Chapter 58
Lincoln
The second Bayleigh says mark me, the room forgets how to breathe.
Her scent hits first, warm, slick-sweet omega, blooming fast and thick in the air. My body reacts before my mind does. A full-body surge of protectiveness, awe, pretty much every instinct bellowing to step forward and claim what’s already reaching for us.
But I stop myself. Because it’s not a quick hit and leave thing. This is sacred, the deepest attachment an omega can have.
I move slowly, until I’m standing in front of her. I lift my hands and cradle her jaw, making sure she can see my mouth clearly as I speak.
“Do you know what you’re asking?”
She doesn’t hesitate, no flicker in her eyes, or worry in her lips, just a nod. “I’m positive.”
Milton’s hand trembles where it rests on her hip. Korbin makes a deep, guttural noise, but he reins himself in. Her knees are tucked up, her body angled toward me so she can read every word I say.
“This isn’t just a bite,” I tell her. “It’s permanent. It strengthens the pack. It deepens your heat cycles. It ties you to us—and us to you. Forever.”
I hold her gaze while I say it, watching her eyes closely, making sure nothing I’m saying frightens her or makes her second-guess herself. I want her calm and clear. I want her choosing this with every part of herself, not swept up in instinct or pressure.
Bayleigh doesn’t look away.
She listens, really listens, the way she always does, eyes steady and thoughtful. When I finish, she lifts her hands and signs.
I know. I want this. I want you. All of you.
My heart beats faster, my stomach does a somersault and my damn cock is rock hard, begging for me to make her mine.
Milton takes her hand gently, pressing it flat against his chest so she can feel the beat of his heart beneath her palm.
“I won’t ever mark you unless you’re ready,” he says. “Tonight or any night. That choice is always yours.”
Korbin moves next, lowering himself in front of her so he’s at eye level. He brushes his knuckle lightly against her knee. “If we do this, there’s no walking away. You’re ours for life, Bayleigh. And we’re yours. No matter what.”
Her gaze moves between us, not rushed or overwhelmed, just considering. Then she signs again.
Now.
Her scent shifts immediately, softening into something warmer, more open, curling through the room like an invitation.
I move first, guiding her onto my lap, settling her there like she belongs, her thighs warm against mine, her hands fisting in the front of my shirt.
Milton sits close on her right, his shoulder brushing hers with every breath.
Korbin stands behind her, one broad hand resting at the center of her back, steady and grounding.
The room fills with our mixed scents. With her mint-soft sweetness, Milton’s bright citrus, Korbin’s honeydew, and my sandalwood all weaving together to smell like home,like our pack.
I lift her chin slightly, so my mouth is close enough for her to read every word.
“We’ll do this right. In order. Me first. Then Korbin. Then Milton.”
She shivers, a soft sound leaving her throat.
Korbin leans forward and presses a kiss between her shoulder blades, gentle enough it’s almost reverent.
Milton’s lips brush her shoulder, his breath uneven as he exhales.
My hand slides up the side of her neck, thumb resting over the rapid pulse beneath her skin.
I don’t claim yet. I just touch, letting her feel where everything will change.
“This is your last chance to stop me,” I growl.
Her hands lift, trembling now, but not from fear.
Yes.
I lean in and bite. Not hard. Not claiming yet. Just the beginning. A promise pressed to skin before sealing us together forever.
Her breath leaves her in a rush, body softening into mine as Milton’s hand closes over hers, steady and grounding. Korbin’s palm presses firm against the center of her back as instinct flares through all of us at once.
I feel the bond stir, faint but real, like a spark catching on dry tinder.
I pull back just enough to look at her, my thumb brushing her jaw so she can see my mouth clearly.
“Mine goes here,” I tell her, fingers tracing the place where her neck meets her shoulder. “Because it’s close to your pulse. To your voice.”
Her eyes soften as she smiles.
Then I shift, my grip firming as my mouth closes over that spot again, and this time I don’t hold back.
I mark her, my teeth sinking into her skin until I taste her sweet blood.
The bond snaps into place, sudden and absolute, flooding my senses so hard my breath stutters.
Her scent blooms instantly, bright and open, wrapping around us and pulling tight.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, her body sagging fully against mine as she exhales, the sound low and relieved, the way an omega does when instinct and heart finally align.
I pull back slightly only to lower my mouth again and lick slowly over the bite, sealing it the way instinct demands, the way my body knows how even before my mind catches up.
