Page 30 of The Pack Next Door
Jace’s voice was rough, his tone pitched so only I could hear him, but looking up into those blue eyes was a mistake. My lips parted, ready to tell him about the state I was in. But I couldn’t. He was not my alpha, not my mate.
So why did his pupils expand, the black swallowing the blue iris?
No, I wanted to say, right as I took his hand and slid it between my thighs to discover why. My hips tilted, almost able to feel the way it would be different. His finger would be thicker, more callused, and would hit me right where I needed it. As if able to read my mind, he moved closer until I could see every dot of reddish blond stubble, the small crease on his lip where the skin had dried hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, edging just a little closer, when the car was put in gear. I jerked back, pressing my skull against the headrest and forcing myself to stare at the windscreen.
The ride over to the nursery happened in a blur. I stared out the window, conscious that my old neighbourhood whizzed past, but only just. Because every breath I took sucked their scent deeper into my lungs, turning my body to fire. My hipsmoved slowly but surely, lifting up from the seat, the tension between my thighs glorious, right before settling back again.
I’d tell Mum there was an emergency at the warehouse. That thought was like a piece of paper blown into a firestorm, quickly burned up. That Candy had a fall… Nope, I couldn’t use the exact same accident Mum had had. My mind raced, but it wasn’t to come up with an excuse to let me scuttle out of town. Instead, my eyes slid sideways.
If I thought my state went unnoticed, I was wrong. Mads watched me with complete fascination, the tiniest of smiles on his face. I wanted to wipe that off, right before I replaced it with my cunt. He’d be a greedy one, I just knew it, drawing me down harder and eating me out with everything he had, not letting me hover for a second. And Jace? My head whipped around to find those blue eyes had turned to fire.
His hand rose, and I saw the faint tremor there, but what the hell was he doing? Getting ready to touch me, that’s what my heart hoped. But that shouldn’t happen. In class, my science teacher had said that alphas could only smell the scent of their fated mates to avoid indiscriminate matings. So there was no way?—
“Here we are!” My head whipped around to see Mum looking at me with a bright grin. “Let’s go and get some plants before it gets really hot.”
I wasn’t going to survive the summer. Sweat was already beading across my forehead, my armpits uncomfortably damp, despite the air conditioner. I had to move out of my childhood bedroom. I’d rent a room. No, a cabin, one with the coldest climate control and soundproof walls, far away from everyone else so I wouldn’t scare the neighbours as I rode out this heat. But that wasn’t the only part of me that felt far too moist. With effort, I plastered a smile on my face.
“Roses and snapdragons, right?”
As I scrambled out of the car, Jace took my hand. That twitch of his lips made it seem like he knew exactly what was going on, but that couldn’t be right. I was left wondering as he pulled me after him. His grip was firm, masterful, and most of all, had me wondering exactly what else he could force me to do.
Then I saw we had an audience.
There was a kind of anonymity that I liked very much about living in the city. I could’ve been doing something very strange on the street, and while people would look sideways, they wouldn’t report back to the friends and family, the news spreading through the entire town by evening. That knowledge and the eyes of the other people keen to buy plants in the early morning had me jerking my hand free of Jace’s.
“Briar—” he started to say, only for dimples to appear in his cheeks as he smiled.
“Mum, I’m just gonna…”
I didn’t bother to ask for permission or clarify, just marching on down an aisle. Brightly coloured flowers and small shrubs and trees were the only witness to my cheeks burning bright red. I had to call Candy. There had to be something, anything, to get me through this. I’d be their first shifter test subject if that helped. My hands shook as I tried to grab my phone out, only for Jace to appear before me.
“Briar—”
“Gotta make a call.” I pointed to the phone, as if he hadn’t already seen it, taking everything in with those keen eyes. “Work emergency.”
“Whatever you need, Briar.”
That was a sweet enough response, but that step forward, right into my space was not. His shadow should’ve given me some relief from the fierce sun rays, but instead, the darkness felt close and still. It took me two tries, but I finally tapped on Candy’s contact.
The phone buzzed and buzzed, and that’s when I realised what was happening. She’d be face down in the sheets right now after a late night bender, no doubt with several companions.
“It’s Candy,” the voicemail said. “Leave a message on the beep.”
My eyes flicked up, seeing Jace standing over me, his breathing coming in harder and faster than usual, and I knew there was no damn way I was leaving a message about going into heat.
“Hey, it’s Briar. Just…” One eyebrow cocked up and Jace grinned, as if he knew exactly what was going on. “Gimme a call when you get this.” Ending the call and shoving the phone into my pocket, I straightened up and faced him down. “Let’s go and look for some plants.” I peered past his shoulder. “Pretty sure the lavenders are over there.”
With a quick movement I got around him, but as I drew abreast, a hand landed on the small of my back, forcing me to jolt. People looked up as we passed, focussing on that small gesture.
“Look, I’m not sure how they do things in Glen Hallow,” I muttered, low enough that only he could hear. “But here people talk.”
“And what would they say, Briar?” he asked, his thumb drawing small circles on my skin.
I swallowed, my mouth filling with saliva, even as I felt the pulse start up between my thighs. That was enough to have me whirling around to face him, pulling his hand free.
“They’ll assume that you’re courting me. People will think I’m your omega…” My voice broke on that, but I shook my head, forcing myself to forge on. “That you’re my alphas.” He was about to say something, but I didn’t want smirks, flirty asides, or anything else. If they were serious about becoming alphas of this town, then they needed to face facts. “And trust me, if you wantto become the ruling pack, nothing will get Omega Hart angrier than some alpha that trifled with another omega.”
“I know exactly what I want,” he said, taking a step closer.
