43. Talya
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
TALYA
M inutes passed in silence as I clung to Colby. The only ones moving were the paramedics and the officers who were subtly aligning themselves with us and not the agents.
“You’re right,” one of the agents said at last. “We failed you. We wrongly thought this island was safe and let our guards down. Furthermore, we thought once you took out the two that had attempted to abduct the omega, that’d be the end of it. Moving you was just a formality because this location had been compromised. I’m sorry.”
Another moment of silence spread through us.
This time, it was Ronan who spoke. “I’m impressed that you had the balls to apologize, but that only brings up the next issue. We will not be split up. This is my pack. All eight of us.”
Wariness tightened their features, and I could only imagine what might happen when they acted on the hesitation I could see so clearly.
“Quite frankly,” Ronan continued, “your agency has proven very incompetent in keeping us safe. If your only solution is to split us up, we’ll be staying right here without your so-called protection. This is our home, and we’d rather not leave it. This island and the people on it will keep us safer than you managed.”
And thus, the argument continued.
Ainsley moved to my side and rested a hand on my hip. I shifted so I could look up at him just as his eyes moved down to mine.
I knew how to fix this. I knew how to make it so we’d be recognized as a pack without argument. Shifting again, I met Colby’s eyes. He gave me a smile and a subtle nod. He knew. We all knew.
Laying back down, I looked at Ainsley again. “Bite me,” I whispered.
His eyebrows rose.
I grinned at his expression and nodded. His eyes rose to Colby’s, and I felt him nod too. “Are you sure?” he asked me, brushing my hair from my forehead and drying the tears under my eyes.
“Yes. This is my pack. You’re my alpha.”
The smile he gave me made my stomach flutter. “Happily,” he said as he leaned down. He pushed my shirt up to expose my stomach and ribs. His lips fluttered over my skin, making me shiver in appreciation. “Here okay?”
I nodded.
I felt his tongue first, then his lips as he tenderly kissed me. The brush of his teeth before they sank in. At first, it was just the sting of his bite. It had been a long time since I’d gotten a bite. I didn’t truly remember a time without having this deep connection to Colby. It felt like it had always been there, so it was hard to recall what it felt like when it appeared.
There was a warmth that rose and expanded. It didn’t say Ainsley when it began, and I wondered if that was what Colby had felt like in the beginning. Just a new presence inside me that I grew to identify as Colby.
But the more it expanded, the more it became familiar. The more easily I recognized it as the alpha it was—warmth, love and possession.
And with it was an echo that was just beyond my grasp. Less invasive but still strong. Quieter but possessive. It took me several seconds to realize I was feeling Emerald through my new bond with Ainsley.
With my hand in Ainsley’s hair as he tended to the new bite, I wiggled so I could look at Emerald. He was already grinning hugely at me from where he sat holding Kasen. I feel you , I mouthed.
Emerald nodded.
Ainsley picked his head up and kissed my lips. “My sweet omega,” he murmured.
A moment passed as we stared at each other until Ronan’s raised voice reminded us of our surroundings. When I looked at Colby again, I knew we were on the same page, so as Ainsley stood, I sought out Lohtus’ eyes. He was already watching us.
“Lohtus,” I whispered.
Ainsley took his spot with Blakely, letting the other alpha lean on him. Now that I was looking at Blakely in the daylight, I could see all the bandages on him. He gave me a reassuring smile, but my gut twisted.
“He’s okay,” Lohtus said, resting his hand against my cheek.
Taking a breath, I chose to believe him. “Bite Colby,” I said, keeping my voice low. I wasn’t sure if the agents were paying attention to us or if Ronan was keeping them busy. I wasn’t even sure if Ronan knew what we were doing.
“Actually,” one of the paramedics said, “there’s still quite a bit of the drug in Colby. Because we know it interfered with his mate bond, I don’t suggest biting him right now. We don’t know what adverse effects it could have on you or a bond that you’re trying to create.”
The three of us looked at each other. I knew there was a part of them that wanted to say fuck it and do it anyway, but the idea that it could negatively affect their bond gave us pause.
“Bite me,” I whispered. Both alphas looked at me. “You’re my alpha too,” I said. “Just… differently. It’s more important that we’re bonded together so they’re forced to recognize our pack than it is who bites who. You can bite Colby when the drug wears off.”
Lohtus sighed. He leaned down, resting his forehead against me and Colby. “At this point, I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt to force us apart, especially not with how they’re keeping this argument going.”
For a second, I tuned in to Ronan. He was growling and telling them to fuck off. He insisted that he was keeping his pack. Period. He didn’t give a fuck what this agency said or did. If they wanted to be his enemy, so be it.
“Under literally any other circumstances, I would argue,” Lohtus said. “Not because I don’t want to bite you, Talya, or that I disagree, but I hate that this is the memory we’re going to have surrounding this.”