Her skin shivers under my tongue, the bond tightening, settling, locking into place.
When I pull back, she touches it with shaking fingers, then looks at me like I just gave her the universe.
I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my mouth.
Mine.
Not in ownership—but in connection. Proof that she chose this. That she chose me.
My thumb brushes the edge of the mark once more, gently, almost reverently, before I meet her eyes again.
Korbin moves next, one hand sliding to her waist, the other lifting her arm gently. He presses his mouth to the inside of her forearm, right where her scent is strongest when she reaches for someone.
“I’m choosing here,” he tells her as she turns her head to look at him, “because you reach without fear. Because you give without keeping score. I want my mark to be connected to the place your words come from.”
He bites slowly, teeth piercing her skin, and she gasps sharply. Her body arches just enough to push her tits into my face, and a breathless sound leaves her that makes my skin prickle.
The air changes instantly, unmistakably aroused, and beneath it, the sharp, intoxicating smell of her slick blooms, thick enough that I can’t help the quiet chuckle that slips out of me.
Yeah. Our omega is enjoying this. A lot.
Without hesitation, she lifts and bites back—teeth pressing into the soft place just beneath his jaw. He sucks in a breath, body going taut before he exhales a broken sound, hands flexing like he’s grounding himself against the floor.
She pulls back just enough to sign, her eyes bright, unguarded, full.
I love you. You make me feel safe. You make me brave.
Korbin stills, then he lets out a sound that’s half laugh, half disbelief.
“Bay,” he states. “I love you too.”
“This isn’t conventional,” she says next. “And I know I’m not a conventional omega. But I’ll spend my life loving you. Making you happy. All of you.”
Korbin lifts his head, his eyes shining. “You already did,” he tells her. “You made me happier than I’ve been in years. You don’t need to change a damn thing.” His thumb brushes her cheek. “Just be you.”
Milton is last. He guides her leg over his lap, exposing the curve of her thigh. He presses a kiss there first. “I’m marking you here,” he says, “because it’s close to your core. Because you feel deeply. Because you love with your whole body.”
He bites, slowly and softly, but enough that it cuts through her flesh, sealing her to him.
She trembles, then leans forward and marks him back at the shoulder.
When she pulls back and licks her lips she smiles. “I love you. You make me laugh. I choose you.”
Milton’s eyes go glassy. He presses his forehead to hers, breathing her in like he needs it to survive. “I love you too, Baby. I think I have since that charity event. It was just too soon to tell you.”
She turns, and her gaze finds me immediately. Her hands slide up my chest before she shifts onto her knees in my lap. She tilts my head, exposing the line of my throat, fingers brushing my jaw so I know to stay still. So I know she’s doing this deliberately.
Her teeth sink in just beneath my ear.
I suck in a sharp breath as pain flashes and then melts into something deeper, something that hooks straight into my spine. Her mouth presses there, sealing the mark, her tongue sweeping over it instinctively, perfectly.
And the bond—
Fuck.
It doesn’t just snap into place. It threads. Like a live wire sinking into my chest and wrapping itself around my heart.
I feel her.
Not just her body, though Christ, I feel that too, but her emotions flood me all at once. Her happiness hits first, bright and overwhelming, a warmth so intense it almost makes my vision blur.
Then, the want rolls in. Hot, urgent, and unapologetic. Her arousal pulses through the bond like a second heartbeat, slick heat curling low in my gut, spreading fast. Bayleigh’s not shy about it, or embarrassed. She wants us.
Now.
Every nerve in my body lights up, cock throbbing hard as stone, instinct screaming to give her everything she’s asking for.
I can feel how open she is, how eager, how her body is already adjusting for us—how she wants to be full, claimed, knotted, and held until she can’t tell where she ends and we begin.
A low sound tears out of my chest before I can stop it. I clutch her closer, forehead pressing to hers as the bond settles fully, solid and humming.
Her hands lift, shaky now from the intensity instead of nerves, and she signs close to my chest so I can feel the movement as much as see it.
I’m happy. I’m yours. I want you. All of you. Now.
The bond hums in agreement, thick and alive between all four of us, tightening like it’s bracing for what comes next.
Korbin’s hand slides down her back. Milton’s eyes darken and blow wide. And me? I smile against her mouth, teeth grazing her lower lip, then pull back so she can see my mouth.
“Then come here, Omega,” I whisper. “Your alphas got you.”