Captured Omega

Chapter 35

Olly

I work on finishing up filing my logs and notes. I clean up my equipment, but I can’t stop thinking about the truth that all this time, under all our noses, we have the rarest specimen ever to walk among us.

Auryn is an alpha-omega hybrid. Medically, it shouldn’t be possible. But now, I think I understand her scars a bit better. Em had only received a shot. A single shot, likely of the omega proteins, and it only sustained him for a few days. Chances are, it’ll be tapering off soon.

But I gather that Auryn’s had repeated exposure to those proteins. Likely for years.

There’s no telling what will happen now—if those omega proteins will stay or if her alpha blood will take over now that she’s no longer getting her routine dosage of omega proteins.

Which begs the question…what exactly did Sneed and his minions have in mind? What was their end game? Why pump an alpha with omega proteins?

The idea alone is insanity. It could literally kill them.

I look up at the monitor, the image of those beautiful, co-existing shapes. Alpha and omega. I’d screen captured it for my research, visual evidence. But as I look at them, side by side, they are so much more than an anomaly.

They are what makes Auryn unique. They are her, beneath the small frame, beneath the blood and bones.

God, she is beautiful inside and out.

I decide now is a good time to probably close up the lab for the night. It’s been a long day for all of us. From the moment Emmett woke up to the onslaught of the debriefing, to Gage and Auryn…to the discovery of the truth…

I reach a hand behind my neck. I’m tired. I’m sore from sleeping hunched over while I waited for Em to wake up.

I’m tired of the last few days, all this stress leading up to this one moment, and now…

Now that moment seems miniscule with Em and his fading omega proteins that opened up the can of worms that was the discovery of my mate’s true self.

My alpha.

I stop as I turn to look back at those proteins on my monitor.

My alpha. That’s what she is.

Maybe I’ve always known that, on some level; I just didn’t understand it.

It’s why I smelled cinnamon and peppercorn. Spicy, alpha-esque scents.

It’s why I found it so easy to let her lead. So easy to do whatever she asked of me.

Because it’s no different than when Gage asks me to do something. When he tells me or orders me.

Which brings me to the other pressing issue at hand.

Gage. He’s been my alpha—all of our alpha—for years. Emmett, Diego…yes, they are alphas too, but even among them, there is an understandable hierarchy. Will Auryn fall in line with that hierarchy? I’m not so sure.

I’m not so sure of anything anymore.

I toss my lab coat in the hamper in the hallway and toe off my shoes as I head for the showers. Thankfully, no one is there, which is a relief. I’m still not entirely sure what came over me the last time I was in here. With Auryn…and my packmates. All I know is it didn’t feel terrible, being close to them, knowing they were there. But all I could focus on was Auryn and the hurricane inside of me, tearing through my brain and my body at the same time.

I’ve never felt that way before, and it wasn’t about the sex. At least, it wasn’t for me. No, for me, it was just knowing I was safe to just…be. My omega—no, my alpha—held my unraveling heart and crumbling resolve, and she put me back together.

I undress myself and get under the spray, the hot water on my shoulders making my muscles relax if only a fraction. It doesn’t take me long to get clean, as I hate to linger. I dry myself off and slip on a fresh pair of boxer briefs and sweats, relishing in the tight feel of the fabric against my skin. My stomach rumbles, and I remember I haven’t eaten much today, Too busy and fixated on my new findings. It seems like everywhere I turn, I only have more questions, when what I want are answers.

The place is quiet. I’ve no clue where anyone is, which I’m equally comforted by and worried about at the same time. I push the concern lacing my thoughts aside as I head for the freezer, straight for the tub of rocky road Gage keeps in here for me. It’s not something I’ve ever asked for, but I appreciate it all the same. I know I need to eat better, but with the anxiety swelling within me and a plethora of questions that don’t have answers yet, I can’t really focus on healthy choices right now.

