Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
LIAM
I ’m not prepared for the gut punch when her moans seep through the walls, along with Ryker’s grunts. It’s like someone’s twisted a knife right into my fucking core. My hand shakes as I snatch the pack of cigarettes from the back of my nightstand’s drawer—the ones I swore off a year ago—and storm out the door into the night.
The cool air slaps me, but it doesn’t touch the fire that rages under my skin. Goddamn Ryker and his shitty Alpha scent, which now probably clings to Kayla.
Fuck! She’s our Omega, not just his. The lighter flicks, flame dancing, and I drag the smoke deep into my lungs, letting the burn remind me I’m still standing, even if it feels like I’m being torn apart.
“Shit,” I mutter, pacing outside my camo Jeep, the gravel crunching under my boots. I toss the butt and light another, needing something—anything—to dull this edge.
Dane steps out, his posture rigid against the dim light from inside. From the army, he’s learned how to be a man who knows control, but right now, I’ve got none. He leans against my Jeep as if he’s not being torn apart inside.
“Fuck, Dane,” I spit out as he comes to lean against the porch railing beside me. “Knew she was ours from the moment I laid eyes on her.” I stab a finger in the direction of the house, toward where Kayla is with him. “Ryker fought it, denied it, and now he’s the first to claim her? Bullshit. It should’ve been me. Hell, it could’ve been me.”
Dane watches me, steady-eyed and silent, taking in every raw shred of my frustration.
“Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” he says, his voice a low rumble that doesn’t quite hide the edge underneath. “That her heat came on when he was the one with her.
“Fair?” I bark out a laugh, raking a hand through my hair. “It’s fucked up, is what it is. I should be in there. Not him.” But she’s probably a virgin, and me barging in there might freak her out right now. The fact that she’s in heat and letting Ryker touch her is huge. I should be happy, but I can’t help the jealousy that I wanted to be there for her the first time.
“Sometimes, things just don’t go the way we plan, Liam,” Dane replies, his tone all calm and reason, but I can see his jaw ticking, tension there he won’t voice.
“Plans?” I scoff, smoke curling from my lips. “This isn’t about plans, Dane. This is about Kayla.” And this primal need clawing at me, which I know he feels, too. “Should be my name she’s gasping out for her first time, not his.”
“Timing’s a bitch.” He pushes off from the porch railing, muscles coiled tight.
“Damn right, it is. Ryker is a lucky bastard.”
Dane’s eyes flick back to the house, then he turns that measured gaze on me. “It’s her heat, Liam. You know how it pushes an Omega. It’s sooner than expected, what with everything she’s been through.”
“Fuck, I know,” I snarl, my fists clenching at my sides. I don’t need reminding of the raw deal life’s handed her or how much I wanna find her stepdad and rip his balls off. “I want to be there. Want to help her through it.” My voice drops to a growl, thick with desire and frustration.
“Easy, man.” Dane’s hand lands heavy on my shoulder, a grounding force. “She’s probably a virgin. She needs time to heal. We can’t all just pile on. She’ll be sore.”
“Jesus F. Christ.” The words ground out between my clenched teeth. Images of Kayla, flushed and writhing, slip through my mind, taunting me, but Dane’s right. If she’s in pain, that’s the last thing I want.
“You know anything that might help with... with her soreness? Speed up recovery?”
“Actually, yes.” Dane’s answer comes quickly, and for a moment, relief washes over me. “There are things we can do. Ways to ease her pain. Cold compress on the area. Baths with Epsom salts, lavender, and a few other herbs. I’ll get it ready for her when she wakes up.”
“Good.” My response is clipped, but the tightness in my chest eases a fraction. “Not that I can’t wait, but I can’t fucking stand the idea of her hurting.”
“Neither can I,” Dane says quietly, and his eyes hold mine—a moment of understanding that goes deeper than words.
“Thanks.” Short, simple, but it’s all I’ve got. Gratitude’s never come easy to me, but for Kayla, for this, I’ll swallow my pride.
