Chapter 25
Diego
Madre de Dios, gunshot wounds hurt like fucking hell.
When I come to in Olly’s lab, I realize Gage must’ve brought me here … which means he didn’t go back to the Orion house.
He didn’t save Emmett yet.
Mi jefe looks like hell dozing at my side, his head and shoulders slumped so far over I think he might fall out of the chair he’s in. His eyes are sunken in and red-rimmed, and he’s paler than usual. I glance around the lab and see discarded transfusion tubing sticking out of the biohazard bin. That explains the pallor, and probably also largely contributes to my continued existence on this planet.
“Gage,”
I murmur, squeezing the hand that holds mine. “Hermano, levántate. Get up.”
“Mm?”
He shakes his head and lifts it slowly. I bet he’s got one hell of a crick in his neck, especially if he’s been there long.
His eyes blink a few times, and he rubs them with the back of his free hand. Then he looks at me again, and this time I see the focus there. His jaw drops, and before I know what’s happening, he tackles me on the table, giving me the kind of kiss I thought he was keeping in reserve for Auryn these days.
Despite the force of his greeting, Gage takes enough care that he doesn’t rip open my wound. He strokes and caresses my hair, muttering sweet nothings in Spanish. Hermano de mi corazón. Mi amor.
The last one startles me, because as long as we’ve been lovers, we’ve never claimed to be “in love.”
Gage fucked me because we didn’t have an omega to have sex with … right? He doesn’t feel the same way I do, doesn’t have the same attachment towards me when it comes to the heart. Does he?
“You scared me, Diego. Fucking terrified me. Don’t do that again, okay?”
My lips spread in a cockeyed grin. “You got it, boss. Next time a loco alpha reject shoots at me, I’ll do my best to dodge it.”
He chuckles and sniffles at the same time. “Fuck. I’ve gotta go tell the others. Auryn’s been beside herself, and even Olly seems shaken. I think he may have started to feel feelings about you.”
I gasp in mock surprise, but I know better. Olly’s a good kid, a good beta, and he cares in his own way. It’s not his fault that emotions and social interactions are as mysterious to him as his science and medicine are to me.
“How long have I been out?”
I ask, noting one conspicuous omission from his list of people to notify.
“A few hours. Long enough for Olly to perform surgery. He got the bullet out and stitched you up, and we gave you my blood, but you still need to take it easy for a while. You’re not going to recover overnight, and we need time to regroup.”
“Regroup for what?”
He’s being evasive. I wish he’d just tell me.
Gage strokes my hair one more time, gives me one more kiss, then stands straight, his expression grave.
“Rescuing Em.”
Fuck. I was right. He didn’t go back for Em like I wanted him to.
He didn’t go back because I was hurt. Because I got careless, got myself shot.
Em’s trapped with the Orions because of me.
The tears come hard and strong, and my stomach aches with every sob.
Gage’s face morphs into a panicked expression, and he embraces me again, purring as loud as he can.
“Shh, shh … It’s not your fault, Diego. It’s not your fault. I made a choice, and I’d do it again. Emmett’s tough. He’ll be okay. He’ll hold on until we can go in and get him out of there.”
“He shouldn’t be in there,”
I moan, still unable to shake the tears. “I told him to go get you if I wasn’t out in time. Told him ‘Get Gage. No matter what happens.’ I don’t understand why he didn’t do that. He should’ve hopped in the Humvee and come straight here.”
“Hey.”
Gage takes my face in his hands and stares into my eyes with his red-rimmed baby blues. “This is not your fault, comprende? This is one of those freak things that couldn’t be avoided.”
“He could’ve avoided capture by not going in the fucking house.”
“He couldn’t do that, Diego. He may not show it, but that man loves you. He cares enough to risk his own life for you.”
His hand slides down to my chest, palm pressed over my heart. “We all love you, Diego. More than you know. Don’t cheapen his sacrifice by saying you aren’t worth that kind of dedication.”
I turn my head away from him, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze. I don’t feel deserving of this dedication he speaks of, this love.
“I’m going to get Olly and Auryn,”
he says. The warmth of his hands disappears, and I hear his footsteps leave the room.
While Gage is gone, I make a few attempts to get up, but unfortunately my abdominal muscles protest each time. The bullet must’ve done more damage than I realized, and loathe as I am to admit it, I’m probably only alive because Em and Gage didn’t listen to me.
Five minutes after Gage left, I’m hit by a five foot three inch tornado of love and affection. Auryn assaults me with hugs and kisses, simultaneously chastising me for leaving without Gage’s permission–or hers.
“Lo siento, princesa. I only sought to make the world safer for you, pero I failed.”
“Damn right, you failed! Now I have to go with you guys to rescue Em.”
Her voice catches on his name. “Don’t you know this is the safest place there is?”
Well, that’s progress of sorts. When she first got here, she did not consider the compound–or us–to be safe. Unfortunately, now she seems determined to help us defend that security by accompanying us to the Orions’ … to the place where she lost her freedom.
