Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dough Knot Bakery, Haven
T his has been the best and worst weekend of my life.
The euphoria of my Beta’s return kept me in a haze all the way through Saturday and Sunday.
Because Lincoln is my Beta.
He has been from the moment that we slipped on our Promise rings, maybe since the first moment that we met.
When I was three years old, I toddled around the pack garden searching for fairies in the flowers. Vito promised me that he’d heard fairies made beds in petals.
Gia told him that he was a dumbass .
I didn’t know what the word meant but I knew that it was rude.
I was angry on Vito’s behalf. I wanted to find a fairy and carry it back in my pocket to force Gia to apologize.
She never said sorry.
When I turned a corner, I saw a boy who looked my age lying amongst the flowers.
His eyes were large and seemed to flicker a magical silver in the sunlight.
He was pretty and covered in broken flowers.
In concern, my gaze flickered to his bruised cheek.
I bit my lip. “You an elf?”
He tilted his head, and his hair fell over his eye. “I’m Link.”
That sounded like an elf’s name.
Determined, I held out my hand. “I’m Candy.”
Our fingers entwined.
I pulled the boy to his feet and then toward the house.
His eyes widened with alarm.
“Where…?” He looked uneasy.
“The house,” I said. “Inside.”
Gia would be the dumbass.
I’d found the magic that I’d been searching for.
And that was how Lincoln and his pack, who’d in fact trespassed on our land without knowing, were taken into our pack.
They’d been on the run, lost, and hungry.
It was years before I realized that Lincoln wasn’t an elf and started calling him my gargoyle , after he protected me at school.
I never stopped thinking that he brought magic into my life.
Lincoln looks at me as his savior — his fated — for the way that I found him.
What if my finding him that day, however, condemned him?
The snake pit wasn’t a sanctuary for his pack.
Yet I can’t regret it.
Now, we’ve spent the weekend rediscovering our love.
It’s been the best thing in the world to have Lincoln back in my life.
The best thing to see Vito’s amazed and then overjoyed expression, when Lincoln strolled into the shop.
The best thing to wildly party for two nights in a row in celebration.
Once the bakery was closed up, Vito made his famous pineapple pizza and beer combo. We cranked the music up high, sang, and danced.
Well, the dancing and singing was mainly Vito.
Vito could create a one man mosh pit.
Except, it’s also the worst weekend because all the time, I knew that it was the last one that Lincoln and I would have together like this.
Our last real freedom.
Once it was over, we’d become freedom fighters for real.
Resistance fighters.
Out pasts truly were coming to an end, and we didn’t have a fucking clue whether we’d survive the new future.
Now, it’s Monday morning, and in an hour, Lincoln will become part of the enemy Saints. He may have my snake earring as a permanent piercing but he’ll belong to another pack.
Except, that’s a mask he’s wearing.
He’ll be an undercover spy.
He swears that he knows the danger of the role, but I’ve lived in a mafia family with betrayal and death on all sides, and I know that playing two roles is one of the hardest things to do.
Lincoln is courting death.
My nose scrunches up at the the scent of the bakery’s kitchen, the familiar sweet aroma of vanilla, cinnamon, and baked bread. It’s muted because of my medical patch on my scent gland. It’s only a couple of hours past dawn, so it’s working effectively still.
Unfortunately, my stomach’s still roiling with nausea.
This is what happens when I don’t normally drink, and I try to keep up with my brother’s drinking games.
Word of advice? Never play Most Likely Knot to… drinking game.
I squint through the morning light that’s flooding the room through the high windows at the back, streaming over the giant mixers, bread ovens, and bright violet walls.
The light makes the sparkles in the purple floor glitter like stars.
It’s a sweltering summer morning, and I’m sweating. The kitchen is hot, as the ovens bake the pastries and bread that I’ve been preparing since I woke up.
I’m wearing a simple black t-shirt and leather trousers with my pink BADASS BAKER apron over them.
“Still suffering?” Lincoln can’t quite keep the laughter out of his voice. He’s sitting on the counter. He’s loved watching me bake. “Hey, do you want my special cure?”
He leaps off the counter with a smirk.
Suddenly, I feel much better.
I straighten up. “I’m fine.”
He laughs. “Don’t worry, I’m only getting you a glass of water.”
I let out a breath of relief.
Vito’s suffering worse than me but he’s offered to work out front for the day, so that I don’t need to struggle through the noise, light, and especially, the smells of dealing with customers.
He’s getting the shop set up and opening up.
