30. Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty
Emma
T he beach was extraordinary this morning.
Beautifully windswept and wild from the storm.
The rough sea had claimed the shore overnight and left its fierce mark behind.
A completely different landscape from yesterday's soft, sunny warmth greeted Phoenix and me.
Scattered piles of driftwood carved smooth by waves littered the waterline, and tangled sea grass swept in graceful arcs across the sand.
Phoenix was right. Last night's storm changed everything and each step I took with him brought some new treasure. I found a small, softly tinted shell in shades of pink and creamy white lodged halfway in the damp sand and pulled it free.
“It's perfect!” I glanced up at Phoenix, not able to hide my smile.
“Perfect enough to be featured in this exclusive collection?” His answering grin brightened his handsome, windswept features as he held out my jar. I wasn't sure which was better, my new shell or his smile. They were equally beautiful.
I placed my prize among the vibrant shells we had already gathered. The soft clink of it slipping into the jar filled me with quiet joy and satisfaction.
Walking beside Phoenix felt…right. Easy.
Even as our feet sank into shifting sand, muscles unaccustomed to the physical exertion burned with the strain, I found warmth and comfort at his side.
Awareness prickled along my skin whenever he looked my way, each accidental brush of his shoulder or soft lingering glance sending warmth pooling deliciously low inside me.
I ached for him to kiss me again. And more.
Something deeper, something tentative bloomed between us, simmering and unstoppable.
The pulse was fierce, as gentle as his smile and as inviting as those blue eyes every time he glanced my way.
But he hadn't kissed me again. Instead, we simply walked together along the windswept beach, and we talked. Just talked. Until finally he must’ve sensed my weariness, concern shadowing his gaze. “Let's head back. You've walked far enough today, Tough Girl.”
My heart was lighter, happier than it had been in so long; right until the instant we stepped back into the kitchen.
Soren and Asher hunch over their laptops at the table, their broad shoulders tense, expressions severe as they discuss something between themselves. Reality comes crashing quietly down around me once more, dampening my earlier joy.
The truth of our situation floods me with heavy unease because Phoenix and I weren't simply walking the beach. We escaped reality for a fleeting hour and now, returning to the stark reminder etched onto their worried faces, I'm forced to remember exactly why we're here.
It's a sobering return to reality.
Asher’s dark gaze lifts from his laptop, settling on me. He rises from the kitchen table to step toward me.
The bond between us remains wide open and my heart skips at the deliberate flow of emotion as he lays himself bare for me.
Warm, unguarded affection and relief that I’ve returned safe, serious determination tangled gently with fierce protectiveness, and underneath it all a deep, aching longing, pure want and tender affection.
Gone is the recrimination he let me feel for so long.
What I read from him is no less forceful, but it affects me just as deeply.
His bond is nothing like the bonds Pack Carmichael forced on me. On the beach, I hadn't even realized their darkness was silenced by the quiet companionship with Phoenix, the joy of finding shells, sunlight soaking my skin and the cool rhythm of seawater caressing the shore.
And now, as Asher stands before me, they’re only an annoying hiss in the background. The honesty and potency of his emotions exist on an entirely different frequency, powerful and meaningful enough to drown them out.
Asher’s slow smile melts me. Delicious heat pools low in my belly and a warm and inviting tension blooms through my chest. My body heats, awareness sharpening into desire at just how good he looks smiling at me that way.
The knot of longing I carried on the beach tightens, rebounding intensely when his gaze meets mine, a powerful and irresistible magnet.
My scent flares, wild, honeysuckle heavy and rich, threaded with the heady musk of my desire.
I’ve never perfumed quite this way before.
Not even when my heat came on me with Pack Carmichael.
This is so much more . More complex. Deeper.
Richer. More everything. My cheeks flame but Asher gently plucks the jar of shells from my fingers and places it on the counter.
“Don't, Emma. Don’t be embarrassed.” His voice wraps around me, and I tumble into that velvet softness. “It means everything to scent you this way.”
