Chapter 48 – BELLA
CHAPTER 48
BELLA
I float in a strange in-between liminal space, suspended between peak bliss and dreamy exhaustion. My body doesn't feel entirely my own anymore. It's become a vessel of pure feeling, my awareness centered exclusively on the points where I'm connected to these alphas.
Savva's knot gradually softens in my mouth, his breathing growing steadier as he strokes my hair with gentle fingers. The tenderness in that simple touch brings tears to my eyes. If someone had told me before the doomed trip to Spain that I'd be here, surrounded by five powerful alphas who look at me like I'm their entire world, I'd have thought they were delusional.
Yet here I am.
Roman remains locked inside me, his powerful body draped over my back as his knot keeps us connected. The weight of him should be overwhelming, but it feels completely natural. His presence shields me from everything outside this perfect bubble we've created.
"You're incredible," Roman murmurs against my ear, his voice rough with awe. "So perfect for us."
His praise washes over me in a warm wave, my body responding with a reflexive clench that makes both of us gasp. Liam's large tattooed hands continue their gentle exploration, tracing patterns across my skin. Hands that could easily break someone's jaw now touch me with impossible care as they dance along my spine, my ribs, my shoulders.
"Are you alright, little dove?" Savva asks as his knot finally subsides enough for me to release him. His auburn hair came loose from its low ponytail a long time ago, spilling over his broad shoulders like a lion's mane.
I can only nod, my voice temporarily gone. My throat feels pleasantly sore, my mind still drifting somewhere outside my body. I ease off Savva's lap, allowing Roman to guide me down until I'm resting fully on the plush fabrics of the nest.
"Water," Liam says, not a question but a gentle command.
Roman reaches for a bottle, passing it to Liam who brings it to my lips. I drink gratefully, the cool liquid soothing my throat. I hadn't realized how parched I was until the first swallow.
"Thank you," I whisper, my voice returning but raspy.
"Always," Liam says, his gray eyes meeting mine with pure adoration as he feeds me a few of Troy's protein bites. They're good, even if he might have used a bit too much sugar.
Roman shifts slightly behind me, and I feel his knot beginning to ease. The shift of it gradually reducing in size sends small tremors through my oversensitive body.
"Do you need a break?" Roman asks, stroking my hair back from my forehead.
Shaking my head, I feel the heat still burning inside me, a relentless fire that's been temporarily banked but not fully extinguished. "No," I manage. "Need more. Need Liam."
The alpha in question goes still beside me, his breathing quickening almost imperceptibly.
Roman kisses my shoulder, then begins the slow, careful process of withdrawing from my body. A whimper escapes me at the loss of connection, my core suddenly empty and bereft as he pulls free.
"Shh," he soothes. "Liam's got you now."
And then Roman moves aside, making space for Liam to take his place. Unlike the others, Liam hesitates, kneeling between my thighs with a look of such reverence on his face that my heart aches in my chest.
"Are you certain, lass?" he asks, his voice touched with that sexy lilt that grows more pronounced with his emotions. "You've already taken so much."
My hand reaches for him, needing him to understand that this isn't obligation or heat-blindness. "I want you, Liam," I tell him, holding his gaze. "Please."
That final word—the slight plea in my voice—breaks his hesitation. He moves over me, his tattooed, well-muscled body blocking out everything else from my field of vision. Just Liam, his gray eyes dark with hunger as he leans down to kiss me.
His mouth is gentle but demanding, coaxing rather than taking. I open for him willingly, hungrily, my hands finding purchase on his broad shoulders as he settles his weight above me.
"Tell me if it's too much," he murmurs against my lips. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't," I assure him, though his concern touches me deeply.
Already slick and open from Roman's attentions, my body welcomes Liam easily. When he finally pushes inside, I cry out—not from discomfort but from the overwhelming connection. He's different from Roman and Cole, his cock curved upward at just the right angle, filling me in a way that's uniquely his own.
"Fuck," he groans, his forehead dropping to rest against mine. "So tight, so perfect."
