I tossed a scoop of dark blue shimmer onto the table along with the iridescent white and purple I already had. It was going to mix into a gorgeous, pale lavender when I was finished.
This was the calmest I’d felt in a really long time, and it took coming back to the studio and starting to realize my mind wasn’t racing in the way it normally did.
Eva and I spent time at Oscar’s, dodging the photographers who followed us. No doubt they’d known from the restaurant what time we got there and what time we left, and there would be questions about why we left our mother sitting there. Thankfully, Jasmine was already on it, and was going to put out a statement saying our exit was planned. We were touching base with Mom before going on our own excursion.
Anyone who said they saw us arguing would be ignored. Because that was how the game was played.
And I was done playing.
I wasn’t going to pretend it would always be easy or that I wouldn’t fall back into old patterns or behaviors, but I felt better. Just a bit of freedom and it was like a band around my chest had been snapped. The paps were still going to haunt me and I was still going to avoid them like the plague, but I was also going to do my best to not care about the pictures and the questions.
My life was not theirs.
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, and I sang along with the music in the studio as I mixed the powder under the camera, getting enough shots for a new video. It was simple to edit it and post it, with an apology and explanation for my brief and sudden absence from posting.
It was strange having people care about Elyse Taylor. The way the followers of my art and paint cared about me was completely different from the way the ravenous press did. Sure, there were still some people who tried to cross lines, but a lot of them were simply art enthusiasts or people who enjoyed the videos and found them soothing.
While I was gone, I genuinely scared some of them with my sudden disappearance, and while I was vague in my explanation, I knew it would be a celebration if I announced Elyse Taylor had found a pack.
I glanced up at the clock. The mixing of this batch needed to wait. It was getting late and I needed to pack. In my haze of worry this morning, I hadn’t thought to bring my suitcase with me from the pack’s house. That was okay. I would be going back and forth at least a few more times.
Wes’s offer to move my studio to the pack’s house lurked in my mind. It was a nice idea, but it would be a lot of work, and I still wasn’t sure. It would make things easier, for sure. But I didn’t even know where the studio things would go at the house, and if I was trying this new don’t care about the paparazzi thing, then did it matter?
I would talk to them about it. I was sure their reaction would be to say yes and figure out a way to get my studio into the house immediately. But I was also sure they would listen to my concerns and think about it as a whole once I pointed out the issues, and it was nice to know they would.
One more reason I felt like my lungs had so much more room today.
I grabbed one of my empty running bags and filled it with clothes. A mixture of everything I might need. Plus a few of the wild things from the unworn section of my closet. Minus underwear. I was pretty sure I had enough lingerie and underwear at their house to last me a month.
Most of the paps had gotten bored after I spent hours in my house with no sign of leaving. One photographer was still hanging on, but he got the tamest picture imaginable–me on the way out of my house in leggings and a t-shirt with what looked like a gym bag over my shoulder.
We pulled up to the house, and there were people clustered around the door. Not press, but a couple of men in maintenance uniforms, and Addison.
“What time would you like us here tomorrow, Miss Williams?”
I blinked. Right. They were my security detail for the foreseeable future. “I’m not sure. I might not go anywhere. But I can text you?”
“We’re on call for you. Even if you need us to stand outside and keep the idiots away from the door.”
I smirked. “Thanks.”
He walked me up the steps, and Addison saw me coming. “Just the girl I wanted to see!” She threw her arms around me in a fierce hug, painting the air around us with the sweet fragrance of bubblegum. “I’m glad you’re still putting up with the pack, and that room is a fucking masterpiece, if I do say so myself.”
“It’s done? Already? That feels impossible.”
She grinned. “I only work with the best. It might still smell like paint for a bit, but the windows are open, so it’s only a matter of time before it airs out.”
“You’re a miracle worker.”
“I know.”
“What’s happening here?”
She glanced over at the two men–betas by their scents–working on both sides of the front door. “New security. A thumbprint lock, like Ben told me you have at your house. They’re having me look into gates and fences too.”
My stomach twisted and leapt at once. “Really?”
“Yes. And honestly, it’s something they should have done a while ago, regardless of the press hounding you. It’s not like they’re inconspicuous. They’re just cocky and have gotten lucky not to have someone figure out where they live and come try to trade something for a tattoo, if you know what I mean.”
I laughed. Given the way every single member of the pack looked, I was kind of shocked it hadn’t happened yet.
“How did you get rid of the press so they didn’t run over you into the house?”
She grinned. “I threatened to cut every one of their dicks off with a circular saw. Turns out I had one handy.”