Lincoln drags a glass to the metal sink in the corner and fills it with cold water. He saunters back to me.
It’s going to take some time to get used to seeing him looking suave and sleek in a suit.
It makes me want to rip it off him.
I grip hard onto the counter.
Lincoln tilts his head, seeming to read the way that my pupils dilate. He tucks a curl that often falls over his eyes, behind his ear.
I skirt my finger over a freshly baked raspberry and blueberry muffin on the side. “It’s cool now. Would you like one for breakfast?”
He nods.
His gaze is intense.
I baked the muffins to represent our scents being united. With my gift — curse — I see the worlds through scents.
When I take a deep breath, the muffins’ sweet scent is like our love, entwined by fate and never to be broken.
I break off a piece of the muffin and hold it up to Lincoln’s lips.
He takes it from my fingers, allowing an Omega to handfeed him because between us we’re equals.
His gesture is sheer trust.
Lincoln nibbles at my fingers, licking over the crumbs, before sucking my fingers back into his mouth and fellating them for a moment.
My breath hitches.
Now I understand the appeal of this for Alphas.
Finally, Lincoln releases my fingers with a final lick.
“You’ve spent your life feeding me in so many ways,” he murmurs. His gaze never breaks from mine. The light catches on his snake piercing. “I’m going to prove that I can provide for you too.”
To my surprise he doesn’t hold the glass up to my mouth. Instead, he drinks from the ice cold water himself.
Immediately, he kisses me.
He winds his strong hand in my hair, holding me in the kiss.
I melt, as he feeds me the water in the most intimate way possible, from his mouth to mine.
I moan as I swallow.
I deepen the kiss, clutching Lincoln by the front of his jacket.
I don’t want to let him go.
I don’t want to fucking let him go.
When we draw back, we’re both panting.
“I’m addicted to you,” Lincoln growls. “I need you more than breath.”
“I want you to fuck me.” I slide my hand up to his neck. “You can’t go, before… I need this. I need you .”
Lincoln’s gaze flashes, before it becomes mischievous. “Well, I did promise to show you more of my piercings.”
I knew it.
“I don’t have a condom.” I bite my lip. “You could raid Vito’s room.”
Lincoln cups my cheek, tenderly. “I spent three years being trained to be organized and strategic enough to save someone’s life. Do you think that I’d come to visit you without planning ahead enough to bring my own condoms? What a burn.”
I grin. “Shut up and show me the piercing.”
“I love a feisty Omega.”
Lincoln reaches into a pocket on the inside of his suit jacket and pulls out a condom. Then he reaches down and undoes the button on his pants, before pulling out his cock.
His cock is already at half-mast. It’s thick, long, and gorgeous.
My eyes widen.
There’s a titanium vertical barbell through the head.
Lincoln’s expression blanks for a moment. “Do I pass the inspection? Even without a knot?”
All Betas have the same insecurity.
They’re taught that they’re not enough. In fact, that they’ll never be enough for an Omega because they don’t have a knot.
Omegas need an Alpha’s knot, during their heats. But Lincoln is creative with how he brings me pleasure, and more than that, he’s shown me friendship and love his entire life.
Nothing is deeper than that.
I don’t know if I believe in the ancient legend of fated mates but I do believe in our Omega and Beta bond.
“Top marks,” I breathe. “It looks incredible.”
Lincoln’s dick hardens under my heated gaze.
Then he slips his hands to my waist and begins to unbutton my trousers underneath the apron. “Okay?”
“So okay.”
He yanks down my trousers and panties. “Tell me that you’re my fated.”
“I’m your fated, Link. We’re each other’s, forever.”
Lincoln’s muscles bulge, as he grabs me around the hips and lifts me up to sit on the counter.
“Hey,” I protest. “I’m going to make an ass impression in the flour.”
Lincoln sucks down my neck, and I shiver. “And my cock’s going to make you scream. This piercing is all for your pleasure. It’s going to rub inside you in a way that’ll make you never miss a knot again.”
He moves back for a moment, sheathing his dick. He rubs across the head of his dick and the piercing, shuddering.
I grip him by the chin and force him to meet my gaze. “I never did. I only want you, my gargoyle. Now, fuck me like we’re bonded.”
“We are,” he whispers.
He drops his hands to my hips, dragging me onto his cock with one hard thrust.
I gasp, looping my arms over Lincoln’s neck and wrapping my legs around his waist, needing something to anchor myself.
“ Harder, ” I say.
This is perfect.
It’s everything.
