

“I… you want to come watch me?”

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