Chapter 44
Forty-Four
DARIA
Flashes of what’s happening make it through the fog of my heat. Kai knotting me. Vic murmuring in my ear, his lips nipping and brushing against my skin. Lincoln smoothing his hands down my spine.
Orgasms.
My demands for more.
Water trickling down my throat, despite my growling protests.
Warm bodies cocooning me.
Sticky thighs.
Wet sheets.
Through it all, my mind focuses on three things.
Vic. Kai. Lincoln.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
But...my hand moves to my neck as I wake from another fitful, feverish sleep. Except for the collar, it’s painfully bare.
Wrong.
“Bite,” I rasp.
“Morning, little doe,” Vic murmurs and pulls me into his arms.
My eyes are still pressed closed, body too exhausted to fully wake. “Bite.” That’s all I can say.
A heavy sigh brushes over my face. “We can’t.”
I whine. “Mate.”
“We’re yours, Daria.” He cradles me to his chest, and I nuzzle against his neck, lips brushing over his throat.
“Bite.” Not a request. A demand.
“Not yet.”
A growl builds in my chest, and I bite his neck in protest, hard enough to break skin. Vic grunts and glides his hands to my back. He clutches me against his body and rolls until he’s beneath me and I’m on top of him. Copper tangs against my tongue.
“Fuuuuck, little doe,” he groans.
I bite down harder and glare at the side of his face.
“What’s going on—wait. Is she biting you?” Linc asks with a soft laugh. “Bunny, if you were hungry, you should have told us.”
Not hungry.
Need.
Mark.
Pulling my mouth away from Vic’s neck, I swing around to face Lincoln. “Bite,” I rasp. Something wet drips down my chin.
Lincoln swipes his thumb across my skin, showing me the blood. “You marked Vic.”
“Bite. Now.”
He glances away.
He’s going to deny me too? Before he can say the words, I pounce on him, knocking him over and finding the sensitive flesh of his throat seconds later.
“Mine,” I snarl before biting him too, marking him since they refuse to mark me. They’re mine. Forever.
Lincoln moans beneath me, and I rub my aching core over his cock, slick dripping off me and coating his length. “I think.” Lincoln pants. “She wants. A mark.”
“Well, fuck,” Kai says. “Daria, babe, you never agreed?—”
I release Linc as the same copper tang floods into my mouth.
Blood?
Mine.
Kai is edging closer, eyeing me like I’m going to attack.
My clit throbs. So empty. I writhe in my alpha’s lap, and Linc’s cock slips inside of my wet cunt, fully sheathing with ease. “Mark,” I say around a gasp. “Me.” Linc might be giving me part of what I need, but my eyes are on Kai.
Kai’s lips twitch ever so slightly. “Looks like you’re the one marking people, hmm, baby? What about me?” He tips his head to the side, exposing his bare neck. “I don’t have a mark.”
He should. “My alpha,” I rasp as Linc thrusts deep inside of me.
“That’s right.” He scoots closer, one hand stroking my side. “Would you like to mark me?”
I glance at Vic. His neck is bright red, and a funny little grin is on his face. Everyone will know he’s taken. My gaze moves to Lincoln. His throat has a similar mark. Then my eyes slide to Kai’s noticeably bare skin.
A growl builds in my chest. “Mine.”
“Yours, baby. Why don’t you come mark me?”
I get off of Lincoln. As his cock slips out of me, he groans in protest. I’m on Kai in the next instant, but he’s ready for me, catching me and carefully lowering himself to the bed as my lips trace over his neck.
“Mine,” I say once more before baring down.
“Fuuuck,” Kai moans. “Fuck, that hurts, but it feels good,” he says.
I bite down harder until his blood is on my tongue. Lapping at the wound—no, my mark. My claim. My pack. They’re mine.
And no one will ever come between us.
The next time I wake up, I’m too hot. Lincoln cradles me to his chest, and Kai is pressed against my back. Vic is on the other side of Lincoln, snoring. All three of them are fast asleep. Oblivious to how fucking hot it is.
Or how sore I am.
My ass feels like it’s been filled . . . a lot.
My pussy is sore.
The back of my throat tastes like cum. So much cum.
And my legs are, frankly, disgusting. Dried sex coats the insides, flaking off when I move. Sweat drips down my spine, but all I can smell in my nest is sex in the air. I need a shower.
How many days has it been?
My hair is definitely fucked.
Fuck. My hair. I bring my hands to my curls and my eyebrows jump in surprise when I find braids. Wasn’t my hair down? Frowning, I try to remember, but it’s all a blur. A yawn pulls my jaw wide, and Lincoln’s eyes crack open.
“Hey, bunny,” he purrs, moving one hand down to grip my ass. “You’re awake.”
I smile. “Yeah.”