I’m halfway through crumbling my protein bar on top of the ice cream when I get a heavy whiff of cinnamon, and I look up.

Auryn stands there, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers—mine, since I’m the smallest of the guys—and one of my t-shirts.

A strange sort of pride swells within me as I look at her. She looks every bit an omega on the outside. Petite. Curves in all the right places. Dark, inviting eyes. Her chestnut hair falls over her shoulder as she cocks her head to the side, eyeing me like prey.

It’s not the first time she’s looked at me like this, but before I just attributed it to her curiosity. She was practically feral when we’d found her. Something inside of her was broken. I saw it that night, before she jumped. She wasn’t just running, she was running from the things they did to her. Then we brought her in. We captured her, and we held her in a cage, too. But that cage disappeared, and she didn’t run. Somehow, the tables flipped.

Somehow I find myself trapped in a cage of our own making as she approaches me, and I wonder how I never saw it before. Nothing Auryn does is small or sweet.

Every move is as calculated and solid as the words that come out of Gage’s mouth.

“Are you…okay?”

I ask, my gaze roving over her. Her sweet cinnamon scent fills my lungs, and she shrugs. I don’t even bother getting a bowl; instead I just grab two spoons. I wordlessly offer her one, and she smirks, taking it from my hands.

“That’s a loaded question,”

she says, settling next to me. I offer her the tub first, and she glances up at me.

“Do you, uh,”

I clear my throat as she takes a heaping spoonful, “want to talk about it?”

I watch as she thoughtfully regards me while licking her spoon clean. “About…earlier?”

“No,”

she says, digging her spoon into my ice cream again. I take a small scoop myself. The cool sweetness blossoms on my tongue, and she scoots closer to me.

“Okay,”

I say. She grabs the tub of ice cream from me, and I don’t think twice about pulling her closer, settling her and the tub of ice cream against my chest. She purrs in contentment.

She purrs. For me. Because she’s an alpha.

She’s my alpha.

“My…alpha…”

she starts, scooping another spoonful.

“What about your alpha?”

“Is it…you said Emmett’s omega was temporary….”

I set my spoon in the tub.

“I don’t know,”

I say, watching as her expression falls. “Emmett only received a single shot, so his alpha DNA is stronger than…the omega proteins. Without another shot…”

My gaze settles over her arms. At the scars there. My heart churns in my chest.

“Your natural proteins have been exposed to the omega ones a lot longer, so there’s no telling if they will fade or not, but if I had to take a guess…”

Auryn looks at me with a worried glare.

“You’ve been here almost two weeks, and you’re still exhibiting omega-like tendencies…”

She growls at me.

“...sometimes.”

I finish, going in for my bite of ice cream.

“And the…other thing?”

she asks carefully.

I search my brain, trying to remember what else there was, and then my eyes widen.

“Oh…uh….”

I clear my throat again. “Have…you ever been pregnant before?”

I ask carefully. “Have any of the alphas at Orion’s compound—”

She shakes her head. “No.”

A heavy pause falls between us. She doesn’t look at me when she says that solid word. No.

“Makes sense. Lesser probability, I suppose. They didn’t have knots, right?”

I ask between bites. Auryn leans her head against my chest as she dives in for another bite.

“No,”

she says solidly. “No knots.”

“Did you ever lock any of them?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Just Gage and you.”

“Well, I think the answer to your question is…complex,”

I say. “And being as I’ve never known another alpha-omega hybrid in any capacity, this is purely speculative, but—”

I look at her, at her dark eyes. She licks her spoon clean, and I’m faintly aware that I’m hard again.

This seems to happen a lot in her presence, which is both fascinating and annoying. Sometimes I’d like to have a conversation with Auryn without my body reacting the way it does beyond my control.

I ignore the twitch of my cock as I hold her gaze. If she feels me, she doesn’t draw attention, and I am thankful for that.

