Vengeful Bonds - ch. 13-Binnie (Patreon)

Unbeta'd/Unedited. There's a very very long Seth chapter coming right behind this one so if you're wanting a SaintSeth update it will be here in an hour or so. Hope you like it. Chapter 12BinnieBinnie was in the kitchen, hands on his hips, eyeing the now notorious chore chart/contingency plan. Had he done something to piss Ollie off? Other than drag him there in the first place? It was bad enough Binnie had spent the whole day in a screaming match with some traditionalist talking head with a podcast, but now he had to come home and cook dinner with the one person who hated him.Why? Should he go find Ollie? Before he could make up his mind, he heard feet shuffling behind him. When he turned, Seth stood in baggy sweatpants, a hoodie four times too big and a pair of ducky slippers, rubbing his eyes like an exhausted toddler. Wolf stood about five feet or so behind him, like he was observing him. Something about the wolf’s unwavering attention on the omega disturbed Binnie.“Does it bother you that he’s just…following you like that?” Binnie asked, staring at the large three legged wolf, shivering when the wolf returned his unwavering gaze.Seth turned and looked at the canine, then collapsed onto the floor so quickly Binnie thought he’d passed out, but he’d just sat.“Come,” Seth said. It took a moment for Binnie to realize he was talking to Wolf, who whined, hobbling timidly towards him in a submissive posture, then flopped onto his side, dropping his head in the boy’s lap.“How the…” Binnie trailed off, with a huffed out laugh.Looks like Saint wasn’t the only wild creature Seth had domesticated.“He’s just shy,” Seth explained, like he was talking about a child and not a predator. He leaned down to rub his face against Wolf’s, giggling when the wolf licked his nose.“I don’t think he’s shy,” Binnie said. “I think he just likes you in particular.”Seth beamed at him with his big doe eyes and Binnie’s chest tightened with fondness for the little sweet smelling omega.They co-existed in silence for a few minutes, Binnie observing the boy as he crooned to Wolf.“What are you up to?” Binnie finally asked. “Did you come down to check the chore chart? Brace yourself, seems Ollie was feeling sadistic.”Seth laughed. “Nah, I came down earlier. I saw he put you in the kitchen with San…and the sharp knives. Good luck.”“Why does he hate me so much?” Binnie asked, hating the whine in his voice.“Ollie?”Binnie shook his head. “San.”Seth laughed, the sound almost musical in the echo of the kitchen. “San is…dramatic. He’s also not especially great with feelings. He’s pretty much utterly indifferent to a large majority of people and he will barely acknowledge that other alphas even exist out there in the real world. The fact that he even fights with you should give you some…encouragement.”“I should be happy he hates me?”Seth rolled his eyes. “If he hated you, he wouldn’t even acknowledge your existence. You scare him.”Binnie turned that over and over in his mind. Binnie scared San? The two hadn’t been in a room together when San wasn’t trying to eviscerate him. But Binnie scared him? “Right.”“Speaking of,” Seth said, wiggling a hand into his hoodie pocket. He pulled free a tiny wolf figurine and a fistful of mangled flowers tied with twine. “Do you know where these came from?”Yes. “No.”Seth’s face fell. “I found them outside my door.”Maybe Binnie should tell the omega they were from Saint. Nobody else could whittle—to Binnie’s knowledge, anyway—and only Saint would think ripping flowers from the garden and wrapping them in string was a worthy courting gift.Seth brought the flowers to his nose, inhaling deeply, a goofy smile forming. Okay, well, maybe Binnie was wrong. Still, he wasn’t sure if Saint was quite ready to admit that he was Seth’s not-so-secret admirer.Binnie watched as Wolf rolled onto his back, giving Seth access to his belly. It appeared Seth had tamed more than one feral creature in the house and it had only been two days. Not even two days. Maybe Binnie should tell him, give Seth the chance to decide if he was even interested in his friend before Saint got his heart broken.“Maybe San brought them home from the co-op. Sometimes he brings me things he finds or makes.”Before Binnie could think of a response there was the barely there sound of the doors closing from the entrance, then Fen flew past a moment later, bypassing both of them in his rush for the stairs.“Fen?” Seth called, concern evident.“Just gotta shower,” he called, but there was no missing the distress in his voice. Or the fact that he wreaked of sex.“Did he have Loch’s flannel around his waist?” Seth asked.Seth’s head snapped around, making eye contact. Binnie just shrugged, as baffled as the omega. Footfalls now echoed on the stairs as Saint, Ollie and Deke appeared and disappeared in a reverse of Fen’s movements, likely to go unload the groceries.Binnie and Seth stayed where they were, exchanging concerned looks until there was a clatter and low voices and then the three were returning, arms loaded to the brink with bulk items, Loch in tow.