Page 37 of Blizzards and Brews
Lindsay’s bite.
The dopey smile on his face and the tender expression he wore made my heart ache for my brother. Never, not even once, had I seen him like this after a heat.
My vision turned blurry as I tried to get a handle on my emotions, going from aroused to emotional in an instant.
Heats really were a trip even if you weren’t actively participating in them.
Dustin and I looked at each other, wordlessly communicating on the game plan. While I went and unhooked the lights and pulled down the white drapes, he took a seat next to Ollie and slung an arm around our brother, encouraging him to drink some more and have a snack.
He definitely needed a real meal, but we’d have to settle that when we got home. But for now, I was content to watch Ollie lean against Dustin with that dreamy look on his face.
“She bit me,” Ollie whispered into the air. “She actually bit me.”
“Of course, she did,” Dustin said. “It was only a matter of time.”
Ollie sighed. “It was such a long time, I’d begun to lose hope. And now? Now that’s all I feel.”
I did as well, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road in front of us. A heat and normal everyday life were twoverydifferent things, and while Lindsay had agreed to give us a chance, I knew it was a precious, fragile thing.
Being worried for years that you weren’t enough or that you were going to ruin a decades-long friendship didn’t go awayovernight. We were going to need to approach this with care and give her the time she needed.
Of course, that didn’t mean we wouldn’t reinforce the fact that this was meant to be. That our pack was exactly what each of us deserved.
I loaded everything from the storage room into the trunk, knowing that Ollie probably wanted to immediately commandeer it for his own nest. It wasn’t long until we were home and Dustin was making a call to an industrial cleaner while I hovered outside the bathroom while Ollie showered.
Once again I was thankful that I didn’t hear any sobs this time. In fact, when he came out his eyes, while tired, were bright and clear.
Relief unfurled in my chest and for the first time in a long time, I indulged in that hope Ollie was always feeling.
“Spencer texted and he got Lindsay home safe and sound. He just hit a drive-thru and should be here soon.”
I nodded in acknowledgement. “I guess this means you’ll be wanting to make him a room.”
“Well, I don’t exactly think I can sleep alone right now after all of that, but yes. He’s not going anywhere, Adam. He’s my mate,” he said as his brows furrowed in concern. “Please don’t go all alpha on me.”
I held my hands up. “I’m not. I’m going all brother on you right now. I’m not discrediting who he is to you, Ollie. I’d never do that, especially after how he stepped up. It’s just a big change and I didn’t want to make any assumptions.”
“Yeah, I get that. You can be an ass enough on your own,” he deadpanned.
“Who are you and what have you done to my sweet brother?”
He had the decency to blush. “I’m still me. Just don’t poke me about him or Linds. It makes me feel all possessive.”
I totally knew how he felt…for one of them at least.
Spencer showed up not long after that, armed with large bags of one of our guilty pleasures.
Ollie perked up again, throwing himself at Spencer. The alpha shifted the bags to one hand so that he could hold my brother in the other.
“I guess this means you like cheese curds?” Spencer chuckled.
“I like you,” Ollie corrected. “But I like cheese curds too. This is one of our favorites.”
Spencer hummed under his breath, toeing off his boots. He carried over the bags and set them down on the coffee table. He pulled Ollie down against him before looking at me and Dustin.
“I wasn’t sure what y’all liked, so I got a bit of everything. And by ‘bit,’ I mean a lot. I know it’s not a home-cooked meal but once I have a solid sleep I’m more than happy to cook something real. Thank god for good generators.”
“This is great, man,” Dustin said, reaching over to start searching through the bags. “Thanks for doing this.”