43. Cillian
“O mega,” I whisper, pushing away the hair that’s fallen onto her face.
Ivy is sleeping so peacefully, alone in her nest. I hate to wake her, but there’s much she needs to be aware of. After leaving my meeting with Aspen and Lily, I came straight here to tell Ivy the good news.
Though apprehensive at first, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Bancrofts are in full support of our pack. They love their sister, and would never want her to be anything less than happy.
Their reaction gave me hope for our meeting with my court this evening. But regardless of what the nobles say, it won’t change how I feel about my pack. They will have to accept this new way of things or learn to live with their anger.
But there’s more that not even Oran and Sloan know, things I want to share with Ivy first. I need to show her that she is my partner in life. Mostly, I just want us to get back on track to build our love and work towards bonding.
My mate stirs as I stroke the apple of her cheek, gracing me with the endless sea of her deep blue eyes as she rouses.
“Alpha,” she coos. Her tone is sweet, making my heart pound to know my presence in her nest is a welcome one. Ivy smells so lush— delectable . Like warm sugar and baked apples. “I’m so warm.”
She sits up, grabbing at her gown, and tears it over her head without preamble. My eyes widen as she does the same with her pretty undergarments. Though the sight of her naked body is always a treat, she and I have yet to make up.
“Darling…” I start, “Are you well?”
“Off,” she pouts, pointing at my chest.
If this is how she wishes me to make amends, I certainly won’t deny her. But we have matters to discuss, and we must prepare to address the court. When I offer a quizzical look, she huffs, tugging at my tunic.
“Take it off. All off.” Her hands trail to my trousers, making quick work of unlacing the ties. I’m dumbfounded over the haste in which she bares my body to her
“ Ivy . I have things to tell you,” I try again.
She nods, pulling me into her nest. With my discarded clothes in hand, my mate shoves them under pillows—arranging them just so. “Tell me,” she says, never ceasing her careful tidying.
Though I’m not certain this conversation is best had bare—I’m too excited to delay a moment longer. “I just told your brother and sister the news of our pack.”
This piques her interest enough to stop fluffing the pillows—but only briefly. She regards me with wide eyes and beckons me to continue.
“They’re very happy for you, and have promised us their support at court. They also offered to speak to Hawthorn on our behalf should your heat arrive before his return.”
“My heat,” she replies, dreamily, but she doesn’t address what else I’ve said.
It’s peculiar, given the magnitude of it all. I’ve just told her one of the massive barriers between us and living as a pack has been vanquished and yet her head is elsewhere.
“Darling….Are you sure you’re feeling well?” I stroke the soft skin of her back, and Ivy shivers. Her answer is a bone deep moan that has me hard as stone in an instant.
This doesn’t escape Ivy’s notice. She eyes me, now more interested in my body than anything else. The way she’s watching me— fuck , I don’t know if I can contain myself.
But I must exercise some self-control. There’s much for us to do and so little time until we need to depart for the feast.
“There’s something else I haven’t told Sloan or Oran, and I wanted to speak to you about it first.”
“My alphas.” She sighs, dreamy and a bit distant, touching her neck where my packmates have bitten her. Longing tears through me, my teeth aching for the privilege to mark her with my claim.
“Yes, darling, this is about your alphas. I spoke with Ciaran and we thought it would be grand if they too were crowned at our coronation. Prince consorts, devoted to their sovereign queen. It would show the court the seriousness of this pack and our devotion to you.”
Ivy’s perfume is instantaneous—a thick, cloying wall of apple cinnamon sweetness. Fucking hell. I’ve never experienced anything that potent. “Do you like knowing how far your alphas would go to pledge themselves to you?”
Ivy nods with vigor, stopping her task of arranging her nest to crawl towards me. Before I can draw breath, her mouth is on mine—breathing life back into me after having been denied her warmth for days.
Her kisses are hungry, and if I weren’t such an idiot, I would sink into each of them. I’d relish in each petal soft press and lick the taste of her straight from her tongue.
But as it were, I’m a fool who needs reassurance from his mate. Last I saw her she wasn’t ready to move forward and now we’re naked with her luscious little body so near to me. I need to understand this sudden shift.
I pull back to ask if this means she finally forgives me. But Ivy shoves at my chest, pushing me flat onto my back before she straddles me.
Before I can question the movement, my mate reaches down to take my cock in her hand.
“Fuck,” I groan. She simply smirks, moaning as she strokes me over and again.
Gods . I could come apart like this. Her scent is so strong—her loving exploration is overwhelming. But I’m eager for absolution and so I press again.
