JUSTICE
Justice
Alpha. Bite us.
The certainty in Mackenzie’s eyes instantly rearranged my entire world. I looked at Theo. My omega. Mine. In pain, suffering.
“You can’t form a pack with two omegas.” I said.
“Bite us,” she repeated.
Ren was at my side. Where he always should have been. A desperate hope in his eyes, but he shook his head.
“Mr. Twill…”
“Don’t call me that.”
After my aura had presented, pain had wracked my body. Instincts had flooded me. All I could do was lie on my floor, staring up at the fluorescent lights with visions of Ren sinking his teeth into me.
“I am a complication that’s not good for the CEO.”
“You don’t get to tell me what’s good for me.”
“Just.” He tilted his chin, just slightly, just enough to show consent. “I’m sorry.”
I sank my teeth into him hard. His skin gave with a pop. He flooded into me. His blood, his taste, his aura, bringing love and fear and loyalty. He was mine. He had always been mine. Since the day I got off that bus for first grade, I knew I loved him, too. He sagged as power flashed through both of us. I held him up by the neck and slung an arm around him.
I pulled back. Blood welled and trickled down his neck.
“Forgiven.”
He bent and picked Mackenzie up with an arm around her stomach, bringing her eye level with us.
“Omega.” I brushed bangs out of her eyes.
“Yes. A hundred times, yes.”
I cupped her face, nuzzled her neck with tiny kisses. I was more careful, controlled, when I broke her skin. She yelped at the pain, but wrapped both arms around my neck like she’d never let go. She tasted like sunshine.
I put her down and traced a finger along my bite mark. It would be there forever, making her mine.
“I love you,” she whispered. And I felt it. I felt her in my aura, becoming a part of me. I staggered from the force of it. And then she turned and bolted across the police station.
An officer tried to grab her, but she ducked and crawled between his legs to get to Theo.
“Tommy, go get our pack registration paper. We are claiming that omega.” Gaston practically foamed at the mouth.
Ren and I both growled. Tommy darted for the door. Ren threw out a leg and tripped him, sending Tommy crashing to the floor. He hit his head on a desk on the way down. He did not get up again.
I rounded on the officer in charge. “That omega belongs to me. I’m taking him. You just saw me become a pack lead. My teeth are in them. Give him to me.”
He threw his hands up like this was too much drama for him and nodded to one of his deputies.
One unlocked the door to the cell. Mackenzie scrambled to make it to Theo. When the second door opened, she took Theo into her arms, wrapping herself around him. His groan of relief rippled through the entire building.
Gaston bellowed and charged one officer. I heard the angry zapping of a taser as Gaston was buried under a pile of blue shirts.
“We can’t take him back on the ship,” Ren said.
“I know. I have an idea. There’s taxis down the street. Bring one up to the door.”
Ren kissed me quick and took off at a full run.
I stepped into the cell. Theo was curled into a ball, groaning. I reached for him, but Mackenzie stopped me.
“Don’t. Not yet. Just give him a second. If you touch him, everything will start, and well, not in public.” Fear darkened her eyes.
Heat usually started with cramping, but not like this. I flattened myself to the floor and put my face level with Theo’s. He cringed, the pain was coming in waves, and then his features softened.
“Theo, can you open your eyes?” I asked.
He looked at me, his eyes glassy and watery.
“It hurts,” he said.
“I know. Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you? We have to move.”
He nodded. “I can walk,” he blew out a breath and struggled to sit up.
Mackenzie hooked her arm under Theo to pull him up. If I couldn’t touch Theo, I could at least help Mackenzie. Awkwardly, they both got to their feet. Mackenzie struggled under his weight, but we all managed to make it to the street just as a taxi screeched up and Ren waved us over.
I had the taxi take us back to the pier. It was only a few moments in the car, but they were fucking agonizing. Mackenzie sat on Theo’s lap, facing him. She stroked his hair and kissed him all over as wave after wave of pain hit him. I looked nervously at Ren. I’d only been through this once with one omega. This did not seem normal. He gave me a “we’ll talk about it later” look.
The brakes squeaked as the taxi stopped where instructed. I rolled down the window and flashed my Amex Black Card at the tour operator we’d encountered earlier.
“So you did decide to escape and forgo the police,” he chuckled.
“I have a situation. My omega is in heat. We need to…”
His eyes darkened as he peered into the car and then looked around the plaza.
He opened the passenger door and was met with a growl from Ren.
“Jean-Paul,” he said, introducing himself. “I’m a beta. My sister is an omega. You need to get off this island.”
Ren shifted Theo over to allow Jean-Paul to get in. He gave short instructions to the driver, and we were moving before he even closed the door.
