24 - A Cracked Quiet

Dinner was quiet.

Too quiet.

The kind of quiet that scraped and stung.

The air in the house was thick with unspoken tension—richer, heavier, tainted by Ezra’s alpha pheromones that hadn’t settled since the school drop-off and the PTA confrontation.

It pulsed faintly in the background like a storm cloud, all spice and sandalwood sharpened with the edge of unspent rage. It didn’t roar, but it lingered, coiling into corners, curling around baseboards.

Daring someone to speak.

The twins ate quickly, as if the silence might swallow them next. Their usual bright chatter had dried up into stiff, occasional glances between their father and Sebastian.

Caleb dropped his spoon once—the clang against his bowl sounded like a firecracker in the stillness, and even that didn’t shake Ezra out of his brooding.

Camden sniffed quietly, and Sebastian didn’t miss the way both boys’ natural scents—still faint and unformed—carried the soothing trace of his lavender, tangled gently with their sister’s crisp citrus and the base note of Ezra’s alpha signature.

They still curled up against him more than they did Ezra. They still clung to the scent that said safe.

Mia sat curled in on herself, her citrus scent thinned to a ghost. What was usually bright and tart like sun-warmed grapefruit had dulled into something dry and bitter.

Her shoulders were hunched, her fork dragging lines through mashed potatoes she had no intention of eating. She hadn’t looked at Ezra since they walked in the door. And he hadn’t asked her to.

Sebastian tried—gently, like always. A soft nudge here, a warm murmur there.

“Want me to heat it up again?”

“You don’t have to finish it, baby, just a few bites…”

She only shook her head, a whisper of motion, her scent trembling around her like the thinnest fog. Fragile.

Ezra’s presence across the table was unyielding. He chewed with slow precision, each movement tight with restraint.

His scent—normally warmer, smoother—was pulled taut tonight. There was no soft spice, no comforting sandalwood.

Just the clench of a dominant alpha who hadn’t yet decided if he wanted to yell or disappear.

Sebastian could feel it from here, could feel the way Ezra’s presence filled the room. Not loud. But loud enough. Dominant enough.

And it scraped against Sebastian’s omega instincts like flint—made his skin prickle, made his breath shallower. Not out of fear. But from the sheer force of Ezra, unmasked and unsettled.

He hadn’t even touched Sebastian since they’d gotten home.

When dinner was done, Ezra stood, scraped his plate into the sink, and dropped it with a muted clatter. He left without a word, his scent trailing after him in thick waves. The bathroom door shut. The hiss of the shower followed.

Sebastian blinked slowly, exhaled.

The twins asked softly for a bedtime story but didn’t push when he murmured, “Not tonight, loves.”

He tucked them in with reverence—one kiss for each forehead, one soft trace of fingers through curls—and their scent lifted faintly, lavender and something like sandalwood and sunshine. He wanted to weep from how young they still smelled.

He turned off the light. Shut the door. And returned for Mia.

She hadn’t moved.

Still seated at the table, staring out the dark kitchen window, the cooling leftovers in front of her untouched. Her citrus scent was even weaker now, like a lemon rind left out overnight. Empty of bite.

Sebastian knelt beside her chair, waited.

When she didn’t look at him, he asked, almost a breath, “Can I sit with you?”

She nodded. Just once.

That was enough.

They moved into the living room—Sebastian walking quietly, Mia trailing behind him like smoke. She curled up in the corner of the couch, legs tucked beneath her, her scent no stronger than before.

Sebastian didn’t touch her. Just sat close. Let his lavender fill the space gently, like it always did. His scent was soft and calming, but right now, it tasted faintly of fatigue and heartbreak.

Ezra passed by them once, shirtless, damp from the shower, sweatpants riding low on his hips. Water clung to his throat, slid down his chest.

The older Omega felt it before he saw him—Ezra’s alpha presence sharpening the air, the scent of warm skin, spice and sandalwood, stronger now that the water had coaxed his pores open.

Sebastian didn’t look. But his breath hitched. Just a little.

Ezra paused.

His eyes caught on them.

Mia leaning against the armrest, her scent barely a whisper.

Sebastian—curled next to her, small and curled in soft omega posture, his body open and yielding in the way only Omegas could be when they were holding someone else’s sorrow.

Ezra’s throat worked. He walked on.

Mia whispered then.

“I didn’t think it would get that bad.”

Sebastian turned slightly. “I know.”

“He was so angry,” she whispered, and her voice wasn’t just afraid—it was hollow. “I couldn’t even move.”

Sebastian didn’t answer right away. Let the silence stretch, let his lavender settle around her like a blanket.

“Ezra forgets sometimes,” he said finally. “How big he is. How big his feelings are. That doesn’t make it okay.”

She nodded. Her scent wavered with it. “He hates me now.”

“He doesn’t,” Sebastian said, no hesitation. “Not even close.”

“I messed up so bad.”

“You did.” Honest. Gentle. “But you’re allowed to mess up. You’re not unlovable.”

Mia made a tiny noise then—less a sob and more a breath twisted too tightly. Her shoulder brushed his, the barest contact, but her scent came a little stronger now. Like she was anchoring. Just a little.

“I miss Mom.”

Sebastian’s heart cracked again.

“I know, sweetheart.”

And from down the hallway—Ezra’s door creaked open.

Sebastian didn’t look.

But he felt it. The way Ezra lingered. The way his pheromones reached first—pressing against Sebastian’s scent, clashing at the edges.

A low thrum of tension filled the air, a mix of everything unspoken. The musk of unsatisfied need. The ache of unresolved dominance. The call of bond and heat and the fight not to fall into it.

“Seb?”

Sebastian lifted his head slowly.

Ezra stood there. Barefoot, shirtless, still slightly damp, his scent curling like a question mark down the hall. Something hungry hid behind his eyes. But it wasn’t lust—it was longing. Confusion. Need.

“You coming?”

The tone wasn’t light. But it wasn’t commanding either.

Sebastian’s lips twitched into something unreadable. “No.”

Ezra blinked. “No?”

Sebastian nodded toward Mia, who was barely awake beside him now, her citrus scent faintly blooming again, like something brave.

“I’m with your daughter.”

Ezra’s breath stilled.

Sebastian finally met his gaze. His own lavender scent, delicate but steady, flared in a calm that was purely omega. “She needs me more tonight.”

Ezra didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

He just stood there. Stripped of control. Of every expectation he’d been clinging to. Sebastian watched the war behind his eyes and held still.

Finally, Ezra turned. Slow. Reluctant.

He walked back to his room.

The door clicked shut.

And that night, Ezra lay awake—beneath a sheet that didn’t smell like lavender, against a pillow that had cooled too quickly. His scent lingered in the room like thunder in a storm already passed.

But there was no omega warmth to soothe it. No curl of smaller limbs or softness tucked against his chest.

Just the phantom ache of mine—a word he still hadn’t said.

And the cruel, lingering truth that Sebastian didn’t just belong to him.

Not tonight.

Not like he was gay though.