Chapter 30
thirty
Well, I think solemnly, watching Finn crouch behind Violet. I can’t kill him.
That would make my omega sad.
So, I guess I’m going to have to let this fucker live. Despite the way he runs his eyes over Violet’s exposed shoulders.
At first, I think he’s being a knot-headed dick-for-brains. He doesn’t touch her right away, though. And the longer I observe, the more I notice unfamiliar creases pulling at his features.
Is Finn… worried?
“It’s okay, honey,” he murmurs. “We’re here to take care of you.”
Fuck. Now I really can’t kill him.
Violet responds with a small, broken whine. I band my arms around her trembling torso, tucking her against my chest on instinct. Finn considers the back of her head for a long moment before flashing his bright blue eyes to mine. Mouthing an idea. “Bathtub.”
I see his point. My mate is covered in a fine mist of sweat—and her hair is so lank, it’s starting to look stringy despite the sheer volume of the blonde waves. Plus, heat-spike or not, she’s gotta be sick of this raggedy nightgown.
I try to scrape out the words, but my Alpha is too busy purring. Instead, I nod over Finn’s shoulder, toward the manor’s front driveway.
To my surprise, he understands right away. “I’ll be back in just a second, honey,” he croons, “You just let Ryker purr for you, okay? And, maybe, take off this slip.”
That image carves through all my other thoughts, like a hot knife through butter. A low growl tingles in my lungs, but Violet only burrows closer.
I don’t see him coming, but all of a sudden Finn is just there. Here. Bending into my personal space so he can rub a scent-mark into Violet’s crown. My body braces mid-snarl, waiting for the monster at my middle to rear up and knock him over.
He doesn’t, though. He won’t, I realize with a distant thump of shock. Not with our omega in our arms.
When I got here, I assumed Violet might have locked Finn out because she didn’t want his help this time. Now, as Violet leans into his careful nuzzle, I suspect she didn’t do it to keep him out; she did it to keep herself in.
Away from Atlas.
My chest swells on deeper breaths, ramping up the rusty rattle behind my sternum. When I lift her into my arms and carry her toward her en suite, Finn leaps up and dashes out of the room. Violet senses his absence and whimpers.
Her fragile, ragged moan echoes through the very heart of me, reverberating into the darkest shadows. Honeysuckle perfume swells and darkens. So goddamn good, even when she’s distressed.
This is what I was trying to avoid by going to that stupid mall with Gideon. Me, here alone with Violet—who needs things I don’t know how to give her. Not without devolving into a rut of my own, anyway.
I might appreciate the irony more if my knot wasn’t about to explode.
Christ—I can’t think about anything. I barely trust myself to breathe…
Her next whine is distinctly weaker. I snap my focus to her face, watching as she tries to hide against the curve of my shoulder—the same way I used to bury myself in her hair.
My daisy.
She’s really here. And she needs me. After all the times she was there for me—for all those other omegas…
She’ll never be scared and alone again. It doesn’t matter how much I have to fight my Alpha; I won’t leave her.
I nestle my beard into the warm hair at the top of her head, letting her cling to me while I get my shit together.
When Finn darts back into the room, carrying her new stuff, I’m almost relieved.
Sure, I could probably snap him like a toothpick—but at least there’s another alpha here in case mine starts to get out of control.
He doesn’t waste any time, plucking bottles and jars out of our shopping bags. Within two minutes, he has the water running, various products lined up on the vanity, and a stack of towels beside the sink.
For fuck’s sake. The guy’s even lighting an aromatherapy candle.
His hands fly to his boxers and pause, clutching the fabric instead of ripping it off. “How do you want to do this?” he asks, sliding a wary glance at me.
Rightfully so.
I’m still not 100% sold on letting him live.
But I want her pain soothed, and she needs a bath.
If that means Finn strips naked and fucks her in front of me while wearing a hand loofah, then so be it.
I gesture to the tub with my chin, infusing all the alpha power I can into my stare. Telling him to get his ass in there. Finn nods, shucking his underwear while Violet watches. She shivers, pouring a sweeter, needier version of her honeysuckle essence into the steamy air.
“Her nightgown,” Finn rasps. He steps into the warm water and opens his arms. “Just slide it off, and then you can get in with us.”
No, I can’t. Because I refuse to leave her side—but I also know better than to try to share a bathtub with another alpha right now.
The beast in my middle snaps his teeth, roaring. He has no interest in sharing, period. He wants to rut. Throw Violet against the wall, tear off her slip, and sink my raging cock into her cunt—
No.
No.
Finn notices the way I freeze, fighting myself. His brows furrow, but his scowl softens as he searches my gaze. “It’s okay, Ry,” he says, still purring smoothly. “Just do what you can.”
Jesus, he’s being nice to me, now? After years of taunting me while I treated him like shit?
I guess I’m in no position to argue. Not with Violet clinging limply to my neck, her skin heating with every pull of sweet-soaked oxygen.
Just do what you can.
I set her on her feet inside the half-filled tub, wincing when she keens again. Finn is there, though, sliding his hands along her hips while I reach for her hem with one hand and the back of my own shirt with the other.
I don’t get past removing the T-shirt, though. Because her grubby nightgown disappears, leaving my omega breathtakingly bare.
Peachy skin, pink-tipped tits, soft constellations of freckles clustered around her collarbones.
Fuck.
I fall back a step, my chest heaving as my vision tunnels. My legs give, dropping me to my knees.
