Chapter 21 – June
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JUNE
“Let me be very clear. ” I’m so angry, I’m shaking. “ You are leaving right now, and that’s a fucking order .”
I don’t recognize the feeling deep in my chest, but the biological side of my brain does. The omega in me is snarling, hackles raised, poised. If I strike, it’ll be to kill. Theo’s fathers jerk away from me, Peter turning on a dime to follow my bark, too quickly for it to be his own choice.
“Grace —”
“No.” Theo’s mother whispers the word, shifting to shield her son. “I should have said that years ago, even if neither of you would have listened.” Her eyes find mine, a clear, crystal blue, just like her son’s. “This bond is over. I’ll have a bond dissolution lawyer reach out with the official documents.”
“ Grace —” George opens his mouth.
“ No ,” I snarl, taking another step forward. “Get the hell out of here and don’t look at her again.”
His shoulders raise, a snarl building in his chest before he barrels past Grace and Theo, knocking into his son’s shoulder. Peter storms past on the other side, unable to look at Grace, even though his neck twitches like he wants to.
All the air leaves the room with them, the front door slamming.
Next to me, Arin breathes in, pulling out his phone and lifting it to his ear. “Charles — yes, make sure they leave and don’t double back.”
Rushing forward, I touch Theo’s chest, a little frantic. Even though I know they didn’t hurt him, I check him over, his arms, his chest, him , just to make sure. “I —”
I don’t know what came over me. Unlike my own parents, the blatant abuse and the way both of Theo’s fathers smelled like layered scent enhancers, finally broke me. They were pretending to be the biggest, baddest alpha in any room — when really, all their power was built on a foundation of sand.
Theo wraps his arms around me, his voice soft. “Thank you.”
My heart cracks as I squeeze him tightly, the bond between us flooding with a mix of gratitude, awe, and love. I look at Theo’s mother, giving Grace a smile. “Hi, we’ve not been introduced yet.”
She looks even more like Theo this close. They have the same nose, and their mouths flatten naturally in the same way. Mostly though, it’s the feeling I get when I look at her — like she’s stronger than anyone else could ever guess.
“I won’t be here long, I’m sure there’s an omega hotel in the city —”
“Absolutely not,” I whisper, shaking my head at her. “We have room in the guest house as long as you need it. I’m sure Charles will be happy to have someone else to talk to other than us.”
Laila cautiously approaches. “Grace?” Theo’s mother turns, her shoulders falling, eyes filling with tears as Arin’s mother grabs her, hugging her tightly — decades of history vast between them.
Stepping back, I look up at Theo, checking him again. His eyes flicker behind me.
“Juniper.”
I turn to Arin, certain he’s about to lay into me for the entire ordeal, but instead, he nods toward the foyer, leaving the living room. I catch Bennett’s eye, Seth shrugging beside him as I bite my tongue and rush after our prime.
“Arin —”
He throws his phone onto the console table near the front door, shoulders tight.
“I don’t know what came over me — I just kept thinking no one deserves to be spoken to like that and I lost it a little bit. I didn’t even know I could bark —”
He whirls, nearing me as I ramble. My words cut off as his face twists, broken beyond repair.
“Juniper Walden, I am in love with you.” Arin looks like he’s being tortured as he talks. “I know that you’ve chosen to have bonds with, and I accept that, but I need you to know that this goes beyond my duty as a prime. I love you and I can’t keep standing to the side. I need you in my life, in my heart . I wanted you from the moment you walked into my office, and I warned you of this and I’m sorry I couldn’t hold it back, that I couldn’t wait —”
I throw myself at him, interrupting with a kiss. Climbing up his body, I drag his face to mine, a low groan echoing through his lips and into mine as he kisses me back, his hands coming around to pull me flush against him.
He feels so good . His hands comb through my hair, mint searing me and resetting my brain. Every moment between the two of us flashes through my mind — falling asleep on his chest, our dinner, my heat — I grab him by the hair, breathless. “I love you, you stupid alpha. I was waiting for you .”
“No more waiting.” He clings to me. “I was too dense to realize what I had in front of me —”
“We have years to make up for the lost time.” I pull away, on my toes so we can kiss, pressed against his chest. Sliding my fingers down, I brush them over his scraggly beard, my heart fluttering. His soft brown eyes find mine, every second we’ve not been touching since I moved in, distilling to nothing, as I whisper, “Take me upstairs, alpha.”
He stares at me for a heartbeat, then bends down and grasps me by the backs of my thighs. I squeak as he lifts me up, walking us toward the stairs, his hot mouth searing mine. “I don’t think I can make it up all three flights, but I can at least make sure we’re far enough away that no one else hears you come but me.”
I laugh, pulling him into another kiss. He stumbles up the stairs as I slide down his body, fumbling past the second and third floors. Arin grabs me by the hips, slamming me against the wall on the final flight, his voice a growl.
“We’re far enough.”
His kiss is heated and determined as he tears my turtleneck off, kissing across the mark from Bennett before he switches to the other side, sucking on my skin. My eyes flutter as I hold him to me, gasping as his teeth scrape. His hands deftly slide up my bare stomach, cupping my breasts as his head drops lower, burying between them as his palms squeeze and knead.
“You’re going to come so well for me, right on my knot.” His words make me squirm as his tongue drags over a nipple through the lace, thumb pressing against Theo’s bite, making me slick from touch alone. “You’ll be mine. How does that sound, my love? Will you let me keep you forever?”
He rips my bra down the middle, shredding it as he looks up at me, lips swollen.
“Yes.” I can’t breathe. “Make me yours, Arin.”