“What’s wrong with Fen,” Seth asked, eyes narrowed at Loch.“He just…needed a shower,” Loch said, looking just guilty enough for all of them to know he lied.“What did you do?” Binnie asked.“Come a little closer. You’ll be able to smell exactly what he did,” Saint said, scowling.Two days. Two days in and he was already over his friends’ shenanigans. For about thirty seconds, Loch looked ready to spit out another lie or half-truth. He looked from Deke to Seth, then back at Binnie like he was hoping he’d ask them to leave.Deke crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, I’m staying,” he said, fixing Loch with a glare.“Me, too,” Seth said from his spot on the floor.Saint’s gaze locked on the little omega on the floor, Wolf’s head still in his lap, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as Seth absently scratched his belly. Seth flushed at the attention, then pushed the wolf off to stand, like he had decided sitting left him in a vulnerable position around the lurking alpha.He wasn’t wrong.Deke paid no attention to them. He fixed Loch with a furious stare, preemptively mad. “You can tell all of us your side of the story, or Seth and I can just go upstairs and hear his. Besides, Ollie and I will just compare notes later anyway, right?”Ollie did a double take. “What? No-” When Deke’s face fell, Ollie deflated. “I mean, yeah, probably.” To Loch, he said, “Just spill it, man. What did you do to him?”Loch shook his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t think he’d want me sharing-.”Saint scoffed, tearing his eyes from Seth to say, “You’re drowning in his slick. We just want to know why he looks so upset about it.”“I don’t know,” Loch said, throwing up his hands, bewildered. “It was good. Great even. He was all blissed out and happy…smiling. But as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot—”“Parking lot?!” Binnie and Seth cried at the same time.Loch at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”“You hooked up with him in the Costco parking lot?” Ollie asked, like he just needed confirmation.“You fucked Fenny at a Costco?” Deke admonished, voice dripping with disdain. “Dude…”Loch flopped onto a barstool, banging his head on the counter, words muffled as he said, “We didn’t fuck…exactly.”“You definitely ate him out,” Seth said. “I can practically taste his slick from here, it's still on your face.”Deke wrinkled his nose. “Gross. You couldn’t have washed your face?”“It’s worse than that,” Saint said, somewhere between amused and…jealous maybe. “I could smell Loch all over Fen too,” He looked at Loch. “If you didn’t come in him, you came on him.”Loch’s miserable look said it all.Seth gasped. “Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with you? This is why omegas don’t trust alphas. You’re all so fucking territorial and gross. You think you can just treat my friend like he’s some kind of whore? Like he’s some kind of thing you possess. Marking your territory like some kind of fucking neanderthal?”The omega’s distressed scent filled the cavernous kitchen, making Saint growl low in his chest, flashing furious eyes at Loch.“It wasn’t like that,” Loch swore, like he was desperate for the others to believe him.“That wasn’t what happened?” Deke asked.“No!” Loch snapped. “Well, yeah, but not in a bad way.”“So you ate him out and jerked off on him in a Costco but like, in a romantic way,” Seth said, dripping with sarcasm. “You’re fucking disgusting. Let’s go find San and check on Fenny, Deke.”Binny’s heart clenched at San’s name. Despite his hatred of Binnie, he’d eagerly taken him up on using the small carriage house outside as an art studio. The night he’d convinced the others to come stay, he’d gone inside and packed up what he could, leaving space for San’s art supplies.Like Seth and Fen, San had opted to take the day off to settle in. But unlike the other two, he’d chosen to worry about setting up the space as his art studio instead of making himself at home in his bedroom. He’d been in there the entire day.Seth and Deke went out the small door to follow the cobblestone path that led to the cottage.As soon as the door closed, Loch spun around, jabbing a finger in Ollie’s direction. “This is all your fault,” he whisper-yelled.Ollie raised a brow at him, calm as always. “My fault?”Loch nodded emphatically. “You’re the one who decided it would be a good idea to send the two of us to go shopping…alone.”“Oh, right. I failed to factor in that our leader is apparently leading with his dick. I can see how I’m to blame,” Ollie shot back.“You need to fix this,” Saint said, furious. “You upset Seth.”“I can’t fix something if I don’t know what I did wrong and he’s not talking,” Loch said, exasperated. “He wanted it, too,”Loch’s gaze darted from person to person, like he needed someone to believe him.“Then why is he so upset now?” Binnie asked, folding his arms across his chest. “What did you do to make him suddenly smell so sad?”