Chapter 06
IRIAN
It was both heartbreaking and breathtaking to see the hope on Isca’s face when Talius told him about his – no, our – plans to dissolve his old mate bond so that Talius could form a new one with him. I knew we’d made the right decision to tell him about it. Even if it didn’t come off, the fact Talius had gone to the trouble of finding out if it were possible should go a long way to reassuring Isca that he was equal in our triad. I’d been surprised when Talius told me Isca didn’t feel that way already.
I really hoped it would happen. I had high hopes for a three-way mind-bond with Talius and Isca, and wouldn’t that be fun? Apart from anything else, I was sure the sex would be mind-blowing. Well, more mind-blowing than usual… things had really heated up now we’d found our stride as a triad in the bedroom.
When dinner was over and the kitchen cleaned up, I took Isca by the hand and led him back to our room. Talius had disappeared into his office, no doubt trying to catch up on some of the work that had been put on hold during the days he had been helping me through my heat.
Ten minutes later, freshly showered, and skin pink from the hot water and being rubbed down with towels, Isca settled in the sheets beside me.
“Do you really think it’s possible?” he asked, bubbling with excitement. His beautiful brown eyes shone with hope and anticipation, and he seemed to be looking into the distance, as if he were already imagining the possibilities.
“I don’t really know. I hope so,” I told him, running my palm over the firm muscles of his upper arm. The fine downy hairs glinted, still damp from his shower. “And Talius doesn’t either, really. He’s hoping there’s something in some of the old texts about it. He’s got someone looking into it, but he can’t ask openly or word will get out that it’s for you. There’s still a possibility Zarbius might come for you if he ever learns you’re alive.”
I winced when I saw the look of terror that flitted across Isca’s pale face. I shouldn’t have mentioned the name of his old mate. It was only a couple of months since Zarbius had raped him and left him for dead in the forest, and while his body had long since healed, the incident had left other scars that would take far longer to recede.
“Don’t worry,” I traced a finger over his scrunched up brow. “Talius has a friend on the Council. He’ll be discreet but it might take a while to get an answer since he can’t ask straight out.”
“I can’t believe Talius is doing this for me,” Isca whispered.
“Of course, he is!” I insisted, indignant that Isca would think himself unworthy of the effort. “You’re important to him. And to me… I can’t wait… well, I’m hoping it will work out. Talius doesn’t want us to get our hopes up, but it’s kind of hard not to, isn’t it?”
Isca’s smile said it all. Goddess, I hoped it worked out. He’d been through so much already.
“There’s another run coming up soon,” I blurted out, apropos of nothing, the thought having slid randomly into my brain. “Are you going to come this time?”
Isca’s eyes widened. “Ooh, yes. I want to do that. If Talius thinks it’s okay…”
In previous months, Isca had stayed home during the full moon run, but it had been hard on him. The entire pack ran together on these nights, including the little ones. Of course, the youngest ones couldn’t run too far, and after an hour or so the families returned home and the pack broke up into couples and singles. Blood ran hot, and many relationships started on these nights. Talius ran a respectful pack, so any omegas claimed on nights like these had to be consenting. Sometimes other packs ran with us, but they knew the rules and as far as I knew no-one had stepped out of line.
”I”d like you to join us,” I told him. ”I didn”t like leaving you at home the other times. It somehow didn”t feel right.”
It was true. Before Isca, Talius and I would have broken awayfrom the pack and stayed out most of the night playing and mating under the full moon, but since he had joined us, it felt strange - wrong even - to run just the two of us. For the last couple of pack runs we”d declined to break away and instead headed home early to Isca, so I was excited to think Isca might run with us at last.
”I didn”t like missing out either,” Isca acknowledged with a small grimace. ”You know, my old pack didn”t do full moon runs, or any kind of pack run at all.”
”Seriously? But they”re wolves! How could they not? I mean, it”s in our blood, it”s hard to resist.”
”They used to get drunk instead and then they”d go into the omega-house and use the omegas,” he told me, sadly.
I raised an eyebrow. He shook his head.
”Not, not me, not on those nights. On the full moon I used to sneak out and run by myself.”
”Alone?” How sad for him. The moon sang for us to run with our brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings. I thought of that lonely omega running the night forest alone, heeding the call of the Goddess. But it was better than the alternative.
A thought struck me. ”How could they even get drunk? Shifters are scarcely affected by alcohol!”
Isca shrugged. ”I don”t know, but they did. At least, they behaved like they were drunk.”
He paused. A tiny spot of pink appeared on each pale cheek.
”I think I may have seen you and Talius one full moon,” he admitted.
I gave him a lopsided smile. ”With the pack? Or just the two of us?”
”Just the two of you.”
”I guess we gave you a good show then,” I smirked.
”Um, no,” Isca”s cheeks were burning now. ”I left before you got to that...”
”Never mind, we”ll make up for it this time.”
”If Talius agrees...”
