Chapter 36
Forrest
Claire makes us the best home-cooked meal I could have ever imagined. The roasted lamb melts on my tongue as I praise her for the wonderful food for what’s probably the twentieth time.
But she seems to love the compliments, so I keep giving them.
The dining table we’re sitting at is a simple piece we picked up in town, and it makes me want to go back to my workshop and finish building the one I had in mind for our pack.
“So. You all had a good time today?” Claire asks.
I glance over at Elliot, who smiles, and a sigh of relief hits me. All my notions about him were wrong. I thought he was selfish, and that he’d be the one to take away my happiness before I even had it.
Now I see him as someone who also makes Claire happy, someone who has our back, and a piece of the pack I didn’t know we needed.
“Yeah, baby, we had a good time,” Elliot says.
“It makes me happy seeing you all bond,” she says, her pretty blue eyes shining with glee.
“Speaking of bonding, when do you—”
Claire cuts me off. “We should bond tonight.”
“Tonight?” I question, swallowing thickly.
“I don’t want to wait anymore. I just had to be sure that you guys could live together. I know that one day out doesn’t mean you guys are best friends,” she says, almost rambling.
“We are best friends,” Wells interjects, and shockingly, Elliot nods his head.
This could be because they’re willing to do or say whatever it takes to bond with Claire, and I can’t say that I’m opposed.
“I know we should probably wait longer. I’m not going into heat anytime soon.
We shouldn’t rush things, but hasn’t this all been a whirlwind situation, anyway?
There’s no other pack for me and I think maybe bonding would help our pack grow closer too.
It would help you all be connected to Elliot in a deeper way. Plus, I really just want my bonds.”
“Claire, you don’t have to convince us. It’s what we all want too. The question is, how can we make your bonding perfect?”
She takes her time, glancing at all of us as she thinks before speaking.
“I think a bonding with you and Wells and then a private bonding with Elliot is what I would like,” she says, and Elliot’s brows furrow.
“If you want all of us at the same time, don’t feel like you need to accommodate me,” the Alpha says, and my trust in him grows even deeper.
Claire smiles and grabs his hand. “That’s sweet, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it and this is what I’d like. I want each moment to feel special.”
“I’d love that,” Elliot says, slightly choked up. “You should bond with Forrest and Wells first, and then I’m ready whenever you want me.”
All of us stare at him in shock and he adjusts himself in his seat.
“Torrin-Smith Pack bonding day worked better than we thought,” Wells says and we all can’t help but laugh.
“Can we set up the nest for our bonding?” I ask, wanting it to be everything she didn’t get to have during her heat.
“That would be perfect,” she says.
Wells is up out of his seat instantly as he grabs my hand to tug me up.
“It’s going to be perfect. I’ll come get you when the room is ready,” Wells says while grabbing her cheeks and kissing her. “Dinner was amazing. This is the best day of my life.”
Claire just smiles at him as I stroke a hand down her raven locks. “You’re sure you’re ready?”
“More than ready,” she says.
I kiss the top of her head as Wells and I make our way up to the nest. My heart is thundering in my chest, and I can’t believe that this is really happening. I’m about to be bonded to both Claire and Wells.
A state of shock overwhelms me as I stand at the entrance of the nest. I’m snapped back to reality as Wells grabs my shirt, bringing me down for a kiss.
“It’s real, For. We’re getting everything we ever wanted.
We’re going to bond and have our pretty, perfect Omega forever,” he gushes, kissing me again.
“You’ll have to bond her first, of course, mainly because I want to feel both of you when you bite me, and also she deserves nothing less than princess treatment. ”
He walks away from me, still talking as I take a deep breath and think about our lives a few weeks ago. While Wells and I were content, the level of happiness we’ve found with Claire is stark. And shockingly, having Elliot here isn’t the worst thing either.
“Grab a lighter and get to work, Alpha,” Wells says, handing me a lighter and I do exactly what he said. Apparently, I don’t do a good enough job as he comes behind me and takes a sniff of the candle I’m lighting. “Yuck. Take that outside and blow that shit out.”
“What’s wrong with it?” I ask and Wells gives me a dirty look. I shrug, taking the candle outside and blowing it out there like he asked.
When I return to the nest, Wells is fluffing all the pillows.
“I didn’t think she would want to do this so soon. We haven’t even decorated the nest with everything she wants,” Wells says while he dims the light.
The stars shine through the skylight and the candles with non-offensive scents sparkle throughout the room. A room that used to be empty—a promise of a future Wells could see, but I couldn’t.
I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him toward me, squeezing him tight. What if he had given up on me? What if we didn’t go on that damn cruise? What if he wasn’t so fucking good at knowing me better than I know myself sometimes?
“This is all because of you, you know that?”
“Pfft. You saw Claire first, don’t forget that,” he says, and I shake my head and let him wiggle out of my grip just enough so he can face me.
