Chapter Eleven

Kane looked around the cabin, impressed. He didn’t know much about the omega who owned it, but she had set up a hell of a safe house. Enough food to feed them for months lined shelves of the large pantry. In the freezer, fruits, vegetables and meats rested frozen in neatly labeled vacuum-sealed bags.

Four bedrooms sat ready, each decorated the same no-frills way as the others. A security system ran through the house, a large closet in the hallway housing the equipment. It didn’t hook into a central company, but instead ran self-contained. Each window and door was wired, the gate at the bottom of the private road and a sensor on the fence to alert them if it were cut.

Most impressive of all? Beside the security equipment, in a locked safe Tiffany knew the code to, sat an arsenal he’d have been proud to own. Pistols, rifles, shot guns, blades all meticulously cared for and clearly used.

Alison hadn’t said much when they’d arrived before she’d shoved the keys into Tiffany’s hands and fled. Seemed she had something in need of doing, and the woman didn’t seem inclined to spend time with them. Fine by him.

The trip had taken a few hours, and they’d used an SUV Bryce had supplied so no one could follow them. A quick run through a store to pick up supplies—new clothes, necessities—and they’d reached their destination.

Kane shut the door to the closet, turning to face Kieran who stood behind him. “So, how is this going to work? We going to keep beating on one another until one of us gives in?”

“I would bet we’d both end up in the hospital. Giving in isn’t either of our styles.”

“True enough. So, what then? Because this was ugly when we weren’t sharing a fucking cabin with an omega who smells like Tiffany does.”

Kieran’s shoulders dipped, and for the first time, Kane noted the exhaustion on the other alpha’s face. Then again, Kieran wasn’t as young as he was. Why didn’t that please him as much as it should have?

“I don’t know. I know that I don’t intend to back off, not unless she tells me she wants that. You refuse to back off, either. Maybe we should stop trying to fight one another and allow her to choose.”

The option seemed obvious enough. Tiffany could make the choice on her own. Besides, it wasn’t as if Kane would want her to pick him to discover she’d done so because he’d knocked Kieran out of the picture. He wanted to be her first choice, not her last option.

Kane huffed a soft laugh at the simple solution. “So we each try to win her? That’s your big idea?”

“Afraid you’re not up to the task?”

Ah, that arrogance. Why was it that every alpha possessed it? It was something that seemed to be written into their bones, something they couldn’t escape. Alphas could be spotted well before they showed symptoms in their teenage years, before their scents changed or the markers showed in their blood. They were more aggressive, more territorial, more stubborn. Kieran showed every sign, tempered by age and experience as they were.

“Oh, I’m up for it, old man. I just don’t want you crying foul later when she picks me.”

Kieran didn’t react to the jab, didn’t spit back an insult. He only shook his head and took a step back. “It will take more than confidence to win, kid, but sure, give it your best shot. It’ll be easier for her to see that you’re no good. You may have fooled her at first, because she didn’t know any better, but you won’t be able to keep this up full-time. Once she gets a look at you compared to other alphas? She’s as good as mine.”

Kane kept his smile easy, offering a mocking salute with his middle finger before walking down the hallway.

He wasn’t a man to play many games, but fuck if he didn’t plan to win this one.

Tiffany packed her things into the drawer of the room she’d taken. All the rooms opened off a long hallway, making it easy to pick. She’d taken the one in the middle, with Kane on one side, Kieran on the other and Marshall across the hall.

“Do you have enough?” Marshall nodded at where she placed the jeans in the dresser.

“Yeah. I won’t be winning any beauty contests in it, but it’ll be fine until we can get back to my stuff.”

Marshall’s hungry gaze drew her attention as though it brushed over her skin. Sure enough, he stared, that edge to him peeking out. “I think you’ll look great.”

How did he do that? She could see whatever he hid, yet it didn’t show in his voice. Did he know how close to the surface it lurked, or did he assume he’d buried it deep enough?

What would it be like if he lost control of it?

Why did he hide it in the first place? Most alphas thrived on that primal side of themselves. They loved the strength, the power, the privilege their designation bought them. Few hid it, so why did Marshall?

Instead of asking, because the answer terrified her, Tiffany slid the drawer shut and tore her gaze away. “Do you think this is a crazy idea?”

“Hiding from whoever is after you?”

“No. Bringing Kane and Kieran out here. They haven’t had a great record of working well together.”

He chuckled, the tension sliding away. “They’ll figure it out.”

“I doubt it. Seems to me they’re pretty set on acting like possessive assholes.”

When Tiffany went to put her backpack on the top closet shelf, Marshall took it and put it in place for her. “Men in general, and alphas specifically, aren’t good at adjusting. We tend to like things our way.”

Tiffany sat on the bed, then flopped backward, arms spread out and legs hanging off the end. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. I think alphas are spoiled and used to getting their way, so they throw tantrums when they have to change.”

Marshall shifted the bed when he sat. “Fair enough, though I suggest you not tell Kieran he’s having a hissy fit. He seems the type who might take that personally.”

The memory of Kieran putting her over his lap rushed over her. It hit her so fast, her skin warming, her pussy growing wet, that she pulled in a shaky breath. “I did once, and no, he wasn’t a fan.”

