Emily

The next week flies by, even though Finn and Creed are called away for a business meeting in New York. It leaves the rest of us to settle into our various routines, which in my case is work, study, and Biscuit. Derek is still busy with his hacking assignment, but he makes time to come to the library with me and even gets into the habit of making little origami mice for Biscuit to play with. Instead of going back to the office, Creed gives me remote access to the project database, and Soren and Lang help me work through the data, tossing around hypotheses that usually end with me examining Soren’s body in minute detail while Lang licks me to orgasm. When we’re done with our various work days, we all cuddle on the couch and watch Netflix, Biscuit carrying the soggy remnants of her paper mice from one lap to the next.

By the time Friday rolls around, we’re all at a faculty dinner to celebrate the launch of Lang’s latest book. It’s our pack’s coming out in a way, and while there’s not a lot of press for a non-fiction book on the identification of human remains through field-based DNA collection, a couple of cameras are pointed in my direction. I keep a polite smile pinned to my face, although I let a little smugness leak out when Lang takes me onto the dancefloor. I can feel all the envious eyes turned my way, and for once, I quite like being the centre of attention.

After dancing with all the guys – and a quick make out session with Lang near the bathroom for old time’s sake – we return home full of champagne and pheromones. While Lang takes a shower and Derek checks on some algorithm he’s running, Soren and I end up in the pack bed, a sleepy Biscuit sprawled between us. Soren smells as delicious as ever, although there’s a hint of sweetness to his scent that makes me wonder how close he is to another switch. My heat is officially over, and while I’m no longer leaking slick, one glance at him in his dress shirt and his bowtie hanging loose makes me want to lick him from head to toe. “You’re okay?” I ask as we play with Biscuit’s velvety paws. “No pain?”

The smile he gives me could be framed and hung on the wall next to my Viktor Rees. “I’ve never felt better.”

“Then do you think…?” I’m not sure how to put my yearning into words, so I decide to just spit it out. “I want you to bond me, Soren. Like this, so you can be my alpha.”

“Really?” He sits up and scoots closer, jostling Biscuit who climbs off the bed with a dismissive swish of her tail. “I want that more than anything, .”

Relief floods through me and the warm bond in my chest flares brighter. The thought of Soren biting me – that we can claim each other in the most primal way – is a heady one, and I lick my lips. “Even though things still aren’t settled between you and Creed?”

Soren smirks but then reaches up to twist one of my curls around his finger. “We’re good, I promise. But how about we call him and see what he thinks?”

Anticipation trickles through my blood like warm honey. “Won’t he be in meetings?”

“Sweet girl, he’ll shut down the company for this conversation.”

“Okay. Then let’s call him.”

While Soren grabs his phone, I smooth out the comforter and then do the same to the velvet dress I wore to the faculty dinner. It has a square neckline and full skirt and is a shade of raspberry that Soren said works perfectly with my hair. I’m not sure about the blush that’s spreading over my neck and shoulders, but he gives me a hungry glance as he settles back on the pillows with his iPad. “I thought face-to-face would work better,” he says, propping it against a cushion. “You okay with video?”

I nod mutely, since the call is already connecting, and the next moment Creed’s face fills the screen. I can see enough of his sweat-sheened neck to know he’s not in a business meeting.

“What’s wrong?”

Soren rolls his eyes at his mate’s curt tone. “I thought you were over there working, not goofing off in the gym.”

“Just took a few folks through a command resistance session,” Creed replies, turning his phone so we can see a group of about eight people milling around behind him in athletic wear.

“Oh,” I splutter, my blush spreading. “No worries. We can talk tonight.”

“Uh, over my dead body,” Soren interjects with a heated look in my direction before returning to the screen. “How fast can you get some place private?”

“Five minutes,” Creed’s dark gaze flicks between us. “I’m in the hotel gym, so I can head straight back to my room.”

“Great. Don’t dilly-dally, big guy.”

As Soren ends the call, I collapse back on the pillow and he pounces with all the enthusiasm of our origami-addicted cat. He immediately starts licking the untouched skin of my neck, and I clutch his shoulders, my toes curling. “He’s going to say yes,” he predicts, running his nose down my throat and breathing me in, “but it’s going to hurt him.” When I pull back in alarm, he chuckles. “Because he’s not here, I mean. That man wants to bite you more than one of Lang’s high-protein muffins.”