Stretching, he arches his back, only to reveal a violent-looking mark on his throat. A heavy gasp tumbles out of me.
“Oh my god. What happened?”
“Mmm.” Lincoln runs his fingers over the indents. Teeth marks? “That was all you.”
My hand covers my mouth. There’s definitely dried blood on that bite, and it’s bruised to hell. “I did that?”
“You did,” he says with a smirk. Is he smug? That’s definitely a smug smile, right? Or at the very least, it’s cocky.
“You’re not mad?”
“Nope,” he says, tugging me closer. “You’re very cute when you get growly and possessive.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand. Why would I mark you?” Wait. Did they mark me? My hand slips from my mouth to my throat, and I frown. I don’t feel anything.
“You were demanding marks, and when we said no?—”
“You took matters into your own hand,” Kai says from behind me, nuzzling my neck. “You were very insistent.”
They didn’t mark me, and I asked? My chest clenches. Does that mean they don’t want to?
“You drew blood.” Vic props himself up on his elbow and smiles at me. “You’re a vicious little thing.”
Heart in a vise, I try to hide my disappointment by resting my forehead against Lincoln’s chest. “I’m so sorry.”
Why wouldn’t they claim me?
“Don’t be sorry,” they all say at once.
Are they not as serious about this as I am? We moved in together. We’re scent matches.
Eyes watering, I try to hide my pathetic sniff, but Lincoln and Kai both go rigid.
“Daria?” Kai asks, rubbing my back. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
I shake my head, pinching my eyes shut. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“Oh, bunny, it’s okay,” Linc soothes. “It wasn’t so bad.”
Then, why didn’t they mark me back?
I don’t understand.
But you do, don’t you? No pack is ever going to want an omega like you , my mother’s voice slithers through my head.
Normally, I ignore it, but waking up from our first heat together, without their marks on my skin, her words ring true. They didn’t want to claim me.
Air trembles in my lungs and my throat clogs. A big tear tracks down my cheek and splashes onto Linc’s skin.
“Whoa, what’s going on?” he asks, pulling away and forcing me to look at him. His features are blurring with the tears filling my eyes.
My hand clutches at my throat, and I dip my head in shame. They don’t want me.
“No,” he says roughly. “Don’t think that.”
“Why?” It’s all I can ask, the word packed full of so much pain.
“Daria, babe, look at me,” Kai demands.
I shake my head.
“Bunny,” Lincoln warns.
But it’s Vic who snares my attention, suddenly in front of me and yanking my hand from my throat and placing it against his. I stubbornly keep my eyes on his chest as the pads of my fingers brush over the bite I left on his skin. The indents are deep, and dried blood flakes off.
That only makes me cry harder.
How pathetic is this?
“Look at me,” he demands. He’s a beta. There’s no alpha command in his words. No otherworldly reason I should do as he says, but my gaze flies to his, as if my body refuses to disobey him.
I blink to clear the tears, and he glares at them. “I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “No, little doe, we’re sorry. We’re sorry we haven’t done enough to show you how much we want you.”
“Why didn’t you mark me?” Even to myself, my voice sounds whiny, and I hate it. I sound weak. I sound lovesick. I sound...hurt.
“We never talked about it.” He clenches his jaw and looks at his pack mates. “You never said yes, and as much as we wanted to”—his eyes return to mine—“we needed to be sure you were all in.”
As much as I hurt, as much as what feels like rejection lashes through my body, it’s then that I understand. They’ve had a mate before. Which means, they’ve broken a bond before, and that’s said to be one of the most excruciating experiences a pack can have. Shame lances through me. They were only trying to show me respect. “Waking up without your claims hurts, but I understand. I’m sorry I bit you.”
Vic cups my jaw and searches my face, not a trace of anger or regret. “I’ll proudly wear your mark, if that’s what you want.”
Another tear slips down my cheek. “I want that.” My fingers flex over where I bit him.
A slow smile tugs at his lips. “Do you like it?”
I bite my lip and nod, hating how good it feels to have my mark on his throat. It must’ve hurt.
“We love it,” Kai says, pressing against me from behind, sandwiching me between him and Vic.
“That’s really not fair,” Lincoln drawls, kneeling next to me. “Where do I fit?”
I glance at him and smile. “Right here.” I wrap my arms around him and tug him into the embrace. It’s an awkward sort of bear hug, but they cocoon me in their arms.
But even as their warmth and scent and praise surround me, doubt still slithers through my veins like ice.
I never thought of myself as needy.
That was before I met my scent matches.
That was before my heat.
I know why they were hesitant to mark me. Logically, it makes sense. But my heart doesn’t listen to logic, and as much as I try to drown out the voices, I can’t help wondering if I’ve fallen too hard and fast once again.