“The omega proteins present in both Emmett right now, and in you…they make you more susceptible to the breeding instinct. Alpha females experience heat like omegas do, so likely your omega proteins exacerbate your natural heat and increase your sexual desire,”

I say. She smirks.

“English, Olly?”

“The omega proteins in your blood make you want sex more than the average omega or the average alpha.”

“Oh.”

She blushes, and I catch the faintest whiff of peppercorn and lemongrass as I realize she is rubbing against my leg. I smirk at her.

“The increased desire means you’re more apt to engage in intercourse with more viable alphas, from an omega standpoint. More suitors means a higher probability of pregnancy…”

“But?”

she asks, making a show of licking her spoon. Her dilated pupils call to me, and I understand all at once it’s not the omega in her.

It’s the alpha.

“...But what?”

I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

“There’s always a but with you,”

she says as she offers me the spoonful of ice cream. It hangs between us, cold, yet melting from the warmth of the spoon in her mouth.

I stare at it. At her.

I wish I could lie, but I can’t. Not when it comes to my alpha. It’s in my nature to serve. To assist. To be what they need me to be. Gage only ever needed me to be smart and dependable, but Auryn…

Auryn needs me to be those things too, among other things.

And I want to be what she needs.

“But alpha females mate differently, and therefore their reproductive cycles are different. They still get pregnant, it’s just…not as…easily as it would be for a female omega to do so.”

Auryn nods. “So what you’re saying is if the omega proteins die off, I could have a hard time getting pregnant?”

I nod. “It’s a theory.”

“And if the omega proteins don’t disappear, I have a higher chance of getting pregnant.”

“That’s correct.”

“And you don’t think it is something that can be reversed? If they don’t disappear, I mean.”

I take the bite of ice cream she offers me. My gaze meets hers, and the words fall out of my mouth of their own accord.

“No, I don’t think it can be reversed. If you’ve survived this long with them, I think…I think you are more a part of them at this point than they are a part of you.”

She looks up at me. “There’s only one scoop left,”

she says softly.

I push the tub at her, imploring her with my gaze.

“You can have it,”

I tell her.

She licks her lips as she scoops it up, and just as I think she’s going to take it, her pupils dilate.

“Open up,”

she says, and the scent of cinnamon and peppercorn fills my lungs. I do as she asks without question, and she feeds me the last bite. I swallow harshly, the cool cream down my throat a welcome sensation.

“You are a part of me, too,”

she says, slipping her hand in mine after setting the empty container and spoon on the counter behind us.

“Auryn—”

“Take me to my nest,”

she says and it’s not a question. The weight, the command, is purely alpha, and I whine.

“Take me to my nest, please.”

She runs her hands down my hip. “I want to feel your warmth wrapped around me.”

It’s not the words that make my heart swell, so much as how she says them.

She doesn’t ask to fuck me. Or for me to fuck her.

She’s asking to be held. Touched.

And until Auryn came into my life, I didn’t know how badly I lacked those things, so I can’t deny her. I couldn’t even if I wanted to because the desire to give her, my alpha, whatever she wants is something so deep and natural, it’s instinct.

“As you wish, alpha,”

I say, watching her eyes light up at my words.

I toss our spoons in the sink and dispose of the carton, grab her hand, and lead her to her nest. I tense when I see it’s not empty, and Emmett is passed out. I can tell beneath the blankets, judging by the way they cover his hip and the exposed flesh, he’s naked underneath.

Two weeks ago, I would have rather gone into battle than share a bed with Emmett, but now…

Now the desire to be in this nest with my alpha and her mate, to be surrounded by my packmates’ scents…it’s a strange sort of comfort, and I don’t think twice about curling up with Auryn. I hold her to me, kissing her neck. She purrs, backing her ass against my hardness. I can tell from her motions, she wants to have sex, but I’m not sure I can right now. My mind is too full of questions and thoughts, and the only thing that truly quiets them is when I kiss her. When I hold her tight.

