Chapter 96: You were practically crying for Evans in your sleep

Reid didn’t sit. He took a slow, heavy step forward, limping slightly but completely ignoring the pain and I frowned. Was he insane, putting pressure on his bad leg?

The sheer mass of him filled the hallway entrance, and the frozen pine scent that had begun to fade from the room suddenly surged, thick and demanding.

My body reacted instantly, a dangerous wave of relief washing through my veins just from breathing him in. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached, fighting the primal urge to step closer to him.

Pretend, I told myself, a mantra chanted in the dark spaces of my mind. You don’t feel it. You don’t know anything.

"Whoa, easy there, Frankenstein," Russo laughed, completely oblivious to the silent, suffocating tension building between us.

He tossed a couch pillow at Reid’s chest, which Reid caught blindly without ever breaking eye contact with me. "Cap may be a Beta but the rest of us are Alphas and we can perceive your pheromones with no issue. What, you planning to let it all out until Cap can notice? Get a grip."

"You look like you’re about to face-plant into the rug." Peter said. "Come sit your ass down."

"Shut up," Reid muttered, his voice a low, gravelly friction.

He finally pulled his gaze away from me to glare at the couch, his eyes narrowing as he took in the absolute mess of takeout boxes and the five rowdy Alphas occupying his space.

He looked thoroughly annoyed, his territory completely invaded. "Why are you all still here anyway?"

"Wow. The hospitality in this place is unmatched," Miller mocked, placing a hand over his heart. "We came to check on you, bro. And to keep the Captain company. But clearly, you two have a system figured out." Miller gave Russo a sharp nudge with his elbow, a massive, knowing smirk plastered across his face. "Seriously, McCoy, you missed it. You were practically crying for Evans in your sleep. ’Where’s my Cap? Where did he go?’"

The guys exploded into another round of loud, mocking laughter, completely delighted by the rookie’s expense.

I held my breath, my eyes flying back to Reid to watch his reaction. If he realized what he’d done, if he realized his inner Alpha had slipped up while he was drugged...

But Reid didn’t look embarrassed at all. If anything, the corners of his mouth twitched upward into a faint, lazy, and entirely arrogant smirk.

He looked back at me, his heavy eyelids drooping slightly as the painkillers continued to swim in his system, but his gaze was razor-sharp.

"Yeah?" Reid rasped, his voice dropping into a tone that was entirely too intimate for a room full of teammates. "And did he come back when I called?"

"Oh, matching sweatpants, waking up crying, and now this?" Russo groaned loudly, throwing his hands up in the air and somehow changing the topic for me. "That’s it. Keep this up and the media is gonna start writing fanfiction about you two. The Captain has been compromised by a freshman."

​"Drop it, Russo," I snapped, a little too quickly, a little too sharply.

I felt a hot flush creep up the back of my neck and immediately tried to cover it by turning toward the kitchen island.

Panic flared in my chest—if these idiots kept running their mouths, a joke in the locker room could easily morph into a full-blown rumor the media would love to sink their teeth into.

"I’m not going to warn you guys again. If you’re done ruining McCoy’s living room, pack up your trash and get out. Some of us actually have a recovery schedule to maintain."

​"Alright, alright, the boss is kicking us out," Gerald grumbled, finally pushing himself up from the couch. "Let’s go, boys. Leave the newlyweds to their peace and quiet."

​I wanted to throw a kitchen knife at his head, but I forced myself to stay completely still, gripping the edge of the marble counter until my knuckles turned stark white.

​The guys spent the next five minutes aggressively cleaning up their mess, tossing empty boxes into the trash while continuing to throw relentless, teasing jabs at both of us.

Reid just stood there, leaning heavily against the wall, a silent, imposing shadow, his eyes tracking my every movement as I purposefully avoided looking anywhere near him.

​Finally, the front door clicked shut, and the chaotic noise of the team vanished into the hallway, leaving the penthouse in a sudden, ringing silence.

​I stood by the kitchen counter, my back turned to him. The armor of being ’The Captain’ had just walked out the door with the rest of the guys. Now, it was just me, my hidden Omega, and the Alpha who had somehow managed to rewrite my system.

​"Evans," Reid’s voice cut through the quiet, closer now. I heard the soft, uneven thud of his footsteps approaching the kitchen.

​I took a deep, steadying breath, burying the panic deep down where he could never find it. I turned around, putting on my best unbothered, stern expression, ready to face him. "McCoy, I told you to—"

​I stopped. He was standing less than two feet away, towering over me, his broad frame blocking out the light from the living room.

He didn’t look like he was listening to a single word. His eyes were fixed entirely on my new clothes, his chest heaving slightly as his nostrils flared, desperately searching for the scent he had spent the last three days printing onto my skin.

​He didn’t find it. And the dark, possessive look that crossed his face told me he was entirely unhappy about that fact.

​Surprisingly, he didn’t say a single word about the change of clothes. He didn’t mock me, nor did he demand to know why I had scrubbed his scent from my skin.

​Instead, a quiet, terrifyingly confident look settled into the dark depths of his eyes. It was a silent, predatory patience that made my blood run cold.

He didn’t need to throw a tantrum or question me. The sheer, unbothered arrogance radiating off his broad frame told me exactly what was running through his drugged, Alpha-addled brain: Go ahead and wash it off. Put on whatever boundaries you want. I’ll just wrap myself around you and coat you in my scent all over again.

​The absolute certainty in his posture made it clear he didn’t view my little rebellion as a defeat; he just saw it as a temporary delay.

There was no need for him to sweat it when he fully intended to claim his territory right back the second we were alone again.

​"You look exhausted, Cap," Reid rasped, his voice smooth and entirely devoid of the agitation I expected.

He reached out, his heavy, warm fingers brushing against the fabric of my t-shirt as he casually grabbed a glass from the drying rack next to me.

The brief, intentional friction of his knuckles against my ribs sent a violent jolt of electricity straight to my core.

​I forced myself not to flinch away, keeping my expression an unreadable block of ice. "I’m fine. You’re the one who needs to be in bed."

​"Then come with me," he said simply, pouring himself a glass of water from the fridge dispenser without taking his eyes off my face.

He took a slow sip, his throat moving as he swallowed, his gaze heavy and intensely focused. "The guys were loud. My leg hurts. I need you to help me lay down."

​Every protective instinct I had acquired over a lifetime of hiding screamed at me to refuse, to walk into the guest room and lock the door. But I knew the rules of the game now. I had to pretend. If I suddenly became hyper-vigilant, if I acted terrified of his bed or his space, I would be handing him the confession he was looking for.

A normal, unbothered captain would just grunt, complain about his rookie being high on painkillers, and help him to his room.

​"You’re a menace, McCoy," I muttered, deliberately injecting a tone of sheer, exhausted annoyance into my voice. I stepped forward, putting my shoulder under his arm to support his weight as he limped.

​The moment his heavy arm draped over my neck, a thick, suffocating wave of frozen pine washed over my senses. My lungs practically seized, greedily drinking in the pheromones I had spent the last two hours trying to escape.

My traitorous body melted slightly against his side, a quiet, desperate sigh threatening to escape my lips.

​Reid let out a low, satisfied hum deep in his chest, leaning into me just a fraction more than necessary as we walked toward his dark bedroom. He thought he was winning.

​I gripped his waist tightly, steering him toward the mattress, my jaw locked in grim determination.

Let him think whatever he wants, I thought fiercely as the shadows of his bedroom swallowed us whole. He can spray me with his scent a thousand times. But he will never know it’s because I’m breaking.