Klaus handed the reins off to one of the guards before striding towards her now. There was dirt streaked along the line of his jaw and throat, his sleeves shoved carelessly to his elbows. He looked tense in the way he always did after patrols, half-prepared for disaster. He regarded her silently, studying her carefully.
"What?" she couldn't help the snap.
"You should still be resting," Klaus insisted more quietly this time. "Didn't you need the sleep?"
Quinn crossed her arms. When Klaus was involved, she couldn't help her tone. But despite it all, her heart fluttered uselessly. The crush always present. "And you should stop trying to parent everyone within a five-mile radius."
"Impossible," he scoffed.
"Control freak."
Zen snorted softly under his breath while movement continued around them. Workers scrambled to pull tarps over produce before the rain began, voices carrying through the courtyard while thunder rolled closer. Blue lightning caught beneath heavy dark clouds.
"Have you eaten?" Klaus asked suddenly.
Quinn hesitated for exactly one fatal second.
"Go now." The disapproval was sharp in his voice.
"I had breakfast."
Zen hissed as if offended. "Our mates should be feeding you—"
"I had toast and stew."
Klaus checked the time, raised his brow. "That was hours ago."
"It was very good toast."
Klaus stared at her with the exhausted expression. It was as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. He dragged one hand slowly down his face. The thunder rumbled. "You are impossible to take care of."
The words slipped out too naturally. And fuck, that got on her nerves.
Zen straightened almost instantly beside her, shoulders tightening while Klaus remained entirely focused on her, either oblivious to what he'd implied or simply too tired to take it back.
"You don't have to take care of me," Quinn said lightly.
Klaus's eyes snapped back to hers instantly. "Yes," he said, too fast and far too honest. "I do."
"What is this about?" she snapped now.
"This," he murmured, eyes flecked with darkness. And damn her for thinking that was pretty hot. "Is about you choosing to have your first Rut in a public bathroom." She gawked at him. What the fuck? A Rut was something Alphas experienced. A needy time of the month where they couldn't resist the urge to fuck and procreate. Quinn had never experienced a Rut, ever. It was simply impossible with her weakened body as a Beta.
"Impossible. I can't—"
"I tasted it," Klaus answered as if it were fact. "You risked your safety."
"I was in good hands," she answered. Taste? "And that was no Rut—"
"Of course you are in good hands," Klaus stated, ignoring her protests. His jaw seemed to tic, teeth clenched. "This is my village."
Damn him. Her glare deepened. Silence settled. Rain began tapping softly against the stone courtyard. She opened her mouth abruptly but Klaus raised a hand, an umbrella popped open with the other to shield her from the wet and the cold. He stared at her then, with half-lidded too dark eyes. The wind blew, the duo stepped closer, almost as if to shield her.
Fucking hell.
Her cheeks burned at their actions. Zen scoffed. A small smile lifted the corners of Klaus's lips. "Next time," he murmured. "No bathrooms, Quinn. Only our bedroom." His eyes flashed.
She blinked then at his words, eyes widening, chagrin frothing. "But—"
He grabbed her roughly then, hands on her waist, pulled her flush against him eyes hard on her. "You'll get wet and cold," he hissed. "And I'll be damned if you fall ill again, understood?"
Her eyes widened then. A hot flush on her cheeks. A strange shiver in her throat. Klaus merely looked at her, expression unmoving, but the smallest of smirks on the corner of his cheeks. "Fine," she muttered, gaze turning to Zen. The Omega was pouting in his corner, nose scrunched.
What the fuck?
He didn't seem to notice her confusion. Zen looked away toward the gates, jaw tightening once before he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We found another storage site," he muttered flatly. "Mostly medical supplies."
But the energy had already shifted. And suddenly Minty's words came back with awful clarity. Jealousy. They were both jealous. Jealous of Helios. And now Zen was jealous of Klaus. Thunder cracked low across the compound. Quinn exhaled slowly before the silence could deepen any further and stepped forward, catching Zen lightly by the sleeve.
"Well," she announced firmly, "you owe me a horse-riding lesson."
