Absolute Devotion (An Omega’s Preference #3)

10. Xylo

ten

XYLO

None of us can concentrate with her scent filling the entire house, our Omega’s cries of pleasure making it hard to stay put. She isn’t ready for all four of us but I wish I could at least watch her fall apart at my brother’s hands. When Zahria visibly relaxes at my side, a warm smile plastered on her face, I know that Nala will be okay.

She’s in tune with our Omega in a way that Bear and I might never be but I’m not jealous, just grateful that we can care for her in the way she needs. A rumbling purr of satisfaction comes from my right, Montgomery pushing off the counter to lean across the kitchen island. He looks perfectly content and way more in control than I am.

“Both of you take a seat,” he grumbles. The command isn’t forceful but I find myself obeying anyways, realizing that Montgomery isn’t just another Alpha. The power he emanates truly is next level. “As much as I wanted this story to be wholly hers, her impending heat makes that impossible. I don’t know how much she’ll be willing to share but it’s important. Do either of you know anything about her time at the academy?”

I shake my head. “Nothing other than a few whispers about it. I know she wasn’t happy to be there.” Angsty young Alphas and a powerful scent like that spell trouble. I can only imagine the horrors she experienced during those years, terrified and thinking she was alone. Without knowing where her brother was, Nala only had herself.

Zahria leans into my side, waiting for Montgomery to elaborate as I reach down to adjust myself. If this is what we’re looking forward to, it’s going to be a chaotic couple of days during her heat. Montgomery snorts at the gesture before continuing. “I don’t know much of anything that happened there but I do know she was cornered more than once when her scent thickened like this. I knew her before the patches so it wasn’t something she could control.”

A growl tears from my throat but one look from Montgomery keeps me in my seat. “She was attacked?”

“Not physically. Intimidated, definitely. I caught her against one of the buildings, a few Alphas trying to coerce her into a night. It was all I could do not to rip their heads from their limbs. A quick flash of my badge had them scurrying off but then there she was, Nala, curled up in a little ball, crying out for help.” The pain in his eyes tells me there’s more to that story but I don’t press for it. Some things don’t have to be spelled out. “I brought her back with me, made sure she was comfortable. Gave her everything I could think of, knowing that she was mine. She wasn’t ready to hear that then. She took off in the morning. Told me that if it was meant to be, it would be.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you go after her?”

“Because Nala was—is—more than my mate. She’s a woman with her own choices and desires and I wasn’t going to stuff my idea of biology down her throat. Not to mention she’s nearly 10 years my junior and I suppose I told myself that it wouldn’t have worked anyway. Don’t give me that shit. We’re all ten years her senior.”

Zahria chuckles as she pushes from her seat, rounding the counter to start cleaning. “She’s been waiting for us all to pounce like everyone else had. And when we didn’t, that didn’t mean we were safe. It just meant the inevitable was in the future. We’re fighting a demon we can’t even see.” Her shoulders fall as she shoves a few plates into the dishwasher. “How do you prove to a woman that you won’t fail her when everyone else in her world has?”

“Patience,” I push out, glancing down the hallway. “You can’t prove anything to someone who doesn’t trust you. Our Omega is learning that we aren’t everyone else but it’s one step at a time. We have to work at her pace, regardless of the biological timeline.”

Montgomery nods, clapping his hand on the kitchen island before straightening up. “She needs a nest, though. I refuse to let her spend her heat in the corner of the room on these scratchy rugs. I might like the idea of marking my mate but rug burn isn’t on that list.”

We all share a chuckle as we start helping Zahria, my thoughts moving to a future that includes Nala in it—where all five of us somehow work together. Montgomery wasn’t part of my plan but I can see that he adds to the dynamic, rather than taking away from it. Bear and I are stubborn and headstrong. Zahria is as independent as they come but Montgomery, even only knowing him a few hours, has kept everything under control.

I’m not sure how this morning would have played out if Montgomery wasn’t here and Nala had stumbled out here in a panic. We would have danced around the issue, trying to make her comfortable while also giving her space. It would have been a disaster.

Maybe this can work.

And if she accepted my brother, it’s only a matter of time before she’ll accept the rest of us.