44. Chapter 42
Wren
T he tears dried up hours ago, but I was still having issues settling the damn sense of rejection and loss.
But the arms wrapped around me from every direction, the snuggles, the scents, and the constant purring was helping more than any medication out there.
“I was so scared,” I whispered into the dark room.
We hadn’t bothered flipping on any lights when we all rushed into the bedroom then the bathroom where they took turns scrubbing the filth and scent blockers from my skin.
Then Doran gently dried me off while Dean brushed the knots out of my curly hair. The alphas excused themselves, more than likely because their alpha instincts were demanding they knot their omega as a way to reassure themselves I was here.
Not that I would have minded any or all of them making love to me.
I was tired, mind, body, and heart. The fact my pussy and upper thighs weren’t soaked with slick the entire shower was testament of the utter exhaustion.
Matteo pulled me closer to his chest and further from Raece’s embrace. He kissed the top of my head and nuzzled it with the underside of his chin.
“I still wish I could have been the one to punish every single one of those motherfuckers.”
They all continuously shifted from growling in anger to purring for me when their increased hormones caused my anxiety to spike, pulling a whimper from my lips.
“You were scared of the guards? Or…” Doran said so softly.
“I was scared I would never see you again. I was scared…I know it’s irrational, but there was a part of me that feared you would decide I wasn’t worth the headache and find a dutiful, doting omega.”
Five growls erupted, though the betas’ rumbles weren’t nearly as deep or loud as my alphas’.
This time, Matteo pulled me completely away from Raece, then lifted and spun me until I was straddling his lap as he sat up.
I couldn’t fully see his face, not clearly, but the moonlight cast enough of a silvery glow to see his dark auburn brows pinched together tightly.
Hell, even if I hadn’t been able to see a damn thing, I could feel the anger and hurt through the bond and smell the wrongness of his sweet and damp spring rain scent.
“Why the fuck would you ever think we would want anyone but you? What the fuck can we do to finally prove to you there is no one else in this world we will ever want more than you? You carry my mark. You carry the mark of your other two alphas. You have your betas wrapped around that dainty little finger of yours. And I’ll go ahead and speak for all five of us when I say not only do we love you more than we thought humanly possible, but we worship you, Wren Elizabeth Stryder. You are more than just our omega. You are the fucking love of my life.”
I hated when any of my pack was angry, but there was something so primally sexy about Matteo when he was mad.
From day one, he’d been my big, gentle giant, guiding me to a bathroom when I got sick on our bonding day. Bringing me meals. Being a friend.
Helping me through my heat only after I felt comfortable enough to have him near.
He’d been so patient, so kind and gentle.
But the rapid beat of his pulse under my hand, the heady and thick scent of his hormones landing on my tongue, the way he was panting, his breath warm and sweet against my face…
Almost as if my heat was crashing into me, I was overcome with want. Need.
Desire.
Maybe it was my omega finally accepting this pack. Maybe it was my rational side finally being willing to admit I was loveable, that these men were truly able to accept me exactly as I was.
He was wearing boxer briefs. All my guys were wearing sweats or sleep pants or boxers. And I was in a t-shirt one of the guys had abandoned on the floor and my panties.
Yes, I swiped a dirty shirt from the floor to sleep in. I needed as much of their scents on and around me as possible.
Reaching forward, I cupped Matteo’s stubbled cheeks and pressed my lips to his. I lingered there a moment, simply reveling in the warmth of his mouth before pulling back.
“I believe you,” I whispered against his lips. “I’m yours. All of you are mine. I swear to never doubt you again. I mean, I’ll do my best to keep my omega instincts from going all whiney, but I promise to always trust you, to trust your dedication to me, to our pack. To our family.”
This time, when I pressed my lips to his, he cupped the back of my head in one of his big hands and held me in place as he swiped his tongue along the seam of my lips, urging them open so he could taste me, licking inside in a deep, hungry kiss.
When I moaned, he swallowed it as though keeping it all to himself, even as hands gripped the hem of my borrowed t-shirt and began to lift it up until I had no choice but to pull from the kiss so it could be tugged over my head and discarded off the side of the bed.
I wasn’t in heat. I wasn’t being ruled by my instincts or hormones.
Nope. Tonight, I was being ruled by my heart. And I planned to show all five of them not just how much I missed them, but how deeply I loved and trusted every single one of them.
Starting with the giant alpha rocking his hips below me, his knot inflating and pulsing almost to his heartbeat.
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