Page 30 of The Alpha: Part Two
Michael holds his gaze for a long moment, then says, “I want to know what you think. You’re right, we weren’t there. You’d know if he was telling the truth or not.”
Seth scrubs his hands down his face and neck, visibly uncomfortable. “I think Devon would feel better if they were watching the house, but he wouldn’t have mentionednotwatching the house if he didn’t believe Lopez was telling the truth. I trust Devon. He would never say anything out loud that would put Desir’ee at risk.” He blows out a breath and rubs at his neck again. “Lopez didn’t lie about wanting to change things. He didn’t lie about helping Desir’ee with Flores. He was sad, but he wasn’t lying.”
“Okay,” Michael says, “we’ll be fine. If you–” he stops abruptly when the bathroom door opens and the aroma of soap, steam, and Desie flows down the hall.
She walks into the living room barefoot, wearing one of Michael’s hoodies and the ugliest flannel pajama pants she owns. She stops as soon as she sees us and it’s one of those cheesy movie moments where it seems like time is standing still. Then she rushes toward us and Michael and I wall her in between us when her body crashes into mine.
For a minute, all I can do is breathe her in while she clutches at me and Michael. Her hair is soaking all of us. She’s got an arm wrapped around my neck and her nails buried in my shoulder. Her other arm is looped backwards around Michael’s neck, pulling him face-first into her wet hair. It’s the best thing I’ve ever felt in my life.
The brief look I had of her face was really only long enough for me to register that she was really there, I didn’t think to check the wounds on her mouth or the bruising Seth told us about. “Hey,” I say, trying to urge her face upwards, “let me see.”
She shakes her head, burrowing into my chest. “Not yet.”
From my peripheral, I watch Seth take a step back. Away from us. He catches my eye and the look on his face guts me. He saved us so we could be together again, but he’s pulling away. He thinks he’s separate. He holds my gaze, his mouth set in a grim line, and he takes another step toward the guy who drove the van.
“Seth Pratchett,” Desie sniffs, her voice clear despite being muffled between Michael and me. “If you take another step away from us I’m going to get the wooden spoon. Come here.”
He has the good sense to stop where he is. “I just didn’t want to…”
“Didn’t want to what, Seth?” Desie asks sharply. “Intrude? Get in the way? Come here.” She wriggles around between the cocoon Michael and I have created around her and stretches out her hand, reaching for him.
He doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t argue, either; and he slowly comes to us. When he’s close enough, Desie grasps his shirt and jerks him against us with enough force that I grunt. It’s very obvious that he doesn't know what to do with his arms, but Michael wraps one arm around his shoulders and Seth allows himself to be included in the pile-up. This is very close to perfect. Our combined scents cloud protectively around us and I close my eyes to savor it.
Someone quietly says they’ll check in later and I feel Seth nod.
When I open my eyes again, Seth's people have somehow managed to leave the house without me realizing it. To be fair, though, the moment Desie opened the bathroom door nothing else really mattered. I cup the back of her head and urge her to look at me "Baby, let me see your mouth. Seth said you got hurt, I need to see. Everyone else is gone, it's just us now."
She tilts her head back and I suck in a breath. When he said bruising, I thought he meant maybe her arm. I didn't think it would be the entire space between her bottom lip and her chin. I didn't think there would be varying shades of yellow and green ringing her neck. And the swelling of her mouth. Fuck.
"I'm okay, Ben," she whispers. "I'm okay. I am. I'll be better in no time."
"Which one of them did it?" Michael asks, his voice a quiet threat. He hasn't seen the damage, just my reaction to it.
"Flores," Desie answers. "He'll suffer for it. I'm going to make him suffer for everything."
The fuck she is. She's not going anywhere near him ever again. She's right though, he's going to suffer.
"The last time I saw you, those guys were kicking you. They were all around you after Michael knocked you out. I thought they were going to kill you. Then Flores broke the remote control and I couldn't stand it. We're okay now, though. We're okay." She leans against me again, pressing her forehead into my sternum, and my breath catches as I realize I can feel her worry and sadness in our bond. I missed feeling her inside me so much that the relief of finally being able to feel her again is dizzying. There are a hundred questions spinning in my head about what she just told me, but I'll ask them later.
"We're okay," I say instead. "We're okay." I bend down and swing her up into my arms. Suddenly, the only place I want to be is in our bed, in our room. I want to look at every inch of her and kiss every cruel mark those bastards put on her, no matter how small. I need to feel her against me. I need to see her surrounded by our pack and happy more than I need my next breath.
I look over Desie's head at my brother's sour expression and nod my head toward the hall, then I look back at Seth. His expression is even more grim than Michael’s, but he follows us down the hall without needing to be pushed; which is a very good thing because Desie is going to need all three of us.
Chapter nineteen
Desie
It doesn't seem real. A few hours ago, I was fighting for my life; now I'm lying in my own bed sandwiched between Michael and Ben while Seth sits on the bed at our feet. I have them back. All three of them. I can smell them, and the bonds I have with the twins have flared back to life. I don't have a bond with Seth yet, but I will soon. Just having him near and close is good enough for now.
"I want to kiss you," Michael says, brushing his lips against my temple, "but I don't think I can do it without being too rough." He traces my swollen bottom lip with his fingertip, his touch barely there.
"It'll be worth it," I tell him, "and I might die if you don't."
"I don't know about that, but…" he hums and presses his lips against mine so carefully that my heart breaks a little.
Ben turns me towards him so he can give me an equally tender kiss, and Michael takes the opportunity to bury his nose into my neck. He pushes his hand under the hoodie I'm wearing and growls when he finds that I'm not wearing anything underneath.
"If it's too soon, we can stop," Ben murmurs against my lips.