Both men blinked at her. Zen raised a brow. "You want to learn?" Zen asked cautiously.
"Not particularly," Quinn replied dryly. She'd much prefer a vehicle, but fuel was an issue they faced. "But might as well. Where did you find them?"
"They were wild," Zen explained. "Caught them in the fields down south. They travel to find grass. I tamed them first," Zen shrugged. "Then we got them with the team. Now, we ride them out to save our strength." A pout revealed itself on his mouth. "I wanted to show you today." That explained the bad mood.
"Impressive," she whistled. "Taming horses in a week? That's fucking amazing."
A grin cracked across his face before he could stop it, sudden and boyish enough to break something in Quinn's chest. "Thanks." The tension eased after that, though not entirely. Quinn still noticed the way Klaus lingered closer afterward, and the way Zen kept glancing at her like he was trying very hard not to make it obvious.
Rain began pouring properly a minute later, darkening the dusty ground almost instantly. The scent of wet earth rising rich into the air. The team hurried to secure the supplies before the storm fully broke overhead, and one of the horses jerked sharply against its reins with a shrill nervous whinny as thunder cracked louder through the sky.
Zen moved before anyone else could react. One hand came up against the mare's neck in a steady calming stroke while he murmured something low beneath his breath. There was a gentleness in his touch, one that Quinn had never seen from him before. A strange almost motherly nature to him. The horse settled almost immediately beneath his hands, nervous muscles easing while rain misted the dark strands of Zen's hair.
Quinn stared, could not stop the thoughts from spilling from her mouth.
"That was kind of hot."
Silence crashed down around them. Zen froze mid-motion with his hand still resting against the horse's neck while somewhere beside her Klaus made a soft strangled sound. Even the guards suddenly seemed deeply committed to pretending they had not heard a single word.
Shit.
A blush caked her cheeks.
Quinn shut her eyes briefly. "Forget I said that," she muttered into her hands, heat flooding violently into her face. "Fuck that was cheesy as hell."
When she looked up again, Zen's ears had turned bright red beneath the rain.
"You think I'm hot?" he asked. The sheer awe in his voice made everything worse. Quinn immediately turned like she intended to walk directly into the storm, but fingers caught around her wrist before she made it more than a step. The umbrella remained over her head. "No, wait," Zen said quickly, looking genuinely dazed now. "Say it again. Please? I think I need to hear it one more time."
Rain began falling harder, droplets tapping against stone. Klaus's fingers tightened around the handle of the umbrella. Moments ago, Zen had been the jealous one, sharp around the edges, irritation in his jaw because too much of Quinn's attention had lingered on Klaus. Now Zen looked moments away from ascending into the heavens because she had complimented him once.
Worse still, a smugness was beginning to appear.
She noticed it immediately. "Zen," she warned.
"What?" Zen shot back, already grinning.
Quinn crossed her arms. "You cannot get cocky from a single compliment."
"I'm not cocky."
"Look at you," she muttered. "You look like you've won."
Zen looked deeply pleased with himself. "I did. You think I'm hot."
Quinn barked out a startled laugh at the exact moment the rain broke open above them. Heavy sheets hammered across the compound hard enough that voices rose instantly from every direction as people scrambled to get the horses to shelter.
"Inside," Klaus ordered immediately.
The horses were already being led toward the stables when Zen caught Quinn's wrist and dragged her with him through the storm. Rain soaked through her clothes almost instantly, cold water dripping down the back of her neck while mud splashed beneath their feet. The umbrella was useless now, hovering over her head as Klaus sprinted after them. Zen pulled her harder, almost flying into the air. She slammed into the storm, not like it mattered. A curse snapped from Klaus's teeth.
"Be careful!" he snarled from behind them.
"Zen!" she shouted in the rain.
"You'll get sick!" Zen screamed back. "It's better to just run home as quickly as we can!"
Klaus caught up a second later, one hand landing briefly against Quinn's lower back to guide her around a patch of mud near the steps. The touch lasted barely a second before disappearing again after guiding her to safety. Still, Zen noticed. And she felt it in the way his grip tightened around her wrist afterward.
