Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
Crystal stretches out in the nest between Gage and Manny, and my heart is so full that it could burst. The t-shirts we made are shoved into the corners of the nest, and I am filled with Alpha pride knowing she liked my idea for her nest so much.
Manny strokes our Omega’s fading hair and tells her a story about Gage as a kid. Gage is blushing fiercely, his freckles nearly drowned out by the flush, and it makes me want to rub my face all over him and see if his skin is heated.
I can’t control myself anymore, so I launch forward, flopping myself across the three of them. “Ah, that’s better,” I say, wiggling into their laps to get more comfortable. “Definitely what was missing.”
“I concur,” Crystal chuckles. “This is how it’s…supposed to be.”
Her voice drops at the end, sadness bleeding into it, and it makes me want to tear the world apart to destroy whatever it is that suddenly made her sad.
“You wish Puck were here?” Manny asks quietly, stroking a finger down her cheekbone. “That’s what made you sad, right?”
“Am I an idiot for it? I know he lied, and he’s screwed me over by not getting me out of Kieran’s clutches before now, but still!”
“He’s still your Alpha,” I remind her. “Even if he fucked up. It seems like it all came from a mostly good, if selfish, place.”
She grumbles and buries herself in Gage’s neck. When she speaks, it’s muffled against his skin. “Mostly. But he still has done some horrible shit for Kieran. I’ve seen him covered in blood!”
“Hot.” She stares at me like I’ve just told her I’m a murderer. “What? It is hot. He’s a good-looking dude. Anyone can recognize that. He’s very much got that ‘burn the world for you’ vibe.”
She scoffs, reaching around Gage to grab a pillow with sequin cherries on it. “No, he wouldn’t. If he’d burn the world for me, I wouldn’t be stuck with Kieran as my Omega guardian.” The Beta reaches into his pocket, pulls out a small red hard candy, and opens it up before slipping it between her lips, and she hums happily.
Manny nuzzles her ear. “Except he went feral when Kieran hurt you. You had to stop him from killing the asshole, didn’t you?” His voice is so damn quiet that I feel like I need subtitles for the guy.
“Why are you guys on his side? I thought you hated him?” I can hear the candy clicking around her teeth as she talks, making me grin.
Manny reaches for her hand. “I never hated him, not really. I distrusted him and didn’t like him, sure. You have to admit, before he knew you were his scent match, his motivations were suspect. I do not believe he could allow harm to come to you now, especially after he came for you in the alley and took you to meet Pack Lupine, no questions asked.”
“Regardless of what we think, sweetness, the question is, what do you think? Do you want Puck in this pack?” I wiggle off her lap as I talk until I’m kneeling before her. “It’s your decision.”
Her eyes drop to where her hands now twist in her lap. “Of course I do. He’s my Alpha. My scent match. He’s as much a part of me as all of you.”
“Okay then. It doesn’t have to be a big thing where you move him in or anything. We can figure it out once he comes through with getting you out of Prism.” Any time I think of the plan with Lupine, it makes me feel queasy. I wish we could just kill the bastard and get it over with. “Are you all sure there’s nothing we can do? Why can’t we just…” I pantomime firing a gun.
“No weapons in the nest,” Manny chastises jokingly.
“Better throw me out permanently, then, because I’ve got a WMD in here.”
The other Alpha narrows his eyes at me. “Do I want to-”
“Weapon of Muff Destruction!” I interrupt.
Gage and Crystal howl with laughter, and Manny barely blinks. “That was awful. You’re about to get your joke privileges taken away.”
I clutch my chest. “You wouldn’t.”
He clicks his tongue and strokes Crystal’s hair. “I would. Our Omega should not be subject to the world’s worst jokes.”
My Omega reaches out for my hand. “They’re not that bad, Alpha,” she says through restrained laughter. “No, there’s not anything I can do other than be ready when Lupine and the Hawks get there.”
“Okay, but Maverick had a point. Why can’t we just shoot the guy?” Gage asks, mirroring my thoughts.
“Because it leaves a power vacuum,” Manny explains. “Any of his competitors or another crime family can immediately take over. While that may get Crystal out, it leaves all the other Omegas and people trapped in his supply chain.” He subtly shifts deeper into the soft surface of the nest, hauling Crystal halfway onto his lap. “But Lupine has a deal with the Hawks to take over the Conglomerate. They can clean it up, absorb it into their operation.”
“How are the Hawks better than the Conglomerate?” I ask the other Alpha. “Aren’t they dangerous?”
“Oh, no doubt, but they’re not in the skin trade. In fact, they are known for being extremely involved in dismantling trafficking rings,” Manny responds.
“One of the members of Lupine is in the Hawks,” Crystal adds. “He’s, like, their liaison or something. Harvey. The Hawks help them get the victims out of the Conglomerate and either return them to their previous lives or set them up with new ones. They still have their hands in drug stuff, but honestly, I don’t think fizz is the problem here. Or at least, not the immediate one.”
