Chapter 44
K eeping a tight leash on myself so I didn’t drive us off the road trying to get home faster was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
We had no idea what was wrong, only that Bear had sent an SOS into the group chat when we were still an hour away. I knew the mountain roads like the back of my hand, but it didn’t stop every passing second from gutting me. We had to get home, but sliding off the road wouldn’t help anyone.
I was half tempted to jettison the flatbed so I didn’t have to contend with its weight, but Ryder had rightly pointed out that it would be dangerous for anyone else coming up this road.
Soon, but not fucking soon enough, I turned up our drive, spitting gravel behind us, not even caring that Maverick’s truck would be taking that damage. We careened to a stop, sprinted out of the truck, and I crashed against the door to the garage when it didn’t open.
It was never locked when we were home because we were in and out all day. The deadbolt being locked wasn’t a good sign.
Ryder fumbled with his key, dropping it in his haste before finally selecting the one to open the deadbolt. Maverick was with us by then, and we shoved our way inside.
“Bear!” I yelled out. “Morgan!”
Pumpkin came running down the stairs, howling and agitated.
“Shit. Where are they?”
She ran back up toward the loft, pawing at the closed door.
It was locked when I tried to turn the door handle. That wasn’t a good sign either. “Morgan, it’s us.”
The lock clicked, and the door swung open, a fog of maple sweeping over us. Bear stood naked, and Morgan was sprawled out on the bed.
“Motherfucker,” Ryder groaned, palming where his cock was trying to burst out of his jeans.
“Is she in heat again ?” Maverick asked, pushing all three of us into the room.
“Go,” Bear growled, nudging us all the way in and shutting the door again.
She was covered in bruises and scratches, spruce needles and bits of pine cone stuck to her hair.
“What the fuck happened?”
Morgan’s omega whine pierced straight through me.
“Later,” Bear growled.
I huffed out a protesting sigh and squeezed my eyes shut. Details would have to wait. Morgan needed us.
“We’re here, little fox.” I stripped as quickly as I could and tossed myself onto the bed with her. She reared up, arms locking around my neck, teeth snapping right into my skin.
Bear kneeled down where I could see him, sharply signing, “Bite her.”
“Fuck, Bear, we can’t. She has to choose that.”
“She did.” He slammed his fist on his open palm for emphasis. “Bite her.”
I didn’t have enough brain cells to form an argument between the burgeoning ache in my teeth begging me to comply and her scent overwhelming my good sense. I snared the fleshy part of her shoulder in my teeth, pressing down until Morgan burst like an inferno in my chest, a torrent of lust and affection dragging me under by the ankles.
With syrup, tea, and copper on my tongue, I forced myself to lean back so I could manage her insistent hips. Morgan arched her whole body in offering when I notched the tip of my cock in her.
Gods help me.
Morgan was mine .
My omega.
Swimming through the swell of her heat-fueled emotions was like trying to fight a riptide. She swept me further and further out with each orgasm, the clench of her pussy and her pleasure flooding down the bond too much for me to contend with.
The others faded in and out.
Ryder rolled us over, letting Morgan plaster herself all over me with my knot wedged deep while he took care of her pleasure. His cock slid against mine, only the thin barrier inside Morgan separating us.
She fucking loved it.
My omega was an overwhelming cacophony. Flickers of fear like distant memories popped up every so often but were immediately smothered by Ryder driving deep.
I held her like the treasure she was, unwilling to let her go.
My pack took their time with her. I had knotted her far too early in the heat, but we worked around it as best we could.
Time warped and melted.
All that mattered was the omega in my arms and the trust she had in us that glowed bright as a star in the bond.
Morgan broke the surface, the heat shattering to give her a moment to breathe. When her eyes turned clear and focused, she realized I was with her, and tears slid down her cheeks. “You’re here.”
“We’re here.” I cupped her face.
Before I could ask for details, she tucked her face against my throat. “Please let me stay.”
“ Let you stay? I’m ready to beg you to.”
She held on so tightly I could hardly breathe. “Kit,” she hiccuped, “I love you. I love you. I’m sorry I was too scared before. I’m not anymore, and I don’t want to go.”
“Shh, it’s okay. I love you too, little fox, and not a single one of us wants you to leave.”
She sat up to look at the bite on her shoulder. “You bit me.”
I tensed, not quite certain what her tone meant. “Bear said you wanted me to.”
“I did. I do.”
“You want Maverick and Ryder to bond you too?”
They both looked so hopeful and eager, waiting for her response.
“Yes. I think I need it as much as I want it. Being in the bond keeps the dark parts of my brain subdued, and I don’t want to let those parts make choices for me anymore.” She kissed me fiercely, so much affection in the bond it stole my breath. Morgan wedged her hand between us, pressing it to her chest. “I can feel you right here.”