Tiny things. Always the tiny things.
By the time they burst through the doors of the pack house, all three of them were soaking wet, wet enough to leave watery footprints across the floorboards. Warm light spilled through the room alongside the smell of garlic, broth, and the warm smell of burning wood. The heat enveloped her instantly.
"Welcome home!" Elysian appeared from the kitchen doorway, a sweet smile on his face. There was delight in his eyes when he caught sight of her, the happiness almost stealing her breath away. But his eyes narrowed a second after. The rage was immediate, and already glares were shot at the duo by her side.
"Why is she so wet?" he snarled.
Zen pointed at Klaus. The leader sighed. "A miscalculation."
Quinn pointed vaguely toward the windows. "It started raining."
"That is not a good enough explanation," Elysian informed her, already marching across the room to grab her shoulders and inspect her like she had returned from war. "Your hands are freezing." He glared at the duo behind her. "Damn it! You need to take care of her!"
"I'm fine," she insisted. Fucking hell, she wasn't breakable.
Elysian clucked his tongue. "You are visibly not fine."
"Klaus looks guilty," Icarus observed from the couch.
She had not noticed the vampire, who rose from the sofa rubbing his eyes. He'd clearly been taking a nap and his hair was a mess of bedhead curls. His cheeks flushed from sleep. He regarded her and yawned, blinking sleep from his eyes.
Cute.
"I'm not guilty," Klaus answered immediately.
"Interesting," Solar murmured, entering the room with sparkling wings. He glanced up then, a raised eyebrow. "That implies there's something to feel guilty about." He turned to look at her interest kindling in his eyes, and then the sharp bite of alarm. "She's soaked. What the fuck Klaus?" Zen, infuriatingly, looked smug again, having somehow escaped the blame entirely.
Rain battered the windows hard enough to rattle its frames. Quinn shivered once as damp fabric clung colder against her skin and immediately every head in the room turned toward her. The spike in anxiety was almost palpable. Gods, they were overreacting. She sneezed. The room erupted.
"Get dressed," Elysian said, panic frothing in his voice. "Should I get your clothes. I'll get some soup—"
"I know where my room is," she reminded him.
"Should I grab a towel?" Solar fretted.
"There are towels in my room."
Icarus interrupted quickly. "My spot by the fire's the warmest. I've been here all day."
Solar clucked his tongue. "No, sit with me, I'll wrap you in my wings."
Icarus frowned. "Your wings are fucking thin. They'll be useless."
"They've got heat in them!"
"No, they do not!"
"I'm changing before you all lose your minds," she announced quickly. They were both being idiots. Quinn escaped before they could continue, though the sound of their bickering followed her as she climbed up to her room. Thunder rolled again outside, closer now, while the lamps overhead flickered faintly against the storm.
Her room looked exactly as she'd left it, untouched and far too clean. With a relieved sigh, she started peeling damp sleeves from her arms, already thinking vaguely about finding one of her dry shirts from the dresser before the cold could properly settle into her bones. She shrugged out of her wet things, hands hovering over her shelves. She frowned. She could have sworn her clothes had been touched. But whatever.
She pulled on a long fluffy jumper that hung to her thighs. She pulled it up to press the fabric to her nose, inhaling the gentle infusion of pack scent. A mixture of her Omegas wafted into her lungs. Damn it was good. She missed the smell of her boys— She froze. Because Zen and Klaus were now standing behind her, thankfully entering only after she'd worn her clothes.
"Seriously?" she snapped, turning to notice that she'd left the fucking door open.
Zen blinked once from where he stood already looking confused. "What?" He shut the door behind them with his foot as though this entire interaction were perfectly reasonable.
"I am perfectly capable of changing myself," she told them.
"Our clothes are in here too," Klaus explained. Only then did Quinn notice the boxes stacked against the wall. "Temporarily," he told her.
She huffed. "Were you that eager to kick me out for the extra space?"
"We take turns sleeping in your room," Zen answered. "It was my turn and then it was Klaus's." Klaus at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
She gawked at them then unable to speak. "That's not fair."