I haul Crystal’s feet into my lap and knead the bottoms. “Okay, so. Go through the plan with me again.”
She smiles indulgently. “Of course, Alpha. Puck will collect Atlas, a Beta that works with Lupine and a friend of mine, to pose as a male Omega. His cousin, the one who gave him the Alpha blocking drugs, has some synthetic Omega pheromones that should fool Kieran. While Atlas is inside, Lupine and the Hawks will get into position. Between me, Puck, and Atlas, we should be able to get them into Prism to start emptying the pleasure dens.”
My stomach bottoms out. “Are… are those women not there of their own free will?”
“Not all of them, no,” she says in a small voice.
Bile rises in my throat. That was my first time at the den, but if Crystal hadn’t been there…
“Oh God,” I say quietly. “I almost…”
She shushes me. “Don’t think about that, Mav. We’re getting them out.”
“Okay, so the Hawks are emptying the dens?” Gage asks, getting the conversation back on track.
Crystal groans as my fingers dig into her soles, eyes falling shut. “Yeah, and while that is happening, Puck will kill Kieran. Nitro, the President of the Hawks, will step in from there and get rid of the body. Then he’ll work with Lupine to dismantle his Omega supply chain and find the rest of the trafficking victims.”
She talks about murder like it’s the weather. I know she’s desensitized to this world and beyond ready to be done with it, but I’m not. I don’t like thinking about my Omega in this scheme.
“And what about your Omega guardianship?” Manny asks. “I’m assuming it’s not going to be reported that he’s dead. How are we going to get around that?”
She winces. “No fucking clue, honestly. Forged paperwork, maybe?”
“One thing at a time, I suppose,” Gage muses. He’s been mostly quiet, and I wish I could tell what he was feeling.
My kiss with Gage is still on my mind, and I want to take it further. Fuck, I want to take everything further with everyone. It’s been too long since I was between the thighs of my Omega.
Crystal shifts with a little whine. “Alpha, your pheromones…” When I look at her, her pupils are blown as she stares at me. We’re in such a tight space she can’t avoid my scent, and it must’ve spiked when my thoughts traveled south.
I drop her feet and crawl over top of her. “What about them, Omega? Did they make you needy?” She nods wordlessly, squirming in Emmanuel’s lap. His face looks pained, like Crystal’s arousal physically hurts him.
“Gage,” I purr, “come here.” He audibly gulps and shuffles beside me, curiosity making his eyes sparkle. I grab his chin and press my lips against his, relishing in the feel of his facial hair as it rasps across my face with the movement of our mouths.
Crystal moans as she watches us, and while I had hoped to hype her up a little with the kiss, I also really wanted to taste Gage again. He kisses differently than the women I’ve been with. While he’s still tentative, almost submissive, there is still strength in the way his lips press against mine.
“Alpha,” Crystal pants beside us.
“I’ve got you, Omega,” Manny says softly. I break away from Gage to watch Manny peel Crystal’s oversized tee from her body. When he reaches out to grab her tits, he recoils a bit, eyes wide. “You’re burning up!” He swings his gaze to me. “Why didn’t you tell us she was on fire?”
“Her feet just felt like feet!” I insist. “You’re the one who had her lying in your lap! How could you not notice she was hot?”
“She had her clothes on, and so do I! I just thought her AC must suck!”
“Guys!” Gage interrupts. “It doesn’t matter who noticed it first. Why is she on fire?”
She whines, reaching out for Gage. He takes her hands and willingly falls to the floor of the nest with her. “Heat spike,” she groans, rubbing right below her belly button.
“Isn’t it too early?” he asks as he rubs her stomach right along with her. “It’s only been a few weeks since I did your tattoo.”
“I have to imagine this is partially caused by the blighted bond,” Manny suggests. “Her body is probably trying to cement it. Or erase it.”
She looses the cutest little Omega growl. It may as well be a purr, but it still stops our conversation. “It doesn’t matter why or how. I ache. Fix it.”
My eyebrows shoot into my hairline. “Ooh, commands, I like it.” I crawl over to her, caging her body in my own as Gage strokes the back of her hand. “Give me more, Omega. Tell me what you want.”
She wraps one of her legs around my hips and pulls me down on top of her as she crashes her lips into mine. Manny was right. She is on fire. But I can’t lie and say I dislike how much she needs us right now.
It’s a heady feeling, knowing she craves me as much as I crave her.
I pull away from her lips and press against Gage before whispering, “Take care of our Omega, Gage,” against his lips.
Tentatively, his freckled hand slips under the front of her underwear as I capture her lips again. She writhes beneath me, reacting to the gentlest of touches from her Beta.
“Are you sure, Crystal?” he whispers. “We haven’t…” his voice trails off.