“We’ll ask him when he comes in,” I murmured, snuggling closer to Isca and scenting at the base of his neck. He smelled of soap, fresh citrus and something indefinably him. “Mmm, you smell good,” I told him. I felt his nose riffling through my hair and he pulled back, nostrils flaring. His brown eyes widened, pupils expanding, and he leaned in, tongue swiping over his lips. I had a brief moment to note how his lips glistened and then they were on mine as he pushed me back down into the bed and rolled on top of me.
I felt his length hardening against me, my own cock filling in response. He was unusually dominant tonight – usually I was the one initiating action between us – and I wondered if Talius’ plan was already boosting his confidence.
“Ah,” I gasped, dragged out of my thoughts by a warm hand snaking between us and curling around my shaft. I shuddered as he stroked a couple of times and I hardened further. Then he thrust his hips upwards, rubbing his cock against mine. I groaned.
“Goddess, I want you. But I can’t take it in the ass tonight,” I groaned.
Isca snickered. “Still sore from your heat? I’m not surprised the way Talius was pounding into you. Still, you were begging for it…”
“I was, wasn’t I?” I felt the heat flame in my cheeks, as I remembered moments from the last few days. Omegas in heat weren’t the most bashful or decorous of creatures. I wasn’t really embarrassed though because Talius never made me feel silly, or dirty in a bad way, and truth be told, the more wanton I became, the more he seemed to love it. Come to think of it, Isca did too.
“It seemed to get you all hot and sweaty too,” I reminded him, gazing up into his eyes.
Isca”s eyes skidded away, and he squirmed. I’d turned the tables on him and he was so cute when he got embarrassed.
“Just trying to fit in with you guys,” he mumbled.
“Yep, you fit, like, literally,” I teased.
Now I wasn’t the only one blushing.
“Shut up,” Isca said, silencing me by kissing me. We killed off a few minutes like that. It was hard to think of anything beyond what we were doing, Isca’s lips on mine, his agile tongue probing my mouth, the heat in all the places where our bodies touched. Lost in the magic of it, I started to wonder if maybe I could take a little more tonight. Isca wasn’t as big as Talius, so maybe…
The mattress sagged beside me and Isca and I rolled straight into Talius’ hard body. We’d been so absorbed in making out that we hadn’t heard him enter the room. If we hadn’t had our noses pressed so closely into each other, we would have scented him, but he’d caught us unawares.
“Don’t let me stop you,” he said, lying on his side, observing us with twinkling eyes.
“Isca wants to come on the next run,” I told him, raising my head. “Can he?”
Talius gave Isca a knowing look. “Isca can come any time he likes.”
Isca’s face turned even redder and he ducked his head.
Fortunately, Talius decided not to draw out his teasing.
“So you feel up to joining us this month?” he asked Isca, his brows drawing up in enquiry.
Isca nodded, his eyes shining, words tumbling out of his mouth. “Yeah, I do. I’m strong enough now, and I didn’t really like staying at home the other times.” He bit his lip, dropped his gaze, then caught Talius” eyes again. ”If you think it”s okay.”
“I don”t see why you shouldn”t, provided we make sure it”s clear you”re spoken for. Let’s see how quickly I get an answer back from my friend on the Council. If I can’t mate you before the run, I’ll have to find some other way of marking you as mine.”
Isca’s cheeks plumped as the corners of his lips angled upwards, displaying a dimple I hadn’t noticed before. He looked as pleased as any omega could look.
”But for now, how about you two put on a show for me?” Talius suggested, stripping off. His shirt landed over the chair, and he bent down to pull his jeans off, his firm ass on display.”I don”t want to interrupt what you were doing.”
I swallowed. He didn”t have to tell me twice. I was not shy, not in front of my alpha at any rate, and I didn”t think he”d restrict himself to looking for long. I plopped back on the bed, pulling Isca down on top of me, seeking his mouth with my own. I wasn”t sure how much I was up for tonight, so soon after my heat, but the feel of Isca”s skin against mine was irresistible. He was soft and lean, his belly pale and almost hairless, and his arms and face tinged with color now that he was working with Talius out in the paddocks. He was all soft omega, but right now, he was feverishly working over my mouth.
It wasn”t long before our erections, which had flagged while we were talking, were back at full mast. Isca chewed at my collarbone while rubbing his dick vigorously against mine, his pubic hairs rasping against the base of my shaft with delicious friction. A wet trail leaked across my lower abdomen. It was unusual for either of us to be submissive to the other, we usually just played together, but tonight I felt a strange urgency in him, a need to dominate, as though he were grasping the future he wanted with all that he had.
I was happy to go along with it. His intensity was a turn on.
I slid my hands over Isca”s ass, his skin soft beneath my fingers. I squeezed his cheeks in both hands and Isca grunted into my neck, thrusting his pelvis harder against me. His pulse fluttered in his neck and he could surely hear the pounding of my heart through my chest wall. He thrust harder, our dicks riding against each other.
I felt rather than heard Talius” enquiry through the bond and I sent him back my response immediately.
Yes! Please!
Talius” large presence loomed behind Isca, dwarfing him as he leaned over and whispered in his ear. His words sent a shiver through me.
”Do you want him, Isca? He”s a needy little omega. He wants you to take him. Do you want to? I”d like to watch you.”