Chapter 41
T he cuddle session lasted overnight. We took turns doing necessary tasks, bringing up food, and taking care of Pumpkin, but at least two of us stayed with Morgan at all times.
Every time I thought I’d reached the maximum capacity for hatred, the words of the alphas on that video would float through my head and I’d climb to a new height in my loathing of them.
Morgan stirred next to me, sitting up slowly and wiping her eyes. “I didn’t mean to make you guys waste all day.”
“Being there when you need us isn’t a waste. You’re always going to be more important than anything else going on.” I inched closer to her, breathing in the mix of our scents clinging to her hair.
She turned her head, softly kissing my lips before crawling out of the nest. “I’m going to put the coffee on. I don’t even know what time it is, but I need it.”
I followed her downstairs, the others rustling around behind us, waking up after losing contact with our omega. Pumpkin was asleep in the kitchen when we arrived. She lifted her head with a giant yawn, tail wagging in anticipation of attention. I swerved over to her for some scratches.
Morgan diverted to the window. “It snowed overnight. It’s so beautiful.”
I couldn’t argue with the statement. It was a light dusting, enough to paint the world white but not enough to inconvenience us.
“If the sky clears up later, we could do your photo shoot. Only if you’re feeling up to it, though. Yesterday was rough.”
Morgan laid her fingertips on the windowsill, staring out at the world rather than at me. “I think I’d like to be done letting those alphas control my world.”
I wasn’t entirely certain what all that encompassed, but I was at least pretty sure it meant the photo shoot was a go.
My omega jolted when Pumpkin stuck her nose on Morgan’s bare ass cheek. “Good god, Pumpkin. Have some decorum.” Morgan laughed and dropped to her knees to give Pumpkin a solid rub-down. “Why did you guys name her Pumpkin if she’s brown? Why not something like Cocoa?”
“She wasn’t brown as a puppy. Her fur has darkened a ton. If you catch her in the right light, she’s definitely still orange.”
Morgan gave a mock gasp. “ Pumpkin, you’ve been hiding red fur this whole time? Have we been matching and I didn’t even know?”
Our dog didn’t know what Morgan was saying, but she got excited anyway, barking a reply, tail wagging up a storm.
“Come on. Mama needs coffee.”
I didn’t make a fucking peep about Morgan referring to herself as Mama to Pumpkin. None of us were sure what the future looked like; we only knew what we wanted it to be. Morgan was happy here, that much was clear, but that didn’t mean her trauma wouldn’t win the day and force her out. I sure as fuck would have a hard time trusting alphas if I were her, no matter how nice my pack was.
Hanging back let me watch her navigate our kitchen. I hadn’t realized how quickly she’d memorized where everything went, but that could very well be a remnant of her trauma too. Learning fast probably helped avoid a few beratements.
Once the coffee was brewing, she wandered straight back to me, slipping into my arms with a sigh. “I shouldn’t still feel tired.”
I shrugged. “Stress is exhausting. You’ve been through a hell of a lot lately.”
Morgan grumbled, swiping her cheek against my chest in a scent mark that had my heart galloping. “I suppose that’s true.”
“You have to be gentle with yourself. Healing takes a lot of time and energy.”
Pumpkin trotted over to the stairs, the rest of the pack ambling down. They had all thought to put on pants and correctly assumed Morgan and I had not. Kit tossed a pair of loungers to me and an oversized T-shirt to Morgan, as well as slippers for both of us.
“It’s not that warm down here,” Kit pointed out. “Put on at least a little bit of clothing.”
Morgan looked cute as hell in just a T-shirt and slippers. If it were a different day, I’d have been tempted to bend her over the couch and take advantage of her wearing nothing underneath.
Our omega accepted a hug from each of the pack, squeaking when Bear scooped her up. He whispered something to her that had maple and tea exploding, washing over me in a wave of desire. Okay, maybe couch bending wasn’t totally out of the question.