“And how do I feel?”
She ran her nose along my ear. “Like you want to keep me.”
“I really fucking do.”
Something had changed drastically. I felt it in the air and in the way she looked at us. When Morgan said she loved Kit, I was half convinced it was the high of all of her heat pheromones making me hallucinate.
But it wasn’t a hallucination.
She climbed into my arms, clearly saying, “I need you to bite me,” each word dripping with conviction.
Morgan shuddered, the heat sweeping her away again but leaving her words like a demand branded on me.
I need you to bite me .
Did sweeter words exist? My omega needed me, but more than that, she wanted me, was choosing me. Choosing all of us to be hers.
I didn’t know what the fuck had happened to flip that switch, but I wasn’t going to complain about it when it got me exactly what I had been craving this whole time.
Morgan rolled into a presentation, lifting her hips in offering. That was a gift I wasn’t going to turn down.
I fucked into her, savoring her little mewls and desperate moans until she grew too unruly. I slammed home, knot swelling and setting her off again, and dropped down over her to offer my forearm. Her teeth snared deep and I followed the compulsion to do the same to her, claiming her with a bite to her unmarked shoulder. I wanted her mark visible on me, and I wanted to see mine on her as often as possible.
Morgan’s purr was so strong I could almost mistake it for growling. She exploded into the bond in a rush that had me emptying myself into her again. My omega was so warm, sitting inside my chest, a swirling mass of desperate desire and love so potent I didn’t know what to do with it.
Did she love me the way she loved Kit and Bear? Was I going to be blessed with those words?
Without releasing my bite, I slipped a hand between her thighs so I could tease her over the edge a few more times.
Feeling her surrender to me was a unique intoxication. Our omega was a fighter, fierce and vibrant, and I would never get over how soft she became with us, knowing she was safe enough to be vulnerable. Any worries she might’ve had were thoroughly drowned out by everything else tumbling around in the bond, including Kit and Bear glowing like two points of a constellation. I guess I was part of that constellation now too, and soon Ryder would be joining us.
How was anyone meant to be functional with this much lust coming from so many directions?
Fucking hell. Sex with a scent match was already a trip, but sex with a bondmate? Un-fucking-paralleled. Giving became the same as taking. Teasing her was like teasing myself, every touch streaming down the bond, muted but fascinating nonetheless. Half-mindless, I pushed Morgan to another rise, fingers slipping through her slick and grinding against her clit. I shuddered, emptying what little I had reserved into her, the rush of her sensations crashing against me in our connection.
I melted, forced to release my bite so I could suck in some much-needed ragged breaths as I tipped to the side, bringing her with me. I’d never been so close to heaven as I was in this nest right now. Her teeth still held my arm, her hands clutching the other side to keep me close. I licked over the fresh mark I’d given her, enjoying each tiny spasm from her pussy with every flick of my tongue.
“Little fox, you need to breathe.” Kit traced his fingertips over her cheek.
She wasn’t not breathing, but she was definitely working harder than necessary when she refused to unlatch.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I coaxed, gently working her jaw muscles with my thumb. “You can bite me all you want later.”
Morgan let out a soft sound of distress.
“You’re okay,” I murmured, nuzzling her hair. It smelled like pine sap and more than a few pieces stuck to my cheek. What the hell had happened? We still didn’t have any answers on that. “We’re right here, and we’re not going anywhere.”
The insistent squeeze of her cunt on my knot blitzed all my questions out of my head.
Kit managed to get her teeth free, but only for a second, our girl biting down on the curve between his thumb and forefinger. I chuckled as he cursed and spilled cum all over the nest.
“Cuddle up, buttercup,” I said with a laugh. “She’s bitey today.”
He flipped the soiled blanket over and lay down awkwardly, trying to account for Morgan’s hold on him and being able to touch as much of her as he could. It resulted in a few weird angles, but she was purring up a storm between us, so I was pretty sure she didn’t mind.
“She’s potent,” I groaned. “More than I expected in the bond. My last two brain cells are working really fucking hard right now.”
“How often is she going to go into heat?” Ryder asked.
“Fuck if I know.”
“How do we keep her safe if it’s going to happen without warning?”
“Man, this is a conversation for when I am not knot-deep in her with a scrambled brain. I can’t do logistics right now.”
Luckily Ryder only had to contend with the heat pheromones and not a fresh bond or the best pussy on the planet engulfing his cock. While the rest of us were drunk on her, he was busy working olive oil into the tree sap in her hair.
“I’m glad one of us has the ability to think right now,” I said with a laugh.
“She’s being so chill right now, I figured I would take advantage.”
That was a good point. She was being remarkably chill. Maybe this heat didn’t have the same oomph as the last one since they were so close together. What a blessing that would be. As much as I loved railing our girl into oblivion, we were not fucking prepared for another heat.