“Oh my god.”
Even Wes laughed. “If you ever decide to change careers, Addison, let me know. We could use you.”
“Noted.”
I looked at the mechanics installing the lock, and all I felt was relief. I hadn’t even asked them to up their security, they just did it. But this, and the fence, it was so much. It was an internal battle, loving every second and every gesture they made for me. And yet I was so aware of the cost, and I was just one person.
What if it was all for nothing?
I closed my eyes, trying to banish the voice from my head. It didn’t work.
“If you’re thinking it’s too much, it’s not,” Addison said. “They’re not here, so I can talk about them however I want, and I get the big sister privileges over Ben, even if he is an Alpha.”
“Remind me to come get embarrassing stories from you when I need ammo.”
“I’ve got plenty of that,” she said with a laugh, pulling me inside the door so I could put my bag down. “Seriously though. I don’t know how cool they’re playing it with you, but this pack has always wanted an Omega, even if they didn’t fully voice it. I’ve designed and decorated houses for plenty of them, and not one pack put the care and thought into designing an Omega wing the way they did. And before you think they would take any Omega just because she was there, that’s not true either. I’ve never seen any of them act this way before. It’s you, Esme.”
“Thank you.”
I hated needing reassurance from someone outside the pack, but it was an added measure of relief.
“Done over here.”
She smiled and pulled me to the door. “Ready to program?”
“You bet,” the man said.
“Great. Wait until they find out you’re the only one with access to the house. You could lock their asses out here and leave them with the paparazzi if you wanted.”
“I would never do that!”
She tapped a few buttons on the keypad. “It would be fun, though. Okay, go ahead and scan. Right thumb first.”
I was used to this. Both thumbs scanned, plus a numeric code as a backup. The code would come later. I wasn’t picking the door code for a house that didn’t belong to me.
The mechanics had packed up and gone before we’d finished the programming. “They’re just gone?”
“I’m the best for more than one reason,” she said with a shrug. “I work with a lot of clients like you, who have privacy issues or need security. I only hire loyal people and pay them enough to keep them disinterested. You’re all set.”
Wes nodded to me. “In that case, let me know if we’re needed, Miss Williams.”
“Thank you, Wes.”
Addison closed the door and locked us in the house. It was so quiet without all of them here. “Go on up and take a look.”
“Without you?”
She laughed. “I know what it looks like. I’ve spent all day in there. It’s your space, and I’ve learned from enough clients it’s better to give them a chance to absorb it without any expectant eyes on them. Go on.”
I looked at the floor, hesitating only for a second before I stepped in and hugged her again. “You’re all so nice to me.”
“Well,” she said mildly. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but it’s kind of looking like you’re going to be my sister-in-law. Also, Esme, basic human decency isn’t being nice. It’s the bare fucking minimum.”
“Still. Thank you.” My smile was hesitant. “I’ll come back in a minute.”
My fingers were nearly white I was gripping the strap of my bag so hard. I wasn’t nervous about the room. Not really. More because of what the room meant. And walking into a place that had the potential to be your new home was nerve-wracking. Or at least I hoped I wasn’t the only person who would find that nerve-wracking.
The door was ajar, and it did smell like paint, but I pushed open the door into a miracle.
Ombre walls which did exactly what I’d asked–dark near the windows so it didn’t feel stifling, and the beautiful, delicate silver trees along the inside wall. The bed on the darker side of the room and the velvet couch on the lighter, facing the entertainment system. Even the closet was incorporated, the walk-in walls painted with the same shade of the ombre.
Things I hadn’t ordered but were perfect—gray velvet curtains for the windows and a dark rug at the end of my bed. There was plenty of room for me to hang art, and even without all my personal possessions, it was stunning.
I allowed myself to think about what it would be like to live here. Have this be my home and come back to it all the time. It was a beautiful image, even if it wasn’t real yet. Regardless, this space soothed my soul deep down in a way I hadn’t experienced in years.
Setting my bag down inside the closet, I went to the bed, ran a hand over the comforter, and felt the softness. It was perfect. Beautiful. The colors on the walls were seamless, and I couldn’t wait to grab my paints and create constellations on the ceiling.
“Knock, knock.” Ben’s voice was at the door.
I hadn’t heard them arrive, but the third floor was a long way from the first. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.”
He came straight to me, enveloping me in a hug and kissing me soundly. “I missed you.”
With everything that happened today, I missed them, too. I hadn’t realized how much until exactly this moment.
