5. DAISY

Their home was not what I expected. 

It was a penthouse in the middle of the city. The car was parked in an underground parking that was specially reserved for Alexander Wyatt. There was a pin code that had to be entered for the elevator to go straight up to the penthouse. 

Alexander stepped out of the elevator and walk right over to the dark oak door. He paused briefly before he pushed the door open and entered the penthouse. 

“Come on,” Valiant urged softly with a hand pressed to the small of my back. 

A light above the stove was on and a single lamp in the living room. It didn’t give me much light to take it all in, not that it mattered. Valiant steered me away from the living room, down a dark hall, and towards a door at the end. 

He pushed it open and stepped inside first to switch on the light. 

Everything about the room was simple. A bed and bedside tables, a closet, and a tall window with a view of half the city. The wall was painted a light green that matched the bed sheets. 

“You can make any changes you want,” Valiant said softly. “Just let me know what you need and I’ll make sure that you get it.”

 “I won’t be staying for long,” I told him. 

He raised an eyebrow. “You have a lot of faith in John.”

I didn’t reply. Walking over to the bed, I placed my bag down on it and turned to face him. It made me see the door that led into the bathroom and a big bookshelf I had missed earlier. 

“I want to show you something.” He gestured for me to follow him as he walked over to the bookshelf. 

I frowned when he pulled a specific book a few inches out of its spot and a click filled the room. He glanced at me, and then pulled the shelf away from the wall, revealing a secret room. 

“A nest if you ever need one.”

“I won’t,” I replied. 

But curiosity had me moving past him into the room. 

There were no windows. 

A big canopy bed occupied the center of the room. Thick purple curtains surrounded the bed which was covered with different size pillows. 

“There’s also a bathroom,” he said softly, pointing towards it. “And a closet filled with more pillows and blankets.”

“You have an omega?”

“No.”

I frowned. “But you have a nest.”

Valiant switched off the light and walked out of the room. I followed silently behind him, questions flooding my mind. Once we were in the bedroom again, he pushed the bookshelf back into place and turned to look at me. 

“I have a few cousins who visit sometimes,” he said softly. “They’re omega’s and we like to be prepared in case the unexpected happens.”

He looked me right in the eyes and lied to me, but I wasn’t going to push. If he didn’t want to tell me why they had a nest hidden away in their penthouse, I wasn’t going to push him. 

My eyes dropped to his neck, searching for a bond mark but I found nothing but bare skin. 

“I’ll show you around tomorrow.” He made his way over to the door. “My room is right across the hall if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled. “Sleep well, petal.”

The door clicked closed behind him. I stared at it, trying to make sense of the sudden loneliness that filled me. I didn’t want him to leave, but I didn’t want him to stay either.

Turning in a slow circle, I took everything in again. It looked nothing like my room which I didn’t like. My walls were decorated with fairy lights so I didn’t have to sleep with the main light on. 

At least there were lamps to use. 

I decided to take a quick shower and then climbed into bed. A sigh fell from my lips as I stared at the shadows created by the lamps. 

It was so silent that I could hear the ringing in my own ears. Were all three of them already in bed? I pushed the thought away as soon as it entered my mind. 

It was only going to be for two weeks. 

There was no reason for me to get to know them because as soon as John paid off his dept, I would return home and never see them again. 

For some reason, the thought filled me with pain. Now that I had met them, I wanted to know more about them, especially about Elias. 

Like how had he gotten his scar? Why was he still unbonded? Why were they all unbonded, especially a man like Alexander?

If you’re going to stay here for a month, you’ll get to learn everything about them. 

I turned onto my back and tugged the sheets up to my chin. My eyes fluttered closed but sleep evaded me. 

Reaching for my phone, I checked for any messages from my mother but found only one from an unknown number. 

 I will get the money and pay them back. Just keep your distance. They are dangerous. You don’t want the past to be repeated, do you, Daisy?

I frowned at the message, certain that John had sent it. What was there to fuck up? 

***

By three o’clock I gave up my tossing and turning and got up. I dressed for the day and then grabbed my phone. The door didn’t make a sound when I opened it. I paused, listening for any sound to indicate that someone was awake. When I was sure that there would be no unexpected meeting with any of them, I slipped out of the room and pulled the door closed behind me. 

My heartbeat increased the further I walked down the hall. There were no lights on like there had been when we arrived last night. 

Pausing, I turned on my phone’s flashlight and then walked the rest of the way. When I reached the kitchen, I hesitated. 

I walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. My lips parted in a silent gasp as I took it all in. The fridge was stacked with food…healthy food. Lots and lots of healthy food.

My lips twisted in disgust. 

I wanted something sweet, something unhealthy. 

Letting out a sigh, I closed the door and moved toward one of the cabinets. The sweet stuff must be hidden somewhere. My shoulders slumped when I opened the cabinet door and found more healthy snacks inside. 

“It had to be health freaks,” I muttered.

I closed the cabinet and opened another, but froze when a sound reached my ears. Gripping my phone tightly, I slowly turned around. 

The scream escaped before the light was switched on. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

Hands gripped my arms, making the panic worse. I thrashed, trying my best to free myself. The hold tightened and then dropped away. I made a run for the safety of my bedroom but in the next moment, I was restrained. 

“Enough!” 

My body jerked in fright, but my mind instantly obeyed the alpha command. I slumped against the man. 

“Good,” the man muttered close to my ear. “It’s just me, flower. Elias. You remember me, don’t you?”

Elias. The man with the scar. I nodded, I remembered him. His hold on me loosened enough for me to slip away. The fear faded, only to be replaced by anger. 

I spun around and started hitting him. “You freaking asshole! Why would you do that?”

With a low growl that made my panties flood with slick, Elias gripped my wrist to stop my hits, and took a step forward, pinning me against the cabinet. 

“Stop,” he growled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You did.”

“If it makes you feel better, you scared the shit out of me too.” Elias rubbed slow circles on the inside of my wrists with his thumbs. “I didn’t expect someone to be up so early.”

The movement of his thumbs was distracting me. I blinked and snapped out of the daze he had me in. Elias immediately let my wrist go when I twisted my arms, but he didn’t move away. His hands dropped to grip the counter on either side of my hips.

I sucked in a nervous breath and instantly wished I hadn’t 

He smelled fresh and clean like he just took a shower. But underneath the scent of soap was another scent that called to me. I sucked in another breath and allowed my eyes to flutter closed. 

“I like the way you smell too,” he whispered, making my eyes snap open. “Now tell me flower, are you hungry?”

I instantly nodded. “I’m not eating any of that healthy stuff.”

He chuckled. “What are you craving?”

How does he know I’m craving something?

“Something sweet,” I told him. 

“Get some shoes on,” Elias ordered. “Our super early breakfast is waiting for us.”