“You haven’t been with her yet?” Manny says from the other side.
“No.” Gage’s voice is tight, his hand still buried in her panties. I can’t see what he’s up to in there, but I have suspicions based on the way Crystal spasms beneath me. “I don’t know if she wants me like that.”
“Are you joking?” she snaps, startling me. When I look at her, she’s glaring at Gage, whose fingers have stilled, and her eyes are surprisingly clear. “How much more obvious do I need to be with you, Gage? I want you. Now. Are you going to make me come or what?”
Manny chuckles beside me as I pin Gage with a look. “Well, Gage? Gonna take care of her, or do you want me to show you how it’s done?”
He snarls, shoving me away from our Omega. He takes my place, fusing his lips with hers. She moans into his lips as he drops his hips and grinds against her, and holy fucking shit. I thought my cock was hard before, but now it’s almost uncomfortable as I watch them move against one another. His hand is back in her panties, and watching the way his fingers move under the thin fabric is so indecent that it feels like I need to close my blinds and open up a private browser tab.
“I need your cock, Gage,” she pants against his mouth. “Please, please, please,” she begs. “I need you.”
“I don’t have a knot,” he reminds her.
“Do I look like I fucking care?” she snarls.
Oh, heat with Crystal is going to be fun if this is a preview.
Manny pulls Crystal into his lap, throwing her legs over his thighs and spreading them wide. Her panties are nearly translucent with slick, and they stretch tightly against her swollen cunt.
“Take care of her, Gage,” Manny says around a purr. Crystal bounces gently against him with its force, her head thrown back on his shoulder. Gage stares at her, blinking and short-circuiting as he stares at her pretty pussy.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” I mutter, reaching forward and unbuttoning Gage’s pants for him. “She wants you, dude. Don’t leave her waiting.” I shove his pants down and reach into his boxers, gripping his cock in my hand.
It takes a moment for my brain to catch up to the fact that this is the first dick I’ve touched that isn’t attached to me.
Not that I’ve touched detached dicks.
It’s hard and hot in my hand, and its weight makes my mouth water. I can’t stop myself from giving him a tentative stroke. As his skin moves and reveals his tip, wet with arousal, I groan along with him.
But this isn’t about me. I can play with the pretty Beta cock later.
I guide him by the dick towards Crystal, grinning as Manny pulls her panties to the side to expose her slick-soaked cunt to us. Giving Gage another pump, I guide him to her entrance, notching him in.
And then he’s pushing into her, and she keens in pleasure. I let my hand linger, my fingertips gently pressing against her clit as our Beta tests out a few thrusts. Manny’s hands are massaging her breasts, her pink nipples poking between his fingers.
I wanna bite them.
So I do.
Impulse control isn’t my strong suit, but I don’t think Crystal minds if the way she yelps in pleasure is any indication. Once I slick up the other one with my tongue, I leave Manny to it, turning my attention back to where Gage and Crystal are joined. He’s got her legs wrapped around his hips as he thrusts into her from his position on his knees.
I lay on my stomach and move between them, dragging my tongue across her clit. Gage’s hips bang into my head, but I don’t care because she tastes so fucking good. I grind my hips into the nest’s surface, relieving the ache the best I can as I lick and nip at her.
Gage pants above me, and my eyes are drawn to how his face slackens, and sweat gathers on his brow. He’s not a quiet lover, I’m discovering. He’s panting and groaning, whimpering and whispering, begging prayers under his breath. Crystal is equally vocal, chanting her approval, moaning, and groaning wantonly at our combined efforts.
When Gage’s eyes flick open and lock on mine, his hips stutter, and his mouth drops open. I grind my hips harder against the nest, groaning my pleasure into Crystal’s heated flesh as I continue to lick her pussy while maintaining eye contact with our Beta.
It’s all so much, so many sensory inputs, that I feel myself becoming overwhelmed in the best type of way. When Crystal starts to thrash under me, I reach underneath myself to grip my cock, thrusting into my fist as she comes on my tongue.
Gage doubles over, his lips pressing against hers and his body squashing mine as he groans, his hips stilling as he releases himself within her.
The weight of my Beta on top of me, combined with the taste of my Omega, has my grip tightening and my cock spilling onto the plush surface of the nest. Being sandwiched between them is the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever been a part of.
Panting, Crystal locks her arms around him, sinking further into Manny’s lap as I wiggle out from between them, crawling up the nest to paste myself to one side of the other Alpha’s legs, snuggling up with my hand across Crystal’s abdomen.
The four of us pile together as Gage whispers pretty words that I can’t quite make out in our Omega’s ear. But I don’t need to hear them. They’re not for me, after all.
What is for me? This pack.
But Crystal was right.
Something, or rather, someone, is missing.
Maybe soon we’ll get through all of this shit and be able to be a real pack.
It won’t be easy, but I think it’ll be worth it.