I wrap my arms around her and do just that. I pull her against me, my mouth finding hers as I try to make her understand.

There are words stuck in my throat that are as foreign as the questions in my brain, words I’m only starting to really understand.

She turns, shifting position so she’s facing me. She pulls me closer, the motion making it easier for her to grind against me, but she doesn’t do that like I expect her to.

Instead, she pulls my jaw and kisses me. Deeply.

“Why are you so good to me, Olly?”

she asks, her voice a whisper.

She pulls away from me, looking up at me, and I can hear Emmett shift. Closer to her.

“I’ve been your beta from the start,”

I say softly. “I’ve been yours from the start.”

The words in my throat are sharp, trying to force their way out, but I’ve never said them to anyone before.

“And I’ve been your specimen from the start,”

she says, biting her lip.

“You are not my specimen, Auryn,”

I say, kissing her. Hoping like hell she understands what I can’t say. I don’t know how to say the words I want to say, but I pour them into my kiss. I write the words with my tongue and the sweet moan that escapes my throat. “You are my alpha,”

I whisper.

“Damn right she is,”

Emmett groans, and I remember we are not alone.

I tense as my gaze finds his. Emmett slides a hand over her hip, draping it over her stomach.

Auryn looks up at me questioningly, with challenge in her eyes.

“Do you want me to go?”

I ask, my voice barely a whisper. I’m not sure if I’m asking her or him.

Perhaps both.

“No,”

Auryn says. I look at Emmett, raising an eyebrow at him. He shakes his head, his voice nonchalant.

“Do you want to leave?” he asks.

“No,”

I say too quickly. Auryn kisses me again, softly. She settles against me, and my eyes close as I fall into her sweet-cinnamon sugar kiss.

I have never kissed anyone but Auryn. I love kissing Auryn. Her hand slides up my chest, resting over my heart. I am acutely aware of how fast my heartbeat is. How soft her touch is. How sweet she tastes. She presses her body against me, muttering two words that ricochet through my entire being.

“My beta.”

I’ve never felt such praise before. The way she says the words are like she’s trying to say something else.

My beta.

I love you.

“Your beta,”

I whisper. They aren’t the right words, but they are the only ones I can find at the moment.

I kiss her back, pulling her into a tight embrace. I love the way she feels in my arms. Soft, but heavy. Warm and comfortable. I love the way she smells. I love her warm breath on my skin. I love how she is so small but so fucking fierce. My alpha. I love that she is a miracle wrapped in an enigma. A fighter born out of blood and decay.

And all at once it hits me. Hard.

I love her.

I love Auryn.

“Don’t be greedy, Olivander. Save some for the rest of us,”

Emmett says, his voice tinged in sarcasm and lust.

I let go of Auryn regrettably, watching her grin spread. I don’t move, transfixed by the way she brushes her ass against his groin. I note the faint grimace, but it disappears as she pulls him by the jaw and kisses him.

He whimpers into her mouth, the heavy scent of burnt cherries and vanilla fill the air, and I blink, realizing what’s happening. Cinnamon and cherries mix together as she growls. He whines, thrusting himself against her, and I scramble to get up, wanting to record everything. I may never have a chance to witness something like this ever again.

“Where the fuck you think you’re going?”

Emmett’s voice grumbles.

“I will be right back; I—”

“You ain’t going nowhere, if I have anything to say about it,”

Emmett growls, that smokey scent cloying at my nostrils.

“Why not?”

I ask, watching as Auryn shifts between us, so she’s now facing Emmett like she’d been facing me moments ago.

She wraps her hand around his throat, her mouth latching onto his flesh as she bites, nibbles, and kisses him. My gaze flashes to the way she works at his neck, and I vaguely understand. She wants to claim him.

Her alpha wants to claim its omega.

What will happen once the proteins die off? Will she still feel that need?

I have to get my notebook; I have to record—

“Because I said so!”

Emmett growls. Auryn whines.