I snort, but the butterflies are back in my belly when Creed calls back a couple of minutes later. He’s slung a white towel around his neck and is sitting on the edge of a typical, if sumptuous, hotel bed. The pool of light cast from the desk lamp turns his skin a deep, honey brown. What I’m not expecting to see is Finn standing beside him, his pale eyes drilling into the screen.

“Oh,” Soren says softly, some of the cockiness fading as he stares at Finn. “You brought reinforcements.”

“You sounded serious,” Creed replies. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I say quickly, since the tension is palpable, even from across the other side of the world. “I just asked Soren to claim me, and we thought you should be part of the decision.”

The silence is so deafening, I can feel my ears burning, which is maybe why I don’t hear Lang until his hand touches my shoulder. He’s fresh from his shower, his hair damp and his black boxers clinging to his muscled thighs. But it’s the warmth in his eyes as he settles behind me that calms my racing heart. “That’s generous of you.” He draws me back into his arms and looks at the two silent alphas on the screen. “It’s their decision, after all.”

“We’ll be back in a couple of days,” Finn says quietly. “Can it wait?”

“No,” Soren replies shortly, his shoulders stiffening. “I’m an alpha now, which means my bite will be more effective in forging a bond. But that could change any day…”

“I’d want you no matter your designation,” I hurry to tell him, but then bite my lip, a sour feeling in my stomach. “Do you object to the bond or the timing?”

“We don’t object to either,” Creed says, gripping his knees. “We’re just cautious. We don’t know what a new mating bond might do to Soren’s condition, and if we’re not there to intervene...”

Lang makes a grumbling sound, but I press a hand to his knee. “Lang and Derek are here with us, and maybe you guys can stay on the call. We’ll take it slow, and if there are any problems, we’ll stop.” I stare at Finn, hoping he can read the message in my eyes. If things go really wrong, he can command us to stop, and despite the distance between us, I’m pretty sure we’d be compelled to listen.

“I don’t mind an audience,” Soren says, a sly smile pulling at his lips as he tangles his fingers in my curls. “They can even cheer us on, right, sweet girl?”

“It’s how pack bonds should happen,” Lang adds, dropping a kiss on my shoulder as he climbs off the bed. “I’m going to get Derek, so we can do this together.”

I’m not sure what Lang says to him, but they’re back in no time, and as Derek enters the room, he scowls ferociously at the iPad screen. “Do you have a problem with this?” he demands, using every inch of his imposing frame to loom over the device.

“No, but there are gonna be rules,” Creed replies and when Finn sits on the bed beside him, I turn my attention to the other alpha.

Finn is almost impossible to read, but instead of looking closed off, I think I can see a hint of eagerness in the way he leans towards the camera. I’m pretty sure Creed wants this – the logistics are just making him wary – but based on Finn’s body language, he really wants this. And I guess when you can level a crowded room with your command, you don’t worry too much about setting rules.

“Derek is going to spot Soren, and Lang will watch .” Soren rolls his eyes at the gym analogy but doesn’t interrupt as Creed looks at him. “But you’re gonna start by bonding Derek first. He’s a beta, like is right now, and he’s big enough to fight you off if things go wrong.”

“Yeah, but he’s not a dress rehearsal,” I object. “Derek, you don’t have to…”

“We already agreed on this during your heat,” he interrupts me quietly, leaning over to squeeze my hand. “Soren and I have talked about it, too. You know how I feel about him, and I’m happy to do it this way if you’re okay with it.”

“Of course I’m okay.” In fact, the thought of being connected to Derek by another bond makes my heart swell with happiness. “You deserve someone like him, and I know that Soren will never regret having a bond with you.”

I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to say with Creed looking on, and their own bond still unfinished, but when I catch his eye, he gives me an approving nod.

Is there anything better than having two men you adore looking at you with stars in their eyes?

Maybe seeing them come together like a pair of magnets, or a bee zooming in to taste the sweetest nectar on the tree. I nestle beside them as Derek plucks at the bowtie around Soren’s neck, his vivid green eyes never leaving the smaller man’s face. When Derek starts peeling open his shirt, carefully releasing each button, Soren’s lashes flutter. “You’re kind of intense, big guy.”

