Page 126 of Lost
“Therapy,” I muse. Her panic attacks are scary, the way I’ve seen her disassociate when she’s upset also makes my blood go cold. Hollis would scoff at the idea of therapy, but the twins are two different people. “Okay, I’ll bite. Who? There are a lot of assholes in this city that pretend to be head shrinkers.”
“Maybe we can start with not calling them that,” Tyde winces. “Psychologists, therapists, etc will do just fine. You’re right, though. There are a lot of people who don’t understand how to treat omegas. The practice is littered with bigoted quacks. I’m looking for someone who won’t be like that. I have a line on a therapist now, but want to speak to her before I tell Nova.”
“So she won’t do more harm than good,” I grumble.
“Correct. I just wanted to see where your head was at about this flirtation as you said.”
“I’m open to it. I won’t lie and say that you’re not attractive, Tyde,” I murmur. We’re far enough back that we aren’t keeping anyone from listening to the guide, helping me relax as we have this conversation. “I may have the background of someone who isn’t flexible and understanding, and my track record sucks, but I want to see where this goes. I don’t have experience here.”
“I don’t either, not in an actual relationship,” he says. “I used to fuck around a lot in college and then stopped cold turkey. I didn’t like how much of a distraction it was, and it really was just sex before.”
“Lars and I would scratch an itch here and there, but it wasn’t ever serious,” I shrug. “There are a lot of people who would be jealous of our friendship with Hollis. She’s important to us in a very platonic way. I hate that Nova didn’t have anyone there for her like that.”
“She’s been alone for too damn long,” Tyde grumbles. “Do you know she talks to herself? I think it’s adorable. It’s not just a matter of pulling her back into society, but more about helping her understand that we’re not going to disappear.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say firmly. “If we’re courting as a pack, then that’s what we’re doing. Nova deserves to be spoiled and adored. I’m not above saying that you also prefer your own company.”
“That’s not only because I despise people outside of a professional sense,” he grinds out.
“Most don’t know their asses from their assholes,” I murmur, enjoying the way he chokes out a laugh. Surprising him is fun.
The two of us move closer to my brother and Nova, which means that when she turns to find us, we’re right behind her.
“You good?” I ask, loving her smile as she nods.
Once we finish the tour, we hang out a bit until swing dance lessons begin.
Tugging Nova toward me, I watch as she drops her head back a bit to look at me.
“Hi,” she murmurs, making me smile.
“Hi yourself,” I say, my arms wrapping around her. “Are you having fun?”
“I am, the caves were really cool, and I love getting to see you guys,” she murmurs.
My hands squeeze her hips gently, memories of her moans making me breathe her scent in. It’s as if it’s all around me, allowing me to drown in it.
“I’m glad,” I murmur. “Your eyes were so big while you were walking through the caves. I love watching you experience things. Do you have any idea how much I watch you?”
Nova bites her lip, thinking. Reaching up, I save her from mangling it.
“I notice you staring at me sometimes,” she admits. “I thought you were glaring, especially when we were at Pack Hayes’ house.”
“I was worried about you and Hollis,” I admit. “I tend to glare when I’m worried. The more I found out about your childhood and past, the worse my worry. I’m shit at talking about my feelings.”
“I can tell,” she murmurs, her lips twitching. “The universe gave me three alphas who have a difficult time with words.”
“Words I have,” I grunt. “For example, I learned how to ballroom dance because of Hollis. Her, well your, parents wanted her to be a well rounded lady. Your sister fucking hated that. There was nothing more obnoxious to her than that idea. Part of that training was dancing. In an effort to stave off your parents from finding guys to practice with her, Lars and I took one for the team. There was no fucking way either of us were going to let stuck up meat headed alphas drool on your sister.”
“Yes it was that bad,” Lars adds next to us. “Your parents wanted to marry her off to a wealthy pack. She presented as an omega at around fifteen/sixteen, but I always thought she would be. Her mannerisms clued me in. Anyway, Caleb and I heard how much she hated the idea of an arranged marriage. Annabelle and Paul would have used the closeness that’s involved in dancing to foster a marriage.”
“Ew,” Nova says, looking appalled. I mean, that word pretty much sums things up nicely. “That’s awful.”
“It is. I think at one point, my father was worried that your parents were going to set Hollis up with Lars and I,” I say, rolling my eyes. “We’ve covered for each other at times and flirted in public so we can keep people away when we go out, but it wasn’t real. It’s as normal as breathing for us to protect your sister because we’ve been doing it for so long. Her pack showedtheir asses when they first met Hollis, so we made them very uncomfortable.”
“We pretended she was taken,” Lars snorts. “Hollis was losing her shit and needed space from them. They also deserved it for telling her she was an alpha pimp for omegas.”
“Pack Ledger said that?” Nova asks, jaw dropping.
