43. Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Three
Mira
A drian cradles me gently as we walk into the penthouse. The familiar setting calms me. This is no longer a foreign space. This is home.
Although, to be fair, anywhere with my mates will be home.
Adrian strides down the hallway and into my bedroom, heading for the closet.
“Wait,” I whisper, tugging at his bloodstained shirt. My fingers tremble slightly against the ruined fabric. “Not... not in there. ”
Adrian pauses, a frown creasing his brow in deep lines. “Where do you want me to put you, Little One?”
“I...” My heart flutters against my ribs. Despite everything we've been through, this is more vulnerable. More intimate. “I made something. For us. In…in the nest room.”
Adrian brows rise as understanding dawns in his expression, softening the lingering rage. He changes direction, carrying me toward the nest room door. My fingers twist nervously in his shirt as he reaches for the door handle. I want them to love what I’ve done and understand what it means. Everything I poured into its creation, not just comfort and safety, but love and future and belonging.
When Adrian pushes open the door, I hear their collective intake of breath. The fairy lights twinkle softly, casting gentle shadows across my carefully constructed nest. Their clothes woven into the structure are evidence of hours spent crafting something worthy of us all. It looks different now, more precious, more significant after nearly losing everything.
“Sweetness.” I hear everything Cole can't say in the tone of that one word.
“You built this?” Zane's voice cracks.
Adrian's arms tighten slightly around me, carefully avoiding my bruises. “It's perfect,” he murmurs against my hair. “ You're perfect.”
“Do you really like it?” My voice comes out small, hopeful, as I study their reactions in the gentle light.
Zane's eyes roam over every detail. His expression is soft with wonder, like he's seeing something precious and unexpected. “I'm going to sleep here every night,” he declares, then hesitates, his confidence faltering in a way that makes my heart squeeze. “If... if that's okay with you?”
A giggle bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me. The sound surprises me with its lightness, its freedom, and suddenly, despite everything, I dare to speak up. “Only if you give me orgasms.”
Hunger rises in his gaze, hot and intense. “My new goal in life,” he says, stepping closer, his presence electric, “is to see you sated every moment of every day.” His voice drops lower, rougher, sending shivers down my spine as he cups the hard bulge in his pants. “This cock belongs to you, Baby Girl. Only you. Always you.”
Cole's growl vibrates through the air as his hand slides up my thigh until his fingers find my center with unerring accuracy, his thumb circling my clit through my leggings with just enough pressure to make my breath catch. “And this pussy is mine,” he rumbles, the words a promise and a claim. “I’ll always keep her purring with pleasure.”
I can’t help my wide smile. “That’s really corny.”
Cole’s dark eyes glow with heat. He sucks his full bottom lip into his mouth and a low growl vibrates in his chest. “It won’t be corny when I have you screaming under my tongue, because I meant everything I said.”
Holy fucking mother of the Gods . I just about swallow my tongue. My blood simmers with heat. Not the heat that ravaged me before. This is a liquid heat. A hazy kind that eases through my body and laps at my core.
The fairy lights cast Adrian in gold and shadow, turning him ethereal. His white shirt is still stained with blood, his hair wild from the fight, but his eyes... his eyes burn . He's beautiful like this, powerful and protective, deadly and gentle. The man who tore Elliot apart with his bare hands now looks at me with infinite tenderness. My prime alpha, surrounded by the nest I built for us, looking at me like I'm everything he's ever wanted.
Adrian glances down at his hands and rears away from me before he can touch me. “I need to shower first, Little One. I can't touch you... not like this.”
I catch his hands in mine before he can get too far away from me. "Don't." I press my palms against his bloodstained ones. "Don't separate us. Not now. Not after everything." The events in the garage are still too fresh, too raw to bear any distance between us.
Understanding softens his expression as his eyes track over my body, cataloging every injury. The scrapes are superficial, but his chest rattles with a lot growl. "They marked your perfect skin. I vow to you, Mira, no one , nothing will ever hurt you again," he murmurs, fury and tenderness warring in his voice .
I shiver at the ferocity in those soft words, at the deadly promise beneath their gentle delivery. These alphas, my mates, would tear apart heaven and hell if I asked it of them. They've already proven their devotion in blood and violence, their love for me written in the broken bodies they left in that garage. It's not just a promise - it's an absolute truth, as certain as our bonds, as inevitable as fate itself.
