Page 60 of Where There's Smoke
All of us chatted until all the guys were ready and had to leave. I still didn’t like it, which felt ridiculous. They had to work. Hell, I needed to work on finding a new shelter and checking on the animals. Responsibilities didn’t disappear because I’d gone through a heat and wanted the pack around all the time. Which, again, was so weird.
I got kisses on the head from each of them, Fitz pairing his with a titty grab, and then they were off. I was left alone in my nest, and I snuggled deeper into it, anchoring myself with the scents still clinging to the fabric. It was a substitute, for sure, but at least I had their smells to keep me company.
Still, it was hard to deny how sad I was because they had to leave. I’d never felt like this before. Sure, it was the omega thing, but it was also the fact that I’d never dated long-term, never made a connection with someone—or someones—and wanted them around all the time.
God, you’re really an omega. And you’re dating a pack? Seriously?
What was my life going to be now that I had fully presented as an omega? Should I be dating this soon? Was that reckless or unheard of? Did I even want to?
But the idea of cutting ties with the pack or keeping things strictly platonic made my stomach revolt, churning against the emptiness. I still hadn’t eaten, but I couldn’t blame the nausea solely on that. It was the thought of being without Samson, Fitz, and Elliot. I was so connected to them now. They were…mine. Weren’t they?
God, is dating the first pack to see me through woefully naive? Am I nuts?
I rolled over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. I was in that tricky spot between being exhausted and needing to eat. Which one was I supposed to honor first? Grumbling to myself, I begrudgingly got out of the nest, pulling on one of Elliot’s shirts and a pair of leggings. I hurried to the kitchen, but nothing sounded good.
Nine thirty-five. I’ll need to feed Dotty.
Grabbing some of the formula and a jar of peanut butter with a spoon, I hurried back, finding Dotty already on her way to get me.
“Yup, I’ve got it right here, cutie.”
I mixed up the formula and fed Dotty in my lap as I munched on a few spoonfuls of peanut butter. Protein, sugar, fat. It’d last me until after I fell asleep, which was happening as soon as this little girl was full, because damn, I could barely keep my eyes open. Elliot had been right about the heat taking a lot out of me.
Dotty finished up, and I brought her with me to the nest so that we could both get some rest. The comforting aroma of the guys still clung to everything, especially Elliot’s shirt all aroundme. With something in my stomach now, it helped me to relax, my eyes naturally closing.
I’d get this nap in and then go from there. For a few hours, at least, I was going to reside in sleepy town. The rest of the world could wait, and hopefully, it would make the time until my boys got home go quicker.
Chapter 29
Elliot
I’d been completely wrong about Melody. How Ievercould have thought she was responsible for the fire baffled me. Sure, I’d had my reasons, but everything about her made it clear she would never be responsible for something like that.
It helped that I had looked up the insurance paperwork on the rescue during one of the breaks in her heat. I had felt wrong doing it, but I needed to know for my own peace of mind, so afterward, I had opened the file and looked through it. Sure enough, the insurance claim was tiny. The payout Melody was looking to receive would only rebuild maybe a third of the shelter.
Financially, the fire was a huge loss for her, so it didn’t make sense that she would have set it.
After the heat…well, everything was different. I was committed. She may not have been aware of that yet, but I was. Entirely.
I needed to return to the house for a few hours to get some jobs done, but I had been putting it off because I didn’t want to be away from Melody so soon after her heat. We hadn’t really discussed the arson accusation, but I knew we needed to. Shehad been so mad at me, and we were in a little post-heat bubble that was sure to pop sometime soon.
There was also the fact that Ihatedbeing away from her. I’d never been the most codependent of alphas, but there was something about her that called to me. Every time I went back to the house that she had never stepped foot in, the lack of her scent drove me insane.
Our relationship was still somewhat rocky after my accusations, but they had seemingly been forgotten during her heat. Or, at the very least, the tiny conversation we’d had about everything helped to ease that strain. I still needed to make it up to her, though. A heat was one thing. I needed to be there for her outside of it.
From the first moment I’d knotted her, I was a goner. Melody Smoke was mine, whether she knew it or not. Now I just need to convinceherof that. Fitz and Samson had no trouble spending time with her, wooing her. I, on the other hand, struggled with that sort of thing.
Okay, struggle is putting it mildly. I do not woo. I grump.
I wasn’t completely inept at romance, but I had spent so many years focused on my pack and my job that I hadn’t put much thought into it.
As a result, I was somewhat rusty. A lot rusty.
Waking up before everyone else, I spent an hour in the firehouse gym, running a few miles and working up a sweat before jumping in the shower.
“What on earth are you doing up so early?” Fitz said as he lumbered out of the bedroom to the kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee.
“I wanted to get a workout in.”