“I’m provisioned only for a day cruise. I suggest we anchor in the harbor and collect your luggage somehow, and then move on to St. Ann’s Inlet. It’s a much more hospitable environment.”
I pulled out Mackenzie’s phone and a card from my wallet and dialed. “Todd, it’s Twill. We have a situation. I need you to collect our passports and pack our luggage. Yes, myself, Mackenzie Perez, Theo Evergreen, and Ren Delano. I’m going to connect you to the captain of a yacht I just rented to coordinate.” I turned and handed the card to Jean-Paul, who nodded.
We pulled alongside the yacht. Jean-Paul was out shouting instructions before we even came to a complete stop. Luxurious for sure, but I had been on bigger boats. I never understood what it was with the 1% owning boats bigger than houses.
Ren slid out of the car and held his hands out for the omegas.
“We’re back at the cruise ship?” Theo asked, his voice gruff.
“No, honey, Justice rented us a yacht.” Ren said.
He and Mackenzie traded looks and then ducked their heads to peer out the window.
“Are you okay?” Ren asked Theo.
He threw his head back against the headrest and laughed. “I’m about thirty seconds away from fucking the taxi.”
“Well okay then,” Ren said. “Let’s get you someplace warm and comfortable.”
I followed the omegas onto the ship. They crashed about like they were drunk, but I was impressed that Mackenzie could handle Theo all on her own. Ren and I followed them into the first bedroom they came across. Mackenzie pulled Theo up on the bed and was stripping off her shirt.
He gasped, looking at her neck. He traced his fingers along the bite mark.
He crawled to the edge of the bed on his knees.. “Bite me.”
“Let’s get through heat first,” I said, running fingers through his hair.
He shivered and then flinched. “You’re not going to bite me,” he said, his voice cracking.
“Theo, you’re in pain. Let us take care of you.”
He scrambled back, right off the bed, and batted away Mackenzie’s arms that were reaching for him.
“Theo, please,” Mackenzie said frantically.
He paced in a tight circle next to the bed. Another cramp hit and he fell to his knees. Through a sob he said, “You don’t want me, but don’t take her away from me.”
Mackenzie reached for him, but Ren caught her and held her back. “Let Justice,” he whispered in her ear. The rest was inaudible.
Theo looked up at me, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I thought she was mine.”
“She is. She was yours first, Theo. I said I would never come between you. I need you to listen to me.” He just shook his head. I tried again. “Omega.” He shivered like the word touched all of his nerve endings. “I need you to focus for a minute.”
“Yes, Sir,” but it sounded despondent.
“No, not Sir. Alpha. I am your alpha.”
I crouched to be on eye level with him. “Do you remember we had a conversation at the auction?”
“The auction?” He was blinking rapidly. Pain lined his face.
“What did you say about heat?” He shook his head. Either not remembering or all the hormones flowing through his system made it hard for him to think. “You told me you can’t consent during heat. Is that correct?” He nodded, but refused to look at me. “Is that correct?” I repeated.
“Yes,”
“Yes, alpha.” I corrected him.
“Alpha,” he repeated.
“Can you consent during heat?”
He shook his head.
“Should an alpha bite someone during heat when they haven’t consented?”
“No.” It came out a little petulant.
“Great. Now that we’re all on the same page. You’re suffering. Let us help you, and then I will bite you every day for the rest of your life if you want.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Mackenzie threw her hands up and wiggled out of Ren’s grasp. She crawled across the bed and pulled Theo on. They barely even stripped out of their clothes before Mackenzie was straddling his hips, riding him. They both sighed in relief before they started moaning. It didn’t take long before Theo was screaming Mackenzie’s name and bucking his hips into her.
I looked up at the ceiling and touched it. I could lay my hand flat. The room was not much bigger than the king size bed and it was dark. Dark wood with black and gold accents. I took a step towards the door. But Ren caught me. He put his hand around my throat and gently pushed me into a wall.
“Alpha,” he said with a raised eyebrow. The word rippled through me.
“It’s… small.”
“You’re going to be fine.”
I touched the ceiling again.
“Alpha.” He shook me. “Reach inside yourself. Like you’re going to pull on your aura. Do it,” he said with challenge in his voice.
I closed my eyes and found that place inside me where all the rage and possessiveness usually lived. I tapped into that and gasped. I could feel Ren and Mackenzie, both separate and a part of me. I blinked rapidly, staring up at the ceiling.
“You will never be alone in the dark again,” he said, just for me to hear. He covered my lips with his and whispered “Alpha” again.