“Do you forgive me, my sweet mate? All I’ve ever wanted was to protect you. I swear it.”
Ivy chuckles. Only stopping her stroking to hover over me. Without another warning, she sinks onto my cock. She’s positively soaking wet—glassy-eyed as she rocks atop me.
I gasp, throwing my head back against the sheets while her palms settle onto my chest. I’m out of breath from the shock of her forwardness.
“Alpha,” she moans, rising up only to drop her hips as she rides me with abandon.
Everything is hazy. Unreal. She is unreal with her silky hair—her soft hips and perfect tits. I squeeze her arse—shifting her up and down to help her along.
“Fuck’s sake, omega. You are so good to me—so giving, I don’t deserve you.”
Ivy scrunches her nose, seeming displeased with that response. She digs her nails into my chest, the sting of it biting and shocking all at once.
I hiss in response—confused on how I went from being mounted for pleasure to being gouged.
“ My alpha .”
Ivy leans forward, molding her body against my chest so she can shoving her face into my neck. There she breathes me in, taking my scent into her lungs like it’s vital. All the while, her hips roll—small, toe-curling movements that make me want to die from the pleasure of it all.
“I’m your alpha, yes,” I moan. I’m so tempted to let this go. To simply enjoy this meeting of our bodies but she needs to know what lives inside my heart. “I’m your alpha who has fallen so deeply in love with you. Please say you forgive me, darling. I’ve been in agony without you.”
A brief silence passes, and Ivy rubs her cheek against me, marking me with her scent until I’m purring with pride.
“Forgive you. Love you. My mate.”
My normally verbose queen is of few words today, but I don’t care. Not when we’re finally moving forward. She could speak in fragments for the rest of our days as long as I have her love.
I thread my fingers into her hair and pull her face to mine. I love with my lips—my tongue—kissing her breathless. Instinct urges me to handle her like she is not some breakable, delicate thing.
She’s so strong, so capable, so ready to be fucked.
Bending my knees, I place my feet flat against the mattress, and rut into her from below. Ivy squeals in surprise—right against my mouth—and I swallow the sweet sound of it. I could go on for days like this, pounding into the wet heat of my omega. Feeling her clench around me as she shatters again and again.
Gods . My teeth ache with wanting to sink into her neck. The imperative to mark her alongside where my packmates have staked their claim is riding me hard.
I break away from our kiss, slowing my thrusts as I gaze upon her with open admiration. She is stunning, my mate. So flawless and fuckable. My knot is swelling already—the haze of rut creeping in. It begs me to claim her, to make her scream my name.
“I want to bite you,” I growl. “Want my claim on you.”
Her eyes roll back, sweat beading on her fair skin. “Yes, Alpha, yes. Bite. Claim.”
I shudder at her eager acquiescence. I won’t allow myself time to overthink this.
With swift precision, I hold her close and flip us so she is on her back, looking up at me with wildness in her eyes.
“You’re going to come, little terror. You’re going to scream yourself hoarse while I knot your perfect cunt. And then I’m going to bite you. Make you mine forever.”
Gripping her thighs, I don’t wait for an answer. Rather, I press her knees into her chest, pinning her so she can do nothing but take what I give her.
My mate goes wild, panting and shouting as I drive my cock into her until she’s gushing and ready for my knot. All I can taste is her sweetness on the air.
“Rut,” my inner alpha demands. “Claim.”
And I do. I shove my knot into the welcoming wetness that is her spasming sex, brace myself for the blessed tightness, and revel as she screams for me. She’s clenching me so tightly that my vision fades to black. My mind is awash with the heady pleasure of being locked together so intimately.
When I come to, my canines are in her neck, deep and claiming. The taste of her blood—of her apple cinnamon sex—fills my mouth, just as she fills my soul. The gentleness of her heart, the intense ardor she holds for me, her bliss, her need for more—I feel it all as I come for her.
Her mind is so hazy, so full of burning desire. And then it hits me.
Fuck .
Her heat. How could I have been so stupid to miss the signs?
“Omega, are you?—”
The door to the nest slams open/ Oran rushes in, swiftly followed by Sloan. I shouldn’t be shocked at their presence, but being knotted to my freshly bonded mate feels like a private moment I don’t want to share—not even with my packmates.
“Fucking hell, Cillian. Our omega goes into heat, and you don’t think to tell us?” Oran growls, quick in his mission to disrobe.
“I didn’t—I didn’t realize?—”
“Are you mad?” This from Sloan, who approaches the bed, strokes Ivy’s hair, and kisses her forehead.
“I’m—” I hesitate, still high on the sweet taste of her skin. “We’re knotted!” I huff. They must have felt her heat rising in their shared bond and rushed to the nest at once.