I’ve never felt anything like this.
Lincoln pistons forward, savagely.
We both groan.
Then he’s pounding into me.
The breath is knocked out of me in small puffs.
Lincoln buries his head on my shoulder; his wavy hair brushes my neck. He tightens his hold on me, chanting my name on each thrust.
The sensation is overwhelming.
Then Lincoln changes the angle, and the barbell hits that spot inside me that makes lights dance in front of my eyes.
It’s different to any toy that I’ve used.
I moan. “M-m-more, fuck, m-m-more.”
Pleasure is building inside me.
I’ve never felt this.
Nothing like it.
“You’re amazing.” Lincoln grips my hips harder. I hope that there’ll be bruises. I want his mark to be on me, when he’s no longer with me. “Your pussy is — fuck — it feels perfect.”
To my surprise, he slows down, changing his angle again.
This time, the sensation of the barbell is enough to make my back arch.
I scrabble at Lincoln’s shoulders, lost in his raspberry scent and the ecstasy that’s slamming through me.
“Link!” At the last moment, remembering my brother and any early customers, I smother my scream against Lincoln’s neck, as I come.
At the same time, Lincoln stiffens, coming with a final couple of erratic thrusts.
Then his plush mouth is on mine, and he’s kissing me, long and hard.
I quiver in his arms.
“I fucking love you, my fated.” Lincoln cups my cheek, tenderly.
“I love you too.” I stroke the curl back that falls over his eye.
Lincoln draws back reluctantly, discarding the condom in a bin beneath the counter, before pushing himself back into his pants.
I push myself to stand, although my pants and underwear are still tangled around my feet.
My temples are aching. I feel dizzy.
Lincoln appears to notice.
“Here, let me.” He kneels in front of me, although the gesture appears to make him more dominant somehow.
He pulls up my panties, kissing up my thigh as he does it. Then he rights my trousers as well, placing one final loving kiss to my stomach.
Finally, he takes my hand, tracing over the snake tattoo on the back of it. He kisses that too like an oath.
When Vito bangs through the doors from the shop, I jump.
He’s struggling to balance two large breakfast bagels that smell deliciously of bacon, egg, and cheese in one hand and a coffee in his other. He’s looking down, and his straight, black hair falls over his face.
He’s wearing his favorite Muse t-shirt, and I wince at how close he is to staining it.
“I ducked down the street to the stall and bought you both a bagel. After the partying that we did, I thought that you could do with some greasy carbohydrate to mop up the alcohol still pickling you. I opened up the shop early, but nobody’s about. Anyone else feel like someone’s using the inside of their head as a punching bag? Fuck, last night was worth it though. But if someone could cure hangovers, then I’d give them everything I own, which right now, is pretty much only my tight ass and awesome taste in music.”
Vito tosses me a bagel, and I struggle to catch it. Egg slides onto my thumb. I suck it off with a moan of delight.
But then, Vito stumbles, when he sees Lincoln kneeling in front of me.
Lincoln doesn’t move but only smirks over his shoulder at Vito.
I roll my eyes.
“Do I want to know?” Vito asks.
“Nope.” Lincoln grins looking far too satisfied with himself.
He’s earned it.
I push back the shiny paper and take a large bite of the bagel. The gooey sandwich hits just right. I munch happily.
“Thanks,” I mumble through my mouthful. “You’re a star, viper.”
“That’s me.”
The bagel is perfect to help me regain energy after having been taken to heaven and back by Lincoln.
I’m not telling my brother that.
I think he guesses.
Lincoln pushes himself to his feet, smoothing down his suit and checking that he hasn’t dirtied his knees.
“You look good,” I reassure him. “The suit’s fine.”
“It’s expensive,” he mutters. “I can’t ruin it on my first day.”
Vito whistles. “You look badass like you’re from a Tarantino movie. Have I told you how much I’m loving your new clothes?”
Vito’s a good man. He was always kind to Lincoln.
Lincoln puffs out his chest. “Perk of the job.”
“Hmm.” Vito’s gaze clouds with concern, as it slides to mine.
On Saturday, Lincoln filled Vito in on everything that he told me about his new job, which starts this morning.
Vito was as outraged as me and equally determined to be in on the mission to save OG, the male Omega in the Saints’ basement.
He’s also concerned, however, that Lincoln is safe and doesn’t take unnecessary risks.
Unfortunately, we both know Lincoln too well.
“Here.” Vito strolls across the kitchen and passes the second bagel to Lincoln.
