Page 83 of Follow Your Instincts

Ben was sitting next to me. I was so aware of his proximity that it was almost painful. The inches separating his leg from mine felt too close and too far, all at once. I hadn’t looked him in the eye since our conversation in the kitchen. It was humbling to have two people in my life with the ability to reduce me to a blushing idiot. At least with Maggie, I knew she was somewhat interested in me, too.

“Do I need to report myself to pack HR?” Ben whispered, leaning towards me.

“What?” I said, confused enough to forget I wasn’t supposed to be looking at him. I turned, and his lips wereright there. I wrapped my hands more firmly in Maggie’s curls, and she sighed in her sleep.

“I am sorry about earlier. If it made you uncomfortable. I just feel like I sexually harassed you and I don’t know how to fix it,” He whispered awkwardly.

“You sexually harass everyone,” I said. “You didn’t… we don’t have to talk about it. I’m not upset.”

“Yeah, that’s convincing,” He said sarcastically.

“Ben,” I said, turning to look at him again. His eyes were sad, and there was a line between his brows that I wanted to smooth away. “You didn’t upset me. I promise. If you had, I would tell you because you’re my pack.” I tried to smile. “So please do not call HR.”

“Promise?” Ben asked. “You know I won’t cross any more lines if it bothers you. I’m not that kind of person… right?”

The doubt in his voice sent a pang through my heart. Impulsively, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, interlocking our fingers. “I promise. And no, you’re not that kind of person.” Before I let myself think too hard, I planted a quick kiss on theback of his hand before releasing it.

“Love you too, Lach,” Ben whispered. Then he settled back into the couch, leaving me to try not to read too much into those words.

Chapter 32

Maggie

The next day, I spent the morning obsessively practicing what I would say during the hearing. I went over the bare facts of the encounter with Todd in the locker room over and over, trying to make sure I could repeat what happened without too much emotion. Judges didn’t tend to respond well to emotion, particularly from officers.

As I recited the events of the attack in my head, I felt a wave of panic and terror wash over me. I was sitting in the library by myself, and suddenly I felt like I was right back there, fighting for my life against an Alpha with twice my strength. My throat closed up, as if Todd was choking me again, and I swore I could smell that twisted sweet orange scent.

The door to the library opened, and I scrambled away from the door, convinced it was Todd there to attack me again. When Lucas saw me gasping and crying, pushing myself backwards across the floor into the far corner, he put his hands up in front of him, palms out to show he wasn’t a threat. He crouched down to the floor but kept his distance.

“Maggie, you’re okay,” he said softly. “You’re safe. You’re safe.”

I was hyperventilating. Logically, I knew Lucas would never hurt me, but that kernel of Omega in my brain could only see ahuge, tall Alpha and wanted to runaway.

“Take a deep breath, sugar. Try and exhale all the way, slow,” he said in his deep, calm voice. I tried to fill my lungs and got a hit of his spiced molasses scent. I breathed out as slowly as I could, trying to delay the next desperate inhale. With each breath, I got more of his scent, and he slowly moved across the room in a crouch. He kept his hands up, looking me right in the eye, and started purring. Once he was close enough, he held his wrist out to me. I grabbed his hand and pressed my nose to his wrist. A calming dose of his scent pulled me under like a tide, and I threw myself into his arms, sobbing now.

“Shhhh, you’re okay, Maggie. I’ve got you,” he rumbled, still purring. He gathered me up until I was straddling his lap, my face buried in his neck, still taking huge lungfuls of his scent. It was like laughing gas or something, calming my nervous system until I was no longer in a panic.

“Is she okay?” I heard Lachlan ask from the door. I peered over Lucas’s shoulder at him and nodded.

“M’okay,” I mumbled. “Panic attack, I think.”

Lachlan came slowly into the room and sat beside Lucas. He ran his hand slowly across my hair and down my back, over and over. His purr joined Lucas’s, and his whiskey scent made me feel even more relaxed until I felt like I could fall asleep. I enjoyed the feeling for a few moments until I started to feel guilty for keeping them their days.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m feeling a lot better.”

“Are you sure?” Lachlan asked.

I turned to meet his intense green eyes and nodded. “Lucas got here really fast once it started.”

“I smelled your stress from the kitchen,” Lucas said. “Your scent got all twisted up, and I knew something was wrong.”

Lachlan nodded. “He beat me here, but I could tell you were terrified.”

“Thank you,” I repeated. “But I’m okay now, I promise. You guys can go back to what you were doing.”

They both looked at me like I had three heads. “We’re notleaving you alone here,” Lachlan growled. “Do you know what caused it?”

I didn’t want to tell him that it was about Todd’s attack since I had been so adamant that the hearing wouldn’t faze me. But I couldn’t think of a convincing lie, and I knew Lachlan wouldn’t let it rest. “I was… rehearsing my testimony for tomorrow.”

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