“You don’t have to stay so far away,”

Emmett says, clutching her closer. “I won’t bite.”

He shoots me a sarcastic grin. “Much.”

I look to the door, then at my mate and packmate in front of me before Emmett lets out a curse, and I hear the pain in his voice.

“Are you okay?”

Auryn asks, whining. Emmett purses his lips, his eyes shut.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Auryn, I—”

All thoughts of science and questions go out the window as I react to the sight of my packmate in pain. Nothing else matters.

“I fucking can’t—”

Emmett growls. I reach over Auryn, flipping the blanket off of him. I curl closer to her so I can get a good look at his dick.

From this angle it’s not easy.

“Permission to touch?”

I ask, setting my hand on his hip. His gaze flashes up at me with panic. “I just want to help.”

Emmett’s cheeks redden.

“I don’t think anyone can help me,”

he says, pushing away from Auryn and me.

“Em…”

“Just…give me a chance to try?”

I ask. Auryn scrambles in the bed, shifting back so I can get closer to Emmett. Emmett looks at her, and she nods.

“Okay, but I’m pretty sure—”

I shift my position and push him so he’s laying down on his back. Auryn watches us intently.

I notice immediately what the problem is. His knot is trying to inflate, but he’s still pretty inflamed beneath the surface. His knot is red and swollen.

“Is there any lubricant in here?”

I ask as I trail one finger over his shaft. He winces.

“Fuck! That hurts!”

Em bites. “In the nightstand,”

he says through a gasp.

“Auryn, please grab me the lubricant.”

A moment later she’s shoving it at me, and I’m pouring it on his dick.

“Come here,”

I order her. She looks at me quizzically but listens without protest. I massage the lubricant into my hands before sliding them carefully down Em’s dick. He hisses but lets out a sigh.

“Breathe,”

I tell him. “Your knot is trying to inflate. That’s a good thing.”

“Doesn’t feel good right now,” he bites.

“It will if you both listen to me,”

I say. “Do as I say, and you’ll get through this, okay?”

Em’s gaze catches mine as Auryn says, “Okay.”

“Em, get on all fours,” I order.

“Excuse me?”

he bites as I give him a knowing look.

“You want to get through this in one piece or not?”

Emmett groans. “Fucking hell, Olly.”

“Do as he says.”

Auryn’s voice carries above ours. “Be a good boy for me, Em.”

Something shifts in his gaze, and he whines petulantly as he rights himself. My dick twitches faintly, but I ignore it. I’m not concerned about sex or coming right now. I need to help Em. I need to provide care for my pack.

He needs to come more than I do.

“Tell me how you feel right now,”

I say as I get behind him. Auryn watches me intently. “Where’s your pain at? Five, six…”

“Six,” he says.

I reach underneath him with one hand, holding his dick steady. I run my thumb underneath his knot, and he shivers. It’s hot and swollen. Swollen with cum. I need to be sure it’s not clogging any ducts, so I do my best to massage the heavy swell, and Emmett’s legs shake. He moans.

“Does that feel better?”

I ask as I repeat the motion. Emmett hangs his head.

“Yes,” he says.

“Okay, Auryn, you can come take over,”

I say, but Emmett whines.

“No, please don’t…”

his voice is strangled and hazy. It doesn’t sound like him.

Because it’s not entirely him.

His burnt cherry-vanilla scent perfumes the air, and I freeze. Is he….

Is he perfuming for me?

Auryn crawls closer to us, watching with dilated pupils and curiosity. “You want my beta to make you feel better?”

she asks, her voice heavy and commanding.

Emmett lets out a grunt. “I want to fuck you.”

“How bad do you want to fuck our om—”

I clear my throat. “Our alpha?”

“One hundred.”

I rub his swollen knot slowly, carefully. His hardness twitches in my hand. The sound of wet skin and liquid echoes in the air.

“Auryn are you wet right now?” I ask.