“Wait until he starts with the dirty talk,” I smirk, which earns me a heated glance from Derek and a little moan from Soren.

He loses his pants a lot faster, almost tearing them down his legs. “Can I be on top?” he asks when he’s done, squirming like he wants to climb straight into Derek’s lap. “It’s just that you seem kind of dominant for a beta.”

“You’re my alpha,” Derek replies, “and you can claim me any way you want.”

Soren’s eyes blow wide, his scent growing thick in the air as he gently nudges Derek back against the covers. His sweats are hanging low on his hips, and Soren peels them down with a hungry groan.

“Check him,” Creed murmurs from the screen. “Make sure he’s not going into rut.”

“He’s fine,” Lang says, squeezing me tighter. “He smells like gingerbread with extra spice.”

My mouth waters, and not just at his delectable aroma. I love the trust Derek shows as he lies beneath Soren, his body open and waiting as he pulls off his boxers and crawls between his thighs. I love the worshipful way Soren takes Derek’s hard erection into his mouth, and the sounds that tumble from Derek’s lips as he sucks him deep. I love the flush that darkens his chest, and the way he fists the comforter when Soren teases him with his tongue. But mostly I love the looks they are giving each other, hazy with lust, but so full of mutual adoration it makes tears burn the back of my eyes.

“I love you, Derek.”

I barely hear the words leave my lips, but he turns his head, his hooded gaze burning into mine. “Love you too, Em.”

And then his spine curls in a perfect arch, because Soren has raised himself onto his knees and speared himself on Derek’s cock. He sucks in a surprised breath, but lets it out in a long, satisfied groan as Soren starts to undulate his hips. “Wasn’t expecting that, were you, big guy?”

The tendons in Derek’s throat throb, his voice a breathless huff. “I thought you were gonna knot me.”

“Not for our first time. I want to feel you deep inside me when I sink my teeth into your delicious neck.” To demonstrate, Soren rocks forward and drops a ring of kisses along Derek’s throat. Goosebumps roll over his flesh, and the alpha chases them with a hungry growl. “Besides, this cock is too pretty to leave out in the cold.”

I bite my lip as Soren starts to ride him, Derek thrusting up to meet every downward glide. Soren is an alpha right now, which means there’s no slick to ease their way, but it doesn’t seem to hold them back as they chase their pleasure. And then Soren’s knot starts to swell, his cock slapping against Derek’s abs in a way that makes my thighs tremble with need.

Lang must sense it, because his fingers dip into the low neckline of my dress and feather over my nipples, his erection pushing through his towel. I’m tempted to turn and take him in my mouth, but I don’t want to miss a moment of Derek’s claiming.

Which happens as they both come with a shout, Derek squeezing Soren’s knot as he offers up his neck. The alpha takes it with relish, his seed blasting against Derek’s abs as he sinks his teeth deep. I feel a jolt in my chest that might be Lang’s bond reacting to the presence of another alpha, or it could just be my heart bursting with happiness.

“You’re mine, you glorious man, and I’m yours,” Soren says, licking over Derek’s bite like he can’t get enough of his taste.

Derek chuckles, breathless from their exertions, and maybe because of that little ticklish spot he has on his neck. “I’m yours, Alpha,” he agrees, “and I’m proud to say you’re mine.”

There’s an approving rumble from the screen, but my attention is on the newly mated pair as they turn and open their arms to me. I spring at them, kissing the smile off Derek’s lips before doing the same to Soren. He deepens the kiss, tangling his tongue with mine, then pulls back to murmur in my ear, “Thanks for sharing him with us, sweet girl.”

I shiver at the warm breath on my neck, and he presses his thumb against Lang’s bonding mark. “Are you ready for me?”

I nod, almost shuddering as he sucks on my skin. “I’m so ready I feel like I’m about to burst.”

“Good, because I don’t think I can claim you without knotting you first. I know you’re not an omega right now, but can we try?”

He’s still sitting on Derek’s lap, and while his knot has softened, I know it’s going to be a stretch to take him without any slick. Soren must be thinking the same thing, because he steals a kiss from my boyfriend and asks with a cocked brow, “Can we use your cum as lube, mate?”