"Move," I urge him, rocking my hips upward. "Please, Liam."
He does, setting a pace that's deliberate but relentless. Each thrust builds on the last, heat and tingling sparks radiating outward from where we're joined. Vaguely aware of Savva and Roman watching us, their gazes warm on my skin as Liam claims me.
My hands explore Liam's impressive frame, following the black and gray patterns and pictures inked on his skin. So many tattoos, each one telling a piece of his story. A kraken, a siren, a red stag, a fallen angel…
"That's it," he encourages as I arch beneath him. "Let go for me, lass."
Didn't think coming again was possible, not after Cole and Troy, Roman and Savva. But Liam's touch works magic, his rhythm perfect, and I feel myself climbing toward another peak. This builds differently—slower, deeper, spreading like warm honey through my limbs instead of crashing over me like a wave.
"Liam," I gasp, clinging to him as I crest the wave.
He growls in response, the sound vibrating through his chest and into mine where our bodies press together. Then I feel it—the distinctive swelling at the base of his shaft that signals his release is near.
"Your knot," I whisper, a shiver of anticipation running through me. "I want it. Lock us together, alpha."
The word undoes him. His rhythm falters, then intensifies, and with a final powerful thrust, he pushes his swelling knot inside me. The stretch is incredible, pushing me over the edge of the wave into another rush of ecstasy that feels endless. I'm barely aware I'm screaming his name as Liam's body goes rigid above mine.
He lets loose a growling stream of curses under his breath, his voice guttural as he finds his release deep inside me. The feeling of warmth filling me, his knot expanding to lock us together, leaves me gasping for breath.
"Bella," he chokes out, his voice raw with emotion. "My omega..."
"Yours," I agree breathlessly. "All of yours."
Turning my head slightly to include Savva and Roman in my declaration. They move closer immediately, hands reaching to stroke my hair, my shoulders, any part they can reach.
"Ours," Roman purrs, the single word filled with possessive pride.
Liam carefully adjusts our position, rolling to his side and taking me with him so we're facing each other, still intimately joined. The movement tugs at where his knot locks us together, sending another ripple through my body.
"I want everyone," I say, my voice stronger now despite my absolute exhaustion. "Here in the nest. Everyone together."
Roman raises an eyebrow. "You're sure? You've had a lot of stimulation already."
"Not for that," I clarify, though the thought of taking all five of them in a single session sends a not-unpleasant shiver through me. Not tonight, though. I'm physically incapable of that. "I just want to be surrounded by you all while I rest. I want to sleep with my pack."
My pack.
The words feel right on my tongue, in my heart.
This is my pack.
My alphas.
My home.
Savva nods in understanding. "I'll get them."
He rises gracefully from the nest, pulling on a pair of loose pants before slipping from the room. Roman stays, stretching out behind Liam so that I can see him over Liam's shoulder.
"You're extraordinary," Roman tells me, his golden-hazel eyes soft.
"I just know what I want," I reply, feeling a new confidence surge through me. The heat has clarified my mind rather than clouding it, burning away confusion and hesitation.
The door opens, and Troy lumbers in with his characteristic energy, followed more sedately by Cole and Savva. Troy takes in the scene of Liam knotting me with appreciative eyes, though I notice his gaze lingers on Liam's possessive grip around my waist.
"Room for three more?" Troy asks with a lazy grin.
"Always," I reply, extending a hand toward him.
Troy doesn't need to be asked twice. He climbs into the nest, settling beside me so I'm sandwiched between him and Liam. His warm chest presses against me, his strong arms encircling both of us.
Liam growls and bucks his hand off half-heartedly. Some things never change, even now.
I pull Cole in next, not letting him pull his usual feral cat act. He slips in alongside us, close enough that the warmth radiating from his body heats my dampened skin. I card my fingers through his bone-white hair, eliciting a rough purr from him.