His smile is dangerous, breathtaking — he lifts me again, kissing me as he carries me to his room on the final floor. It’s a suite, his space expanding across the entire floor — but I don’t see much of it as I wrap my legs around him, the door slamming shut behind us.
Arin steps down and I pull back, taking in his bedroom, almost an echo of the nest. His bed is on a massive platform, set partially into the floor, covered in silky black sheets as he drops me onto it, leaning over me to undo my jeans. His hands rest for a moment, throat working and nostrils flaring before he peels them off my legs, baring me to him.
“I’ve been staring at your hips all night. These” — he grabs my thighs, spreading me open — “are so fucking biteable.”
I moan, lifting my hips as he bends down, kissing my lower stomach. Arin pushes his sleeves up, then cups my face, eyes searching mine.
“Are you going to be good for me?” His thumb presses against my lower lip. “Should I beg for forgiveness for making you wait so long? That was so rude of me. You lost out on so many orgasms. I’ll have to make up for them all.”
Biting the tip of his thumb, my tongue drags over his skin. “Just make love to me.”
His smile widens. “Anything for you, my love.” Arin’s head drops, kissing me briefly before his lips score down my body, pausing at my chest to tease and touch, fingers and tongue exploring. As they graze Theo’s bite, I cry out, feeling a flare of lust echoed threefold in the bond, knowing our pack is downstairs, knowing they feel what I do.
I clench on nothing, gasping as Arin chuckles. “So slick and wet for your prime.” His fingers hook in my underwear, but instead of removing them, he jerks it up, holding it tight against me as he sucks my clit through the fabric. Clinging to his messy hair, I wrap my legs around his head, crying out louder as I roll my hips against him.
Pleading his name is all I can do as he pulls back to blow cool air over me. Every time he touches me I remember the torturous way he wound me up before my heat. He pushes my thighs open wider, my muscles burning as he drags my underwear off with his teeth. He nips at my sensitive skin, teeth leaving red lines.
He’s feral and I love it.
His nose brushes against my mound before he dives in, arms keeping me wide as he eats me out messily. A flash fire burns under my skin, his tongue talented enough that I feel another gush of slick leave me, struggling against him, unsure if I want to pull him closer or push him away. If this is him begging for forgiveness, I’ll let him get on his knees any time he likes.
One of my hands lands on the bed, fisting the sheets as my muscles tense, my thighs shaking as I start to arch from the bed. Pulling him by the hair, I guide him until his lips suction around my clit.
I come with a scream, biting my tongue as Arin sucks, groaning the entire time. He licks me up, his beard shiny as he leans back just enough to suckle on my thigh, his voice soft.
“I’m so sorry it took me this long.”
My head spins, the orgasm aftershocks making me twitch as I look down at him. Arin’s touch softens as he moves to my other thigh, giving them both equal attention.
“I should have done this the morning after we woke up together in my office. I knew then that you’d never leave my life. I knew then that I wanted you with us — with me — forever.” His eyes dart up as he opens his mouth and buries his teeth in the flesh of my inner thigh.
I gasp, the bond cracking into place. My heart nearly explodes — it feels so full — Bennett’s stability, Seth’s assurance, Theo’s strength, and Arin’s love . The others felt like strings on my heart, but Arin — Arin feels like a gilded gold path from my soul to his.
His emotions trickle into me like rain, sheer love overwhelming as his tongue soothes the bite. His voice is ragged, the only thing giving away the shock of emotions. “I’m not done with you yet. Tell me you can take more.”
The air sparks as I grab him by the shoulders and drag him on top of me, tasting myself as I kiss him. He settles between my legs, still fully clothed, and I take care of them quickly, grabbing his ass and grinding his bare skin against mine.
Biting at his jaw, I moan into his ear. “It feels so right with you.”
Arin braces himself with a hand next to my head, rocking into me. His cock nudges my clit, making my mind spin as lust echoes between us. My teeth drag up and down his throat, and my breathing is labored without him even inside me yet. Pulling him closer, I hook a leg around him as his other hand holds my thigh open, thumb touching the fresh bite mark.
We both gasp as he notches at my entrance and I raise my eyes, licking my lips as he slams into me, his knot already partially swollen and grazing my clit.
As his head tilts, I strike. Burying my teeth in his throat, I rip his head to the side by the hair, the bond resonating like a humming chord between us. Arin thrusts at a steady pace, his knot kissing me with each movement as he gasps.
“I had resigned myself to understanding that my happiness and satisfaction would come from other avenues.” Arin’s voice is raw as he thrusts faster, grasping my chin when I pull back from the bite on his throat. “I can work a job I love. I can do hobbies that fulfill me.”
I stare at him, my lips parting as his knot slips in, and then out. The stretch makes me keen, the noise almost inhuman as he pins me down with his body and gaze.
“But you” — he bends closer, the bite on his neck bloody and shimmering gold like firelight — “my sweet Juniper, bring a joy to my heart that can’t be replaced by some paltry imitation. You bring me warmth. You fill me with light. I love you.”
I kiss him, unable to hold back the wave of emotions as I pant against his lips. He slams into me fully, his knot locking as I clench down, coming with a sob, holding him to me as I feel him jerk and then fill me.
Arin presses his head against mine, kissing me until both our lungs are begging for breath. Our hips keep rocking as he drags us onto our sides, our limbs tangling as his awe overtakes me. I pepper kisses over his face, then return to the bite, sucking and licking it as I murmur, “I love you too, Arin Mohan — my alpha, my prime.”
He cups the back of my head, holding me in place as he lifts my thigh higher on his hip. Arin’s palm covers his silver bond mark on my skin, pressing into it as my muscles clench down on him and his knot, losing myself in finally having all my bonds.