“I’m not upset,” I said. “I would be far more upset if they managed to send us someplace far from you.”
He nodded. “I would too.” He kissed Colby lightly, his lips lingering on my alpha’s. Then he kissed my forehead. “Where would you like me to bite you?”
“Anywhere.”
Lohtus looked me over before bending down to bite the opposite side of my collarbone from where Colby’s bite was. It didn’t feel much different than Ainsley’s except that I recognized the sensation now. The new infusion and invasion of another presence filling my chest, head, lungs, and limbs.
I had thought that maybe everyone else would feel the same. Colby would be distinct because I’d had that bond for so long. But Lohtus felt just as distinct as Colby and Ainsley. His possession came through as clearly as I’d sensed Ainsley’s, though it had a different taste. Not stronger or weaker just… something that encompassed me differently.
There was also affection and solidarity.
Beyond him were two more bonds that reached in. Blakely felt quiet, but I didn’t think it was because I was feeling his bond through mine. He was just a quiet presence. He had the same alpha possession that was distinctly his and his own specific brand of affection.
Even quieter than Emerald was Kasen, though he was a beacon of bouncy happiness. The happiness that shone through cracks of fear and anxiety. That man needed to be hugged.
Lohtus picked his head up and looked at me. “You really are a bright light, sunshine.”
I grinned. “Go get Ronan?”
With a nod, he left us on the stretcher and stood at Ronan’s back. I didn’t hear what he whispered in Ronan’s ear, but the big man he called grumpy bear nodded. Lohtus took his spot in the argument.
The agents seemed to realize what was going on at that point, but there was nothing they could do to stop it now. Ronan was the last bite I needed to create the only bonds they seemed to recognize as pack. Stupid betas didn’t understand what truly made a pack.
Ronan’s dark eyes locked on mine as he approached. His hand touched my ankle and ran up my leg as he walked alongside the stretcher. I laughed when he lifted my leg, but my laughter choked off when he put his face between them and nipped at my thigh.
My face burned hot, and I covered it. Ohmygod, he was going to bite right there in front of?—
His teeth sank in, just beyond the crease of where my leg met my pelvis. Because my flesh was so sensitive right there, I flinched, and with his face so close to my pussy, my perfume exploded out of me.
His growl moved through my body along with his presence. It carried all the feelings I was beginning to associate with alphas, but his was big, loud, and deep. Like that deep tenor you could feel in your bones.
Of course, then he licked his bite for several long minutes, which only made me wet and needy. My terror at not being able to feel Colby had fucked with my body chemistry enough that I hadn’t had a letdown spike in… twelve hours? That was unheard of for the week following my heat. When he eventually picked his head up, looking rather pleased with himself, I was breathless.
“I want you to bite me like that too!” Kasen called, his voice filled with a pout.
Ronan’s eyes rose to Kasen, and his low growl vibrated through the air.
“Behave,” Blakely said, amused. Emerald was hiding his face in Kasen’s shoulder so we couldn’t see his laughter.
“Alright,” Lohtus said as Ronan got to his feet. “We’re officially a pack. You can drop your lame arguments. We’re going together, or we don’t go at all. We’ll take our chances on the island, and you can fuck off.”
“Can we pause this discussion?” one of the paramedics cut in. “I really need to get both of these patients to the hospital for proper care.” He looked at Ronan. “Half of you can ride with Blakely in one ambulance and the others with Colby in this one. I’ll call ahead to make sure you have a single room to share.”
“Someone understood the assignment,” Ainsley said.
The agents allowed us to be loaded into the ambulances without argument. Lohtus and Ainsley joined me and Colby, while Ronan, Kasen, and Emerald rode with Blakely.
I was so exhausted, and I must have felt safe at this point because I dozed off almost as soon as the vehicle began moving.
The first twenty-four hours at the hospital consisted of Colby getting a lot of blood panels drawn and Blakely’s wounds being properly cleaned and tended to. Another twelve hours later, the doctors gave Colby the news that the drugs had left his system. Lohtus wasted no time before biting my alpha right around his left nipple. I might have squirmed and giggled as I watched from my vantage point in Colby’s lap as he hissed.
I didn’t think I’d feel anything different since I already had a bond with Lohtus, but there was a strange new warmth that crept through me via my bond with Colby. It felt distinctly Lohtus , though I still found it strange because our bond didn’t change.
We’d yet to see the agents again, though I suspected they were keeping us at the hospital until they decided what the next step was. After all, there was no reason for us to stay at this point.
None of us complained though. We were together, and while Blakely was a little burned and sliced open, we’d fared well. We were lucky this time.
However, I thought it was probably time we created our own luck. I didn’t think the agents were going to be on our side anymore.