Chapter 5
5
Rhett
I was going to lose it. And it had nothing to do with the fact that my house had essentially been turned into a war room. Alphas were crowded into every corner, huddled and growling as everyone tried to work out what to do next.
My head pounded, the after effects of whatever sedative I’d been dosed with still lingering in my system. I watched my pack, and it was like seeing pieces of a puzzle I couldn’t put together.
I was always the calm one. The one who stayed even keel. But the situation dropped me so far out of my depth, I didn’t even know where to start.
Hazel was gone. Taken.
I was her alpha. I was supposed to protect her.
Protect them .
My gaze dropped to where Jude sat on a chair beside me. An on-call doctor was waving a penlight in his eyes, assessing for a concussion.
I’d failed my omega and my beta again .
Sourness churned in my stomach, a bitter taste flooding my mouth.
Sensing the shift in my mood, Jude reached out and laced our fingers together without looking at me. He squeezed my hand, his grip strong and sure, but I couldn’t return it.
I didn’t feel worthy of returning it.
“Looks good,” Doctor Malone said, standing. He was a no-nonsense beta, called in by one of Crew’s dads. After what had happened, all three of Crew’s fathers had come to collect Calla, taking her and their omega, Elizabeth, back to California.
We had their full support. Kevin was a media mogul and had already shown how far and wide his reach went by taking Hazel’s kidnapping to every media outlet known globally. Since he worked at one of the biggest labs in the country, Joel had reached out to his medical contacts to find the doctors that were treating Jude and Bowen here rather than separating us by taking them to the hospital. And while Grant, a professor at Windale University, didn’t have the connections of his other packmates, we had his support as well. All of these men would move mountains to help us find Hazel.
It was strange to see how fiercely and protectively the senior Dutton pack rallied around their children. In my world, parental support came with invisible strings that could twist into a noose at the drop of a hat. Which made my own parents’ sudden show of love and concern all the more, well, concerning. But I’d deal with that once Hazel was home, safe.
“Thank you,” I said, my tone wooden as I dismissed the doctor.
“See?” Jude stood. “No concussion. I’m fine, Rhett.”
I nodded mutely, staring out the window rather than looking him in the eye. It was dark now. We’d lost so much time.
Jude came around to stand in front of me, blocking my view. His green eyes flashed with concern. “Come upstairs with me.”
I frowned and shook my head. “Not while?—”
“Crew,” Jude called sharply, not bothering to look back at our pack leader. “Rhett’s going to help me change out of these clothes. We’ll be back in a few.”
“Good,” Crew replied, looking up from where he and Oak were going over the security footage for the hundredth time.
“Let’s go,” Jude told me.
I didn’t budge. My feet were rooted to the floor.
Jude blew out a breath. “Fine. I’ll go by myself, even if I’m still a little dizzy. If I pass out on the stairs?—”
I was instantly moving, leading Jude from the room. I motioned for him to go up the stairs first, and I followed, making sure he didn’t fall backward. His ass, round and tight, right at eye level, was usually my undoing, but it was like all I could do was go through the motions.
My brain and my body had somehow become unlinked, each existing apart from the other, and I didn’t know how to reconcile it.
Jude opened the door to his bedroom, and as soon as the door was shut, he shoved me against the slab of wood.
“I can hear you blaming yourself.” Jude pointed to his temple. “None of this is on you, Rhett.”
I couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m the alpha. My job is to protect?—”
“And I’m her fucking beta,” Jude snapped, slapping an open palm on the door beside my head with a heavy thunk . “I was right there . I was holding her hand when they ripped her away.”
I shook my head. “You did everything you could.”
“I know that,” he ground out. “That’s the only reason I’m not beating myself up. I’m not fucking god, man. Neither are you. Do not shut down on us now. Not when she needs us.” His emerald eyes softened as his voice cracked with emotion. “Not when I need you.”
I pressed my forehead to his, inhaling his clean scent and letting it center me. Something about this man always helped me find my footing when the world was spinning. “I’m here.”
“Prove it,” he growled, reaching for my pants.
I pulled back, watching him carefully as he yanked at my zipper. “Jude.”
His eyes blazed as his gaze snapped to mine, the desperation in them nearly undoing me. “I need this, Rhett. I fucking need my alpha.”
Those eight words triggered the alpha in me. I pushed off the door and wrapped my hand around his throat. “Then get on your knees, pup.”
His Adam’s apple moved under my palm a second before his legs folded, his knees hitting the floor. He sank back on his haunches, staring up at me and waiting for my next command.
Blood surged to my cock, my length hardening in my trousers as I studied my beta. The man who had all the energy of a golden retriever and the lethality of a rottweiler.
The first time I’d met Jude, I’d been amused by his antics. He was always quick to smile and ready to crack a joke. When he and Kellan decided to combine forces, it was all Crew and I could do to keep them from going completely off the rails.
But then I’d started working with him, witnessed the way he could flip a switch, going from jovial to terrifying in the span of a breath. Despite his beta designation, he moved and commanded attention like any alpha.
What most people didn’t know was that Jude had a third side. A side that craved domination and discipline, and it had been a long time since I’d put my beta on his knees, showing him where he belonged—with me.
I ran my fingers through his dark hair, my touch reverent, before I twisted the short strands around my fingers and pulled. “Take my cock out.”