“Anytime.” Dane turns back toward the house, leaving me alone with the night, the burn of nicotine in my lungs, and the haunting soundtrack of Kayla’s pleasure. I take another drag, holding the smoke in my lungs for a moment.
When it comes down to it, I’ll wait, fight, bleed—do whatever the hell it takes. She’s worth every second, every bruise, every smoldering ember of longing. For Kayla, I’d wage wars and walk through fire. And when she’s ready, when she heals... I’ll be there, claiming what’s fated to be mine.
Watching his retreating back, I blow the smoke out into the night. The cherry burns bright for a second, like a beacon of all the fucked-up feelings tangling inside me. With a growl of frustration, I flick the remains of the cigarette into the darkness. The night swallows it, just like it’ll swallow my rage—for now.
“Going to prepare the herbs for Kayla’s bath,” Dane’s voice echoes in my head, and I can’t help but think how fucking lucky she is to have someone like him. And then there’s Ryker—the bastard—stumbling into something he didn’t even know he wanted.
I lean against the cold metal of my camo Jeep, the texture rough beneath my hands. It’s a comfort, the familiar feel of something that’s mine. Control… that’s what I need right now.
The thought of her lying there, possibly hurting, twists something fierce inside me.
“Fuck waiting,” I mutter under my breath, but it’s a lie. I’ll wait—as long as it fucking takes—because when it comes to her, to Kayla, I’m playing for keeps.
Her image fills my mind again—dark blonde hair splayed across the pillow, those deep blue eyes glazed with desire. My body reacts, hard and insistent, but it’s more than lust. It’s the primal need to claim, to soothe, to protect.
I shove my hands in my pockets, feeling the restless energy coursing through me. I want to taste her, lose myself in her heat, sink into her until we’re both spent, and there’s no room for anything but the bond that ties us together.
“Shit,” I curse softly. The night air does nothing to cool the fire she’s sparked within me, but I’ll stand guard over her, over this fragile thing we haven’t even begun to explore.
“Get it together, Liam,” I coach myself, knowing that control is everything. When the time comes, I’ll be ready. For Kayla, for whatever this wild, fucked-up destiny has in store for us.
Dane will fix her up, and when she’s healed, when she’s ready, I’ll be there—ready to stake my claim, ready to give her everything. She’s our Omega, my fated mate, and nothing, not even my own raging instincts, will keep me from her side.
“Fuck.” My breath forms clouds in the cool night air, each puff a visible echo of the storm raging inside me. My hands are tight fists in my pockets as I wrestle with the need clawing at my insides. She’s worth waiting for, worth every goddamn second of this torture. Because when she’s ready, when she heals, it’ll be my turn. My time to savor her, to hear those moans meant for me, to see her come apart beneath me. To taste her sweetness, to feel her clench around me, to sink into her warmth until she knows nothing but the name she screams…
“Kayla,” I whisper into the night like a vow. It’s not just sex. It’s destiny binding us together, and I’ll be damned if I let anything stand in the way of that… not even my own raging desire.
“Get ready, kittycat,” I murmur to the darkness. “I’m coming for you. And this time, I’m claiming that gorgeous mouth and that sweet pussy.”
Dane
T he clang of the pestle against the mortar reverberates through my hands, which want to curl into fists at the muffled sounds that wriggle their way through the thick walls of the mansion’s kitchen. Dammit. I shove the earbuds deeper into my ears, the pounding beat of some rock anthem trying to drown out the moans and gasps that seep into me.
I grind the herbs with more force than necessary. The scent of lavender and chamomile rises up. It’s what I can do for her as the medic, as an Alpha who gives a damn about her wellbeing.
Next, I scoop the crushed herbs, now a fine powder, into a small muslin bag and tug the strings tight. Earlier, when she pressed her lips to my cheek in a ghost of a kiss in gratitude, or maybe something more, it nearly broke me.
“Kayla.” I close my eyes, briefly recalling the heat of her touch. I was so fucking proud that she could come to me, show me that sliver of trust she guards so fiercely.
