Chapter 65
sixty-five
brIAR
The world passes by in blurs and blots.
There’s a too-gorgeous, pale, somber face, his eerie eyes so intent on mine while I bounce in someone else’s thick, muscled arms. The scars I love so much, bleeding into patterns. A dizzying blend of bare skin and black ink.
And ice blue.
The wolf. The devil. My husband and master and king.
He’s here, every second. A solid hand on the top of my head. A squeeze of my hand. A calming voice that issues the most competent commands.
“Up the back stairs. Coggins is dealing with cleanup. He’s already finished most of it, and he’ll send Louis to the door of the suite with food this evening. I’ve instructed both of them to keep their distance—no one will enter the room once we’ve locked it.”
It’s like he knows everything I want to ask for before I do. I sink into the purr vibrating behind me, hiding my face against the broad, branded chest while my alpha continues, “Run a bath, Rhys. We need to wash all these scents off her before she gets into her nest.”
I hear the water thunder to life and startle, my head lolling while I blink. Everything smears into a fog, then refocuses, revealing my bedroom and the rosebushes blooming on the balcony. They sway, their colors running together.
“I want to get in with her,” the alpha holding me roughs out.
The light-haired one nods, scowling solemnly. “Hold on, I’ll undress you both.”
Our pack alpha reappears in my line of sight, shaking his head. “Wait. There’s something I need to do first.”
Everything spins again. I shut my eyes, anchoring myself to the big alpha holding me, letting his deep purrs loosen my lungs. He presses kisses into my forehead.
“Briar?”
Right. That’s me.
I crack my eyelids open, ignoring the nauseous seethe that twists the place between my hips. I’m relieved when I find the lights in the marble bathroom are off; and only a few groups of candles flicker in the corners around the tub behind me.
The big alpha is still holding me, but he’s slowly arranged me in an upright position, facing outward on his wide denim-covered lap. I start to squirm, wondering what could possibly be more important than burning the fabric chafing between us, when—
There in the onyx bathroom, the shirtless, black-haired pack leader drops to the floor in front of me. Our eyes lock, and a brief burst of lucidity floods my brain.
Cillian.
He’s on one knee.
Holding… my ring.
And my collar.
He holds his palm out to me, diamonds shimmering in the low light. Offering me… a choice.
Two of them.
Yearning creases his square, handsome face. “Be my wife,” he says, the words somehow a plea and a command. “Bond with us and wear my ring. Let me lock this necklace around your pretty throat and put my claim behind it. Stay here. Be ours.”
I already am.
But I guess that’s the thing about choices, right?
Sometimes the ones you choose need to hear your decision just as much as you need to make it.
I slowly turn to my venomous alpha, noting the tension gripping his entire body. His intense yearning laid out so plainly in his angelic features.
And the big man at my back, all strength and security. He’s less anxious, his golden eyes and scarred features soft. Half of his full lips quirk up. In a look that almost seems… hopeful.
Which is exactly what I feel. Hope. Love. Safety.
A home.
My home.
My skin burns and my pulse beats in my ears, but I manage to nod. “Yes. I want the bonds. I—I want all of you.”
Cillian exhales loudly, then gracefully lunges up to kiss me.
I feel his hand find mine, sliding my ring back into place.
He pulls away before I can fall into him, slipping the thick gold chain around my neck.
Its cool links rasp over my hot, sensitized skin.
As he produces the small sliver of metal—what the fuck are those called?
—and locks the heart closed at the base of my throat, a shiver bolts down my spine.
Perfume pours out of me. “Fucking mine,” the alpha growls under his breath, grasping my chin for a filthier, licking kiss.
The second his tongue invades my mouth, his taste overwhelms me. Dark, sweet smoke. Spiced and rich.
My entire body lights up, every nerve vibrating with need. A deep, painful cramp stabs my gut. I whine and my husband breaks away, his smile blurring as my vision tunnels.
“It’s time for us to build your nest, omega.”