Chapter 65
chapter
sixty-five
We havethe most beautiful little brat who’s ever existed.
She’s passed out again, snuggled in between Cass at her back and D at her front. They both knotted her that way before purring her—and themselves—to sleep.
It’s been four days since her heat started, and each one has been transformative. Other alphas tried to explain this part to me, but I didn’t have a prayer of understanding until I experienced it for myself.
We’ve grown together.
From three separate alphas into one unit. A real team. So much so, I’m starting to wonder if waiting to bond until the end of an omega’s heat is really for their benefit, or really for ours.
After years of feeling like everything fell to me, having them here to help keep Remi comfortable has been a revelation. The way they’ve stepped up would make any pack leader proud.
Damon and Cassian have never let our girl down. Or me.
We haven’t always been a picture-perfect pack or the world’s best alphas.... But what did Remi say about making perfect the enemy of the good?
I look around at the guys who grew from angry, lost teenagers into men who love our omega so well, and I think…
I did good.
Theyare good.
And I did that.
Built us a life, took them in, made this pack. Somehow kept us together even though we were falling apart.
The whole time, it felt like I was failing. Not being the pack alpha they needed to reach their full potential. But maybe potential was never the fucking point.
Maybe this is.
They don’t need someone to micromanage their lives into oblivion. They just need me and Remi. And a place where they know other people see them. And love them.
Remi did that part, just by being herself.
The heat has been life-changing for a lot of reasons, but I think the best one may just be how much I miss her. It’s odd—I’ve been inside her body for a third of every day, soaked in her scent, surrounded by her moans, and sleeping with her silken curls strewn around me.
But I miss her.
Science never could have done that. No equation in the world would make her the woman who warms my heart like no other. It has nothing to do with her omega or my alpha, it’s just.. her.
So when she stirs, cracking open eyes that actually seem somewhat alert, my heart flips. Joy rises right to my face, and I let it show, flashing a smile at her while I arch an eyebrow. “Is that my very naughty omega? Or my sweet little petal?”
She doesn’t answer with words, but the beaming grin on her face is enough to tell me that I’m right—she’s back from her haze. At least a little bit.
I’m relieved. She’s been increasingly bratty about eating and washing. Last night, Cass and Damon had to hold her down in the tub while I spanked her ass and her pussy. Luckily, she didn’t notice they were rinsing bubbles out of her hair while I did it.
The food issue has Damon stressed. He’s tried to feed her every time she’s woken up for the last two days, but she isn’t ever up for more than a few bites before she goes back to begging for a knot.
In four days, I doubt she’s gone more than a few hours without intense need. I’m grateful she’ll never have to go through a single heat alone ever again. Enduring them on her own must have been excruciating.
Just picturing it puts me on edge. She feels my scent darken, and her eyes go wide. I make my way over to her, reaching between Damon and Cass to cup her cheek. She feels cooler, but still warm. Which means it’s time.
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Aching for.
She’s going to be mine. Ours.