Proud and fucked because, shit, I wanted to be the one beside her, guiding her through this rite of passage with tenderness and patience. Not just preparing remedies while she’s wrapped up in Ryker’s arms.
The earbuds are useless now; I rip them out, the silence of the kitchen only amplifying my heart pounding in my chest. I clench my jaw, willing my thoughts to stay on task—to focus on the care I need to provide, not the carnal desires tantalizing me.
Tonight, I’ll be the dutiful medic, the silent guardian. Tomorrow, who knows? But the truth remains—Kayla is our Omega, and I adore that we can be the ones to help her, to love her.
The door of my bedroom shuts behind me, but Kayla’s scent is everywhere. It’s like she’s here with me, her presence in the mansion pushing against the rigid discipline I’ve encased myself in.
I lean back against the cold wood, trying to ground myself, but her laughter rings out in my memory, clear and bright, laced with that sassy edge that tells you she’s seen more than her fair years would suggest.
God, the way she hides her fear under layers of bravado—it gets to me every time. Makes me want to tear through those barriers and show her that, with me, she doesn’t need to hide anything.
“Fuck,” I hiss, squeezing my eyes shut again as the image of her floods my senses—the curve of her lips, the half-shrouded fall of dark blonde hair that beckons my fingers to brush it aside and reveal the secrets in her deep blue eyes.
It’s too much. The tension coils tighter in my gut, a primal urge demanding release. My hand moves of its own accord, seeking relief in the only way it knows how without crossing lines that have been drawn by fate itself. The thought of her mouth—God, that mouth—on me, taking me in, sends a shudder rippling through my body.
My breaths come short and fast, each stroke fueled by the vivid fantasy playing out in the dark behind my closed eyelids. Her soft moans, the heat of her body as I imagine what it would be like to sink into her, to claim what the part of me that’s all Alpha recognizes as mine.
“Kayla.” Her name is a ragged groan that escapes my lips, but it’s not enough. It never is. There’s no escaping this hunger. With every pulse of pleasure, there’s an ache for something more, something deeper that can’t be sated by mere fantasies.
Doesn’t fucking matter that I’m an army vet or medic and have faced more enemies than I can count. Because here I am, undone by the mere thought of one woman—Kayla—my Omega, who may very well be my undoing, and goddamn, if part of me doesn’t crave the destruction she promises.
I grip my cock tighter, pumping my hand up and down my length, wishing it was her. Wishing her hot little mouth with her perfect pink lips was around me right now. How much I fucking want to make her come, sink myself balls deep into her hot pussy.
The climax hits me, muscles tensing, breath slamming into my throat. It’s an explosion of heat that rips through my core, leaving me gasping and shuddering her name. The pleasure is blinding, all-consuming, and for a moment, it obliterates everything else—every thought, every worry, every reality.
As the waves of release ebb away, I’m left feeling hollow, the emptiness inside me more profound than before. I roll onto my back, my chest heaving, staring up at the dark ceiling.
I should sleep—I need to sleep—but her sweet scent seems to linger in the air. I’m addicted like a fucking alcoholic, and it’s all I can do not to go into her bedroom right now.
No. Ryker’s with her. And that’s good, right? Because if she were alone—if Kayla were lying in her bed right now, her skin probably still flushed from their lovemaking, her body bare—I wouldn’t be able to trust myself to stay away.
“Fuck,” I mutter into the silence, my hands balling into fists on the sheets. Knowing she’s so close yet untouchable is a torment, a constant battle between desire and duty raging within me. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force the image of her out of my mind—the curve of her hip, the arch of her back, the way she’d look spread out for me...
No amount of discipline or training can prepare a man for this kind of war, the kind where you’re your own enemy. I’ve faced down death and come out the other side, but nothing compares to the fight I wage now—a battle against my own instincts, my own longing.
“Sleep, Dane,” I command myself, though it’s a futile order. Even as exhaustion pulls at my limbs, there’s a fire burning in my veins that won’t let me rest—not while she’s here and so close, not while every fiber of my being screams that she’s mine.
My fated mate. My Omega. My Kayla.