Page 43 of Heat Hesitation

I smirk and eye him suspiciously.

"I was thinking that most of your things are cracked or stained with age." The comment is so passive. And, for some reason, it makes me feel shitty about my broken cups.

I don't like thinking that maybe I'm not good enough for them. I've never cared about wealth. But what if they don't think I'm good enough? What if they're only pursuing me because we're scent-matched, not because of who I am?

"Hey, where'd you go?" Enzo asks, leaning into my space, gripping my knee.

"Nothing. Nowhere, I'm just—"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds, so huge and deafening, nearly shake the walls. Enzo dives on top of me, pinning me to the ground, the sound of yelling and screaming from outside my apartment door has me trembling beneath him in terror.

Chapter 19

Asher

Sully watches me pace the sidewalk outside Ophelia's apartment building, Theo leaning casually against his car like he hasn't a care in the world. They're both the picture of calm, but I can feel how worked up they are. Sully's hiding it better than any of us, but that's his superpower. Taking control of situations, reining in his emotions. Theo is typically good at feigning cavalier indifference, especially with Ophelia, because he works extra hard not to be affected by her. Still, even he can't hide the worry behind that fake, tight smile.

She's upset. Not like usual, like we've seen before. She's hurt. She overheard Sully inviting an unbonded omega somewhere private; even if she misunderstood the situation, it broke her heart. Any goodwill we've made, any progress—Theo and our stupid fucking plan to try and make her jealous actually worked, and she came to that goddamn luncheon. I can't believe she came. We never expected her to, but she did, and things couldn't have gone worse.

The only reason we haven't broken down the door is because we know Enzo is with her. We expected her to kick him out hours ago, but he's still up there. Wondering what they're talking about, what they could be doing… it's fucking killing me. But I wait.

We all wait.

Until the sound of a gunshot going off inside her building wakes the three of us out of our silent deliberations, and it's a mad dash as we clamber inside, faster than we've ever moved. Fear grips my heart, and I panic, one step behind Sully with Theo at my heels as we all practically fly up the stairs, three steps at a time.

God damn Ophelia and her fourth floor walk up.

As we round the last steps, there's lots of shouting and yelling, neighbors all crowding the hallway. It took us less than two minutes to get up here, but these fucking people are all just nosing about.

Sully grips Ophelia's door handle, and I decide to be angry with her later when it swings open easily, unlocked. There, we find a half-naked Enzo with Ophelia struggling beneath his weight in a pile on the floor. At first glance, it looks like he's attacking her, but I know that can't be right.

Theo comes up right behind me, all of us crowding into her small space, made all the more intense by the shouting in the hallway.

"Get! Off! Me!" Ophelia whacks Enzo with her tiny fists, but he's gone half-feral. I look at Sully, and he nods, getting the same idea.

"Enzo, it's okay. She's safe. We're all here. Ophelia's okay," he cajoles, laying a hand on Enzo's shoulder, who only grips Ophelia tighter, holding her waist and whipping them both up to a stand, pulling her away from us.

"Holy fuck, they bonded," Theo whispers. Jealousy tears through me as I look over, and it's true; I just can't believe it. I don't see the mark hidden beneath her shirt, but I can sense it, their scents winding together in a way only a bonded couple's does. The jealousy immediately gives way to relief because I know, now, she can't run from us.

Enzo's eyes are black and dilated, and he bears his teeth like a wild animal.

"Enzo! Let go of me right now!" Ophelia shouts, bopping him on the nose. It's a little funny, and he finally softens, his feral alpha receding, but only slightly; he still doesn't let her go.

"There was a gunshot," he snarls.

"I know! I need to find out what happened! I need to know if everyone is okay!" She struggles, but is still too tightly wrapped in his arms, her wiggling barely moving him.

"Ophelia, we'll go check. Theo, you stay here with them," Sully directs as he and I head into the hallway. People are dispersing like it's just another daily occurrence. Where the fuck are the police? Do we need an ambulance?

There's shouting, a familiar voice a few doors down, where we find Ophelia's beta friend Melanie yelling at an older woman with wild gray hair.

"Dammit, Sheila! I've got kids! You can't just wave that thing around like a maniac!"

"Well, now, how else'm I gonna get Earl to listen? That old bastard won't lift a finger, always watchin' that TV—"

"What in the hell is going on here!" Sully roars when we enter the tiny apartment. It smells like grease and nastiness, an old grouch of a beta sneering at us from his recliner. Amazingly, when his wife shot around him, he didn't stir. And yet, when Sully and I enter his apartment, he's clambering out of his chair.

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