Chapter 48 – FELIX #2
Roxy positions the plastic wrap over Juniper's shoulder, right where a traditional mark would go. "Bite down firm and hold for about ten seconds," she instructs. "Need a good, clear impression."
I lean in, and Juniper's scent hits me full force. Her heat's definitely ramping up, probably triggered by the significance of this moment. She smells like home and wildflowers and forever, and when my teeth close over her shoulder through the plastic, she gasps.
"Fuck," she breathes, and I can smell her arousal spike, can feel her trembling under my mouth.
I bite down harder, making sure the impression will be clear, and count to ten even though every instinct is screaming at me to either pull away or bite through the barrier and claim her properly. But this is enough. For now.
When I pull back, there's a perfect impression of my teeth in Juniper's skin, and Roxy nods approvingly. "Perfect. This'll work beautifully."
She immediately fires up the tattoo gun and I step back to let her work, but stay close enough Juniper can reach for my hand when she needs to.
The buzz fills the shop, and I watch as my mark becomes permanent on her skin, each line etched in ink instead of broken blood vessels, but no less meaningful for it.
Juniper's discomfort is obvious, but not from the pain. Her heat's ramping up faster now, triggered by the significance of being marked, even unconventionally. She's squirming in the chair, thighs pressing together, and I can see the alphas shifting restlessly as her scent gets stronger.
"Good thing we got those nesting supplies," Elias murmurs beside me. "I think she'll be in full heat by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest."
"Did you all help plan this?" I ask.
He smirks. "The tattoo? That was all Juniper's idea. But we knew Roxy already. She's one of the omegas we've helped over the years. No one else we'd trust with our girl."
The words make a strange warmth spread through my chest, even if they once would have stirred only jealousy. I know he means it in the collective sense.
Our girl.
Our pack.
I look at Roxy again, seeing her differently now. She's so confident, so clearly thriving, that I never would have guessed she'd been through what we had.
"You wouldn't know it from looking at her, would you?" Elias asks softly.
"You helped her," I say, and it's not really a question.
"We got her out," he corrects. "The foundation made sure she had support, therapy, whatever she needed. But she did the hard work. People heal in their own ways, in their own time."
I watch Roxy work, her hands steady and sure as she makes my mark permanent on Juniper's skin. She's humming along to the music playing softly in the background, completely at ease with herself and her place in the world.
"Healing looks different for everyone," Elias continues, and I know he's not just talking about Roxy anymore.
"Yeah," I agree softly, my eyes on Juniper as she grins and laughs through the discomfort, regaling Roxy with tales of the alphas' ridiculousness at the nesting store. "It does."
When Roxy finishes, she carefully cleans and wraps the fresh tattoo.
"It'll need proper aftercare, but it should heal beautifully.
The impression was perfect." There's a glimmer in her eye as she adds, "And if you can't wait for any further marking, alpha saliva has healing properties that can help things along. "
"Good to know," Juniper purrs.
I move closer to examine it, and my heart aches. There it is, my mark on her skin, permanent and unconventional and absolutely perfect. Not the traditional claiming bite, but something uniquely ours.
Juniper launches herself at Roxy, hugging her carefully. "Thank you," she says, and there are actual tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."
"Anytime," Roxy says, hugging her back just as fierce. "We survivors have to stick together, yeah?"
Then Juniper's bounding over to the alphas, her heat scent now impossible to ignore. "Now take me home," she announces, zero filter as always. "I need to be fucked. Now."
Bane laughs, scooping her up into his arms like she weighs nothing. "Yes, ma'am," he says, already heading for the door. "Let's get you home."
Carlisle tosses money on the counter—way more than the tattoo could have cost—and smiles at Roxy. "For the inconvenience of closing early."
"And for the discretion," Archer adds, though he's already following Bane out, drawn by Juniper's scent like a magnet.
Elias pauses at the door, looking back at me. "You coming?"
I take one last look at Roxy, this omega who survived and thrived and built something beautiful from her broken pieces. She gives me a knowing smile, like she sees exactly what I'm thinking.
"Go," she says. "Your pack's waiting."
My pack. The words still feel foreign sometimes, but less and less each day.
I follow them out to the car where Juniper's already climbing all over Bane in the backseat, her heat hitting full force now that she's been marked. Soon, the alphas will add their marks, making us an official pack in the way biology demands.
And she's wearing mine first.