Page 67 of Marigold Run

I clench my jaw, thinking that through.

Izan isn’t likely to believe that Mari has something deceitful planned. Both he and Dassy dismissed me when I pointed out how bizarre her behavior was during the sleepwalking incident. And they’re likely to do it again with this map. After all, it’s just a piece of paper, and we have no proof it’s hers.

“Hutch?” Dassy whispers my name and I look up at him. My brother sits at the edge of the alcove, rubbing Mari’s back while she sleeps. Not a single part of his body touches her nest. “You good?” he asks.

I push my eyebrows up, not realizing that I was scowling. “Yeah,” I say, deciding that there’s no point in telling anyone.At least not just yet. “I’m good.”

The Next Day

Mari

Ihave napped the last two days straight. I hate napping. I feel so useless sleeping the day away, but the last few days I’ve been drained, and there’s no denying what it means—my heat will start any day now.

I need more time—I should have another two weeks—but it looks like I have to leave now. I can’t risk going into my heat in this house. Izan and the twins will be on me in seconds. They’ll fuck me, knot me, and mark me in a heartbeat, and then I’ll never be able to get my hands on Cardis.

I’m not worried about suffering through my heat in the woods.

Before coming to Havenfield, it had been years since I’d had a heat at all. I’m sure it was the stress of living on the run, then the spiraling self-hate I suffered after losing Stefan. But after a year at the institution, my heat started up again. I begged for suppressants, but the fuckers wouldn’t give them to me.They rarely gave them to the patients, claiming they wanted the omegas to be “healthy.” It was all bullshit. They wanted us wet and needy, desperate to be claimed by a big alpha cock.

But I have conditioned myself to handle my heats just fine by myself. I didn’t even use the vibrators provided. I used my fingers and nothing else. Maybe it was my desire to punish myself for losing Stefan, or maybe it was the fact that anytime someone shoved something inside me, it hurt beyond measure—which was true until I met Izan.

Izan.

My mind drifts to that morning in his office when he demanded I ride his thigh. He pushed at my hips, forcing me to grind down on him. I came so hard, coating his pants in so much slick while his cock remained completely untouched. It shocked me that he didn’t fuck me on his desk that day. He let me chase my own pleasure but didn’t take anything for himself.

He’s such a bizarre alpha.

I still don’t like him. Or Hutch.

Or do I like Hutch?I honestly don’t know. I feel so weird around him. Heightened and tingly. He’s still stern and stares at me, but at least he keeps his hands to himself.

But Dassy and Everly are absolutely divine.

The pair are so tender and affectionate that a small part of me thinks that I should come back here after I’ve found Stefan. I’m sure they’d take me back.

I hope.

“Look at you all squeaky clean,” Dassy says as he steps into my bathroom.

I adjust the towel securely around my chest, making sure it won’t fall. “Good afternoon,” I say, snatching another towel off of the counter. This has become my and Dassy’s routine the last few days. I shower after my nap and he comes in and teases me, touches me, and then he tries to convince me to let him fuck mein my nest. But I never give in. I like seeing the alpha frustrated too much to give him what he wants.

“You look good enough to eat.” Dassy comes up from behind, admiring me in the large mirror.

I towel dry my hair, smiling back at the alpha’s reflection. Dassy looks good as always. His simple gray T-shirt pulls tight across his pecs, and his jeans perfectly fit his muscular thighs. And I swear the man must spend hours getting the tips of his hair to lay just right.

“Why do you have so much shit?” Dassy asks as he leans against my back. He plants his hands on the counter in front of me, trapping me in place. “Why do you need so many lotions?” He looks at the array of bottles on the counter.

I stop drying my hair, staring at the alpha’s reflection. “You know,” I say, in the mood to tease him a bit, “everyone keeps talking about how you and Hutch and Izan work so hard and have this amazing business, but I never see you work at all. You’re always here.”

Dassy’s eyes flash from over my shoulder. “You’re my job now, goldie,” he purrs in my ear as he moves the damn hair off of my neck.

“Is that so?” I ask, pitching my voice a little higher. Extra girlie. I like to flirt a bit before rejecting his advances.

“Yup.” He glances up at my reflection as his hands move around my body. He tugs at my towel, freeing the knot so it slips from my body. Cool air hits my skin, making me gasp. “One of us has to be here to protect you.” His warm breath fans across my skin, making goosebumps flash.

“Am I in danger?”

“Just these tits.” He gives me that playful, sexy smirk. “They need to be closely guarded at all times, but don’t worry,” his warm hands palm my breasts, “I’m a professional.”

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