"Let us take care of you before we take care of you .” Zane waggles his brows and despite the gravity of how we received our injuries, a laugh bubbles up.
They guide me to the bathroom, where the oversized tub could easily fit all four of us. Cole starts the water, testing the temperature, while Zane adds my favorite lavender bath oil. Adrian helps me out of my torn and bloodied clothes, his touch gentle despite the evidence of violence still staining his hands. Zane and Cole shed their own ruined clothes, their bodies bearing marks from their fights with Lars and Hugo.
The water is perfect when we sink in together, my back against Adrian's chest, Zane and Cole bracketing us on either side. They wash me with care, their hands tender as they clean each scrape and scratch. The bloody evidence of our ordeal swirls away in the warm water, replaced by the mingled scents of lavender and our combined arousal.
"Our brave omega," Zane murmurs, pressing kisses to my shoulder while his hands work soap into a lather against my skin. Cole's strong fingers massage my tired muscles, working out knots of tension. Adrian's fingers thread through my hair, working out tangles, his chest rumbling soothingly against my back.
The tension begins to shift as our bodies press closer in the warm water. Healing touches turn to something more heated, need rising between us like steam. Their hands become more purposeful, their kisses more urgent.
"Take us to our nest," I breathe, already aching for more, for the completion only they can give me. "Show me how much you love me."
Their growls of approval echo off the bathroom tiles as they lift me from the water. Zane wraps me in a huge, soft towel as they quickly dry off before Adrian carries me toward the nest room, toward the sanctuary I created for us, toward the promise of pleasure and reconnection .
Finally, finally , Adrian unwraps the towel from around me and lays me on the mattress in my nest. The nest I created for all of us. Cole and Zane kneel next to him, forming a circle around me.
Adrian cups my cheek. “Better now, Little One.”
The hands that dealt death now cradle me with tenderness. “You saved me and now I know…you really will tear down the world with your bare hands to save me.”
I press a kiss to his knuckles. Behind him, Zane and Cole watch with identical expressions of wonder and heat. “We're scent-matched mates,” I continue, voice stronger now. “I know what it means now. This is what we do for each other. We protect. We fight. We kill if we have to.” I lean into his touch, letting him understand how unafraid I am. “And I would do the same for you. For any of you.”
“How do you know this?” Zane’s fingers trace patterns on my skin.
I draw strength from his presence, from fresh citrus that makes me think I could be in an orange grove. “From the Omega Biology book I’ve been reading.” My voice wavers. “Haven told us nothing like this. They twisted everything, but the book taught me how rare and precious scent-matches are. How they're meant to be treasured, not feared. I'm so sorry I didn't understand sooner. Didn't understand who we really are to each other.”
Zane's laugh is gentle as he presses a kiss to my temple, his lips soft against my skin. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all.” His eyes sparkle with sudden mischief as he glances at Cole. “Though speaking of apologies... someone knew exactly what we were to each other and took his sweet time coming around.”
Cole's massive frame shifts closer, his heat radiating against my back like a living furnace. His pine scent deepens with something both defensive and amused. “I’m sorry, Mira. So damned sorry. If I could turn back time, I’d do things so differently.”
Zane leans down to whisper in my ear. “Does your nest have a naughty corner, because I’d be very interested in that. ”
Cole's growl vibrates through me, as heat pools low in my belly. His hands slide possessively over my hips, thumbs pressing into sensitive spots that make my vision spark. “I hope it does,” he purrs, the sound pure sin wrapped in velvet. “I plan to be very naughty with our omega.”
The tension in the nest shifts to something heavier, hungrier. Adrian's hands tighten slightly on my waist as Cole's words send shivers down my spine. Three pairs of alpha eyes darken with desire, our scents—cedar, citrus, pine and my own spun lilac sugar—merging into something intoxicating.
Something ours.
“Very naughty indeed,” Zane murmurs, his playfulness taking on a heated edge.
Adrian's thumb traces my bottom lip. “Show us. Show us exactly how naughty you plan to be.”
