I was excited for pack cuddles when we got home, but when we walked in the door, Theo mumbled an excuse about having work to do and slipped off. My skin felt tight as he left Cam and me in the foyer, leaving only his bitter coffee scent in his wake.
Cam tugged me into a hug. “Don’t mind him,” he said with a tight smile.
Very reassuring.
Before I could say anything else, Cam kissed me on the forehead and let me know he was going to work out, sending me upstairs with a sharp spank on my ass. I scowled at him in mock outrage, but really I wished he would follow me and finish what he had started.
Was I being too needy? My alphas had given me so much of their time and care it felt selfish to want more.
I slipped quietly into bed, feeling a bit pitiful. Ben mumbled something, tucked me into his side, and promptly fell back asleep. I lay awake, feeling like a complete idiot as I blinked back tears and told myself that it didn’t mean anything that Cam and Theo didn’t come to bed with me.
I took some deep breaths as I tried to sort out my feelings. After our talk yesterday, things felt like they had returned to normal with Cam. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, it was the talking that did it. But Cam always worked out in the morning, and I knew that if I had asked, he would have come to bed with me. That wasn’t really what was bothering me… but Theo? Things were definitely off between us. He kept hiding in his office, acting as if I wouldn’t notice his absence.
I mulled over Ben’s words from the other day—how Theo saw himself as responsible for the pack. It wasn’t hard to see that he blamed himself for what happened, but didn’t he realize I needed him? He kept using the excuse that he was doing work for the Alliance, but he wasn’t including me in any of it. Hiding out in his office felt an awful lot like hiding from me.
I’d caught him several times the past few days staring into the distance when he didn’t think I was looking, a lost, sad expression on his face. The two of us had both learned growing up that it was safer to hide our emotions, and right now, it felt like Theo was drowning in his.
I drummed my fingers against my leg. How could Theo push me to share my feelings when he wouldn’t do the same? Maybe I needed to be the one to encourage him to share. My omega agreed. Mostly because she wanted us to make up and then have hot sex on top of his desk.
Hussy.
Although, if I was honest with myself, the lack of sex was part of what was bothering me. Theo had been sweet and attentive as always, but we hadn’t had sex since the Designation Center. A flash of insecurity seized my chest—what if he didn’t want me anymore? But the thought didn’t take root. For once, I knew this had much less to do with me and much more to do with how Theo saw himself and his role in the world.
I sat up in bed.
He had said he would do something to make up for the early morning wake-up. That had to mean sex. Theo should know better than to tease an omega—we were not known for our patience. Delayed gratification was not in our nature.
Enough was enough. It was time for Operation: Get Theo’s Head Out of His Ass.
I pushed myself out of bed, kissing a fast-asleep Ben on the cheek before heading downstairs to knock some sense into my anxious, freaked-out alpha.
My heart pounded as I faced Theo’s office.
Get yourself together. Theo needs your help right now. March in there, force him to talk about what’s bothering him, and then sit on his dick.
I rolled my eyes before steeling myself and knocking on the door.
