James glared for a moment. "Still. I just thought that maybe..."
When James didn't finish his sentence, Leo did it for him. "You just thought that maybe since she was here, and she smelled so damn good, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that she's fucking ours? Or was it jealousy that both of us were enjoying our omega, while you pouted like a child not getting his way for weeks? Maybe it was the fact that you know your alpha craves her and you've ignored him too?"
"Yeah," James mumbled, deflated.
"Which was it?" Leo's taunting grin was going to set the alpha off, but the delta didn't care.
"All of it," James growled. "I was being an asshole, I see that now."
"So what do you plan to do about it?" Leo challenged.
"I don't know," the alpha sighed as he flopped down on our pallet.
I sat next to him, letting my long legs stretch out before us, before speaking. "Well, I don't know what you should do. But if I was you, I'd start working on winning over our girl because time is literally ticking against us, and if you want to help our omega through her heat, she needs to accept you."
His face blanched at the prospect of helping her ride out the demanding throes of pleasure and mating. Or maybe it was thathe had to actually woo her after spending weeks dismissing her existence.
"It will be no hardship," he finally admitted.
"Are you going to go through with it? If she accepts, I mean?" I asked the question I knew Leo was wondering too. Would we be a family? Kids? A life with the omega? A chance to be fathers?
"I –" He nodded once. "I think I would like that."
The flutter in my heart was undeniable. The mere thought of finally getting what we craved made me so damn ecstatic, I had to fight to control it. Before I could respond, Leo's face broke into a wide grin, and he spoke. "We're going to be fucking parents."
James shook his head, though a smile was plastered on his face. "We need to wait until the omega accepts me. I wouldn't get so excited yet."
I wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Are you kidding? The omega loves us; there is no way she'd say no."
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
SOPHIA
I snuggled close to the clothing I had borrowed from the boys, the clothing that never made it to the washer because I kept them instead. I couldn't do it. I couldn't part with the pieces of them that made me feel so at ease when I closed my eyes. Instead, I stealthily snuck into their room and collected more. Adding to my nest so that it was so comfortable with their blankets and clothing that I never wanted to leave.
When I heard the rest of the house start to stir, I forced myself to rise. A feat that had become more challenging as the days went by. I just wanted to stay in my cocoon of comfort and never leave. I reached for the door handle, right as a sharp pain ran through my stomach. I hunched over, hissing, but as quick as it came, it was gone.
With a deep breath, I opened the door and walked out, almost slamming into the three men. It was James who spoke first, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
His eyes were warm with concern, "You sure? It sounded like you were in pain."
"It was nothing."
Except the glances all three of them exchanged spoke of how little they believed me. "If you're sure."
"I'm sure," I promised as I brushed past them, leading the way down the hall.
"Are y'all ready to work?" Leo asked, looking well rested. It wasn't every day we got a midday nap, but it was Sunday, and we did brunch, so we decided to take it easy. It was needed. These men worked too hard and put in long hours, and I'm thankful that they got some rest.
"Omega," James's deep voice made me jump from where he was following from behind me.
"Yes, alpha." My gaze instantly lowered, wondering what it was I had done wrong.
The last few days he'd been acting different, kinder, more willing to interact with me, but I didn't want to push my luck, didn't want to get my hopes up that the alpha had changed his mind when he'd made it so clear he was willing to send me away at any moment.
