Page 61 of Patiently Yours
We stand there for a few more moments before I hear another voice.
“Let’s get out of here.” I smell beautiful incense, refreshing and cleansing.
Uriah.
“You took care of him?” I hear Kendall ask but there’s no response so I’m guessing he gave a gesture. A nod? Probably. I can’t imagine Uriah winking.
I visualize that thought, picturing Uriah giving an exaggerated wink, and accidentally let a giggle loose through my lips before looking up at my alphas. “Are we going home?”
The softness of their expressions bleed into me. I can feel the love pouring from them, absorbing it through my skin. There’s another emotion there, too, but I can’t quite read it in this state.
“Yes, my love,” Uriah answers, pushing a piece of my hair behind my ear. The gesture makes me bite my lip, wishing they’d both put their hands on me and never take them off. “Let’s go home.”
THIRTY-TWO
Playing: Power Over Me by Dermot Kennedy
The black andblue of my knuckles burn beautifully. I admire and glare at them at the same time. There’s a mix of emotions going through me, but all I can think about is how wonderful it felt to finally be able to punch something,someone, that deserved it.
Stacia is watching the sky through the window the entire way home. The smile on her face is dazzling. Her happiness is almost contagious. Then I remember the cause of it and the artificial emotion doesn’t seem so enchanting anymore.
We play some of her favorite songs until we make it back to the house. She happily strolls alongside us as we make our way inside. Atlas and Ciro are sitting in the living room as we walk in, both in a state of restlessness.
Our pack beta lets out of a breath of relief. “Shit, you guys said there was an emergency?—”
“Stacia, would you like to make a couch nest with me?” Kendall interrupts, looking over at our beautiful blissed-out omega.
Her eyes widen in excitement before she claps her hands and steps side to side with little jumps. “Holy shit, yes! I’d love that.” She doesn’t wait for anyone before running over to the couch and pulling off an entire couch cushion. Atlas, who was sitting on said couch, stands up so she can do what she wants. He keeps his eyes on her, already knowing that there’s something different about our normally demure and timid scent match. Ciro’s got both eyebrows up to his hairline as he scopes out the situation.
“Let’s talk in the kitchen,” I say.
We all turn to the walk away before we hear a soft voice. “Will you be back?” We turn and I see the pure devastation on her face. She’s worried that we won’t stay with her, and the sight of it hits me right in the chest.
“We’ll be back. We’re getting some snacks. What would you like?” Atlas says, keeping his features schooled. He amazes me with it at the best of times.
It makes me proud to be a part of a pack with such a well-rounded prime.
“Strawberries! And oranges.” She looks at Ciro and winks, and it actually makes us all chuckle.
“You’ve got it, sweetheart,” he says before stepping away to let Kendall help our omega navigate the beautiful fort/nest that she’s currently building.
“So, what’s going on?” Ciro asks once we make our way into the kitchen.
Atlas begins to pull out the fruit we have in our fridge. There’s more options than she asked for, and he’s currently piling them neatly on a platter like a charcuterie board.
“Rory was right, she was at the party.”
The statement alone sounds ridiculous. We weren’t worried when Stacia’s best friend called and asked us to check the location she was at because she couldn’t get in touch with her. We thought we’d meet her there and enjoy the party with her likewe have before. Never in a million years did I think we’d come upon her in the situation she was in.
My blood still boils thinking about it.
I pick up my fist and show it to them. It’s becoming easier to see now, more apparent that it was used to cause some violence. I smirk looking at it, remembering the satisfying crunch of the loser’s nose.
“Some jerk was holding her against her will, gripping her from behind. I could smell her soured scent like a beacon.”
And god, did I fuckingrunto it.
Atlas stops assorting fruit to look back at me, finally seeing my knuckles. The look on his face is mixed. He looks pained, but also proud. “Thank you, Uriah,” he finally says, and the sentiment flies to my heart. “I’m guessing he’s pretty fucked up right now.”