She purrs. Loudly. “Yes.”

“Take off your clothes.”

The words are direct. There is no question. I keep my gaze trained on Emmett, but I can see her doing so in my peripheral vision.

“Fuck,”

he says, and I feel his precum blossom against my thumb.

“Okay, Emmett, I need you to relax,”

I say, running one hand down his back while keeping the other massaging his heavy knot. It’s getting bigger, which is a good sign.

“I’m trying!”

he bites, sucking air through his teeth.

“Kiss Auryn,”

I order. I know he will need a distraction for what I do next. But it will help him relax. I just know the shock will jolt him, and I don’t want him to react to me.

Auryn pulls him close.

“That’s it,”

I soothe. “Good boy, Em. You’re doing so good right now.”

A whine escapes him. I pull my hand back from massaging him, grabbing for more lube. I slather the cool liquid over his backside, over my hands. Auryn kisses him deeply, shifting her body beneath him. I suck in a breath and count to three, bracing for him to throw me off.

I slide my finger along his crease and purse my lips. Here goes nothing…

I slip my finger into his hole, and he nearly flies off the bed.

“The fuck, Olly!”

he bites, just as I find his prostate. I curl my finger, pressing against it with one hand, while grabbing his dick with my free hand and resuming my massage. His knot is heavy.

“Oh, my God!”

he whines, backing his rear against me like he wants more.

“How’s the pain now?”

I ask, massaging his prostate at the same time I massage his knot.

“I don’t know…”

he whines. “Three?”

“Three is good,”

I say. “You’re pretty swollen.”

“He needs to come,”

Auryn says.

I nod.

“Is it going to hurt?”

Em asks shakily.

“At first, yes.”

I don’t lie to him. “But once you clear your knot, the inflammation should lessen. Which should make sex with our alpha a much more pleasurable experience.”

“Do you want Olly to make you come?”

Auryn asks. I still at her words.

“Yes,” Em says.

“Then tell him that,”

she says carefully. Em groans, and it's the most defeated sound I’ve ever heard. “If you want to fuck me, be a good boy and tell Olly what you want.”

“Fucking hell,”

Emmett grumbles. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but…”

He looks at me over his shoulder. The sight is full of want and lust, but also…trust. Impeccable trust.

“Make me come, Olly.”

The words are solid. Unwavering. But slightly terrified.

“O–okay,”

I say, clearing my throat.

“No,”

Auryn shakes her head, grabbing Emmett by the throat. I watch as she stares up at him, but it’s clear by the grip of her fingers around his throat, by the way his shoulders loosen as he stares down at her, who’s the alpha in the room. “You didn’t say please,”

she bites. She kisses him, then pushes him away.

No, shoving his face towards me. Emmett looks up at me, bright green eyes blazing against his reddened cheeks.

It takes him a moment to speak.

“Please,”

he says. It’s one word. Just one word. But somehow it’s a hundred unspoken words.

I look down at him, at his pleading gaze, his kiss-swollen lips.

“If it starts to hurt, just tell me, okay?”

I say as I shift my stance. Auryn pushes up from below, settling Emmett back against me full force. I grunt, bracing the full weight of him against me. I shift my hand, sliding a second finger inside of him while gripping his dick in my free hand. I feel Auryn press against us, feel her wetness against my hand where I stroke and massage Emmett.

“Fuck, baby, I’m close.”

He grits the words through his teeth.

“Come for Olly,”

she says. “Then you can come for me.”

I’m not sure if it’s her words that do it, my touch, or a combination of the two. But seconds later, I feel his knot release, and he cries out the most high-pitched curse I’ve ever heard. I’m not entirely sure it isn’t a cry of pain, so I still, my body tensing.

“That’s it. You’re doing so good for our alpha.”

“And our beta,”

Auryn says, her eyes meeting mine.

The blush that forms on my cheeks feels like a fire.

“How’s your pain?”