She’s so goddamn beautiful.
Finn seems to agree. He groans, gathering her hair in his fist so he can skim his lips along her exposed shoulder. His fingers strum down the curve of her belly, nearly grazing the top of her slit. My gaze instantly snaps to his, a territorial snarl crouched in my throat.
But his expression is more serious than I’ve ever seen it. He meets my eyes, calm and steady. “I won’t take her from you,” he says, each word dripping unfamiliar sincerity. “I just want to help.”
Violet sways between us, perfuming again. Almost as if his earnestness is turning her on more than his charm. Finn grunts. A reverent gleam lights his blue-green eyes.
“Jesus, Violet,” he whispers, slowly tracing the sides of her breasts. “You’re so damn pretty.”
She really is—and she deserves to hear it, too. Since I can’t be the one to tell her, I catch my packmate’s attention and nod slightly, prompting him to go on.
His forehead falls to her crown as he continues, murmuring like he’s inside a confessional.
“When I first saw you, locked in that attic, I should have been freaked out, but my first thought was just… awe. I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.
I thought you looked so colorful because of how depressing that room was …
But now I see it’s just—you. All gold and green and pink.
” He swallows hard, his voice turning hoarse.
“You make the rest of the world seem gray.”
Hell. First he’s nice to me, now we agree on something?
I guess so, because here I am. On my fucking knees. Bobbing my head before he finishes his little speech. Violet absorbs the solemn set of my features and blinks, shyly glancing at Finn. He’s in his own world, eyes shut as he scent-marks her temple.
Our omega watches, her pupils yawning wider. A shiver moves through her, turning her perfume to liquid gold. Finn and I both growl, the rough sounds melding with our purrs.
“Gorgeous girl,” he praises, running his teeth along the side of her throat. “What do you need, honey? My mouth or my knot?”
Violet gasps, wriggling on her feet, catching the dim light from the bathroom’s antique sconces. It soaks into her glorious hair, the golden strands gleaming where they curl against her thighs. Brushing pale, shiny skin covered in—
Slick.
My palms hit the floor as my back bows—and then I’m crawling.
The need to taste her is pure instinct. It’s been here all along, I think, climbing my insides from the moment I first inhaled her.
I only held off last night because I couldn’t speak enough to ask her permission—and I was worried my Alpha would do something insane. I’m beyond that now. As my calloused hands find the silken flesh of her thighs, dimpling the thin skin, I know it’s too late.
I am so fucked.
I don’t care.
I seal my mouth over her core, purposefully skimming my tongue along her lips before I part them. The hot, sweet taste of molten honey fills my senses, coating my mouth and sparkling over my tongue.
Violet whines, rocking into my face. My hands envelop her hips, trying to pull her closer. When she squeaks, a distant part of my brain registers how rough I must seem.
It’s okay, though.
Because Finn is here. Soothing her.
“See? He can’t get to you fast enough,” he purrs, nuzzling her cheek. “I bet you taste like heaven.”
She really does. Her sweet, wild tang tingles over my tongue. I spear her opening, and she cries out. Soft, slippery walls flutter around me. A noise halfway between a sob and a groan vibrates in my throat. My knot doubles, the heavy swell screaming against my fly.
While I eat her like a starving barbarian, Finn hooks his arms under hers and brings his hands to her hair.
Slipping his fingers into the roots. She moans louder, and he hums his approval.
“That’s so good, isn’t it? I bet Ryker’s knot is so fucking full for you.
Mine is about to burst just from watching. ”
He’s right, goddamn it. My hips buck, thrusting my cock along the seam of my jeans. Violet keens again, rubbing her slit over my tongue. Thicker slick seeps into my beard and over my heaving chest. Painting the faded scratches branded there—the ones she never contributed to.
I want to tell her how many times I’d wished she had left a mark. That I still wake up from nightmares about losing her and wish, God, that I could trace a line she left behind.
But now she’s here. On my lips. Nervously flitting her hands to my blond hair.
Something about the fact that she hesitates, even in a spike, knocks my Alpha back. He’s fucking feral for her, sure, but she’s still his mate. He wants her well-fucked and well-fed and happy when we finally sink our knot into her.
Finn seems to agree. While I work on quieting my growls, he massages her scalp in slow circles. She likes that—her fingers tense, fisting my hair as her lashes flutter.
My packmate’s smile is knowing, but still earnest. “Is that good, too, baby?” he husks. “I want it to be so good for you.”
Whatever he’s doing, it unlocks the very last of Violet’s inhibitions.
Her next moan is so gloriously unrestrained, it almost breaks my brain.
With a dark snarl, I lap up all her cream and reach around her body, behind her wavy curtain of gold.
My fingers dip into the cleft of her ass, skimming my thumb over the tight hole there before I find her cunt.
The second I breach her quivering entrance, we both jerk. The tight walls of her pussy pulse around my touch, tugging it deeper. Until I graze the stretchy ring of muscle begging for a knot.
Fuck me, she’s so wet. And throbbing.
I only have to press on that spot and rub my lips along her clit to send Violet over the edge. She cries out, locking her wide eyes on Finn’s shimmering gaze as he gently tugs her head back, pinning her by her nape.
I watch the helpless way she surrenders, savoring her taste as she squirts all over my face. Imagining my cock in her clenching pussy instead of my fingers is almost enough to undo me. I groan against her trembling slit, absorbing her aftershocks. They roll on and on, almost as if she’s—
Not done.