Lincoln grins. “Thanks, little viper.”
Vito scrunches up his nose. “Hey, stop calling me that. I’m older than you.”
“Little viper,” Lincoln repeats, taking a quick bite of his bagel like he thinks Vito may steal it back.
I hide my laughter by taking a bite of my own bagel.
Vito blinks, looking unsure of what to say, before he tries to draw himself up (he’s never going to be as tall as Lincoln). “I’m an Alpha.”
Lincoln’s gaze becomes dangerous, as he tilts his head. He turns to Vito, crowding him against the counter.
Vito knocks over the muffins.
For the first time, I realize what a truly powerful man Lincoln has become. Although, he was always powerful. It’s simply obvious to the world now.
I have a feeling that Dad is going to regret that he made Lincoln his enemy and then sent him away to turn him into a weapon.
Dad held a gun to Lincoln’s head.
Lincoln is that gun now, however, and one day, I hope that he has the chance to take his revenge on the Snakes.
I don’t owe the Snakes my loyalty, not after what they did to Mom, Vito, and Lincoln.
Not after how they hurt Omegas and Betas within the pack and through their criminal and business dealings.
“Okay, okay.” Vito’s blue nailed fingers rap on his coffee mug. “You’re taller than me. You always were. Should we whip out our cocks and measure those too?”
Lincoln arches his brow. “If you insist…”
Hasn’t Vito learned that Lincoln is shameless by now?
I chuckle.
“Woah, joke.” Vito reddens, batting Lincoln’s hands away from the front of his pants. Then he glances down at the counter. “Is that an ass flour angel?”
I glance behind me with a sharp intake of breath.
Well, it is a great impression of my ass.
“That’s not sanitary.” Vito rubs at his head. “Let’s hope that we don’t have any health officials dropping by.”
Lincoln looks guilty. “Will it help if I personally eat those muffins?”
Vito’s expression softens. “Go for it. Oh, I can’t stay mad at you, man. I’m just so happy to see you. I missed you. I’ve been fucking worried.”
He grabs Lincoln in a manly side hug, before shoving a raspberry and blueberry muffin at him.
Lincoln looks more than happy to be holding a treat in each of his hands. He takes a savory bite and then a sweet one.
I’ve always loved watching Lincoln eat because he does it with such relish.
Vito picks up his coffee and takes a long drink like he needs it. “I found a buyer for my Harley, Grace.” Vito named his bike Grace after his favorite album by Jeff Buckley. I know how much both the music and the motorcycle mean to him. They’re an escape. “It’s going to kill me to give her up, but I’ve bargained a good price, considering how fast I need to sell her. The one good thing about growing up in the Snakes is that it taught me how to negotiate.”
“I’m sorry about Grace.” Lincoln’s face falls.
My chest is tight. “When are they coming to take her?”
Vito looks like he’s struggling to force out the words. “Tomorrow. But that’s good news. You’ll be able to buy in the supplies to keep us going for the rest of the month. I’ll redo the budget and adjust things. Then there’s the cake contest. There’s hope, right?”
I understand how big a sacrifice this is.
“We’re the Snake siblings,” I say, firmly. “We get knocked down but we always get up again.”
I hold up my hand, weaving it from side to side and hissing.
Vito holds his own hand out, snaking it over mine.
He smiles, and I smile back.
“We get back up and apparently risk our lives rescuing a male Omega. It’d be boring to only be under threat of having our throats torn out by our own family, I guess.” Vito bounces up and down, blowing on his coffee. “Normally, I’m merely passing on gossip overheard while selling cupcakes and croissants to customers. Now, we’re going to be planning a real resistance mission. Did you buy the two burner phones for me yesterday like I asked?”
Lincoln nods, patting his pocket. “I got three, one for each of us. I have mine on me. Yours are on each of your beds. The numbers are untraceable. So, we can be in contact, while I work for the Saints. I’ll pass on info but heavily coded.”
“Viper talk!” Vito looks far too enthusiastic.
He’d been into playing spies for a while as a boy and had invented a code that Lincoln and I learned. We spent several long summers writing notes in nothing but code and talking to each other in it over walkie talkies. We made up elaborate stories about the rest of the pack, feeling like we were saving the world.
Somehow, it’s more scary, when you really are trying to save the world.
“That works.” Lincoln’s lips twitch like he’s trying not to laugh. “I’m in charge because I’m the one who’s trained. To start with, I’m going in to assess the situation. After that, we’ll work out a plan. I won’t risk either of you, before we truly know what’s going on with Tom’s Omega.”
