Page 39 of Aries
That wouldn’t be fair to Cassie, and it was definitely an overstep on my part.
“Have you and Cassie been together long?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it. My omega was on a roll lately.
“We’ve been…” He trailed off, staring into his mug like it might give him the answer. “Friends, I guess. It’s hard to put a label on something that was formed in such a shitty place. But we’re not together romantically,” he clarified, giving me a look I couldn’t look too deep into. “At this point, we’re more like siblings.”
My omega settled in my chest. I was torn between liking Cassie and wanting to fight her for this beta that hadn’t even looked my way yet.
I shut it down immediately, refusing to give it any consideration. He didn’t need that right now and honestly… it felt like cheating, as stupid as that was.
Maybe once I opened that email Lark sent, then I’d be able to move on properly. By then hopefully he’d be healed in a way that he was ready to open up.
I could be patient.
We were both quiet as we gazed out at the landscape, lost in our own heads. My large living-room windows overlooked the mountains as the sun rose. It painted everything a beautiful orange, filling the shadows with warmth that we both desperately needed.
“I’m not sure I can fall asleep. Maybe we could put on a show?” he asked. “I don’t want to keep you. If you need to leave, I can go home.”
“Leon, if I wanted to leave you behind, I wouldn’t have invited you here. I don’t have a class this morning. It’ll be fine.”
Pulling out my phone, I texted my night girl, asking her to lock up when she left and put a note on the door. I relaxed when she sent back a quick response. At least I’d caught her before her shift ended.
I kicked off my running shoes and glanced down at myself, considering sitting on my couch, but I couldn’t do it. Not when I’d been sweaty.
“This isn’t going to work for me. I’d be happy to watch something, but just give me a chance to jump into a quick shower. I promise I’ll be fast.”
“No worries,” he said, though there was tension in his body. He didn’t really want me to walk away, but I had no choice. I knew he’d be fine. He was stronger than he thought.
I hurried through my shower, washing my hair and body as fast as I could before just throwing in some leave-in conditioner to tame the fly-aways.
He was still in the same spot, his body just as tense as when I’d left him. But when I grabbed a blanket for myself and snuggled in close enough he could reach out if he wanted to, he relaxed.
“I’m here,” I promised. “You’re fine.”
He swallowed hard, his eyes drifting to the TV as I picked up the remote.
“What’s going to help you fall asleep?” I asked.
“Can we watch some kind of cooking or baking show? Those always get me.”
A smile spread across my face. Those were my favorite.
“There’s a new season of that pack baking show,” I said. “Have you seen it yet?”
He shook his head, and my smile widened further.
“Just wait. It’s so good. They throw four packs into one big pack house, and then the kitchen is this huge competition-style setup. It’s like reality TV meets baking show. You’re going to love it.”
I clicked on the show. The first episode was always introductions, so we got to learn a little bit about the packs.
As we both settled in, I couldn’t help but notice how strange it was that someone besides the Widows was in my space.
My omega certainly didn’t seem to mind. Even if all I could offer for now was friendship and safety.
Chapter
Thirteen
