AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Do you really think we’d tell you we were ready to settle down if we didn’t mean it? That Iggy would?"
Aside from their honest nature, they’ve always shown me who they are as people. I may not have known them long, but it feels like we’ve been together for years, not months. Weeks, really.
They can’t walk down the street without someone recognizing them, thanking them, wanting to hang out with them, talk to them. I know deep down they’re good men.
"I’m still getting used to… trusting good intentions."
"That’s okay. We’ll get there."
"I guess we should table the baby-talk for now," I say, leaning back in Iggy's lap.
"Nah, fuck that. After we bond, after we’re out of this mess—we’re in this. Feel me?"
"I feel you, Red," I laugh.
"You’ll make a beautiful pregnant woman," Iggy growls against my skin.
"Dude, did you just develop a pregnancy kink? You know you can’t electrocute your pregnant wife, right?" Cass laughs, getting up from the table and cleaning up dinner.
Iggy pauses, then kisses my neck, dragging his teeth across my skin. "It’s mild stimulation, not electrocution. And no problem. Just means I need to get creative."
"You three are ridiculous." And intense and sincere and make me feel shaky and vulnerable, like I'm walking on new legs.
Chapter 31
Imogen
Ophelia keeps staring at me from across the seat. Riding with her and her mates in a rented town car, we’re all seated in the back. Sully clasps Ophelia’s hand while Asher squeezes her thigh. Enzo’s staring at his phone while Theo runs commentary the entire drive.
"Where’s the red?" She narrows her eyes from across the seat.
My fingers graze my lips, in nothing more than a nude balm and gloss. In fact, all my makeup is simple. My cheeks glow, my skin fresh and plump.
A month ago—another lifetime ago—I’d have made up a lie because I knew how the truth sounded. I’d have taken the judgment upon myself to spare another.
"Stevens decided they don’t like the red lipstick or black eye makeup. It sets the wrong tone, makes me look too old or like a harlot. Notice anything else?"
Ophelia scrunches her eyes. "You’ve got a bow in your hair."
"She looks like a teenager, which is disturbing on another level. I’m assuming this was also their request?"
I nod at Enzo, and there’s a collective grumbling throughout their pack.
Tugging at the hem of my peter pan collar long-sleeved dress, I feel uncomfortable in my skin. The dress is one I've owned for some time, and though it always hung off my frame, it now shows off curves and fits snugly. My mates groaned this morning, telling me how sexy I looked, and while I felt sexy when I put it on, I wish I'd gone shopping and bought something baggy and ugly.
My new curves are mine. Not for my mother to poke and prod. Not for Stevens to reject. But I refused my mother's suggestion that I get fitted for something new tonight, so my compromise with her was that I'd wear the peter pan dress, which is a more youthful style.
"So what’s the plan?" I ask, trying to distract myself.
We review the plan again, though it's not especially complicated; Ophelia’s mates will distract Stevens while mine run interference if necessary, and she and I will sneak away from the party in search of anything that could be incriminating.
Ophelia and I made Dante swear they would stay out of sight. In fact, they shouldn’t even be going. I'm concerned that they’ll get angry and ruin the plan, but over the last few weeks, especially last night and again this morning before we left, they made it clear they hated what I agreed to do and wouldn’t stay home. But they promised to behave.
It’s beautiful in its simplicity, and since Stevens consistently treats me like an omega statue, I should be able to slip away easily.
We get to the mansion around seven, right as the party starts. My mother expected me to arrive earlier so she could make me presentable, but I've reached my limit in obeying her every demand.
The moment we step into the grand foyer, we're greeted by the faint sounds of laughter and the delicate clinking of dishes and trays coming from the dining area, specially arranged for the party. My mother stops before I can go any further.