“Nothing,” Loch swore. “At least, I didn’t think I did anything? He was…really happy. Then he wasn’t.”Binnie’s hands flailed. “In a parking lot, man? What were you fucking thinking?”Saint snorted. “He wasn’t thinking, clearly.”“Not with his brain anyway,” Ollie said.“I was thinking,” Loch said. “I didn’t do anything. I swear. I-I really like him. I…he’s definitely the one. Like…he’s it for me.”Ollie winced, looking borderline nauseated. “Jesus, you didn’t tell him that, did you?”“Of course, I did,” Loch said. “He deserved to know my intentions, right?”What the fuck was wrong with his friends? They’d been in the house with these two omegas for less than a day and they were already losing their minds. What would it be like in a week? A month? A year? This is why they frowned on alphas and omegas cohabitating. Alphas forgot all sense of reason.Binnie looked to Ollie who looked equally horrified.“Oh, God. No wonder he’s spiraling,” Ollie said, shaking his head.“Yeah, you sound like a fucking lunatic,” Binnie agreed.Loch gave Binnie a hard look. “Oh, do I? Tell me you aren’t ready to let San bite you right now?”Seth’s words floated back to Binnie. He’s just scared.“That’s not the point,” Binnie fired back. “And even if I was, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell him that. He’d chop my balls off and make me cook them for him for dinner.”“Yeah,” Saint confirmed, slapping Loch on the chest. “You’re honesty is gonna fuck this up for all of us. In case you haven’t noticed, the four of them are a package deal. If even one of them hates you, you’re done for. And if you’re done for, Binnie, Ollie and I don’t stand a chance.”“Woah,” Ollie said, hands raised. “Leave me out of this. I’m not staying.”Even Binnie rolled his eyes at that. There was no ignoring the way Ollie looked at Deke, the way he caved whenever he so much as looked in his direction. Ollie would bitch and moan and whine about how he needed to go, but Binnie would call it right now that Ollie would stay just where he was.Clearly Saint agreed. He snorted. “Whatever you say, Buttercup. We all see the way you are with him.”Ollie folded his arms across his chest, looking anywhere but at Saint. “I don’t know what you mean.”Binnie scoffed. “You know exactly what he means. And he’s right. And I’m already working at a disadvantage with San. He seems determined to fucking hate me, no matter what I do. You hurting Fenny just gives San an excuse to keep tormenting me.”Saint snickered. “Oh, come on. We all know this is just foreplay for you, babe. You love how mean he is. You’re just mad he’s doing it while your clothes are still on.”Binnie glowered at Saint, his mouth forming a flat line. “Nobody likes you.”Saint rolled eyes. “I’m devastated, truly.”“When are you going to tell Seth that those little trinkets are courting gifts?” Binnie asked, tone growing smug.“Trinkets?” Loch asked.“Seems our little Saint has decided to go old-school,” Binnie said, enjoying Saint being on the receiving end of the attention instead of him. “Leaving our skittish little polyglot tokens of his affection.”Ollie and Loch exchanged looks, then Ollie said, “Damn, already? You’re going to skip right past dating and go straight to marriage? I’d love to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. I think you’re going to find you’ve bitten off more than you can chew with that one.”Saint snapped his teeth at Ollie.“Enough,” Binnie snapped. “Loch, figure out a way to fix this…fast. Saint, leave Seth alone or at least have an actual conversation with him. Ollie…I don’t know, just standby, I guess.”Saint rolled his eyes and Ollie scoffed, but Loch’s shoulders fell. He scrubbed his palms over his face. “I will. I’ll fix it. Somehow.”“Good,” Binnie said, then added. “And for the love of fuck, please go take a shower, the smell of the two of you together is low-key making me horny.”“Mm,” Saint and Ollie said at the same time.###Binnie stood outside the carriage house, tray in hand. He was almost positive he was going to find himself wearing it’s contents, but he was too much of a masochist to turn around and run. He took a deep breath and raised his hand, but then froze, uncertain if he should knock. What if he startled him and ruined his work?There were glass panels in the door, he could see San sitting on a stool, only his side profile visible, posture perfect as he drew bold lines on a large canvas. Judging by the other paintings stacked around it, this would likely be like the others. San seemed to enjoy painting faces in bright colors. Colors that should have made the images appear less unrealistic, not more. But somehow, it didn’t. The blues and reds and yellows, somehow made the paintings look more raw, more visceral.The current work was too new for Binnie to even guess who it might be. Some of the canvases were people he didn’t recognize, while others were celebrities. The only non-famous face he recognized was Deke. He was surprised to see so many pictures, but he was weirdly relieved that San felt comfortable enough bringing