Page 8 of Scent of Sanctuary
Callum’s laugh breaks through my thoughts. “Fi, you’re as real as it gets. We stay because we want you. All of you. Mess and all.”
I wring my hands in front of me, glancing between the three of them before saying yes to their help. I’m going to be selfish a little longer. And then when I sedate myself for my heat, they’ll know that this isn’t a viable solution, that being with me means having a defective Omega.
Lyle
Angerburnsinmychest as I stand in Seraphina’s bedroom doorway, staring at the wreckage of her nest. Seeing that she destroyed the one place she calls safe guts me but what’s worse is knowingwhy.Knowing that she’s locked herself in this house for years because of the fear of the past repeating itself makes me want to wring that Alpha’s neck should I ever find him. An Alpha making an Omega think her scent was a curse rather than a blessing doesn’t deserve to live.
Callum lets out a low growl as his gray eyes meet mine, a harsh warning to pull it together. I follow his gaze to Seraphina trembling a few feet from me, her wide, glassy eyes cutting straight through me.Fuck. I force my fists to unclench, but that doesn’t stop my thoughts from continuing to race, to form plans, to figure out where we go from here.
What the hell happened all those years ago? Why didn’t Felix ever say anything? He never hinted at any of this. Then again, if Felix knew some Alpha attacked her, that bastard would’ve been dealt with. Felix didn’t play when it came to Fi. None of us do.
Seraphina wraps her arms around her chest, her gaze darting between the three of us like she wants to burrow in the safety we could provide but is too terrified to let herself. I think about all the times we’ve touched her and kissed her. How many times did she flinch inside, waiting for us to turn into him? How many times did she brace for it to go south, only to realize we were just there to hold her together? I’m not sure how I fucking missed it, how wealldid?
Seraphina’s words break the silence, her voice still a little shaky. “My first heat was bad, awful. I don’t want to remember it or talk about it but that scent, I couldn’t really figure out what it was but it was everywhere and I just… inside was safer. And now, this.” She gestures to her nest, looking wholly defeated.
I can’t imagine the terror she faced, not knowing who had attacked her and thinking that it could be any Alpha she faced. Ambrose stands and moves closer, his arms opening wide enough for her to snuggle into. Of the three of us, I can see he’s going to struggle the most. He might be more unhinged than Callum or I but he also loves the hardest.
“Fi, angel,” he says, his voice raw with emotion. “Let me hold you, please. You’re breaking my heart.”
She sobs, her gaze flicking to his chest. For a moment, I’m sure she’s going to bolt to the bathroom or the guest bedroom until she gives him a soft nod. Ambrose closes the distance and pulls her against him, our Omega melting instantly as she molds to him, her face buried in his shirt.
He buries his nose in her hair, one arm around her back, the other hand cradling the back of her neck. His purr rumbles deep through his chest, a fragile sigh falling from her lips as her trembling eases just a fraction.
Callum steps up beside me, nodding to Ambrose and Seraphina. “I’m gonna grab some equipment. I’ve got some extra cameras from our security system. Stay here with Fi.” He’s not just asking me to stay. He’s telling me I need her right now, need to feel her close to keep from doing something stupid. He’s not wrong, either.
“Yeah. Got it.”
Callum clicks his tongue, and Ambrose looks up, catching his signal. He nods, then pulls back from Seraphina, moving his hands to cup her tear-stained cheeks. “Hey, Callum and I are gonna get a few things to make sure no one comes in here. Lyle’s gonna stay with you. Is that okay?”
Her eyes flick to me, searching for something. I catch a whiff of her wild berry scent then, cutting through the lavender. And something else. Slick. My breath catches in my throat as my body tenses, pure Alpha instinct roaring to life. My Alpha is telling me to fill our sweet little Omega, to knot her, and then claim her as mine.
But everything else just wants to pull her into the safe cocoon of my chest and block out the world for her.
She lets out a panicked gasp, eyes widening. When none of us move, she relaxes and offers me a smile that means more than she could ever know. “Yeah,” she whispers. “That’s okay.”
I sit on Seraphina’s couch, the cushions sinking under my weight, with her curled up in my lap. She’s fiddling with the buttons on my shirt, her fingers twisting and tugging as she disappears somewhere in her head. The tears stopped a while ago, though I was sure she’d shatter when Ambrose and Callum left to gather a few things she’d need. I saw the way they looked at her, their eyes burning with the need to pull her close, scent her, claim her.
But then she flinched and that was enough to keep them at bay.
And that’s why even with her in my lap, my arms are settled against my side, Seraphina touching me in her own quiet way. Her nose drags slowly along my chest, this sound coming from her that’s something between a purr and a whimper. It’s almost too soft to hear, but it’s unraveling me piece by piece because I have no fucking idea what to do to make this better.
I’d do anything to fix this, to erase the fear that’s got her locked in this apartment, but I’m lost.
A shuddering breath leaves me as I look down at her, her eyes glazed over with the haze of her impending heat, her pupils blown so wide that the blue is almost gone. I’m not entirely sure when her Omega took over, her body giving itself over to biology, seeking comfort, safety, anything to anchor her.
My purr starts up, rattling through my chest as it seeks to calm the Omega in my arms. At first, she stiffens, almost unsure before leaning closer and pressing her ear to my chest. Then her own purr starts up, a much softer, delicate version, matching my rhythm.
God, I think it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.
“I’ve got you, baby girl,” I murmur, running my nose along the top of her head. “I’ve always got you.”
Her scent thickens in the room, overriding the descenter she so heavily coated this place in a few hours ago. My body is threatening to betray me and as much as I want to show Seraphina my interest, I know it’d spook her.
A few weeks ago—without the mess of mates and scents, she would have been intrigued. Now? She’s too raw and it means so much more now that I know she’s ours. So, I tamper down my own desires, willing my Alpha to settle and let Seraphina take what she needs at her own pace.
I’m not sure how long we stay like that, her curled in my lap, our purrs weaving together. It’s a steady hum of noise that’s slowly lulling her to sleep when she suddenly sits up, the haze lessening slightly. “Where are Ambrose and Callum?”
I brush a strand of hair from her face, careful not to linger there. “Callum’s grabbing stuff to beef up the security for the apartment and Ambrose is looking for pillows to fix your nest.”