“I could give a shite, Cillian. We’re about to become very intimately aware of each other very fast.” Our prime alpha laughs. His gaze never leaves Ivy.
She’s so content in our bond—her heart is full now that all her alphas have marked her. I lean forward, sucking her flesh between my lips to tend to my bond mark.
“More,” she moans. “Alphas.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Oran groans. He climbs onto the bed, naked as the day he was born. “We were meant to meet with the court.”
“We can’t leave her,” Sloan chimes in. “She won’t allow it once she finally succumbs to her heat.”
This is far from ideal but we have no other choice. Even if Ivy would allow it, none of us would ever want to miss a moment of this special time with our mate. Sharing a heat is a sacred rite that should be placed above all other duties.
“Tell Ciaran he has to step in,” I say through panting breaths. “We can’t delay this any longer. He’s got to be the one to tell them now.”
Sloan laughs, just as aware as I am that my brother is going to lose his mind over having to pick up my slack yet again. But he’s the crown prince. If Ivy and I are indisposed, he’s in charge.
“Fuck. All right. I’ll be back. Oran, you need to—” Sloan starts.
“I know what I need to do,” Oran growls. “Just hurry back.”
Sloan kisses our omega and turns to leave, but Ivy cries out, wriggling against the pull of my knot in protest.
“Shh…shh, omega,” Oran coos. “Your prime will be right back. Why don’t we give you what you need while we wait, hmm?”
Ivy blinks back tears, considering Oran’s words.
Through our bond, I can feel she needs more—needs both of us. I look at Oran, and he nods, already aware of what I’ll say next. His encouragement lights up in my chest. It’s strange to have him there too, linked through our mate. But it’s exciting and magical and… fuck . We’re so lucky for this gift.
“We’re going to move you now, love. Your alpha is going to keep you locked on his knot while I fuck your sweet arse, How does that sound?” Oran asks.
Ivy moans, overjoyed by such a notion.
I inhale sharply around the anxiety of all this newness. I’m not prepared, but I need to be for my omega—for our pack. This heat will bring us closer than ever.
“Lay down on your back, Cillian,” Oran orders. “Keep her chest against yours.”
I nod, moving our omega into position just as he said. My packmate settles behind Ivy, kneeling between my spread legs.
I can’t glean much from how we’re laying, but I can see Ivy practically vibrating with anticipation. Clinging to me, her hands in my hair as Oran plays with her plump arse.
“You’re so wet here too, love. So slick because of your heat. I’m going to fit so well.”
“Yes,” she moans. “Alpha, please.”
Omegas are wondrous beings—so flexible, so amenable to alphas when in heat.
Oran presses his cock into her, and I near lose my fucking mind. It’s already so snug with my knot in her. But with his cock rubbing against mine—the thin barrier of our omega separating us—and his pleasure thrumming through the bond, it’s too much.
All the while Ivy is clenching around me, mewling into my ear as Oran fucks her.
“Gods. Sloan needs to hurry the fuck up,” I bite out. He’s been gone minutes but it feels like hours locked here with Ivy, as Oran gets his fill of her.
My packmate’s answering grunt tells me he’s not worried about anything I have to say—he’s too caught up in the blissfulness of being inside our mate.
“I’m going to come,” Oran groans. “Going to fill this tight arse up, omega. You are so good for your alphas.”
“Yes,” I rasp. “So perfect. Such a treasure.”
Ivy loves that—loves the praise and being taken by both of us at once. Her slick cunt grips me so tightly as she moans against my skin.
The door opens, Sloan’s earthy scent permeating the space. He’s quick that one, so damn dependable to get the job done. Thank fuck for him.
I’m so close to losing my head—to succumbing to this rut that I can’t think of anything but the wet heat of Ivy, and the way she clings to me for dear life.
I pet her, rub her back, purr for her until our prime stands beside us—naked, ready to lead his pack through these next days. My omega reaches her hand out, wrapping it around the base of his cock as she works him over.
“Fuck that’s good, petal. Your alphas are here now.”
“Mine,” she responds, breathless. “My mates.”
Every thought is swiftly drained from my head—another life-changing release imminent. Ivy’s ecstasy fizzles in the bond with eagerness to give into this haze and let herself be loved by us.
“Let go, omega. We’re here.” Sloan’s voice is firm—a command. And though he was speaking to our mate, I let his words wash over me as well.
The moment Ivy yields, I feel it in my soul. We are tethered, she and I. So perfectly connected. When she spirals into the abyss, I follow her, ready—eager to love her—to please her without end.