Tiffany expected a growl. She expected Marshall to react to what was clearly arousal aimed at another alpha. It was what Kane would have done, what Kieran would have.

Instead, his soothing chuckle came as he stretched on the bed beside her. “That doesn’t surprise me. Neither does that blush on your cheeks. I’m going to guess whatever his response was, you weren’t all that opposed to it.”

Tiffany rolled to her side, needing to read him. “Why aren’t you jealous? You said you liked me, but you don’t get upset over them.”

He rolled toward her, mirroring her stance. “Because I’m not the jealous type. Maybe it’s because of my job, because I’ve seen how fast everything can get taken away. I guess it makes me wonder what the point of jealousy is.” He set a hand on her hip. “The fact is that a body isn’t a consumable. It isn’t something that gets used up or ruined. A person isn’t less because they’re shared.”

Shared. It created scenarios in her mind so fast she couldn’t help the way her heart sped.

Shared made her think about lying flat while Kane leaned over her, while he pressed her breasts together to create space for him to thrust into. Kieran would spread her thighs wide and take her cunt, deft fingers on her clit. And the man beside her now? He’d slide past her lips, feeding himself to her inch by inch.

Even the way he spoke made her think he enjoyed watching, that as he fucked her mouth, his gaze would take in the sight of the other men taking her, using her.

“Your scent is irresistible,” Marshall whispered. “I know they might be fighting this, they might be stubborn, but I think you like the idea more than you let on.”

Tiffany placed a hand on his chest, pushing back enough for her to take a breath and clear her head. “Dealing with one alpha seems like a lot of work. Three would be insanity. Claire might be crazy, but I’m not.”

“What have you always wanted?”

“Not three cocks.”

His chuckle warmed her cheeks. “Come on, think about it. If you could have any future, what would it be?”

Tiffany frowned as she thought about it, her foot sliding over Marshall’s calf. “I want to be happy. I want a family, and a life with a mate.”

“And you think you could only have that if you pick one mate?”

She opened her mouth to say yes, to say that she hadn’t intended to collect alphas like trophies, that screwing three different men seemed wrong and like a lot of work.

Except the future he mentioned started to form. Would it be so bad? Kieran would be gruff, strict. He’d never let her get away with anything, but the way her ass and her face had burned when he spanked her said she might not mind it. Kane would help her get into trouble, but also help to get her out of it when needed. And Marshall? He was steady, dependable, and a thinker. He planned, carefully.

She pictured dinners together, all four of them around a table. She heard the fights over the remote when they watched TV, when they all wanted something different on.

She thought about having kids, about the support of three to lean on, and what sort of family that would create.

“Maybe,” she admitted.

“Life doesn’t always go the way we expect or plan, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Give it some thought.”

Tiffany slid her hand down his chest, tracing the buttons of his shirt, pressing against each as she passed. “My parents were happy. It seems like you don’t see many alphas and omegas who make a good life for themselves, but I had that. No man loved his mate more than my father loved my mother. When he’d get home from work, he’d sneak up behind her, grab her hips, plant her on the counter and kiss her. I knew never to interrupt, because that was important. It was their ritual, like this sacred thing that I got to watch.” She slipped her fingers beneath his shirt, stroking his heated skin. “It was like watching magic, the way he’d stare at her, the way a touch of her hand could calm him. I wanted that. I still do. Claire told me when I ran, when they were going to register me, that relationships like that don’t exist, but I know they do.”

“And that’s why Randy was able to trick you, wasn’t it?”

She sighed, not wanting to remember. “I wanted that life so badly, I made myself believe he could give it to me. I’ve always been willing to rush to get what I want. Stupid, I guess.”

Marshall groaned when she slipped her fingers below the waist of his slacks. “Not stupid, just hopeful. You know what you want, and that’s more than most people can say.”

“And what do you want?”

“Peace. I want to go to bed at night knowing I have what matters to me, that it’s not going anywhere, that I won’t lose it or ruin it or risk it.” He answered in a low voice, as if he didn’t want to answer at all. The words came out halted and full of things she couldn’t unpack, that she didn’t know him well enough to understand. Marshall wasn’t done yet, though. In a hollow voice, he added, “I guess we all learn things from our parents.”

She went to ask him what he meant, especially with the shadows that crossed his eyes, and the way time and memories clouded his words.

Instead, Kane’s voice barreled through the door. “Get your asses in here to eat or there’ll be nothing left!”

Tiffany jerked back as if caught. Funny that, even alone, she felt guilty. She didn’t want to pull away, but she didn’t want anyone fighting, either.

Marshall shook away whatever haunted him, his eyes regaining the ease he normally wore. Again, the quick change made her wonder how much he hid and why.

He gave her no time to ask or pry further, a chuckle at the way she’d pulled away. He yanked her back to him and took her lips with a kiss so good, she couldn’t think clearly enough to remember why she’d pulled away in the first place.

The idea of anyone fighting, of shame or guilt or worry mattering struck her as insane. Who cared about any of that? As long as Marshall didn’t stop kissing her like that, the rest of it could go to hell for all she cared.

Too bad kisses always ended eventually.