Pack Origin (A Blissful Omegaverse, #0.5)

by Kate King

I glanced back, and sure enough, he stood at the window, his gaze fixed on where I was still clutching Ares’ wrist. Damnit. I dropped his hand quickly, but it made no difference as he slung an arm over my shoulders instead. I sighed, torn between telling him to back off for the sake of appearances and liking his warm scent.

“So, what the fuck did I just walk in on in there?” Ares growled in my ear, not removing his arm from around my shoulders. I tilted my head, only half-aware of the words actually spoken, as an insane urge to press my neck into his mouth hit me. “Nothing,” I whined, my voice sounding foreign.

Ares stepped back abruptly, just before the skin of my neck grazed his teeth.

My ears burned—right there was the sole reason I despised Flora. She’d been making a play for my guys for years. Petty? Yes, but I didn’t care.

jumped out of the car and rushed around to Bliss’ door, entwining our fingers as I hauled her out with enough force that she landed against my chest. She squealed in surprise but didn’t step back.

Her sweet, flowery scent wrapped around us, and I dropped my nose, unable to stop myself from breathing her in.

“Good morning.” Goose bumps ran down her neck as my breath grazed her ear. We hadn’t had the chance to talk yet, and the distance was killing me. I pulled my head back, meeting her violet eyes, and nearly stuttered on my words. “Missed you.” I punctuated it with a playful wink. She stepped away from me, cheeks pink, but didn’t let go of my hand. “I saw you last night.” Heat shot to my dick, and I had to adjust my pants. I desperately wanted to know how she tasted.

I glowered at a kid who stared at Bliss a second too long, and the tangy, bitter taste of fear filled my mouth. Good.

We walked directly to her class before the guys split off, Ares hesitating at the door. “Stay with her.” “Hell yeah.” I smirked. I hadn’t planned on letting Bliss go, but it helped that he was on board.

Ares took a step toward her, and she had to tip her head all the way back to meet his gaze. “I’ll see you at lunch.” She swallowed before answering, ...

Her scent filled the surrounding space, and I had to work hard to suppress my groan. She always smelled good, but this was more than that. Ares’ gaze met mine, his brows pulled toge...

Her smooth, tanned skin on full display had my fingers twitching to run my fingers over it. I shifted until I barely brushed my leg against her and smiled at her sharp intake of breath.

Bliss flushed, pink rising to her cheeks. She firmly ignored me, which just taunted me to do it again.

She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, the baby hair around her neck damp with sweat. My girl was hot...

With her neck exposed, nothing prevented her sweet, addictive scent from wrapping around me, and I shifted in closer until I pressed fully into her side. Her hooded gaze met mine, lip caught between her teeth. Fuck. An electric current burned through me as her tongue wet her lips. A low rumble ...

My lust morphed into anger as his fingers brushed close to her arm. I racked my brain trying to come up with the guy’s name. Jason, or maybe Jake. Who cared? He wasn’t going to last long enough for her to say it. He glanced my way but quickly turned his eyes down.

She let out a breath, sounding almost relieved. I glared at him, my heart rate spiking. I didn’t fucking like him.

The idiot reached out, but instead of taking the pencil, he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers with hers, the pencil held awkwardly between them. A low growl of warning rumbled from my chest, and he snapped his hand back, looking a little dazed. He glanced between Bliss and me before saying, “Never mind.” The only thing stopping me from slamming his sandy-blond head into his desk was Bliss’ worried gaze.

We moved through the morning like zombies. My irritation only got worse at the looks she was getting. Her skin had stayed flushed, and I raised my hand, rubbing my finger over her cheek. “You feeling alright?” “Yeah, just warm.” I had half a mind to tell her to take the sweater off, but then I really would bash someone’s head for looking at her. She was tugging every protective instinct in me to the surface.

On the way to lunch, she sidestepped an overenthusiastic theater kid who was trying to talk to her about the upcoming show. I moved her to my other side and tucked her between me and the lockers. I swear, if one more person approached her—

“Hey, Bliss.” Andrew, a guy from our history class, sidled up to her and put his arm against the closest locker, stopping her from moving forwa...

She glanced up at him as she stripped off her sweatshirt, not even caring that now her tank top underneath was sweaty enough to be sticking to her skin like a wet T-shirt contest. I groaned and pulled her back firmly...

My voice dipped dangerously low when his gaze dropped to her chest. “Fuck off.” He took a step back, looking at me, but returned to Bliss. “...

In the entire time we’d been here, no one dared to disobey our order to stay away from her. Hanging out with four gigantic, terrifying alphas was one hell of a deterrent. Her voice came out firm. Good girl.

I wrapped my arms around her middle, and she sighed, relaxing into me. “Dude, you’re two seconds away from losing your teeth.” I let the growl come through my words, and he blanched.

“Uh, no, just being friendly.” “Don’t be,” Nox said, coming up beside us. “She has friends. Fuck off.”

Bliss tipped her head back, resting it on my chest, not caring that we chased off her potential date. A low purr silently rumbled through me, and she momentarily stiff...

It was now two random guys that came on to her. I clenched my teeth from the force of possessiveness I was feeling. She let her full weight lean against me, and Nox’s brows pinched together. She seemed weaker than normal.

Something was off with our girl. Nox growled low, the sounds reverberating in me. I loosened my grip, letting him pull her against him, but I didn’t let go of her hips.

Nox rubbed the back of his neck, looking highly conflicted. Then, the taste of smoke and honey filled my mouth, and his arm wrapped around her, pulling her tight, forcing me to let go. I smiled at the sound of his groan. The bastard was against us telling her everything and letting this p...

“Maybe we should bail for the rest of the day,” he said, looking down at her outfit—or lack thereof. Hell yeah, I was down for that. She tilted her head, staring up at him with hooded violet eyes. “Are you serious? You never skip.” Nox’s gaze caught on her mouth, and his chest rose and fell like he’d just run a marathon...

We made a beeline for our usual table. As we approached, I could swear his eyes followed her more than usual, and God knew I’d been paying attention.

We’d put the word out to stay the hell away from her, and no one had crossed that line.

Nox sat down at the table across from Bliss, a smile tipping his lips. “You look flushed.” I sat beside her, and she rested on my side. She yawned. “I’m burning up, but I feel fine otherwise.” Nox leaned over the table and ran a finger over her cheek. “Yeah?” “Mmmhmmm.” She purred at his touch. The sound had him practically crawling over the table before a cough nearby had him sit back down.

We couldn’t be seen as too friendly. People were used to our touching by now, but there were always going to be rumors about us. We were careful not to give any proof they were true.

His gaze stayed glued to his phone, even as his body turned toward her. The bastard was doing his best to stay distracted.

Talking to her was one thing, but no one sat with us. Ever. Nox and I gaped at each other, taken aback for a full beat as the guy sat down on the other side of her.

“Yeah, it’s very much taken,” she said quickly, trying to scoot away from the soccer player. “Sorry.” He tried to reach for her arm. “Aw, don’t be like that.” My hand shot out and grabbed the soccer player’s wrist, twisting hard. “Don’t touch.”

“What the fuck is this?” Ares’ harsh voice boomed through the cafeteria, and I jerked my head up, smirking. ’Bout fucking time. Ares strode down the center of the room, Rafe slightly behind him. Rage rolled off them in waves to the point where everyone in the room had to feel it.