The air in the nest grows thick as Cole's hands tighten on my hips, Zane leans down to nuzzle my neck and Adrian captures my mouth. I pour everything into this kiss. Love. Gratitude. Belonging. My fingers tangle in his shirt and pull him closer to sweep my tongue across his lower lip. My soul reaches for his through the kiss, offering everything I am, everything I'll ever be.
A moan escapes, raw with longing, met by Adrian's answering growl that vibrates from his chest into mine. His grip tightens on my waist as Zane's fingers glide upward and Cole's hand travels from my hip to my thigh.
My nipples ache for contact. Heat pools low in my abdomen, heavy and liquid with desire. Adrian's lips claim mine once more, but this kiss feels different—reverent, profound, cosmic, like a brilliant star.
Emotions that aren’t my own brush the periphery of my mind—vast feelings sensed through a bond not fully formed yet. Adrian’s love, deep and endless, powerful and eternal, his fierce protection and unwavering devotion wash over me. It is overwhelming, infinite, perfect. The itch beneath my skin transforms into certainty. I crave more of this, more of him.
With a hand on his cheek, I pull back slightly. His dark eyes remain fixed on mine, glimmering with intensity. Our lips still brush together as I speak, “Bond me.” The words spill from deep within, an undeniable truth. “Please, Adrian. Bond me.”
His gaze turns to liquid pools of longing. “Omega.”
“You can bond me now. I don’t have to be in heat. We’re scent-matched mates. We can bond any time.” Words tumble over each other.
A small smile plays at his lips, tender despite the evidence of violence still marking his skin. “You really have been studying that book.”
“Only the important parts.” I meet his gaze steadily, letting him experience everything I feel through our growing connection—my love, my trust, my absolute certainty. “Will you bond me? Please? All of you?”
"I was never going to say no, Little One. You're ours. It was only a matter of time." Adrian's naked body gleams in the soft light as he twists to look over his shoulder at Cole and Zane. "You heard our omega. She demands to be bonded, and who are we to deny such a perfect request?"
"As if we could resist," Zane murmurs, his lips skimming my still-damp skin. Water droplets trace paths down my body, making me shiver.
"So impatient," I manage to tease as Cole's lips find that sensitive spot behind my ear, his wet chest pressing against my back.
"Patience. Good things come to those who wait," Cole rumbles, nuzzling my ear, his hands sliding over my skin.
"I'd rather come now." I'm bold in their careful handling. The words make Zane choke on a laugh.
"Did our sweet omega just make another dirty joke?" Zane grins against my stomach, pressing an open-mouthed kiss there. "I'm so proud. We're clearly a good influence."
Adrian watches from his position in front of me, his eyes dark with desire. "Less talking, more touching." He sounds commanding but his lips twitch with amusement.
"So bossy," Zane complains playfully, his hands sliding up my thighs. "This is delicate work, you know. "
"Your delicate work takes too much time," I point out, gasping as Cole's teeth graze my shoulder. The contrast between their playful words and their heated touches makes everything more intense.
"The best work takes time." Cole's large hands map every inch of my skin. "And you, Little One, are our masterpiece. Our perfect canvas."
"Beautiful," Adrian breathes as he drinks in the sight of me. Cedar enfolds me, smoked and wooded.
Cole's lips blaze a trail of fire down my shoulder, his pine scent rich with notes of worn leather enveloping me as he moves lower. When he captures one sensitive peak in his mouth, I gasp at the sensation, my hands tangling in his wet hair to keep him close. His tongue swirls and flicks, sending sparks of pleasure straight to my core.
Zane's hands slide higher, his citrus scent sharpening with desire. His fingers find my center, making me moan. "So wet for us, Omega, and not just from the bath."
He lifts his fingers to his mouth. I glimpse my arousal coating his fingers before he sucks on them. His eyes flutter closed and he tips back his head. “Hmmm. Delicious, Omega. So sweet.
Adrian rises onto his knees. His cock juts from a nest of dark curls, long and thick and mine. The head is flushed deep red, already glistening with arousal. A rush of desire makes my clit throb and I whimper with eagerness. He strokes himself as he watches my mates worship my body, his eyes molten gold with desire and suddenly I’m through with the teasing.
I raise my arms, a growl falling past my lips as I state my demand. “I need you. In me. Bonded. Now.”