As soon as I was spent, I collapsed on top of Nick, breathing hard. It took a few moments before my brain got enough oxygen that I could think clearly again. I'd confessed my feelings to Nick. And then he'd kissed me. And then we had somehow...

It had all happened so fast, like something compelled us to act the way we did—or like we'd both been waiting too long. Could that be true?

I looked down at Nick's face, but he seemed barely awake. I couldn't blame him for that; I was drained too. Exhaustion wasn't the only thing I felt, though. No, there was satisfaction as well. For the first time in my life, I felt truly satisfied. Rolling on my side, I pulled Nick close to me. His hair was slightly damp and the scent that came off it was so sweet I wanted to bury my nose in it.

How could he still have that effect on me even after we'd just had sex?

I knew the answer, though.

It was because he was Nick. My Nick. No other reason required.

In my arms, he turned until he could burrow his face in my chest. “That was nice,” he mumbled.

I had to laugh. Nice? Nice didn't even come close to describing it.

But what if it hadn't been as good for him?

I stared at Nick. “Do I need to try harder next time?” After the words left my mouth, I stopped. There was going to be a next time, wasn't there? Suddenly, I couldn't be sure. Nick lived in LA, after all. When was I going to see him again? All this time I'd been telling myself that it wasn't important whether or not Nick returned my feelings, but I could see now how wrong I was. After this, the thought of losing him again made everything in me turn cold.

But how could I stop him from leaving? I couldn't. It was his decision to make.

“You don't need to try harder,” Nick muttered, and it took me a second to remember what I'd asked. “That was perfect.” He relaxed, but I couldn't.

All my life I’d heard alphas talk about claiming their omegas, but this one? This omega had claimed me, and I couldn’t do anything but hold on to him and wonder what I'd do if perfect wasn't enough.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of raised voices coming from somewhere within the house. Nick was still sleeping, his head a warm weight on my shoulder. He was drooling too. I snorted. Somehow, he was adorable even when he was drooling on me.

When the shouting continued, I looked up.

“...better not believe you can do that in this house!” I heard the end of an angry sentence.

What was that all about? A spousal disagreement?

When the voices stopped, I glanced at Nick again, but he was still sleeping. Of course. He'd always been able to sleep through anything. Sometimes when we were children he slept over at my place and he never heard my parents' late-night fights. Nothing could disturb him. In a way, I was glad of that. I never wanted him to know how much my parents hated each other, not while his parents had such a picture book marriage.

Trying to fall back asleep, I used to tell myself that when Nick and I were grown-ups, we would never fight like my parents did. A child's fantasy I almost forgot. I hadn't thought about those nights in ages.

Gently, I placed Nick's head on the pillow instead of my shoulder and then I got up from the bed. After throwing on some fresh clothes, I stepped out into the hallway. The fighting just now hadn't sounded friendly at all, and something told me I should check up on our host. It was the decent thing to do—and it was what Nick would have wanted me to do.

He'd broken my heart a little last night when he told me his brother wouldn't listen to him. He cared so much. Rhys and Nick weren't identical, not by a long shot, but they were always close even when they didn't have the same friends, or hobbies, or even interests. Seeing his brother stuck in this sort of community must be tearing Nick apart.

Following a quiet sobbing sound, I entered the living room. I spotted Rhys hunched over on the couch, knees drawn to his chest. There were shards of broken china on the floor next to the couch and when Rhys heard me step into the room, his eyes snapped to me, wide in panic.

“It's only me,” I said quickly, holding my hands up.

He exhaled and rubbed his face. Then he sat up straight. “I'm sorry. You surprised me. I didn't think anyone was up yet.”

“Well, you and your husband were obviously up.” I sat on the edge of the couch, as far away from Rhys as I could, so as not to startle him. I very much doubted he wanted another alpha to intrude in his personal space right now.

He shook his head. “We always get up early for morning prayer.” As he moved his head, the light streaming in through the window illuminated his face. He looked just as tired as he had the day before and I wondered if he’d slept at all.

“I'm sorry I startled you,” I said, trying not to stare at the broken china on the floor. I’d have trouble sleeping too, if I was living in a house where plates went flying. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just a small fight.”

I shot Rhys a dubious look.

“Having strangers in the house makes Jeremiah nervous,” he added.

“So, this isn't normal behavior for him?” It better not be, but it took Rhys a moment too long to reply.

“It isn't,” he said after a small pause. Then, “Please don't tell Nick about this. He'll take it the wrong way.”

“You want me to lie to your brother?”

Rhys bit his lower lip. “I'm not asking you to lie to him. I'm asking you not to mention it.”

“He’d want to know. He came here because he’s worried about you.”

“And that’s exactly why you can’t tell him. He’d freak, even though no one got hurt.”

“You could have gotten hurt.”

Rhys shook his head. “He wasn’t really aiming at me. It was just… It was stupid. He wanted to wake you so you could take part in our prayers. I told him to let you sleep. He said everyone in the house had to pray if we didn't want to be damned. I told him that was silly. We started fighting. He threw the plate. He didn't mean to hit me. He wouldn't do that. You have to believe me.”

I could tell by the look on his face that he truly believed the words he was saying. Nick was right; there was no swaying him, even though I kind of wanted to pack Rhys into my car and drive off with him and Nick both.

“I'll believe you under one condition,” I said instead, because I was not the kind of alpha who dismissed an omega's wishes.

“What's that?”

“You have to promise me that the next time your husband threatens you in any way, you tell me. I don't care what time of the day or night it is. I will come here and get you out.”

Rhys was quiet for a long time. I couldn't tell if he was simply thinking or stunned. Eventually, he nodded. “Okay.”

“All right.” I gave him a smile and got up from the couch. “I'll go put on some coffee. I'm sure someone's gonna need it when he wakes up.”

Rhys shot me a devilish grin. “Oh, I'm sure he will.”

Oh God. “You heard us last night, didn't you?”

He chuckled. Well, at least his spirits were lifting. “There was no way not to hear you.”

“I hope we didn't damn this whole house?” I tried to joke.

“Nah, don't worry about it.” Rhys waved me off. “Enthusiastic coupling of a mated alpha-omega pair? You've probably blessed it.”

I cringed without wanting to. “Interesting religion you guys have.”

Rhys gave me a soft smile. It seemed I hadn't insulted him, at least. “Isn't it just?” he said. Dusting himself off, he stood from the couch. “I better clean this mess up. You'll find everything you need in the kitchen. And... thank you for your help.”

“No thanks needed. That's what family is for, right?” I said, remembering that he believed I'd married his brother. That I hadn't was immaterial. I loved Nick, and I wasn't going to watch quietly while his family was being threatened.