The pleasant fullness inside me gradually shifts as Liam's knot begins to recede. I feel it happening—the slight easing of pressure, the subtle change in how our bodies connect. His gray eyes stay fixed on mine, watching my every reaction.
"There you go, lass," he murmurs as he carefully begins to withdraw. "Easy now."
I suck in a breath at the strange emptiness. My body clenches involuntarily, trying instinctively to keep him inside me, but he continues his careful retreat until we're fully separated.
"You okay?" Liam asks, brushing damp strands of hair from my forehead.
"More than okay," I whisper, and I mean it. Despite the exhaustion, despite every muscle in my body feeling like warm pudding, I've never felt more alive.
More present. More me.
The thought hits me. So recently, I was engaged to Braxley, resigned to a life of playing the perfect omega accessory to his social media empire. Now I'm in a nest with five former military alphas who are the polar opposite of everything I'm used to, looking at me like I'm the most precious treasure in the entire world.
Maybe I should feel overwhelmed.
Instead, it feels like coming home.
With sudden clarity, I recognize that I've already decided. Maybe it happened when I first breathed in their scents without the blockers. Maybe it was when Cole carved me a wooden duck, or when Roman looked at me with those intense golden eyes, or when Troy made me laugh, or when Savva showed me puzzles on the plane, or when Liam taught me how to protect myself.
Whenever it happened, I know now what I want.
"I've been thinking," I say into the comfortable silence that has settled over us.
Troy chuckles behind me, his breath warm against my neck. "Dangerous pastime."
"Shut up," Liam grumbles at him, but there's no heat in it.
"What were you thinking about, little dove?" Savva asks, his elegant voice cutting through the banter as he caresses my hair. I don't even know where he is anymore. I've lost track of all the warm bodies and draped limbs.
Taking a deep breath, nervousness flutters despite my certainty. "About after. After my heat is over."
The atmosphere in the nest shifts instantly, all five alphas going alert around me. Their collective attention focuses on me, waiting for me to continue.
"You don't have to decide anything now," Roman says carefully. "There's no pressure?—"
"I know," I assure him. "That's part of why I'm sure. You've never pressured me, never pushed. You've given me space to make my own choices."
"And what choice have you made?" Cole asks, his rough voice quiet but hopeful.
A strange, warm lightness fills me as I prepare to speak the words aloud. "I want this," I say softly. "I want us. I want to be part of Pack Vanguard, not just during my heat but... permanently."
For a moment, no one speaks. Then Troy whoops so loudly that I jump, jostling where I'm still connected to Liam.
"Sorry, sorry," Troy laughs, not sounding sorry at all. "That's just... fuck, princess. That's the best news ever."
"Are you sure?" Cole asks. Not like he doesn't believe me, but like he isn't sure what he just heard and wants to make sure.
"I've never been more sure of anything," I tell him, looking up at him. "Even with this heat, my thoughts are clearer than they've been in years. This feels right. You all feel right."
Roman's expression softens. "We'll take care of you, Bella. Always."
"I know," I say simply. "That's why I choose you. All of you."
Liam's arms tighten around me in a gentle bear hug. "We're honored, lass. Truly."
"There are logistics to consider," Savva comments, ever practical. "Your arrangement with Braxley, for one."
"I still need to get through the charity gala with him," I agree with a grin. "But after that, I'm free."
"Two weeks," Roman says, running a hand through his dark hair. "We can handle that."
"And your family?" Troy asks hesitantly.
It's a fair question. My parents arranged my match with Braxley primarily for financial reasons. They'll be angry, to say the least. Probably even cut me off.
"They'll have to accept my decision," I say quietly. "I've spent too long trying to be what everyone else wanted. Now I'm choosing what I want."
Cole lets out a rumble of approval. "Good."
We all press in closer together, purrs and growls vibrating through us all. This is true bliss. True happiness and contentment.
My last coherent thought before drifting off is how strange fate can be. How a failed assassination in Spain, a near-engagement I never wanted, and five fearsome alphas somehow led me exactly where I needed to be.
Home.