Sugar Coated

57

Delaney Linwood

"Could hardly believe it when he told me, but damn if you aren't a pair bond, ain't that wild," Bea marveled for a moment at the two of us on the couch, giving me a split second of reprieve before a whistle split the air and an unknown alpha followed in behind her.

A weighty presence settled in the room that clogged the back of my throat with some sensation that was akin to fear. He was tall enough that even a few steps below Bea on the stairs he towered over her. His dark black hair was styled in a messy undercut the hair on the top of his head was overgrown enough that it fell into his eyes and he was forced to run a hand through it to brush it out of his face.

My attention though was first and foremost drawn to the scrawling vibrant tattoos that crawled from the edge of his jawline down below the collar of the white t-shirt he wore and presumably across his chest before peeking back out at the edges of his sleeves and down his arms. Even as I felt the urge to stare and figure out the shadows of images in the inking I felt the itch to turn away and break eye contact with him.

Andres followed up from behind looking more agitated than I had ever seen him before, his cell phone in hand.

"Bea...he's going to do more than just growl," Em whined at the same time his fingers tightened around my upper arm.

The skitter of apprehension tingled down my spine, pushing me to scoot forward until I blocked Em behind me, the bitter scent of chocolate hit the air at the same time that the alpha's eyes widened. His hands raised in a placating gesture and Bea stepped in front of him, "Gabe's not a threat."

I could hear the faintest sound in the back of Em's throat as he pulled me closer to him until I could feel his chin against the crown of my head. He'd tried to tuck me away against him.

"He's safe I promise. I wouldn't have brought him here if he wasn't," Bea shot a look over her shoulder at the massive Alpha, "wouldn't have kept him around if he wasn't either."

"Since when have you had an," Em paused long enough that I gathered that he was searching for the word, "alpha acquaintance?"

That phrase got a different look out of the male, he laughed and the sound was something close to a scoff, "Alpha acquaintance, huh? A bit of a dry description of us don't you think? Unless of course, they don't know about us?" One eyebrow arched up and the piercing caught in the light.

Bea rolled her eyes and the tension in the room dissipated further, "of course they don't fucking know about you. If I had my way I wouldn't have known about you."

"Adrien will be devastated," his hands that had been held up in surrender dropped to his sides. When he smiled at her I could see the same hints of sharpness that I did in Jax, though something about Gabe felt sharp enough to cut.

"Adrien is a big boy and will pull himself together," Bea tsked as she finally moved to step into the room, Gabe shadowed her movements until the two of them dropped onto the chaise at the end of the sectional.

Andres stood at the top of the stairs obviously undecided between whether he needed to go to Jax and inform him of the unexpected addition or to stay with us and stand guard I'm sure. His phone hung limp in his hand, the screen still lit from whatever panicked message he'd been about to send to our Alpha.

The bitter bite of chocolate had smoothed ever so slightly, though it did sharpen the second the two dropped on the couch and Em pulled me tighter against us, shifting us backward away from the two by maybe an inch. After a few seconds though Em's scent calmed again, though I couldn't say anything for the frantic beat of his heart.

"This is Gabe," Bea started.

"We gathered," Em quipped and it rewarded him with a tart look and pursed lips from Bea.