Page 67 of The Pack Next Door
Go.
My legs were moving, blindly grabbing a bag down from the top of my cupboard and then shoving clothes into it. Whichones, for what reason, it didn’t seem to matter. The wolf made clear he was granting me a very big favour by even letting me bother to grab a single thing when our omega was down there, about to leave. My feet skidded across the floor when she went back inside to grab something else, and that had me dragging my bag after me as I barged into Mads’ room.
“Wha…?”
His hair was spiked up all over his head, his eyes blank and staring before he saw me. Bag, brother, dressed and ready to go, I could almost see him cataloguing each part of me and then put two and two together.
“Where?”
That came out of Mads as a growl.
“Briar is leaving.”
That was all it took to get him out of bed. Clothes were dragged on and he came stumbling after me, the two of us running downstairs and towards the front door.
Only to be intercepted by Gideon.
The freak had obviously been up early going for yet another run. Sweat prickled his brow and soaked his shirt, but he paid that little attention, staring at the two of us.
“Where are you going?”
“With Briar,” I said, squaring up, my hands held loosely by my sides. Ready to use violence if that was needed. His eyes narrowed in response. “So if you’ll excuse us…”
Gideon didn’t try to stop us, instead following the two of us outside. Briar had re-emerged, and when I saw she had another bag, I tossed mine to my brothers and then strode forward, picking it up by the handle as soon as I reached her side.
“Oh…” That pink flush in her cheeks was everything I didn’t know I needed. Her eyes went wide as she stared up at me, but only for a second. It felt like a hard mask replaced thatspontaneous response, right before she reached for her bag. “You don’t need?—”
“But I do.” I tried for something light hearted and cheeky and failed utterly. My omega was leaving without me and my wolf was kicking my arse for letting this get that far. “So where are we going?”
“We?” Briar tried to wrest the bag from my hands and failed. Hey, I might not be the brains of the outfit, but I was at least strong. “I’m going to see a supplier, see if I can make amends for what’s happening.”
“Road trip?” I went over to her car and deposited her suitcase in the boot. “Cool. I’ll drive and you can provide the tunes.”
“No. No, no, no.” She kept saying that as she followed me around to the driver’s side door. I poked my head in and saw it was a newer model with a press start. Cool, I’d have this baby humming in seconds. “I’m going and you’re going to stay here and win the town over.”
“Nah…” I settled against the door, ignoring her as she tried to wrench it open. “Can’t let you do that, omega.”
“Jace.”
“Briar.”
I took a step forward, my hand finding her cheek. That’s when all the noise in my head went suddenly quiet. The wolf didn’t want me focussing on a damn thing but her. That’s how I caught the fine tremor in her body as it came alive at my touch. That sweet, sweet, scent of roses filled my nose, now with a delicious vanilla accent. Gods, she was getting close to the peak of her heat. Days locked up rutting, that would be the only way she’d be satisfied, and there was no damn way she would be wandering the world without me by her side to see her through it.
“You’re getting close,” Mads announced, forcing Briar to spin around. “That’s a very vulnerable time.”
“Something I’ve been through before,” she snapped before wiggling her fingers. “All by myself.”
“Not like this.” If Mads and I had Briar sandwiched between us, Gideon cut off the last escape route. His hand darted out, paused, and then came to rest low on her pelvis. “We did this to you, so we need to help you with it.”
For a second, I thought our mate might give in. She didn’t want to, as evidenced by the stubborn set of her jaw, but her breath came in faster and faster the longer we stood here.
“Jizz in a cup.”
I let out an explosive snort at her response, unable to believe what I was hearing.
“That’s—” Mads started to say.
“Not how it works.” Gideon could be a cold bastard, so it was fun to see that mask crack. His wolf was staring right at her. “Fresh semen works because it tricks your hormones into thinking you were just mated. A specimen in a jar?” He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s dead, non-viable.”
