Page 6 of Luna

“He’s okay,” I wheezed. I wanted Quinn to keep talking, it was helping me focus on staying present.

Blood pounded in my ears. I needed to focus, or I was going to pass out. I grabbed Colton’s arm and tucked myself under it. I didn’t ask; I didn’t let my normal shyness stop me. I just knew what I needed. He held me tight against him as he pushed through one of the closed conference room doors where the lights were barely lit. It was empty and quiet, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

My knees wobbled, and I sat down against the wall. I pulled Colton and Quinn to sit down next to me, and the pressure of their bodies sandwiching mine released some of the feeling of pressing doom in my head.

Still clammy and feeling like I’d run a hundred miles, I closed my eyes and laid my head on Colton’s shoulder. Their scents of fresh rain and eucalyptus wafted around me, and tension melted from my muscles. For a while I just focused on the dark, cool room, and the scent of them on either side of me.

“I’m sorry. Panic attack.”

I was still shaky, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Colton stood up and grabbed some bottled water and prepackaged crackers off one of the long tables lining the wall next to us.

He opened the bottled water and handed it to me. “Small sips.”

Quinn patted my hand. “I don’t get panic attacks, but I get anxiety especially if I have to do a big presentation at work.”

I took his hand in mine. His fingers were long and tapered. “Do you have to present often?”

“When I was going for my Ph.D.” Quinn squeezed my hand. “I thought I was having a heart attack every week.”

I didn’t know them that well, but they made me feel safe. Protected. “You have your doctorate?”

“He’s going for his second,” Colton said with unmistakable pride. He leaned his head against mine, and I sighed.

Attraction was one thing, but this comfort was nice. I took another sip from the bottle of water.

“You want some food?” Colton gestured with one of the peanut butter crackers he’d grabbed from the table. “Your blood sugar is probably low.”

I shook my head. “My stomach gets too tied up for me to eat.”

“If I said something to upset you…” Quinn paused. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to go backstage.”

“It wasn’t you.” I sighed. “I drove here yesterday, and then didn’t sleep well last night. I was out in the sun the whole day and then watched a show in a crowded space. It was all just too much.”

“Okay.” He seemed relieved.

“I ruined everything.” I couldn’t look at either of them. Once again, my brain had sabotaged me from doing things normal people thought nothing about.

I was finally attracted to an alpha and beta. Naturally my brain’s response was to hit the abort button.

“You didn’t ruin a single thing.” Colton’s voice was firm. His thumb brushed the back of my hand, and a wave of comfort washed over me. “Sometimes it’s nice to sit and just…be.”

“I’m not much for crowds either,” Quinn said. “I like my space.”

I rubbed my cheek against Colton’s soft cotton shirt, reveling in his rainstorm scent. If I could bottle it up, I could use it as smelling salts any time I got overwhelmed.

I froze. Colton and Quinn were bonded. Which meant somewhere, an omega was gonna be furious when they came home smelling like me.

“I’m so sorry.” I jerked my head up. “Your omega will be so upset when you get home.”

Colton chuckled. “We don’t have an omega, Luna. No one is gonna be mad about me smelling like you.”

“I like how you smell,” Quinn’s voice was soft, like he was waiting for me to rebuke him. “Like raspberries and cream.”

Colton grumbled, and his scent grew stronger. “Like damn dessert.”

Warmth curled through me. It cut through some of the brain fog that always came on the heels of a panic attack.

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