“You okay?” He asked the question quietly, sensing my own solemness.
“I’m fine. Things didn’t… go well today. With my mom.”
“You know what? That makes a lot of sense.”
I pulled back to look up at him. “Why?”
“Because the paparazzi are assholes trying to get information about you through us, and they asked about her.” Kade’s scratchy voice pulled my attention, and my stomach twisted.
That probably meant they were outside. Pushing myself backwards from Ben, I rolled across the bed, aiming to close the windows Addison had left open. The curtains too. I wanted to enjoy my newfound resolve without being spied on.
I came up off the bed and was caught by Kade. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To close the–”
The softest growl came from his chest. He yanked me into his arms and suddenly his teeth were at my throat, biting just hard enough to make me go limp, my Omega falling into instant submission. He licked over the point of my pulse when he released me, dragging his nose up to my ear, taking his time and making no secret of the fact he was enjoying my scent.
Prey.
I was prey, and this close to an Alpha I couldn’t breathe. Instant, thick perfume swirled around us. I needed to run, and I needed him to fucking chase me.
“You’re so fucking tempting,” he murmured. “But I need you to breathe. Ben will close the windows and the curtains.”
“Okay.”
I heard the sounds of it happening. “Did they bother you a lot?”
“No more than expected. And as much as I’d like to punch a couple of them in the dick for the things they think they’re allowed to say, they’re not going to get anything. From any of us. Right?”
Four voices answered in the positive.
Twisting, I saw the rest of them had entered and were looking around the new space.
“How do you like your room, baby?”
I couldn’t contain my smile. “I love it. And I love that you changed the lock without me even asking.”
Rylan bounced on the bed, pulling me down onto my back to kiss me. “Why would you have to ask?”
“Because she’s used to having to ask for everything which should be a given,” Avery said. “And I’m determined to break the habit.”
My face flushed, and Rylan kissed me again, long and slow. When we pulled apart, they were closer. Ben had a hand on my leg. “Tell us what happened?”
Not a command, but a request. I didn’t want to, because it would mean admitting Mom didn’t want to give them a chance in the same way the store manager had judged them. But they didn’t have secrets, and not telling them wouldn’t save them from the truth of it. That would only delay the process, so I told them.
“Sorry.”
Luke chuckled. “Your mom isn’t the only one who’s made the wrong judgment on sight. We get that a lot and you’ve already seen it. We’ll be fine. As long as you’re happy, your mother’s approval isn’t the one I’m looking for.”
“I do want her to meet you, because I think she’ll change her mind. But it will take time.”
“We have plenty of that,” Rylan said with a grin.
“Wes asked if I wanted to move my studio stuff over here to avoid the paparazzi, but I don’t think I’ll say yes. Not because I don’t think you guys would be okay with it,” I clarified. “I already know if I wanted to you would say yes and find a way to do it faster than I could blink.”
“Glad you’re getting the idea,” Avery said with a laugh.
“It’s just that everything’s already settled and how I like it. I’m sure you guys understand. Switching my studio just feels wrong. And I don’t mind having a separate space for it.”
Ben nodded. “I definitely understand wanting your space the way you’ve developed it and wanting your own. It’s healthy. That being said, you’re right. We would move your studio here in a heartbeat if you needed it.”
Avery settled on the end of the bed. “You told us about your day. Now we get to tell you what we decided during ours.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Am I going to like this?”
“I hope so.” He held out a hand and I put mine in it. “It’s important we get to know each other as a group, and we’ll continue to do that. But it’s also important you get to know us one on one. Or a couple at a time. So, we decided to take turns doing things with you in between everything. If you’re up for it.”
Sitting up, I laughed. “Yes, I’m up for that. Who’s first?”
“I am,” Ben said. “Because I met you first I made the argument I should have the first date.”
“Are you sure it doesn’t mean you should have the last date, Mr. Cupcake?”
“Very sure.” The words accompanied the rumble of a purr.
“Okay, so when are we going on this date?”
Ben shrugged. “We can go tonight if you want.”
I thought about it. More often than not I was a homebody. I created spaces I enjoyed being in and staying there because I was so used to avoiding the public eye. But today, the public had already gotten an eyeful of me, and I was feeling daring. Plus, being here, with them, the same happiness settled over me like a blanket, washing away the anxieties which managed to creep back in.
“Okay, where are we going?”
He grinned at the rest of them. “Don’t kill me.”
“Why would I want to kill you?”
Leaning in, he brushed his lips across mine. “Because we never got to finish our dance, and this time I’m not going to let you run away.”
