The Light in Us

21. Fox

21

Fox

I force my steps to remain even as I step away from my scent-matched mate.

Zeke hovers in the doorway, the look on his face as if he’s been smacked with something heavy as he breathes deeply, watching Fallon.

But there’s concern on his face too. She coughs again as I nudge her to take a seat. “Let me get you a drink.”

I have to stay in control. The demand pushes at me, urging me to go to her. To scent-mark her, to bite—

Fuck. I spin away and move over to the bar that sits in the corner. Rowan catches my eye, amusement and a little worry there. He stays back, leaning against the far wall.

Her voice is small, but hoarse. Is she getting sick? “You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to.” I don’t mean to, but the slightest edge of a growl slips out.

I want to take care of her. Because I can feel the concern in Zeke’s eyes reflecting back at me from my whole pack.

Something is wrong . From the deep circles beneath Fallon’s eyes, to the shabby dress she’s wearing, even her bare arms on a cold day. And she’s trembling, a vibration in her muscles that might not be obvious to anyone else but feels like a fucking red flag that has me gripping the edge of the bar.

Her perfume flickers and peaks as I take a breath and turn back to her with a bottle of water in my hands. I let it soak into me, soothing the jagged edges of my temper. “Would you like a coffee?”

A tremulous smile. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Absolutely not,” Teddy declares. He throws himself down beside Fallon, and my body tightens in very unwelcome places at the sight of them both, so close together. “We’ll both have a coffee. Usual for me – Fallon, you want a vanilla latte? That’s what you had yesterday, right? Or you can have something else. We have a fancy-ass coffee machine that Wilder treats like his first-born child, so we can do whatever you want.”

She hesitates, but then she nods. “That sounds lovely, thank you.”

Don’t thank me.

I catch the growl before it slips free. The concept of being thanked by my mate for something so basic – or for anything at all – rubs me the wrong way.

A warm hand grips my shoulder. “Go do the coffee. I’ll stay with Teddy and Fallon, okay?”

“Good plan,” Teddy eyes me, his eyes tightening at the corners. As if he can sense how close to the edge I am. “No pesky alphas allowed for this interview.”

My head jerks into a nod before I stride out of the room without another word. Zeke falls into step beside me as we head to the meeting room.

He staggers as soon as I close the door. “Fox – holy fuck .”

“I know,” I rasp. Slowly, I sink into the first chair I reach. “She’s—,”

“Perfect.” Zeke sounds dazed. Awed, even. “She’s perfect.”

I can almost feel the dynamics of our pack shifting, small tugs in my chest as the bonds rearrange themselves. Making space for Fallon, although she doesn’t wear a bite mark, the bond not fully complete.

Yet.

It won’t be long. I don’t know how long I can keep this up. Being around her for any length of time without biting her, without caring for her in the way a mate needs to – it’s going to drive me insane.

I groan, swiping my hands over my face. “Wilder’s going to lose his mind .”

There’s no getting away from it. If it’s hitting both Zeke and I this hard, then the most unbalanced alpha in our pack is going to go full-on feral the first time he scents her.

And I don’t blame him at all. My mate’s perfume still lingers, the sweetest scent with a little musk that makes my fucking mouth water as I stand and move to the coffee machine.

Even that small motion soothes me as I make the coffees. Zeke joins me, making a green tea for Rowan that we carry between us back to Teddy’s office and knock.

Caring for my mate. For my omegas – both of them, never mind that Teddy isn’t my destined scent-match. Rowan, too.

They’re going to be trouble, the three of them. I know it.

My suspicions are confirmed in the gleam of Teddy’s eyes as he opens the door and grabs the coffees from me.

His smile is as sugary-sweet as his scent. “Sorry. No hunky alphas allowed for a minute. Top-secret omega and beta discussions happening in here. Come back later.”

He winks.

And then he slams the door in my face .

Zeke and I stare at the closed door for several long seconds. Zeke places his large hand on my shoulder. “He probably asked for a reason, Fox. We should give them some space.”

But he still enjoyed every second of ordering me out of his office. Little shit.

Finally, I sigh. “We’ll call Wilder. Work on a plan.”

Neither of us move.

“Over there,” Zeke says finally, pointing. I nod in agreement.

Where we can see the door.