“Princesa,”
I say softly, catching her hands in my own, “Em would never want you to have to go back there. He’d rather die than see you wind up in their clutches again.”
She tenses at the mention of Em’s death, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s growling.
“He won’t die. We’ll get him back.”
Gage walks up behind Auryn with his hands in his pockets. His pose is relaxed, but his expression speaks volumes about his opinion on Auryn including herself in the “we”
who will rescue Emmett.
“How are you holding up, Diego?”
I give a one-shouldered shrug. “This bed isn’t the most comfortable, but I have to say it’s a better place to rest than the morgue.”
Auryn’s brown eyes flash with anger, and she swats Gage’s arm. “He’s not comfortable! What are you doing making him stay here? We’ve got a perfectly good nest in my room, with plenty of blankets and pillows.”
Gage slowly turns his gaze to our omega, but his eyes glint with humor. “This is the first time he's mentioned his discomfort.”
“Well, don’t sit around. Pick him up! We’ve got to get him to my nest.”
Auryn doesn’t wait for Gage to follow her instructions. She’s out the door and halfway down the hall before he stops chuckling long enough to help me up.
With Gage’s assistance, I make it to Auryn’s room without the need to be carried. She scowls at him when she sees that I’m moving under my own power, but her anger redirects to concern as I groan with the effort of getting into the bed.
“Be careful, Diego! Gage, get that pillow over there. No, not that one, the other one. Yes. Put it behind his back. Now this one for his head. Watch his arm! Gods, he’s so pale … and he’s shivering.”
She yanks blankets from the other side of the bed and piles them on top of me. “You lost too much blood, Diego. We’ve got to keep you warm.”
“He’s not a pup, Auryn. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Hush! Now get in there with him. He needs us.”
She puts her hands on her hips and scowls at Gage until he complies.
It’s interesting that she’s so focused on my warmth and comfort. As an alpha, even with massive blood loss, I run hotter than the average. Auryn’s treating me like an alpha comforting an injured omega. The role reversal is amusing, and I bet Olly would love to document this event.
Sure enough, our beta watches from the doorway with a look of interest. He cocks his head after a few minutes and disappears. Suddenly, sounds of a struggle break out in the hallway. Gage and Auryn rush to check it, but when they pause in the doorway and break out in simultaneous laughter, my curiosity is piqued.
“Need help with that, Olly?”
Gage asks with an amused grin.
“I-I’ve got it,”
Olly huffs, and moments later Gage and Auryn back away from the door to let him through.
Him, and his mattress.
“Amigo, what is this?” I ask.
Olly turns a bright shade of red. “Auryn’s bed isn’t big enough for all three of you. I just thought … I mean, it makes sense to create a bigger nest.”
Auryn beams up at him, but Gage’s laughter is barely contained, if the look on his face is any indication.
After Gage composes himself, he helps Olly with the box springs and frame. Auryn’s room is now packed, with one wall completely lined in the double queen beds, but to see the look on her face, you’d think Olly just hung the fucking moon.
“Oh, this is perfect, Olly! All we need now are a few more blankets, maybe some extra pillows …”
Olly pulls a pencil and a notepad out of his scrub pocket and starts making a list of Auryn’s nesting requirements. It all sounds like more than I’d need, but since it seems to be making mi princesa happy to pamper me, I don’t complain.
When everything is set up to Auryn’s satisfaction, she and Gage settle in on either side of me. Olly stands awkwardly back by the door until Auryn pats the bed behind her. “Come on, Olly. Thanks to you, there’s plenty of room.”
He inches forward. “But … Aren’t you guys–I mean, don’t you want to–”
“You’re always welcome with us, Olly,”
Gage says, “whether you want to partake or not. If you’re not comfortable, though, we’ll understand.”
After a few moments of debate, Olly squares up his shoulders and marches over to Auryn’s side of the beds. He climbs in behind her and awkwardly cozies up to her back, placing a hand on her hip and nuzzling her neck with his nose. Now that he’s closer, I see a large hickey on the side of his own neck, and I wonder when that happened.
Now that we’re all in bed together, Auryn and Gage seem to be in competition for Most Affectionate Packmate. While she kisses and strokes my chest, he brushes my hair back and kisses my jaw. Our lips meet, and as Gage and I make out, Auryn slides one slender leg over my hip. Before she can go further, though, Gage stops her.
“He’s not recovered enough for that, baby. Come here.”
He rolls onto his back and pulls out his cock, which is already hard. “Ride me if you want, but take it easy on Diego.”
Auryn pouts, but after gingerly touching my bandages, she relents. We all go through the process of disrobing, Olly included, though he seems to be mimicking our actions a split second after, like he has to observe and digest our movements first before taking part.