Jude licked his lips and did as he was told, tugging my pants and boxers down until my cock sprang free. His fingers trembled, and he almost reached for me. I watched as he swayed forward before stopping himself.
“Good boy,” I praised, letting myself sink into the role of his alpha. Fuck, I’d missed this. I’d missed him. And right now, we both needed it.
I released his hair only to lift his chin. “Tell me what you want, pup.”
His eyes flared at the pet name. “I want to suck your cock, alpha.”
I lifted my brows.
“Please,” he hastily added.
“Permission granted,” I replied, smirking as Jude immediately sucked me into the wet heat of his mouth.
I groaned, my hips driving forward until my cockhead pressed against the back of his throat. And, just like I’d taught him, he swallowed around my length without prompting. A breath hissed through my teeth.
I wasn’t going to last. I was too on edge, and the knowledge that he needed this as much as I did was my undoing.
Staring down at him, I held his head in my hands, tapping three times behind his ear. It was our signal, one that was inherently understood. He wrapped his hands around my thighs, his fingers tapping three beats on the back of my leg.
My control shattered as I held him firmly and fucked his face. My knot swelled as he swallowed and gagged around me, sloppy slurping sounds filling the room as he sucked me down.
“Fuck,” I grunted, my knot hitting his teeth. He hummed around my cock, his tongue licking the rim of my knot. “Yes. Just like that, Jude. You know how I like it.”
One of his hands came up and wrapped around my knot, squeezing like a vise as he hollowed his cheeks and sucked hard. His other hand gripped the front of his pants, squeezing his own erection.
“No,” I barked. Technically my alpha bark was useless on a beta, but Jude responded to it all the same. He released his cock and laid his hand against his thigh as he focused on me.
Lightning zipped down my spine, my balls drawing up as I felt my impending orgasm. My knot swelled and I lasted all of three more thrusts into Jude’s mouth before I was spilling down his throat with a growl.
Jude swallowed every ounce of my release, his bright green eyes locked on my face as he worked not to lose a drop.
Fuck, I loved this man. For so long, he’d been my world.
But now that world included a sweet little omega who desperately needed us the way I needed them.
My cock and knot deflated slowly, and I pulled out of Jude’s mouth so I could grab him and haul him to his feet. I slammed my lips over his, tasting myself in our frenzied kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Jude repeated, his tone just as feverish. His hands came up to frame my face. “Our girl needs us.”
I nodded. “You need to get changed. Strip.”
He hiked a brow and fumbled with his clothes, letting them fall away into a puddle around his feet until he was standing in just a form fitting pair of green boxer-briefs. He turned, likely to find new clothes, but I grabbed his bicep.
“I said, strip ,” I snarled, tucking myself back into my pants.
Heat flashed in his eyes, his expression darkening with hunger. He pushed his underwear down before kicking them away. This time it was my turn to sink to my knees in front of him.
I reached for his wrist and gently nipped at the pinkish-silvery scar of my mark. Biting him in the pack and bonding us forever had been the best decision I’d ever made.
A full-body shiver rolled through him as I licked at the spot where I’d claimed him. Due to our line of work, I’d selected a spot easily covered by a watch or bracelet, but still close enough to touch when I wanted.
“Rhett,” he breathed, his perfectly sculpted chest heaving as I dragged a finger along the underside of his cock, feeling the vein pulsing with need as I traced the elaborate line of piercings.
“You’re mine,” I reminded him, licking the drop of pre-cum that beaded at the tip of his impressive cock, the angry purple head weeping for my attention. It had the perfect curve, and while he didn’t have a knot at the base of his length, the girth of it more than made up for that.
And those piercings felt fucking unreal pushing into my ass.
“Yes,” he agreed. “Always yours.”
I spit on my palm, rubbing the tips of my fingers in the saliva before sucking him into my mouth. I used my hand to spread the globes of his ass and worked one spit-soaked finger into the puckered ring of muscle.
“Shit, shit,” he hissed, his hands shooting out to splay against the door above my head. His hips surged, and I swallowed around him, working him into my throat with an appreciative moan.
I curled my finger in his ass, rubbing against a spot that had him jerking and swearing as his cock thickened against my tongue.
He groaned, his head falling back. “Fuck, Rhett, I can’t… Fuck , baby.”
I worked a second finger into his ass, stretching him as I licked and sucked his cock like my favorite dessert. It only took seconds for his release to coat my tongue in warm spurts. I swallowed him, my inner alpha roaring with pleasure as he came.
I flicked my tongue against his slit, determined not to miss a single molecule.
“Rhett,” he panted, staring down at me with a look full of longing and worry.
I let him go with a pop and stood, forcing him to take a step back. I moved into his space. “We’re going to find her.”
Jude nodded, his head dropping onto my shoulder as he sagged against me. I turned and kissed his dark hair, inhaling his scent and letting it saturate my lungs. “Get dressed, Jude.”
Jude stepped away, abandoning his clothes. I watched the muscles of his ass flex, and I ached to sink inside him. To lose myself in his touch and his scent, but I couldn’t.
Not tonight.
Not until our pack was set to rights and our omega was back.
The bang against the door at my back startled me, and I whirled to yank it open.
Kellan stood on the other side, his long hair twisted into a messy knot and his blue eyes alight. “We found her.”