so much of his work with him.Maybe he’ll stay. Maybe they all will. Maybe there was a reason his grandmother insisted he keep the house.Binnie dropped his hand, mesmerized. The minute he knocked, he would be on borrowed time. There was a very good chance San would kick him out before he uttered a word and Binnie just wanted to take the time to look at him when he didn't know he was there.San was so pretty, so ethereal looking, far too beautiful to be walking amongst mere mortals. Especially now, with his hair pulled into a messy bun and his white sweater hanging loose off one muscular shoulder. How was Binnie not supposed to fall for him?San was his. Even if it was some karmic joke to give Binnie a mate so far out of his league that he didn’t stand a chance. It wasn't that Binnie was a bad looking guy, by human standards…but San was fairy-tale prince levels of flawless. Everything about him was so…elegant? Regal? His face, his hands, his features…He was perfect. And Binnie was just…Binnie.He finally gathered his courage, knocking gently on the glass making sure not to spill the contents of the tray.San didn’t even look in his direction, just called out, “Come in.”Binnie did as he asked, closing the door behind him, then just standing there, waiting for San to turn and acknowledge him. He could tell the moment the other alpha caught his scent, shoulders tensing, a sound like air being squeezed from his lungs.He jerked around on the stool, brows knitting together, expression somewhere between irritated and confused.“What do you want?” he asked, eyeballing the tray like it contained rotten meat.“You missed dinner,” Binnie said, hesitantly.San blinked like he was coming out of a daze, glancing out the side window into the courtyard, noting the darkness. “Oh. I didn’t realize it was so late.” His eyes went wide, lips parting in a way Binnie found…distracting. “I was supposed to help you cook. Why didn’t you come get me?”Binnie shrugged. “I thought you were in the house until Seth told me you’d come back out here. I figured you didn’t want to cook with me, so I just went ahead and did it. It doesn’t really take two people to make pasta anyway.”San gave him a prissy look. “Do you think I’m so childish, I would just ignore my chores?” Binnie opened his mouth to protest when San winced, holding up his hand. “Don’t answer that.”Binnie had to fight the urge to smile, dropping his gaze to the tray. “Anyway, I just wanted—”“Why are there two bowls?” San asked, cutting him off with a frown.Binnie clenched his teeth for a moment before forcing himself to say, “I thought maybe you’d want company.”San fixed Binnie with a flat stare. “Why would you think that?”San’s words were like a kick to the stomach, anticipated or not. “Cause I’m a fucking idiot, I guess,” he muttered. He set the tray down on the small two-person table by the window. “Enjoy your dinner.”He had his hand on the knob when San practically shouted, “Wait.”Binnie stopped, heart racing at the almost desperate plea, but he didn’t turn around. He could smell San’s uncertainty, his anxiety, a little bit of anger and a lot of fear. “Yes?”San took a deep breath and let it out. “You can…you can stay…if you want. It is kind of eerily quiet out here.”Binnie gave a jerky nod. “Do-Do you want to take a break and sit here…with me?”San caught his insanely plump bottom lip between his teeth, chewing it for a moment before he seemed to make some kind of internal decision. “Yeah. Okay.”Only once they were seated across from each other, bowls and wine glasses placed did Binnie realize how intimate the table was, like they were on a date. It felt like a date. That’s what he had wanted it to be.He dropped his gaze to his pasta, moving his fork around, but too nervous to eat.San wasn’t having the same issue. He stabbed his fork into the rigatoni, impaling the pasta before popping it in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully like a judge in a cooking competition.“How is it?” Binnie asked meekly.“Not enough garlic,” he said, almost without thought, then looked at Binnie like he worried he’d hurt his feelings.Binnie couldn’t stop the smile that split his face. “Noted.” He took a bite and nodded. “You’re right.”“It wouldn’t have happened if you’d just come and found me,” San said, a hint of humor in his voice.“In my defense, Seth said Ollie clearly had it out for me putting the two of us alone in the kitchen where you had access to all the sharp objects.”San’s mouth curled upwards, his own smile reluctant, rueful like he knew he was being a dick. “Are you saying you’re afraid of me?”“Would it make me seem like less of an alpha if I said you kind of terrify me?” Binnie confessed.“The best thing you could be in my eyes is less of an alpha,” San said.Binnie wasn’t sure what that meant. Was he saying that he would be more comfortable if Binnie let San run the show? Was he saying he didn’t have a shot cause he would always be an alpha?He let it go. Not sure he wanted the answer.After they’d eaten a few minutes in silence, Binnie asked, “How’s Fen?”