Page 55 of Bubblegum Pop
Iglared at my brother as he waved his arms around enthusiastically, his eyes manic, the first signs of rut showing.
“She said she’s free for her entire heat!” he blurted out.
Candy told us this morning she had sorted something out with Benny and had four days to herself.
“That doesn’t mean we should go,” I said, trying to reason with him. But with his pupils already blown, his aura spiking, and fierce snarls ripping from him, it would take more than words to get him to change his mind.
Plus, I wasn’t exactly convinced by my own weak arguments, anyway.
“For. Herself,” Zeus said pointedly. “It’s going to be just her, in her room, begging for a knot. We can’t leave our omega like that.”
“Which is exactly why we’re not going,” Apollo said softly, bending down to wrap his arms around Zeus’s neck from behind.
We sat in one of the staff retiring rooms with me hunched over on a bunk bed while Zeus had pulled up a chair in front of me. Every fifth floor had multiple rooms for staff, with a kitchen and a whole dorm of bunk beds. There were so many of us working shifts, day and night, it could be a struggle to get any privacy, but Zeus snapped at a pair of betas who joined us earlier, and they quickly scurried off.
“Even if we don’t join her, she needs guards!” Zeus growled, looking up at Apollo.
Apollo bent over Zeus, wrapping his arms around his neck from behind. “She’s going to be alone in her room for days,” he said, nuzzling his cheek, and a hint of jealousy wavered inside me. Apollo shot me a small smile, definitely picking up on it, even though Zeus’s temper dominated the bond. “She doesn’t need guards, she needs space.” Though Zeus was too amped up to tell that Apollo wasn’t exactly against the idea, either.
“If she wants guards, she gets them,” Zeus bit out. “I’m not letting any of the other teams take on the job when she’s alone. If she opens the door and begs for a knot, we’re going to be the ones standing there and answering.”
“No, Zeus,” I said forcefully, keeping my tone level. “There should be a beta team on duty, anyway.”
“But she’s asked for us!”
“And what do you think is going to happen the moment you catch a scent of her heat and go into full fucking rut?” I barked at him.
“Then I’ll be there to help,” Apollo said, love flowing from him, though his tension was clear.
We wanted her, of course we did. It’s all we fucking thought about. But there was a huge gulf between wanting someone and risking our lives to get them. It was why we had been stuck in this fucking shitshow for years.
“Right. Fine. Good,” Zeus grumbled, his brows knitting together in a scowl as he stood, knocking Apollo’s hands away. He was too pent-up and missed the pain crossing our mate’s face.
Zeus folded his arms, shoving his hands under his armpits as he paced, a sure sign his restless energy was going to blow.
He gritted his teeth, shooting me a glare before meeting Apollo’s open gaze.
“I’ll see you down there, then,” Zeus huffed before he slammed the door behind him, and I turned on Apollo, who was looking at me pointedly. His pain was shifting, his mouth still a thin line, but there was a gleam in his eyes.
“This is such a bad idea,” I said. There wasn’t a single chance Zeus could stand outside her door and resist. Which meant we had to go and guard her again, even though the whole point of Rio was to make sure we weren’t forced into this situation. Only this time, instead of fucking other alphas, she was going to be fucking herself.
Apollo sighed heavily. “I’m not leaving Zeus alone down there.”
Wisps of excitement zipped through the bond, and it wasn’t only from my brother.
I clicked my tongue and went to push myself off the bed. “Just stay. I’ll make us tea or something,” he said, looking at me expectedly.
I could only take five seconds of his hopeful stare before I submitted. “Coffee then,” I relented, and he beamed at me in return, nearly blinding me. He still caught me off guard, despite how long we’d been together. I couldn’t resist him when he shone so brightly.
“Coffee it is,” he smirked, spinning on one foot and heading for the kitchen. I don’t know how he could be so relaxed when we were basically sticking our heads under a guillotine.
The moment Apollo returned with two mugs, a bright flare of panic burst through the bond. I yelled out in shock as a cry tore from Apollo. Zeus’s fear plunged through us, and I shot up, already grabbing my jacket. With each second, his fear became worse until I was choking on my own breath. My brother was four floors away and it was so strong I nearly collapsed.
If anything had happened to Candy, we couldn’t waste a single second. Apollo had already dumped the mugs on a side table and jumped into action, our training kicking into action. We’d been in enough life-or-death situations, we knew the drill.
Until a giant blast of lust nearly floored me. Apollo gasped, clasping the railing of a bunk bed as any fear we had vanished into thin air.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I growled, glowering at Apollo. “He couldn’t even last five minutes.”