I groan at the flare of heat in Derek’s eyes. It’s so hot, my limbs quake, and I tip back on the pillows, Lang smiling into my flushed face. But my eyes go even wider when Soren climbs off Derek and hitches up my skirt. His cock is hard again, the shaft coated in Derek’s seed, and the scent coming off from him is enough to make my eyes roll back in my head.

“If it hurts,” Lang says, as he eases my damp underwear down my thighs, “I promise to lick it better.”

I shoot him a tortured glance, but he just bends down to lay a hot kiss on my mound. I squirm under him, clinging to his shoulders. “Are you trying to melt me into mush?”

He swipes his tongue through my wet folds, rumbling at my taste, and maybe the way my clit flutters at his touch. “Just hungry to see you knotted and bonded again.”

He lifts his head to give me a long, drugging kiss, then slides behind me so Soren can crawl between my thighs. Derek moves to rest a hand on his new mate’s back, and I glance at the iPad to catch Creed’s nod of approval. Finn just stares back at me with the eyes of a wolf, hungry in a way that makes my toes curl. So much about this is perfect, or it would be if they were in the room with us and not watching through a screen.

But everything fades away as Soren enters me, his hips gliding forward until his face hovers over mine. All my men are handsome, but Soren is on another level, his glowing skin and pink lips like an advertisement for mind-blowing sex. His alpha energy makes me flush down to my toes, but the sweetness under his skin soothes me, and I realise this isn’t just a claiming. He’s making love to me as he would in his omega form, every thrust ending in a soft, adoring kiss.

“Soren…” I whine as he shuttles forward, his hips undulating against mine. I’m so aroused by Derek’s claiming, I barely feel the stretch. “Please. Claim me, Alpha.”

“Can you take my knot?”

Pleasure coils up my spine, thick as honey. “I need it. I need you.”

He grunts and his hips snap forward, Derek crowding in as I open my legs wide. Lang is kissing his mark on my neck, squeezing my breasts as he rubs his groin against my arse. It’s so much stimulation all at once, I soar over the edge, my pussy clamping around his knot like a vice. Now I feel the stretch, but it just adds to the electric thrill running through me, and I arch up to meet his bonding bite.

I’m yours,” he growls, biting down right as I complete the vow, “and you’re mine.”

My eyes are closed, but the world seems to spin around me, pleasure sharpening to ecstasy as our bond snaps into place. If Lang was a warm flame in my chest, Soren is like a bolt of lightning over dark fields, and I suddenly see every part of him laid bare. The view is as hauntingly beautiful as his face, and I writhe through another orgasm, feeling his knot throb against my walls. But as the sensation softens, I look up into his eyes and see a hint of darkness hovering there, like a bruise. It’s like he’s waiting for me to flinch, or look disappointed, which makes my own heart feel raw. I reach up and cup his face, trying to put all the love I feel into the touch. “You’re perfect, Soren.”

“Not as perfect as you.” There’s a lightness to his tone that doesn’t reach those dark eyes, and he pulls a face. “I think I was three the first time my mum said she named me Sorry for a reason.”

Anger curls through me, so potent it prompts Lang to place a reassuring hand on my back. He can probably feel me vibrating down the bond like a tuning fork. Or a pitchfork, in this case, since I’m ready to do murder on Soren’s behalf. “Some parents are just wired wrong,” I tell him. “They deserve our scorn, not our love.”

Creed makes a rumbling sound of agreement, and I watch his hands curl into fists on his knees. But his voice is gentle when he says, “Good families are a gift, and bad ones can be a curse, but pack is always a choice. And we choose you .”

He’s staring at his mate, but he sweeps his gaze over all of us, and Finn is doing the same. “Which is why we fit together so well.”

When Soren looks at him curiously, I can feel the alphas’ protective impulses like a warm blanket curling around our shoulders. It doesn’t matter that they’re miles away, because every ounce of their focus is riveted on our pack bed. “Our bonds have been forged in fire,” Finn goes on, his voice like a spell in the quiet room, “and we all know the value of loyalty.”

I think about that as I stare into his eyes and remember the cruel cigarette burns on his arm. It reminds me of the way Derek was hurt by his disloyal friends, and even brings some of my own scars to mind. I don’t know if Creed and Lang have suffered their own hurts, but as I snuggle down in our pack bed, I touch my fingers to my lips and press them to the screen. “Hurry home, packmates.”

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