I ask, my fingers sliding through his warm, sticky cum. I slide my fingers out of his ass, and he groans.

His cum drips down my palm, my wrist. It’s not a terrible feeling, but I’m dying to let go and wash my hands, though I don’t want to upset the delicate balance right now. The way his head falls back against me, the way his chest rises and falls, and those wispy breaths escaping his throat…

One wrong move could completely shatter him. I know that. I’m not sure if the omega or alpha is driving him, but I’d bet it’s the omega. Alpha Emmett would never beg me to touch him like this. Sadness blossoms in my chest as I realize this may never happen again.

A whine escapes my throat.

“What pain?”

he asks, and that's when I realize he’s staring at me. “Thank you,”

he says, and before I can even get a word out, his hand is on my neck, and his mouth crushes mine.

I freeze. Every bone in my body turns to stone. This…alpha is kissing me.

No, Emmett is kissing me.

I’ve only kissed one person, and I’m acutely aware that she’s watching me. Watching us right now. The thickening scent of cinnamon and vanilla fills the room.

Omega then.

I move my mouth slowly, adjusting to the way his lips move against mine. His lips are thicker, plumper than Auryn’s. He tastes like cherries in dark, sticky sweet syrup. It’s not a bad taste by any means. My body heats as he breaks away.

“You’re welcome,”

I say, my voice barely a whisper. He grins, and I realize he’s still hard in my hand.

“I think he’s ready for you, Auryn,”

I say, clearing my throat.

I remove my hand, and he whines, but a second later, that whine turns to a groan. Auryn grabs my cum-covered hand, and before I can excuse myself, she slides my finger into her mouth and licks it.

“Oh fuck,”

Em growls as she moves to the next finger. One by one, she licks his cum off my fingers, and I am frozen. She rides his dick, pushing him back into me. When my hand is clean, I grab his hips, holding him steady. She’s moving pretty fast, and though I’m certain his ducts are clean, and he should be able to knot, I don’t want her to hurt him.

So I stay steady as his foundation. My hands slide up and down his thighs and hips. I don’t know if it helps, but Auryn likes it when I do it to her.

She kisses him, thrusting against him as I hold him. One small hand reaches for me, bringing my lips to hers.

“So good to me,”

she whispers as she slides her tongue into my mouth.

“Shit!”

Emmett cries. “I’m going to come again.”

His voice is tinged with happiness, but I can feel the tremors in his body as he thrusts himself into her. I rock my hips, giving him a push from below. Auryn groans, and Emmett braces a hand on my thigh, using me as his foundation. I rise with him, giving him the extra push again. Wordlessly, we find a rhythm. Him thrusting into her, me rocking him to meet her thrusts. We move together, as one.

“Pain level?” I ask.

“None,”

he says, and I think he’s crying. I tear my gaze away from Auryn, and see I’m right.

He is crying.

I tighten my grip on him and give him a reassuring smile. “Tell me what you feel.”

His glassy eyes glisten in the low light. “Good,”

he says, the words barely a whisper. “So fucking good.”

“Safe,”

Auryn whispers.

I realize when silence falls they’re waiting for me to say something.

The word comes easier than I expect it to.

“Loved,”

I say softly. “Beta feels loved.”

Auryn pulls me back to her mouth.

“Specimen feels loved too,”

she says, kissing me long and slow.

I know the moment they come together because she groans into my mouth, and his entire body goes limp.

And suddenly it hits me, too. I squeeze Emmett and kiss Auryn a little deeper, too.

And when we break apart, it feels like time moves slower. I lay Emmett down, and he doesn’t fight me. Auryn cuddles close to him, and I carefully extricate myself from him and wash my hands three times, only because I swear I can still smell burnt cherries on my skin.

I give up, finally, figuring there are worse things to smell like.

When I get back in the nest, I curl up to Auryn and kiss her neck and let the darkness pull me under with my alphas.

Both of them.