I frowned slightly, thinking of the wolf running in my dreams, but then said, “Would it make a difference?”
I could almost feel him smiling into my back, his arm tightening around my waist.
“Only if you want to make things more interesting.”
So we adjournedto the lounge room, but as we went that way, Blake snatched me away from Fen, dropping down onto the couch and bringing me with him. His brother’s eyes narrowed right up until I curled up against Blake’s side. He was so damn big, I kinda wanted to burrow down into one small corner of his body and hide because the others, they all took their seats on the floor or on the lounges and stared at me.
“An alpha’s job is to help his mate through the transition until she accepts his bond,” Fen said, trying to keep shit educational. “He might know she’s the one, but she…” Those green eyes fixed on mine. “Often, she needs some time to get there.” He grinned then, teeth too white against his tanned skin. “That’s all part of the chase. We help her manage what she’s going through, and then…”
“Then she admits what she knows is true,” Colt said. “That she’s ours as much as we are hers.”
“But that’s the emotional side of things. Right now, we’re focussed on the physical. Obviously, you know about the cascade of events that happened when your body went through puberty.”
“Yeah…” I replied.
“In some ways, this is like an extension of that. I can’t tell you the science of why this happens. Maybe you will be able to.”
Oh Fen, you wily dog, dangling that lure in front of me.
“But you are going through a sensitisation process.” My arms moved at that, feeling my nipples boring through the T-shirt I’d picked up off the floor, the cotton abrading them in a way just enough to make me oh so aware of them. “You’ll pick up our scents more.” I moved then, looking back at Blake, who gazed down at me with amusement. I took a reflexive breath in and caught a lungful of his woody scent. “But what we’re worried about is what’s happening here.”
He moved then, sliding a hand under my shirt and placing it over my pelvis. I let out a little gasp at the flare of heat that came as a result. Blake’s arm went around my waist, and that just added to the heat, my lungs stuttering as I fought to take a full breath.
“You are opening for us.” He moved his hand in a small circle now. “Your cunt, your womb, your hips, your whole pelvic region. When your heat hits, you’ll want us deep, hard, and everywhere we’ll fit.”
My eyes flicked open then without me realising I’d closed them, and I studied his face. Those green depths bore into mine, willing me to understand.
“Everywhere?”
In my mind, I had a stereotypical view of an omega—on all fours and begging for alpha cock, or at least that was how it was shown in porn. And they’d give them to her, in her mouth, in her cunt, in her…
“Dude, I cannot take your dicks up my arse.”
The guys all spluttered at that.
“Well, if you want some help preparing—” Haze started to say.
“Shut up, Haze,” Colt said before turning to me. “No one’s putting anything anywhere without your permission.” His eyes shone then as he straightened up. “People don’t get what being an alpha is really like. It’s not about barking at people and forcing them to carry out your will. At its heart, it’s about caring for people.”
He shook his head, then looked down at his hands.
“When we took over Bordertown, that’s what we tried to do, the same as our parents. Keep the community going, maintain peace and harmony, solve problems, settle disputes. We did that for them, and that’s what we’ll do for you.” He stared at me now. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do—care for you and make you happy, give you everything you need. Now, that’s what’s going to happen.”
“And what, make me Beta Vanguard?”
My voice was small, scared that they’d say yes, but equally scared that they’d say no.
“You don’t get it.” Colt’s voice got sharper, harder, like he couldn’t believe we were having this conversation again. “We looked after everyone else as best we could, continued the Vanguard legacy like everyone wanted, until we couldn’t anymore…”
“There will be a dominance fight at the end of the month,” Ryan said, his lips a thin line. “We haven’t rented this house. We bought it. If the dads want Vanguards to continue to rule in town, they’ll have to jump in, because we won’t.”
“We’re done.” Blake’s voice had me turning in his arms to face him, and he ran his fingers down the side of my face when I did. “We tried to be what they wanted us to be, and now we’re done trying. Are you done trying, Riley?”
You had to guess at what that meant, which was totally Blake. He used the least number of words possible, and the ones he did use made you think. What could I be done trying to do? Trying to be the best possible beta? Trying to contribute to science? Or was it something else? Trying to be what my parents and their parents had told me to be—their friend, then not even that, shoved to one side the minute they shifted. Given the means to build an impressive life, the Vanguards had definitely helped me with that, but the message was clear. You are done in this town, done with the boys, done…
“You mean am I done trying to keep away from you?” I asked, but I knew the answer.
“Are you done trying not to be what you are? You are brilliant, beautiful, strong, but, Riley, you’re also ours.”