Page 37 of Wanted By the Wolves

“One of those better have coffee.”

Nova looks up at me. “Sorry. I woke up starving, and that seems to have gotten everyone else up.”

“No sweat, gorgeous. I’ll wake up early for you any day.”

Her cheeks turn pink, and she scrunches her eyes closed. It’s seriously the cutest embarrassed pout I’ve ever seen.

“You don’t have to be shy with me. I’ve known you for weeks now, right? It’s just us.” I slide my palm to her lower back, guiding her past the pack table and into the cabin’s cozy living room. The large cabin was made to house multiple packs, butthe place is all Gage. Everything is dark wood, worn leather, soft quilts, and an explosion of books.

Nova breaks away from me, plopping herself down in Dex’s lap. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how my brother is with her. The fact that she goes to him so easily fills me with gratitude. Not many people ever dare to look past his scars.

She reaches for a basket of biscuits in the center of the coffee table. On the first bite, she makes this sexy, throaty sound, wiggling on Dex’s lap. “Bread is so good.”

The room of alphas has gone still, all three of us watching the way she eats that damn biscuit. I doubt she even knows the effect it’s having, but my dick is highly aware.

She licks the dripping honey butter off her finger, slipping it out of her mouth with a pop, and three pained groans ring around the room.

Nova snaps her head up, looking between us before her eyes hit the floor. She mumbles, her scent souring. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I had something like this. I think I forgot how to human.”

“Don’t apologize,” Dex growls, lifting her chin so she meets his eyes. “You did nothing wrong.” A look passes between them, and she gives him a grateful smile.

“It’s a very naughty way to eat a biscuit. Ivery muchapprove,” I tease.

She looks my way, and I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively. That makes her laugh as she buries herself in Dex’s neck.

“I’m glad you like them. We can make them whenever you want.” Gage goes back to lighting the fire as if him being pleasant isn’t totally out of left field.

I settle in beside Dex and Nova on the large L-shaped couch. When the healer folds himself into the overstuffed chair to join us, I’m shocked all over again.

As we eat, we talk a little about the storm but nothing heavy. Whatever happened before I woke up has changed the dynamic, as has Nova’s shift to human form.

When the little omega falls asleep in Dex’s lap, we leave the dishes and return to her nest. Gage lingers at the doorway, watching as Dex gets her settled, but he turns to leave the moment she’s tucked in.

“Or you could stay? This is your room, after all,” I say, pointedly eyeing him. The Gage I knew didn’t back down from a challenge.

Gage’s eyes bulge. “This is hardly mine anymore.”

“It’s ours. Hers, for her pack. That includes you. Now, get your ass in here and make good on the promise I overheard earlier,” Dex growls. His alpha backs up his words, and I blink in shock at the way my wolf heeds his call.

I’m moving to the nest before I know I’m doing it, Gage on my tail.

My eyes fly open,my body as stiff as a board. The overpowering sweetness of candied apples dripping in spicy cinnamon cream saturates the nest. The mouthwatering scent pulls a tortured growl from my wolf.

“Holy shit. Why does it smell like she’s in heat?” The words come out on a strangled groan as I throw back my head and take another whiff. My cock hardens, and my alpha steps to the surface. It’s like her scent from the Jeep on the way here.

“Don’t wake her,” Dex grunts, his voice just as strained.

Her scent is so intense I leash my alpha with a chokehold, afraid to move in case I snap.

This scent-matching shit is wild.

Gage pops his head up on the far side of the nest. “It’s a hormone spike. It creates a frenzy.”

“What?” Dex asks at the same time I ask, “Like a heat?”

The healer sighs, sitting up and rubbing his hand through his dark waves before scratching his jaw with a yawn. “It’s sort of like a mini-heat. She didn’t have a successful heat her first time, and with her scent matches here, it’s pushing her body to correct that and initiate a bond by the next moon.”

“How do we fix it?” Dex says, lowering his voice as he looks at the sleeping omega on his chest.

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