Chapter 81
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
It’s impossible.
As I inhale Sofi’s shifting scent, detecting the salty spice now infused into her sweet tartness, the air in my lungs seizes. My hearts slow, their pounds synchronizing with the throbs in my knots.
It isn’t possible for her to be more perfect than she was moments ago, with her heat perfume spinning into the nest.
And yet, she is.
I expected a frenzy, much like Rask and Cylus. It took all my willpower not to rip her from either of them. But now that their marks are on her… and hers on them…
Their claims, I realize. The blue half-moons where she bit the other males in her nest—they have a calming effect on me.
On her, too, I see. This time, she doesn’t whip her head to the side or whine frantically. As Cylus buries his face against her neck, she simply turns to face me. Smiling softly despite the obvious haze blurring her pretty eyes.
I can’t help the way my cocks kick, but my own lips curve up. Crawling to her, I bend to rub my forehead along her brow.
My need is still there, burning a hole in my gut. But so is the urge to reward her. Praise her. She’s done so well—so fucking perfect, despite none of us knowing how to guide her.
Cylus senses my rising musk and sighs, lingering for a final moment. With his eyes closed, he layers his scent over the swath Rask left on her flushed cheeks. When he rolls off of her, he doesn’t go far, keeping himself aligned with her side until I scoop her into my chest.
The second our bodies meet, urgency snaps into my blood. The thrumming beats of my pulses rise, roughening my purr as she snuggles into my embrace. Her quiet rumble melds with my purr, pinching my lungs.
Fallen star.
I love that she seems to find comfort with me. Her features smooth out as she exhales deeply, burrowing closer.
The first major wave of her heat is probably winding down, and she’ll want to rest before the next one. Still, I feel her hand tracing my side, then my arm. Hunting for her place.
She’s tired, but determined. I see the steel in her darkened eyes when she suddenly rears up, balancing her palms on my chest while she locks her attention on the side of my neck.
All the hells.
Is she remembering how fixated I was on her blank throat during my rut? Is this her way of trying to give me what I’ve been dreaming of since the moment I saw her?
Or does she simply want her mark there as badly as I want mine on her?
A gentle whine rasps out of Sofi as her blunt nails scratch the place below my jaw. But her eyes stay on mine, this time. Asking permission in a way she didn’t with her other alphas.
Submitting to me. Even when I do not deserve it or ask for it.
Because she wants me to feel worthy.
I’m not. But for her? I will fight to the death to become the male she deserves.
“There, omega?” I ask, finding the matching spot on her throat. Touching my claws to it. “And here?”
Sofi whimpers louder, nodding. I swallow, lifting her to glide my top cock into her squelching core. She moans, eyelashes fluttering. Bending to nuzzle my neck with her lips. Parting them. Clamping her mouth over my skin.
I find my mark, too—and as our bodies slowly rock into one another, I let myself feel everything. Her feathered breaths, the scrape of her teeth. Her slippery grip on my cock. The adoration bleeding through my entire being.
And I bite.
Pleasure hits first—so powerful, it knocks me into a state of dizzy disbelief. I pour myself into my omega while she cries out, clasping me tighter than ever before.
Next, the blinding flare comes. Bright light burns into every cell of my body. Burning off every shadow. Filling the dark, empty cold.
There’s no room for it, now. Not with her here, at the heart of me.
Sofi’s spirit tumbles right into my middle. It shimmers and glows, expanding to fill both of my hearts. My lungs. The empty ache under my diaphragm.
None of it will ever be hollow again.
My mate is here.
Along with her other alphas.
Chagrin fills the shimmering tether between us. Sofi’s wordless wince melds with Cylus and Rask, both internally apologizing for their intrusions. Apparently, neither of them has quite figured out how to keep their thoughts to themselves yet.
I exhale a shaky laugh, true joy bubbling in my veins. Casting Rask a glower through the bond that feels as natural as breathing.
You would interrupt this, I tell him.
Sofi trembles on top of me, immediately snagging my attention. Vicarious happiness and affection flood my chest before I realize—she’s laughing. And even though she can’t speak, my packmates and I can feel her emotions.
My packmates.
Cylus catches my eye from his place beside us. He hesitates for a moment, reading my mood before he sets his hand on her spine, stroking her cooling skin. “We could only hear each other, before,” he rasps, gaze shining as he absorbs Sofi’s sleepy expression. “But, now…”
She had to complete the bond, he ponders. I think that’s why she bit all of us back.
A fresh wave of soul-deep gratitude washes over me. Cylus and Rask sense it, adding their own appreciation to the flood. Sending all of it to our omega. It fills her in a way our cocks and seed never could, pouring into her overflowing heart.
She moans softly, burying her face against my new bond mark and reaching for her other alphas. They both come to sit near my shoulders, surrounding our mate just in time for her to drop into a deep, contented sleep.