The sight of Auryn lowering herself onto Gage’s dick once she’s naked is fucking beautiful, and I reach down to stroke myself while I watch. Gage murmurs a warning for me to take it easy, but from the way his eyes are heavy-lidded and dilated, it’s clear his main focus is on the sensations of Auryn riding him. He turns his head and kisses me again, and we both moan at the same time. The air is thick with the scent of bourbon and lemongrass, and something a little woodsy.
Olly watches it all with more than just his usual detached curiosity. It’s like he’s absorbing what he sees, cataloguing everything in that big brain of his. His dick is half hard, but he doesn’t touch it. It’s like he’s only peripherally aware of it, like his priority is observing us.
Before his cock has time to knot her, Gage gently lifts Auryn off his hips. She whines in protest, but he soothes her with a purr.
“It’s okay, baby. I want to change things up a bit.”
He kneels next to my feet and kisses Auryn, fingering her wet pussy. “I want you to get on your knees, Auryn. Get on your knees and suck Diego’s cock while I fuck you and fill you up from behind.”
Her eyes widen, and she licks her lips like someone just told her the Hot Light is on.
Auryn positions herself for Gage and tosses her long, dark hair to the side before swallowing my cock. I gasp and twitch, groaning with delight as she bobs up and down.
When Gage slides into her, he closes his eyes with a contented sigh. “That’s fucking perfect, baby. You’re so good for me. Suck his dick, baby. Drink it all up, and while you suck him dry, I’ll fill you so full that you’ll slosh when you walk. I’m going to come so deep inside you that you’ll feel it for months.”
I grin as his meaning sinks in. Gage has fucked plenty of omegas–we all have, except for Olly–but Auryn’s the first who’s been … available for breeding.
The thought of Auryn’s belly growing round with a cub, even one that’s not my own, excites me more than it should. I picture her full with child, and my dick gets even harder. I grab her hair and gently thrust up into her, taking care to be mindful of both my wound and her gag reflex. I shouldn’t have concerned myself, though; it seems she doesn’t have one.
“Fuck, Auryn, you’re so fucking tight. Lock me, baby. Lock my knot, so I can fill you up.”
Gage’s litany continues, constant mutterings of filling Auryn with his cum and talk of her future pregnancy. All his talk of breeding is unbelievably hot, and I find it harder and harder to hold back. I want to last for Auryn, to show her that, even injured, I can keep up with Gage.
I don’t last. Gage says something about “our child will swim in my cum,”
and that’s all she wrote. I come down Auryn’s throat with a shout, and she’s so ill-prepared for the sudden deluge that half of it seeps out, dripping back down my cock.
Auryn coughs and sputters as I pull her off of me. Cum runs down her chin, which is such a glorious sight I wish I could savor it. Take a picture, frame it, hang it on my wall.
A muscular arm reaches around Auryn and pulls her up. Gage holds her even with his chest, still rutting her the whole time, and he bends to kiss her.
Watching mi jefe clean her with his tongue is another amazing image that I want to sear into my brain forever.
Olly watches this all from a few feet away. He’s hard, but he’s not touching himself. He’s got that expression of detached interest, that calculated mind that I can practically see working. The poor guy probably isn’t used to cum play like this, but I admire him for sticking around. Maybe he’ll absorb some new knowledge from all this.
Auryn sighs. Shudders. Clenches so hard I can see her abdomen flexing. I wonder if this is the start of that lock Gage mentioned. She didn’t lock with Em and me, so I can’t be certain, but if I were a betting man, I’d say this is it.
Gage’s sudden elated shout confirms my suspicion. He wraps both arms around Auryn and goes all out. The tops of her luscious breasts, peeking out from his grasp, jiggle and bounce with the motion. I never knew I had an exhibition kink, but damn if this isn’t one of the sexiest fucking nights of my life. Even as a pure spectator now, I’m already hard again and good for another go.
To my shock, Gage pushes Auryn back on all fours and leans over her to cater to me while he’s locked. His lips wrap around my head, and he sucks me half into his throat.
Auryn watches this with rapt attention. She grabs the other half of my shaft and pumps me for him. Seeing the two of them working together to get me off–Dios, it’s almost too much.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity of beautiful fucking, Gage stills, his hips jerking as he pumps Auryn full. I come again at the sight, and Gage does a slightly better job of containing my cum.
The three of us pant and gasp for air, and Olly sheepishly clears his throat.
“Um, Gage, do you want me to, er, unlock her again?”
Again? What is this?
Gage wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, then licks it clean. “No, Olly. Not right now. I think I’d like to rest a bit … just like this.”
With practiced care, Gage helps Auryn lie down between us. She strokes my chest and kisses my neck, though her pussy is still throbbing and full of Gage. I don’t know how long they’ll be stuck like that, but I’m glad they’re here with me for the duration. My mind had been growing dark with thoughts of my fuckup back at the Orion house, and this has definitely lightened my mood.
Eighty percent of my pack is here, safe and content. Life won’t be “right”
until we’re back to one hundred percent, but for now, it’ll have to do.