“I didn’t really know what love was until you inserted yourself into my life and I’m so grateful that you did.
You’ve shown me what true happiness is, and you’ve always inspired me to be a better man.
Without you, I’d be nothing. I might have seen her first, but if I didn’t have your charming ass by my side, there’s no way we would be here right now.
I love you and finally being able to bond with you is going to be one of the best moments of my life. ”
Wells looks at me thoughtfully for a long moment, before wrapping his arms around me.
“You’re right, you need me. I need you too. I’m so happy, Forrest, and soon we’ll finally be able to feel it all down the bond,” he says dreamily. “I love you, and I never doubted we would have this for a second. Now let me go get our Omega.”
He pulls back and I lean down and kiss him tenderly before he leaves the nest and beckons Claire into the room.
In this short moment of silence, there’s nothing but anticipation and the lingering insecurities I have to push away from my thoughts. Everyone in this pack believes in me, and I need to believe in myself if I’m going to be the one to take care of us all.
The responsibility doesn’t feel crushing; it feels like my purpose, doesn’t mean it’s still not intimidating.
I scent Claire before I see her. Her cinnamon apple cake makes my mouth water, even more so knowing what’s about to happen.
When she rounds the corner, she seems almost shy, and it makes me want to wrap her up in my arms and never leave this room.
“It’s beautiful in here,” she says softly, looking at the small touches we made in the room to make this night special.
Wells wraps himself around Claire, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“However you want tonight to go is exactly what we want,” he says, and she smiles, kissing his cheek before biting her lip.
“Wells, I want to feel you when Forrest bonds with you, so he should bond with me first. I’ll want his knot while he does that. But what about you? I know you’ve thought about bonding with Forrest for a long time now.” She turns around in his arms to look at him.
Neither of them asks me what I want, because honestly all I want is my bond mark on them and for them both to enjoy the experience. I want to make them both happy in however they imagined this moment.
“Well…not that I fantasized about it too much, but when I did, it was with Forrest fucking me while I was also fucking our Omega, so we were all connected. Sometimes other people were in the room but they didn’t have faces, not that—”
Claire covers his mouth with his hand.
“Go get yourself ready for that. We won’t bond until you’re back,” she tells him.
Wells looks between both of us, like he doesn’t like the idea of missing a single minute, but Claire is right. If he wants to take me, there are some preparations that need to be made.
“No penetration until I get back,” Wells counters, pointing at both of us.
“We’ll be right here. Go get ready,” she tells him with a wave of her hand. He’s quick on his feet, heading to our bathroom to get himself ready.
Claire turns toward me, and it seems like a lifetime ago that I found her in distress on the side of the ship. The woman I look at now means the world to me, and I’m not even sure I have the words to properly express my feelings.
“You ready for this?”
“Come here,” I tell her and when she steps toward me, I grab her and toss her on the bed, making her laugh as I cover her body with mine. “God, I love having you in this house.”
“I like being in this house. I thought it would be a bigger adjustment, like it was with the ship, but it isn’t. This feels like my home. You, Wells, and Elliot are my home, and I’m ready for this. I’m ready for all of it, being a family, filling all these bedrooms up, all of it.”
I swallow and push her hair away from her face as I stare down at her.
“I’m excited to have a family,” I tell her honestly. “I didn’t have siblings, or loving parents, and it would be nice to see what that feels like.”
“You’re going to do amazing at all of it. Being pack lead, becoming a dad, the works. Maybe we just practice for now, start with bonding and go from there, but this future is a good one.”
I grip her chin with two fingers and lean down and kiss her slowly, making this tortuous for the both of us. I want us to kiss until neither of us can take it anymore. This is a night I want to remember and I’m going to enjoy every single second.
Claire grips at the collar of my shirt, and I remove it, making sure I don’t toss it on a candle in the room. My Omega runs her hands down my chest, making me nearly shiver with the drag of her nails.
“Where are you going to put it?” she asks, arching her back so that her needy pussy grinds against my thigh.
I move her hair away from her delicate collarbone, leaning forward and kissing the juncture of her neck. With the lightest touch, I graze my teeth on that spot before licking it with my tongue.
“Right here, so when you wear your fancy little dresses, everyone knows I belong to you,” I tell her.
She licks her lips, grinding on me again.
I don’t tell her that she’ll never want for anything, because the fact is Claire can take care of herself financially.
So what I tell her is exactly what I bring to the table.
“You’ll always feel loved. Always have someone to take care of you and put you first. I’ll be the Alpha you need me to be, always. ”
Claire brings my mouth back to hers and I slide my hand up her dress in the process.
“So fucking wet, your cunt wants my bond just as much as you do.”
She doesn’t answer with words, but the way her warm pussy grips around my fingers is answer enough.