"Last week I saw her build a pool, put all the men in it, and then take out the ladder so they were stuck there. I asked her why she did that and she said it was so she could breed them."
Luke pauses what he's doing, a strangely blank look falling over his face. Through their pack bond, Tenor can feel him cycling through emotions, like he's trying to decide how he feels about this new snippet of information.
"Should we be afraid...? Or...?" Luke's voice trails off uncertainly.
"... turned on?" Tenor finishes for him, the question hanging between them.
Twenty-Three Days Until Christmas
Eden
It wasn't until the previous day, when she'd been in the grocery store with Julius and she had seen a tray of garishly decorated red and green cupcakes in the bakery section, that she'd realized it was almost Christmas.
Two packages of Christmas cupcakes had been added to the cart before she could even say anything. Her alpha's lips had twitched when he met her side eye, his own gaze softening like it did whenever he looked at her. "Didn't get to eat any of this shit in prison. It's the holidays, let me live."
"We're in public. Watch your language," she had scolded, a kneejerk reaction for her at this point. And then his hard cock had pressed against her lower back right in front of the flatbreads and bagels, his own reaction every time she told him off for swearing. She didn't know why he found it so hot, but she wasn't going to complain if her mates couldn't keep their hands off of her.
He had leaned down to whisper in her ear, but it wasn't the filth she was expecting. "I should warn you, baby, Luke's gonna' go fucking batshit about Christmas. Tree, lights, presents, shitty ass music, the whole thing."
She squeaked as he ground the hard length of him into her back again, making sure she felt every inch of it pressing against her softer flesh. His hands had been holding her hips so tightly so she couldn't even squirm away. A middle-aged beta woman had given them such a dirty look but whatever she had seen on Julius' face made her hurry away rather than confront them.
She'd been thinking about it on the ride home in the snow. Julius' hands were both clutching the wheel rather than holding one of hers as he usually did. That was the only giveaway that he was nervous about the heavy snowfall.
But they'd made it back in one piece, and all twelve cupcakes were gone by bedtime that evening, even though Eden had only gotten to eat one.
She'd grumbled about it only once, and suddenly her alphas were all over her, promising to make it up to her, to make herhomemadecupcakeswithreal buttercream,not this 'store bought oil shit.'And she had never been the kind of omega who could say no to an offer like that.
Which was how Luke and Tenor ended up in the kitchen this afternoon, the scent of spiced apple cake filling the cottage. Luke was wearing the apron he had gotten her for his birthday(despite the fact that she insisted thatsheshould be the one givinghima gift for his own birthday, rather than the other way around) which read "KNOT THE COOK" and nothing else. Not even boxer shorts.
Luckily it wasn't too cold since her mates had kept the fireplace going night and day since the weather got chilly a month ago and it kept the cottage pretty toasty. But she didn't think it was superhygienic to have your bare ass out in the kitchen, and she made a mental note to deep clean it after they were done.
"The recipe said icing sugar, not granulated sugar, dumbass," she hears Luke snarl at Tenor, shoving him out of the kitchen. "You're going to ruin my fucking cream cheese buttercream."
"What's the difference?" Tenor grumbles. "They're both sugar."
"You know what? Just get the fuck out of here, I'll do it myself."
Tenor collapses next to her on the couch dramatically and leans over to kiss her. It's short and sweet and when he settles back, their eyes meet and she smiles shyly at him. His eyes track her, dark and predatory now as he takes in the blush staining her cheeks.
"Hi," she whispers.
"Hi," he says, cupping her face with one of his massive palms.
The first time she'd met Tenor, he'd been wearing a prison jumpsuit, and she had still thought he was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen in her life. Seeing him now with his perfectly trimmed fade, chiseled beard, and his slim fit t-shirt, she thought her mouth might water.
"Get a room," Luke yells from where he's whisking the butter and icing sugar together by hand.
Julius chooses that as the perfect time to exit the bathroom, steam escaping behind him in a massive cloud that looks like a movie special effect explosion in the background and Eden is approximately 100% positive that he planned it that way.
He's wearing his usual tightly fitted black hoodie and jogger set that accents every hard inch of him, and Eden's blush deepens as she takes him in. Julius was beautiful in a dangerous way, like the way a knife might be beautiful. His ice blue eyes always glinted like they might have the potential to cut flesh from bone.
He leans over the back of the couch, his deadly lily scent hitting her with all the force of a freight train going at speed. He brushes his lips over the shell of her ear, a shiver going down her spine as he does it. "Hi, baby. What could you possibly be thinking about to make you smell like that, hmm?"
Her mouth goes dry as his lips travels lower, mouthing her neck. When she doesn't respond, his voice goes even deeper. "Come on, baby. Tell daddy what you're thinking about in that pretty little head."
When he saysdaddy,the scent of pomegranates practically explodes in the air, broadcasting her desire to the three of them. Tenor shifts closer beside her on the couch, every movement smooth and predatory.
"I was thinking about... um... Christmas," she finally squeaks. Julius and Tenor both pause. She meets Tenor's gaze sheepishly and he narrows his eyes at her.