Bear tried to set her on the counter but she let out a little protest when her ass cheeks made contact. Kit spread out a tea towel for her, Bear settling her on top of that with no sound of protest this time. I laid a hand on the counter, the surface like a block of ice.
Maverick got a fire crackling away in the central hearth. The warmth would slowly permeate, but I was so used to the cold I didn’t mind it.
By the time breakfast was made and finished, Morgan was considerably more settled. “What’s on the chore list today? Am I finally allowed to help with something substantial?”
“You are allowed to rest, you know,” said Kit.
“I did that most of yesterday. I’m tired of it now.”
“All right,” Kit relented.
Morgan opted to be my buddy for chores, coming to the garage with me to sweep all the dust and grit brought in by the vehicles. “Cleaning when someone isn’t going to fuck it up five seconds later is actually pretty satisfying.”
“It’s not so bad when people pitch in and do their share. You had to take care of a dozen adult toddlers. We know how to manage our own household, and you don’t have to feel obligated to help if you’re not up to it.”
“I know. That’s why I want to. I’m a lot more amenable to things when I’m not being forced to do them.”
“Fair enough.”
While we worked, I coaxed out some of her more positive memories, trying to discern how we could make her life better.
“I always wanted to live somewhere like this. That was a goal I had set for myself. I was willing to work in the city as long as I had to, but I was planning to save as much money as I could and move to the middle of nowhere.”
“And what about now that you’re actually living out here?”
She puffed up her cheeks, sweeping extra hard at a stubborn pile of grit. “I love it. I really do. If you all want me to stay, I have to figure out a job. I have to make my own money, even if it’s not much. I just…”
“I get it. Omega rights aren’t as far ahead in the world as they should be. None of us are going to blame you for wanting to take precautions.”
Morgan chewed her lip, staring at me for a long moment. “You’re not mad at me for wanting a backup plan?”
“Absolutely not. I think all omegas should have their own money whether they work or not. An alpha’s whole purpose is taking care of omegas, and that goes beyond making sure you have food and shelter. I promise we’re more than fine with whatever you need to feel safe.”
“Thank you. I have to think of things in a certain way so my brain doesn’t panic, but I promise I’m trying.”
“Mav and I will open an omega’s trust account for you.”
“A what?”
“An account specifically for omegas to ensure their needs are met in a pack. We can all put money into it, but you’re the only one who can withdraw. It’ll be enough for anything you need, including getting yourself a place to stay if you ever want to leave. We want you to stay, but we’ll do our best to support you if you decide to go too.”
“I don’t really want to go.” She sighed, leaning heavily on the broom, eyes shiny. “It never occurred to me that something like that existed. My mom definitely didn’t have an omega’s trust. Thank you for thinking of me, and for understanding.”
I cupped her cheeks. “You’re more than welcome. We want you to be happy.”
She nestled closer with a heaving sigh. “I am.”
I held her a bit longer before she eventually pulled away, sweeping the dust up to the garage door. I hoisted it up, revealing the sun blazing down outside. “Looks like the clouds cleared out.”
“Want to take slutty pictures of me in the snow?” She was grinning when I turned back to her.
“I definitely do.”
After a quick tidy, we went out as a group. Morgan was bundled up in a robe, the same as the rest of us. Whenever she was exposed, we would be too so we could judge more accurately if she was getting too cold but being stubborn about communicating that.
Bear and Kit set a folded white sheet at the base of a tree so it would blend in with the snow and laid out a fluffy white sheepskin where she would be able to lie down and have her skin protected. Kit carefully maneuvered her into the sunbeam, taking her shoes from her before setting her feet onto the sheet, and then he accepted her robe and stood out of sight behind the tree.
She turned to me, hair lit up like a living flame, golden light hitting all those freckles.
I snapped photos of every delicious angle, getting her to move slowly but freely, getting a few images that knocked the air right out of my lungs. Most of my photography surrounded things that weren’t especially cooperative, so having a subject that wanted to be captured was a unique treat.