Asher's scent is earthy, powerful, masculine; but instead of twisting something inside me into nausea, it gently slips beneath my skin, flowing deep and slow until warm and soothing pleasure tingles along every nerve.
It's the gentlest caress, inherently protective, breathtakingly intimate and something inside me unlocks.
I want to scent him.
I crave every molecule of the rich fragrance he offers me.
Rich smoky whiskey woven with warm, reassuring leather winds round me, drawing me to him and I’m powerless to stop the insistent tug .
I don’t want to.
I lean toward him, skin tingling with desperate, urgent hunger.
His large palms come up, his knuckle lifting my chin. His thumb strokes my jaw, leaving tingles. He gazes down at me and I’m struck with the full force of his desire.
“May I kiss you, Omega?” His breath fans over my lips, ghosting where I want to feel the real thing.
Heat races under my skin, spreading through me until I ache. There is only one answer I can give. One answer I want to give. “Yes please, Alpha.”
His gaze rakes over my face, checking my expression for I-don’t-know-what, but when his gaze locks on mine once more, it smolders. “As you wish, Omega.”
His mouth descends. Soft warmth brushes the corner of my lips, a tender exploration edged with agonizing restraint. I sigh into his kiss, the aching sweetness unbearable as the tentative caress deepens and…
I…
Ignite.
His lips fit so perfectly against mine.
I never knew a kiss could make my heart race, but it hammers against my ribs. Every lingering thought about anything that ever entered my head disappears except for the sensation of his mouth coaxing me into deepening the contact. It’s tender. Respectful. Searing.
Reckless need coils in the pit of my belly, hot and demanding.
More. I need more.
I’ve never felt this way before. This is overwhelming. Monumental. And…I don’t ever want it to stop. It feels too good.
My fingers tangle in his shirt. I press my breasts against the solid planes of his chest, molding against him, sighing as a delicious tingle sears a path through me. He slides his tongue against mine and I’m hit in the back of the throat with whiskey burn.
I crave. His touch. His taste. I want to lose myself in him.
Desire crackles through me with each stroke of his tongue along my lips. I'm gladly drowning in sensation, needing him so fiercely I tremble, flushed, panting softly against the mouth that worships me.
The bond is open and pulsing with the good desire.
The desire that cherishes me. That makes me feel precious.
Thick warmth pools between my thighs as I release a burst of slick.
It would normally have me recoiling but this time it doesn’t.
This time I want it to be there because I’m starting to ache with a different, deeper need than I’ve experienced in the past.
His arms band around me as his lips claim me with delicious possession. He fits my body against him as well as his mouth. His hard bulge presses into my stomach and I know these panties are destroyed. I lean against him, chasing that perfect, exquisite connection.
We break apart and my breath comes in fragile gasps. I’m entirely, utterly shaken. His eyes are heavy-lidded, dark with longing that matches every aching cell of my body.
I want more. Want him desperately. Completely. More than I've ever wanted anything.
A nearby low groan shatters the intimate little bubble Asher and I have created. Reality floods back in at the warm rumble of desire emanating from Phoenix. He stands at the kitchen island, an elbow propped with easy, teasing grace, his expression openly heated. Openly watching.
“Damn, Tough Girl, that kiss was hot as hell. Good to see you enjoying our Prime.” He shifts his hips, his hand sliding down to adjust the obvious arousal beneath his jeans.
I bite my lip, heat blooming across my cheeks at Phoenix’s unchecked honesty. Need to see how Soren is affected. My gaze slides to him and his brown eyes burn . His jaw ticks as if straining to hold onto control. He’s just as deeply affected as Phoenix.
An irresistible, instinctive urge rises swiftly from deep within my chest, a yearning so overwhelming and intense it leaves me breathless. Every dormant omega instinct clamors wide open inside me, insisting that I gather soft bedding, comfortable fabrics and comforting scents.
Nest.
Want a nest.
A peaceful, protective sanctuary surrounded by alphas.
My alphas.