Vito puffs out a breath. “I never thought that Thomas would be the villain. A knothead yeah, but not an actual villain. A couple of nights ago, I felt like the bad guy, making deals with Dad over the guy’s life, you know? Thomas was like the damsel but now he’s—”
“We don’t know what he is,” I say, firmly. “We don’t even know if he’s bonded to the male Omega. All I remember is…” A bruise on pale cheek. Buttons being undone, one, two three… “His sister and him weren’t happy. They were always alone. We haven’t seen him in public for years. It’s like he’s being controlled or kept closely guarded, only being allowed to move in certain elite circles with his pack around him. Remember the rumors that his dad sent him to the Alpha Center for reconditioning…? Just hold off judging him. We always wished people wouldn’t judge us.”
Vito ducks his head. “Okay, but if he’s hurt a male Omega, then I’m busting his balls.”
“If he has, then he won’t have any balls left attached to his body,” Lincoln says in such a matter-of-fact way that I believe him.
Vito grins. “Awesome, the badass bodyguard and his sidekick bakers team up as vigilantes to take on the bad Alphas and change society on the mean streets of Haven. I can see the Netflix series now.”
“Why am I the sidekick?” I grumble.
When my phone vibrates in the pocket of my apron, I pull it out and glance at the message.
SEVEN : Morning, sweet venom.
“Shit,” I mutter.
Hell, in the middle of everything, I’d forgotten about Seven.
“Problem?” Lincoln takes another bite of his bagel, finishing it and then throwing the shiny paper in the bin.
SEVEN: SV?
“It’s…” I lick over my dry lips.
How do I explain Seven?
There’s so much to explain behind the app.
My condition.
The chance that I may die.
SEVEN: I’m sorry that I haven’t checked in for a day or so. Work has been crazy. And family shit, you know? Serious family shit. It’s no excuse. I can’t wait to see you on Friday.
Lincoln’s brow is furrowed now. “Is someone bothering you?”
I deliberately turn off the phone and slip it back into my pocket.
“I don’t know how to explain this.” I throw my half eaten bagel into the bin, suddenly queasy. “It’s complicated.”
Lincoln is looking even more uneasy.
Vito slams his coffee onto the counter with a clang, before laying a hand on each of our arms. “Actually, it’s simple. Candy’s OHS has become worse since she refused to bond to an Alpha. She refused because she was holding out for your return, before she matched with a pack. If she doesn’t at least let an Alpha rut her through her heat, then she could die. So, she’s using the ABOinder app to find a heat helper in an Alpha called Seven.”
Lincoln blinks. “That is simple.”
Admittedly, put like that, it is.
I reach to stroke Lincoln’s cheek.
My heart is hammering.
Will he hate that I’ll be with an Alpha over my heat?
Will he think that it means he’s not enough?
“Seven and I wanted to get to know each other.” I duck my head. “We wanted to build a friendship, before we shared a heat. He’s been helping me through my pre-heats with sexting. He’s big on consent. He’s a good guy. My gargoyle, if we survive…everything…I’d like us to find a pack together, who’ll love us both like we dreamed about in high school. Who’ll treat us as well as this Seven has been treating me. I swear, I waited for you as long as I could.”
“My fated.” Lincoln’s eyelashes look impossibly long, as he closes his eyes for a moment. My heart is in my mouth. Have I hurt him? What is he going to say? When he opens his eyes again, they’re burning with an intense earnestness that takes away my breath. “ You could have died . You still could. Do you think that some toxic possessiveness is going to matter more to me than that? You are not my property. But you own every part of my soul. I want you to be happy, independent, and not to fucking die . So, if you need this Seven to help you through your heat — if you meet an Alpha, Omega, or Beta who you need in your life the same as you need me — then I’m open to us joining their pack as well. If you like Seven, then I hope that I get to meet him some day too. Just stay alive for me.”
I launch myself into Lincoln’s arms, and he clutches me to his chest, desperately.
He buries his hand in my hair, pressing fervent kisses to the top of my head.
Unexpectedly, loud bangs — rap, rap — come from the front of the shop.
Someone’s banging on the front counter, hard.
All of us freeze.
“Isn’t it too early for customers who sound like cops?” I whisper.
Vito stiffens in alarm. “Cops…?”
“Vito Snake, come out,” a cold, commanding voice calls. “I need to talk to you. Now .”
My gaze shoots to Vito’s.
I’d know that voice anywhere.
It’s Thomas St Clair!