Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
I’m the first one awake the morning after I return from the hospital.
Peace blankets the house, a quiet that settles my racing heart after waking from a nightmare of flying fists and my mates being dragged into the darkness.
The warmth of their bodies pressed against mine helps shake the lingering fear.
I’m at home. Colin is in jail and can no longer threaten our family. We’re safe.
Shifting to my side, I study my mate’s faces.
They’re sleeping soundly, wrapped in the love of our shared bonds.
We all piled into Foster’s nest last night, leaving the door cracked in case Kaitlin woke and tried to come upstairs to find us.
He talked to her before about needing to spend time here to settle his inner Omega, so she knows where to look for us if we aren’t in the pack bedroom.
What would twenty-year-old me think if someone told him this was our future? That we would have a pack of our own one day, with beautiful children and a house on the lake? He would have scoffed and denied it, because I never believed this would be real.
Hannah, Foster, Shepherd, the kids—they’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I couldn’t be more grateful that Fate brought me onto their paths.
Movement in the nest pulls my attention away from the gratitude in my heart.
Golden-brown eyes lock on me, a sleepy smile stretching across Shepherd’s face.
He presses a finger to his lips and nods his head toward the door.
Untangling myself from Foster’s legs, I crawl out of the nest and meet him in the hallway. “Good morning, Alpha.”
“Good morning, Beta.” He crowds me against the wall, one arm braced above my head. My breath catches, eyes tracking the way his biceps bulge beneath his long-sleeve shirt. “How are you feeling?”
I can barely form a coherent thought as he trails a finger down my jaw. “G-good?” My answer comes out as a question, voice quivering as desire surges through my body.
“Define good.” He leans close, breath tickling my neck. His tongue darts out to glide against my skin, tasting me. “Good as in sore and tired, or good as in ready for me to finally make you mine?”
“That. Definitely that.”
I feel his grin against my throat, and then his arms are beneath my thighs, lifting me into the air.
Scrambling to hold on to him, I let him carry me across the hall and into the bedroom.
He kicks the door shut behind us. The sound of it locking is almost as loud as the frantic beating of my heart.
My butt hits the edge of the bed, and then I’m falling backward, crashing against the comforter.
He follows, mouth connecting with mine. Our kisses are hurried, matching the way we tear the clothes from each other’s bodies.
He leans on one elbow and wraps his hand around both our cocks.
I hiss, loving the way his warm palm feels as he gives us one long stroke.
Pre-cum beads on my tip, rolling down to mix with the thicker stream leaking from him.
His lips blaze a path down my throat, lavishing extra attention on the juncture where my throat and shoulder meet.
Lower he descends, tongue flicking over my nipples and tracing a path across my stomach.
And then his mouth is on me. Wet, warm, and powerful.
The suction of his cheeks grips me tight, fueling the fire fisting my spine.
When he pops off my length, spit still connecting us, I nearly lose control.
That’s so fucking hot! He rolls onto his back and reaches for the bedside table, grabbing a bottle of lube that he drops between us.
I miss his weight, and sigh in relief when he rolls back.
His bergamot and sandalwood scent smothers me, so thick in the air I can taste him on my tongue.
It blends with my weaker white tea and sage scent, creating an addicting blend that could only get better with the addition of our other mates.
“Roll over.” I comply, shifting to my stomach so he can press himself against my back.
Shock rolls through my spine when he grips my hips and spreads me open, tongue licking a stripe from my balls and up my ass.
It swirls around my hole, teasing me until I’m writhing beneath him.
Cold lube drizzles on my skin, shocking me as it wars with the warmth of his wet tongue.
“You have the prettiest ass, Baby. So round and biteable.” He nips my skin at the same time he presses a finger against me, slowly pushing in to his knuckle.
The lack of urgency as he stretches me doesn’t match the furious pulse of lust that has my balls throbbing and begging for release.
One finger becomes two, and then three as he prepares me.
I know I need it, that my body doesn’t come pre-lubed to take Alpha cock, but I can’t hide a whine when he continues to give me his fingers instead of his cock.
He chuckles, teeth sinking into my ass hard enough to bruise, but not enough to bond me.
I whimper, both loving and hating that he continues to drag this out.
But then his tip is pressing into my hole, stretching me in the most delicious way.
His weight presses against my back, hands digging into my hips as he fills me.
It feels like forever before his hips meet mine.
So thick and long, so fucking amazing. “Fuck, I don’t know if I can last,” he grunts, pulling out to thrust back in shallow bursts.
Fisting the blanket, I turn my head and look at him over my shoulder.
“Hazme tuya.” Heat fills his eyes, drowning the gold out to black.
The next rock of his hips is hard, slamming against my ass.
I push back, meeting him thrust-for-thrust. An erotic soundtrack fills the room, a perfect layering of moans, groans, and skin slapping.
I lose myself in our music, letting the passion overwhelm me.
“I love you, Manny,” Shepherd speaks the words against the shell of my ear.
Before I can respond, his teeth are locked in my throat, and his emotions flood into my heart, reinforcing his words.
Black strands of his soul wrap protectively around the cool gray of mine, sheltering me without smothering our connection.
An orgasm rips through my body, cum spurting onto the bed as I shudder and moan. He pounds into me, prolonging my pleasure. Warmth coats my ass as he stills and comes, roaring out his release. His weight collapses on top of me, his body twitching with the aftershocks.
Twisting, I pull him on top of me and hug him to my chest. We’re panting, sticky, and sweat-soaked as we lie together, soaking in our new bond. “I love you, too, Amorcito.”
After a few moments, he sighs and pushes to his knees, leaning down to press a slow, sweet kiss to my lips.
“We should shower and start breakfast. Before our princess wakes up and starts her day.” Grinning, I let him pull me to my feet, my body gliding against his.
He winks and grabs the blankets, tossing them into the laundry basket on our way to the bathroom.
Waiting for the water to heat, I can’t help but stare in the mirror, finger trailing lightly over both my bond marks. Seeing them on my skin is an illusion I never want to shatter. Feeling them in my chest makes it real. Permanent. I’m so fucking happy.
Tiptoeing down the stairs, I freeze when I reach the living room and see the snowflakes falling outside. I love the snow. The chill in the air. Shepherd sees my indecision and kisses the corner of my lips. His hand slaps down on my ass as he pushes me away from the kitchen. “I’ve got breakfast.”
Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, I walk onto the deck and sit on the steps.
My hand is out catching the tiny flakes and watching them melt when I hear the door open.
Two sets of footsteps pad toward me, and then they’re there.
My Omega and Beta. They burrow beneath my blanket, pressing themselves against my sides and sharing their warmth.
I grin, head falling back to look up at the sky.
Fate couldn’t have gifted us a better future than this.