Page 6 of Bite of Spice

“Where did they all go?” I asked quietly.

Ren looked up, the biggest smile on his face. He was practically glowing. “I kicked them out. No! Don’t worry, I gaveeveryone food and grandma always opens the shop for a late-night coffee thing.”

“A late-night coffee thing?” Was he making that up to make me feel better for kicking everyone out?

Joel snorted, assuaging my fears with his next words. “Babe, it’s not like that. We noticed you getting tired but everyone usually leaves after dessert or takes it with them.”

Isaias guided me to the couch, taking up the same position I had directed earlier. He sat first and then pulled me between his legs so that my back was against his chest, his arms settled around the bottom curve of my belly. Ren dashed off to the kitchen after stuffing the rest of his pie into his mouth. Several minutes passed before he returned with four cups of hot chocolate, each with marshmallows and crusted sugar.

Joel swiped one, took a sip, and immediately gagged. “Ren, what the fuck is in this?”

He snorted, covering his mouth with his hand as he tried to keep in the giggles. “That one is Kieran’s.” Ren stole the cup back and handed it to me with a wide smile.

“Doesn’t answer my question, little Alpha,” Joel purred.

“They’re marshmallows. Cheesy ones.”

Isaias tensed behind me, “Where the fuck did you findcheesy marshmallows?” Our Alpha said it like it was an abomination. And it was. It was also a pregnancy craving and Ren was nothing if not accommodating. The combination was heavy on my tongue as I took a sip, my mates watching with a mixture of disgust and wonder.

Ren handed our Alpha his own cup, Isaias shifting me to the side so he could take a healthy swig of his before setting it down on an armrest one cushion over. “Kieran, would you like to put a movie on or something?” Frowning, I twisted toward him, munching on one of those marshmallows as it exploded in my mouth. Cheese, sugar, and chocolate. If I wasn’t pregnant, Iwould have gagged as well. “You’re about to crash, sweetheart. Something a little less stimulating is probably best.”

I didn’t want to watch a movie though. Thinking through my options, knowing that my mates wouldn’t let me do anything strenuous, I found something a little more interesting, something that would keep my mind off Michael. “I want to know how you guys met.”

Silence met my soft demand and then Isaias groaned, his head dipping so he could nip at my shoulder. He shifted beneath me, almost as if he was uncomfortable with telling me. “It’s just…” he started and then stopped. “We met at ranger school and that was that.”

Joel barked out a laugh, stealing my full attention. He drew Ren to his side, Ren’s wild smile as he covered it with his mug telling me that there was way more to the story. Our Beta grinned as he met my gaze. “It wasn’tjustthat. Isaias and Ren fucked like rabbits every time they thought no one was watching. God, watching Ren get stuck on Isaias’ knot…” Joel stuffed his face in the curve of Ren’s neck, taking a deep sniff of his scent. “I nearly busted a nut.

His words hit me all at once as I looked at Ren, sitting up just slightly. “Wait, Isaias knotted another Alpha?” In the realm of possibilities, that had never occurred to me. Ren had more than once brought up some of the moments he had shared with Isaias, including the closet of toys I still hadn’t seen. I knew our little Alpha was still healing but the way his eyes glittered as he spoke about the scenes told me how much he missed them.

Ren’s face warmed as he clung to his mug a little tighter. “Yeah… it… we used to.” He squirmed in his spot on the couch, making me remember that he wasstillwearing that butt plug. God, that had to be uncomfortable. “Is that-” His face contorted with a mixture of confusion and shame.

I set down my mug and opened my arms, Ren scooting close enough to snuggle up against my side. Isaias wrapped an arm around the both of us, Joel moving to set my feet on his lap, his thumbs immediately digging into the arch.

Once everyone was settled, I asked my next question. “How did it feel?” I was genuinely curious. Alphas and Betas weren’t meant to take a knot although I knew Joel had. I just hadn’t known Ren had done the same thingand loved it.

“Glorious,” he whispered.

Six

TERRENCE

Recounting how we met was an entire ordeal but watching Isaias hide his face in Kieran’s shoulder as I spoke was funny as shit. “I had been watching Isaias for a while. God, he smells amazing, right?” Kieran nodded and I continued. “But I basically followed him around like a puppy dog, which wasn’t too hard. He was my trainer.” It had been hilarious watching Isaias, this big Alpha, blush from my undivided attention.

At one point, he had tried avoiding me, going so far as to ask for a reassignment.

“I’m not that bad,” I whined to Isaias in front of one of the teachers. I was so damn close to throwing a temper tantrum but held back. Isaias’ jaw tightened as he took a deep breath and then left the office. I had no idea my constant attention would push him so far as to drop me. I was a damn good ranger and an even better study. “Hey! Wait up!”

Not to mention that we shared a room. He wouldn’t get far.

Just as I stepped over the threshold, I was flung against the wall, Isaias towering over me. “You don’t know when to fucking stop, little Alpha.”

My cheeks pinked at the nickname. He hadn’t ever called me that before, my entire body alive with anticipation of his next step. In the office, he was pissed. Here…

His lips smashed to mine before I could say anything and I melted into the wall, completely giving in. “Fuck, you taste better than I dreamed of.”

“You… you-” I stuttered through my words, unable to think. Isaias, the man of my dreams, had just fucking kissed me.

“Been thinking about these lips for a long time, little Alpha.” His thumb brushed across my bottom lip before I sucked it into my mouth, loving the way his eyes darkened. “I thought it was just a little crush but it seems that I can’t get rid of you.” He dipped his head lower until his lips were by my ear, “And I wouldn’t want to.”

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