"We can't sleep if we don't do that," Zen explained, eyes flickering as he shrugged as if it were normal. "I need your scent or else my Omega will go crazy. I didn't want to break down your door, so I slept in your room." She gawked at them, but a strange pleasure stirred in her chest. Heat roaring low.
Klaus exhaled. "We'll change the sheets."
"But…" She searched for the words. "You could just tell me!"
Zen raised a brow. "And then what will you do?"
"I…" the words were choked in her throat. He smirked then, seemed pleased at her inability to come up with another remark. Goddamn him. Klaus remained silent.
Outside, rain battered against the windows. Wet fabric clung stubbornly to both of them, outlining hard muscle and golden skin while water dripped steadily from dark hair onto the floorboards below. And Quinn, disastrously, noticed it all, awareness crawling all over her skin. Fuck. Before she could stammer out an excuse to leave. Zen scrubbed one hand through his rain-soaked hair before grabbing the hem of his shirt and peeling it off in one smooth motion. Quinn's brain promptly stopped functioning.
What the fuck?
Because honestly, that was deeply unfair.
Warm light slid across damp skin and hard muscle, water meandering downward along his chest, flowing to the deep V line before it disappeared along the happy trial of his stomach. Years of combat and survival had carved definition everywhere, broad shoulders tapering into lean muscle and a too damn skinny waist. His body was marked with old scars, the pale lines against tan skin. He tossed the soaked shirt carelessly into a basket in the corner, acting as if he did not have the slightest awareness of the turmoil he was causing.
He obviously did.
She could see the smirk hooked on his lips.
Then Klaus followed suit like the absolute menace he was.
Quinn tried to look away, but fucking hell, she simply could not stop staring.
Because really, what else was she supposed to do?
Klaus pulled his shirt over his head slowly, dark hair falling messily into his eyes while water slid down thick arms disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants. He was broader than Zen, thicker everywhere, overflowing with strength as he towered before her. Sunkissed and softly defined in all the right ways. Muscle shifted as he shook rainwater from his hands, completely unaware—or perhaps he was painfully aware—of the effect he was having on her.
"You're staring," Klaus said eventually, but there was a gorgeous purr on his tongue.
Quinn nearly choked. "I am not."
Zen grinned while Klaus leaned against the dresser with infuriating casualness, apparently unaware that standing half-dressed beneath warm lighting should qualify as psychological warfare. Outside, lightning flashed white against the windows.
"Are you not going to wear your clothes?" she snapped.
Zen stepped closer first, slowly enough that she could have moved away if she truly wanted to. She swallowed hard. His eyes drifted downward briefly over damp hair, flushed cheeks, before lifting back to her face again with enough intensity to make her pulse stumble. She gulped.
Klaus noticed immediately. But this time the jealousy didn't feel quite as dangerous. Instead, he only smirked faintly, knowing flickering behind his eyes as he leaned back against the dresser. She glared at them both. She was beginning to notice the sweetness of their scent. The dark chocolate and cream spilling from their pores. It was heady, it was making her lightheaded. Her body clenched.
"Don't worry about us," Zen said quietly, a gentle chuckle on his tongue. "We're familiar with a little pack jealousy. Keeps us all on our toes." He tilted his head. "I'm used to being the baby of the pack. So…It's a bit more difficult for me." Klaus snorted.
Quinn stared.
"We don't let it become actual damage," he continued calmly. "We're mates. Some envy is inevitable, but we know each other too well to let it turn ugly."
Klaus hummed.
"Some of us are also annoyingly patient," Zen added.
"I'm not," Klaus interrupted immediately, eyes still fixed on Quinn. "Not with you."
Zen sighed. "Ah fuck."
A chuckle started from the pack Omega, a solid almost smoky sound that vibrated to her core. "It's about time," Klaus murmured, the glint of canines revealing themselves. "You learned your place."
Zen growled.
Quinn swallowed hard as realization slammed into her with horrifying clarity. Being trapped in a rainstorm with two unfairly attractive men was already dangerous enough. But there were seven men, seven mates.
Fuck.
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