The others were spellbound, speechless, staring at our omega as the sunlight danced over her body.
“Fucking beautiful,” I breathed. “Okay, time to warm up.”
She leapt from her spot toward Maverick. He caught her in the air and tucked her feet into an extra pair of my boots that had warmers at the toes. She purred instantly, then even harder when Maverick opened up his robe and wrapped it around her, lending his body heat.
I didn’t have to get every photo today, but I was greedy. She was out here looking like some goddess of the forest and I wanted it caught on camera as well as burned into my memory.
“We should totally do omega forest photo shoots,” Morgan said, peering at me over Maverick’s arm. “Maybe less naked, and I’d probably have to take the pictures, but it would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
“Sounds like a solid business idea to me,” I told her. “I know you’re not a dressy girl, but we could order some and do a portfolio shoot so they know what they’d be getting. Those are the ones I always see getting popular online.”
“I can wear a dress for a photo shoot, just not the rest of the time.” She wriggled out of Maverick’s embrace. “Okay, ready for more.”
She stretched out on the sheepskin and flipped her hair so it stood out like glowing embers against the snow.
“Little fox, you look incredible,” said Kit.
Morgan’s cheeks were flushed pink, her nipples peaked, and every freckle on display. The dappled light created a gorgeous pattern against her skin and I snapped away.
“Bear, you’re up.”
He moved like a shadow, kneeling at Morgan’s feet and drawing one up to his shoulder. Catching that look of pure desire in her eyes made all the difference. I let them play for a few minutes and then traded Bear for Maverick. He had her up against one of the trees, chin lifted with his crooked fingers, lips not quite touching.
The air around us smelled sweetly of maple.
When Maverick and Kit swapped, the slick on her thighs caught the light. She stood exposed, back to Kit’s chest, her hair spilling over one shoulder, and his over the other as their lips met.
I shifted, throat dry and cock trying to escape the confines of my robe. “Kit, move her to the left a little. Perfect.”
I caught the glint as he scooped up her knee. How was I supposed to get photos of her and me after this when all I wanted was to ride her into the snow?
While she went through another warming session, I got the camera set up on my tripod and scoped out the perfect spot for us. I looped the shutter remote around my wrist and finally stole Morgan for myself. Seeing her from all these new angles had me hard as a fucking rock, and if she was amenable, I was going to do something about it when we were done.
“Is the slick cold on your skin?”
“A little,” she confessed. “You could warm it up.”
“I was going to take photos before I suggested fucking you,” I said with a laugh.
“You could do both.” Morgan grinned up at me. “We’re on a time limit, so you should definitely get moving if that’s what your plan is.”
“God, I love when you get sassy.”
She laughed as I tipped her backward onto the sheepskin, hitting the remote shutter to capture the joy on her face. After all the cold air, sinking into her hot cunt was like dipping into a bath.
Morgan squeaked. “Holy shit, you’re cold.”
“You’ll warm me up, firecracker.”
Remembering to take photos became wholly secondary to focusing on every perfect sound she made as I drove into her. I covered her as best I could, offering the warmth of my body.
At one point Kit got a pair of socks onto her, and though the bite of cold against my skin wasn’t particularly comfortable, it wasn’t enough to make me stop. Doubly so when she muffled her whimpers by biting whatever she could reach.
Thank fuck she wasn’t in heat so I didn’t have to stop myself from biting her back. Morgan cried out when I clamped my teeth down over the scent gland on her throat, slick rushing over my skin, her pussy gripping tightly. I growled low, trying to keep a handle on myself.
I pulled back enough that I could enjoy the sway of her breasts with each thrust and see every expression that passed over her face. I spared a quick glance for the others, each of them looking like they were ready to start fucking a snowbank to get some relief.
“You’re going to turn our omega into a popsicle,” Kit admonished.
Morgan shuddered, pussy squeezing me again. “Worth it.”