But just as quickly as that impulse ignites, ice fills my veins as panic wells in the back of my brain and suddenly all my feel-good emotions vanish.
“Emma, what is it? What's wrong?” Asher draws my gaze to his with gentle hands on my cheek but how do I even begin to put words to the years of terror and humiliation forced upon me?
How do I admit to them that I'm an omega who's never been permitted something as essential and natural as a nest?
I swallow thickly, shame and pain making my chest ache fiercely.
“I…I’m okay. It's nothing.” It isn’t nothing but I don’t want to dwell on the darkness in me. I don’t want to sully the days like this with them. And. That. Kiss.
I want that kiss to remain bright and golden and untarnished.
“It's obviously something, Emma. It's okay. You can tell me anything. Do you want to talk about it?” Asher waits, patient and gentle, his dark gaze never wavering.
I don't want to disturb this type of spun magic that’s still warming the space between us all.
“Not…not right now. I just want to stay here, in this moment.” Please, don’t insist because then I’ll tell you and the moment really will be broken.
He leans down to brush his lips along my jaw before pressing them softly on my lips. “Okay, Moonbeam. When you're ready.”
“But I hope one day you’ll be able to tell us what you’ve been through so we can help. You don’t have to hold this burden alone,” he says, and gods, what is it about this alpha who gives me exactly what I need when I need it? That’s magic in and of itself .
Soren places a slim, black phone into my palm. “We thought you might want a phone again. This one is safe. It’s completely non-traceable. We thought you might like to call Mira.”
I stare at the phone, willing my tight throat away. This kind of care and patience comes from all of them. This is exactly what I need.
“Thank you.” I clutch the phone to my chest against the tender ache just under my skin. I want to say thank you for everything, but the words catch at the sight of their open laptops on the kitchen table and the screens filled with data, images and graphs.
This is the reality I’ve ignored. The blade to the cocoon wrapped around me.
Guilt twists in my chest, the euphoric warmth from moments ago dissipating into tense anxiety. They're here because they’re protecting me. We're hidden away, trapped on borrowed time, because I'm a hunted omega and I’m losing myself in my base instincts.
Their future, their lives , hang in the balance because of me.
Swallowing back the prickling shame, I shift the weight of the phone in my palm, eyes lifting back to meet Asher’s gaze. “Have…have you found anything yet? Anything that can help?”
I don't even have to hear their answer, not really. The tense silence tells me everything.
“We're working as hard as we can, but there’s just nothing yet. This Alpha1465 is covering his tracks well. And the Carmichaels are untouchable. We haven't found a single solid lead yet. Sorry, Emma,” Soren says.
Something sharp and uncomfortable pings inside my memory, flickering just beyond reach. I swear I’ve heard Alpha1465 before, but the meaning is wrapped in mist. A wave of dread rolls through me, cold and heavy and inexplicable. Something about that name fills me with quiet, creeping fear.
A heavy silence settles around us. My heart thrashes in my chest, and a helpless knot forms at the base of my throat. Everything is fragile. This tentative peace we've found could shatter at any second .
“Please don’t apologize. You’re all here because of me, doing everything you can and I'm just making things harder, distracting you…” I trail off softly, miserably unsure what else to say or do.
How can I help when I'm the very reason they're forced into hiding? When I'm the person tangled in instinctual desires and terrified memories, powerless to ease their burden or help their investigation?
Asher draws me against his chest, his heart beating under my ear. “We’re here because we choose to be, Emma. And you haven’t distracted or hindered us. Believe me when I tell you that we will figure this out.”
I desperately want to believe him but as I look around this kitchen, seeing the tense, exhausted set of Phoenix’s jaw, the guarded worry in Soren’s dark eyes, reality crowds back into focus.
No matter Asher’s insistence or Phoenix’s charm, the knot of dread drills deeper because right now we're cornered, hiding, and waiting blind.
We've built a fragile bubble here, sweet and delicate but I can't shake the quiet fear whispering at the edges of my mind, warning how easily it could all shatter into nothing.