“Upset,” San answered, grimacing. “He’s…embarrassed.”Binnie frowned. He had expected a lot of different reactions, mad being the most obvious, but not that. “Embarrassed…why?”San arched one perfect golden brow at him, again that rueful smile. “I’m pretty sure it was forsaking his dignity for an orgasm in the back of a cargo van.”“His dignity? How?” Binnie asked.San sighed, leaning back, playing with the stem of his wine glass. “He isn’t the kind of guy who just hooks up randomly. And he doesn’t sleep with alpha’s. Ever. I guess…I guess his omega took over and said some things now finds super embarrassing. I tried to assure him that it is totally normal, but he’s not hearing it. He thinks Loch is going to judge him or think he’s some weak omega who will just give himself to the first alpha who shows interest like he can’t take care of himself.”Binnie snorted. “Please, Loch would bite that boy tomorrow if Fenny let him.The pheromones they’re leaking are already unbearable. I can’t even imagine how bad its going to be in a month or two. They will be insufferable.”San nodded. “We can all see Loch is into Fenny, but he has trust issues. Trauma. You know? You knew Josh. He must have told you what their father was like.”Binnie grimaced. “Enough, yeah.” He caught San’s gaze. “What about you?”“What about me?” San hedged, stuffing a huge forkful of pasta into his mouth.Binnie took a sip of his wine. “Do you have trust issues?”Sans shoulders came up and Binnie waited on a bed of nails as San chewed his pasta for what seemed like a lifetime. Finally, he said, “I thought we were talking about Fen?”Binnie shrugged. “We were. But I want to know about you.”“Why?” San asked, taking a sip of his wine, nonchalant.Binnie gave San a look. “You know why. Do you want me to say it?”“No,” San said quietly. “I think it will be better for both of us if you don’t.”Sadness jolted through him like electricity. “Why? I know you feel it too. We all do.”San cleared his throat, blotting his lips with his napkin, distracting Binnie momentarily. “Look, you seem really nice. But you’re still an alpha. You are still going to want to do all those things alphas want.”Binnie frowned. “Like…”San made a face at him. “Courting, breeding, mating… my alpha will never tolerate that.”“So you don’t want to give me a shot because you don’t want me trying to court you…or-” Binnie took a deep breath trying to quell the heat that shot through his dick— “breed you.”“I’m sorry but I’m not going to bottom for anyone. Especially not an alpha.”Was that seriously his only hesitation? “Okay.”San’s brows knitted together. “Okay?”Did the other alpha sound disappointed? Binnie nodded. “Yeah. I won’t court you.”“Oh,” San said, raising his glass, his scent souring so much Binnie had to keep himself from fist pumping.“You can court me.”San almost spit out his wine. “What?”Binnie leaned in, giving San his most dazzling smile. “If you want to be the boss. Go ahead. You can court me. You can mate me. You can…breed me.”Binnie could smell how much San liked that idea and San knew he could.He shook his head, “You say that now but eventually your instincts-”“My instincts have been telling me to roll over my whole life. The only reason I am not more out about my interests is because I know my father will try to find a way to use it against me. I’ve never topped in my whole fucking life, San. Ever. Never wanted to.”“Oh.”“So now what? Any other excuses? I know you want me. I don’t know why if I’m being a hundred percent honest but I’m not too good to take a gift that’s been handed to me.”San started to shake his head. “I- that’s not-”“Scared, alpha?” Binnie taunted.San rolled his eyes. “Do you think your silly reverse psychology tactics are going to work on me?”Binnie stood, walking around the table, standing behind San’s chair before he dipped down to place his nose against his neck, inhaling deeply. “Yeah, yeah, I do. I won’t make it too easy on you. I promise. I know you wouldn’t want a victory you didn’t earn. Right, alpha.”San scoffed. “Think what you like.”Binnie smacked a sloppy kiss on San’s cheek, then whispered. “Catch me if you can.”San growled low in his throat but said nothing.Binnie walked to the door, opening it before he turned and said, “I’ll leave you to take the dishes inside. Since I cooked and all. I know how important fairness is to you.”He left before San could say something nasty. Would he take the bait or had Binnie just shot himself in the foot? He could only hope he read the situation right.He would give it time to marinate. Ollie would start working with Fen tomorrow to put together a list of targets and then Ollie would go over the plan before he left next week.Binnie knew Fen was edgy but this type of mission was a lot of hurry up and wait. They had a week to get a household routine going. With any luck, Binnie would know if San was willing to rise to the occasion or if he was destined to just pine from a distance.He really hoped it was the former. For everybody’s sake.