Intellectually, I knew pack bonds weren’t a cure for panic disorders, but I’d lean into the white lie for now. I nodded and traced a finger down my bite mark on his neck. A desperate groan came from Theo, laced with pain, not pleasure.
“Something’s wrong,” Mackenzie said, her voice going high-pitched. “Heat hurts and then you come and then it’s all better. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
A stab of distress that was not mine erupted in my chest. Ren rubbed it, like he could feel it, too.
“I love you. We’re fine.”
That wasn’t a lie. That I could lean into. Ren nodded, like he knew I’d be okay, at least for now.
Ren chuckled and crawled onto the bed. “Sunshine, there’s a little bit more to it than that.”
Ren tugged at Theo’s pants and helped him kick them all the way off. Then he yanked Theo towards him and turned him over so that he was on all fours. He slid an arm around Theo’s waist.
Theo groaned and curled into a ball, slipping out of Ren’s arms. I looked at Ren. I felt his concern. He shook his head slightly with a brief glance at Mackenzie. There was something wrong and he didn’t want to talk about it in front of Mackenzie.
I spread out on the bed next to Theo, our noses practically touching.
“Theo.” Sweat was dripping down his face.
I had been through heat only once with an omega during New Year’s. She had it all planned. We had hung out for a day or two, me and the other alpha she was seeing, cuddling through heat spikes until the intense part happened. This was beyond the ideal setup for heat.
I glanced at Mackenzie. Her bra was off one shoulder and she was chewing on a nail. I had never seen her do that before. This was stressing her out and that was not helping him. Theo stretched his arm across the bed, seeking her out. She took his hand but seemed afraid to do anything else.
This wasn’t a panic attack, but it was traumatic. It had probably started hours ago and no one had noticed. Not even Theo. He should have been safe and cozy in a nest, cared for, but he had gone out, by himself, to help Ren. Then he’d had to be strong, be in a cage, not let his instincts and biology take him.
What was important to omegas on a base level? What was important to Theo? Scent? Touch?
Belonging. Being someone’s omega. Pack.
That was what Theo needed.
“Let’s try something different here.”
I slid my arm under his shoulders. He flinched and groaned, but didn’t protest. I nodded at Ren to come closer and settled Theo against his chest. They were both kneeling, and Ren slid a knee between his legs so he wouldn’t have to support his own weight. He gently caressed Theo’s belly, knowing that was where the pain lived.
I held a hand out for Mackenzie and drew her close. I stroked her lower back, and her tension melted slightly.
“Have you ever scent marked someone?” I asked her.
“No.” Her eyes were wide.
“Scent marking tells the world who you belong to.” I pulled her hair back so it would flow down her back. “Theo belongs to us. We want the world to know.”
“He’s mine. How do I do it?”
I had only done it a few times when I was young and dumb. I looked at Ren, suddenly unsure about the idea.
He shook his head. “I’ve never done it. Before these two, you’re the only person I had ever wanted to claim.”
I sucked in a breath. The tattoo, the ring… this? I’d push all those complicated thoughts away for now.
“Let’s try together.” Ren motioned Mackenzie closer.
“Touch him,” I said softly, “and then breathe into your own scent. It’s an act of will. Picture your scent like it’s a physical thing. Demand that it wraps him because he’s yours.”
Mackenzie practically tackled Theo. I grabbed Ren’s arm to keep them upright. She wrapped her arms around Theo’s chest and squeezed.
“You’re mine. You’re mine. You’re mine.” Her whisper was barely audible.
Ren drew his lips along Theo’s neck. He sighed and visibly relaxed. The room filled with orange and pepper, making Theo’s coconut richer.
Mackenzie gasped and sat up. “Did I do it?”
Theo’s eyes fluttered open. He was breathing hard. “You smell… so fucking good.” She held his face and kissed him. He moaned. Now that was the sound of an omega in heat.
I reached into the tangle of bodies, and put my lips next to where Ren’s had been. His scent tickled my nose. I had a sudden pang of desperate need of my own. I wanted their scents on my body, so that we would all mingle together and smell like… pack.
“You’re mine, Theo.” I whispered, leaving my scent mark right behind his ear.
“Okay, wow, now I need sex. Right now.” Theo’s nostrils flared, making him shiver.
“That is an excellent idea, little omega.”
Mackenzie plastered his face with kisses. Ren ran his hands all over him. His touch had been comforting and soothing but now it was more demanding.
I moved Mackenzie to the side. She barely noticed, lost with Theo’s tongue in her mouth. I bent and took the tip of Theo’s cock in my mouth and moaned. He was covered in both their slick. But it didn’t last long. Theo jerked so violently, he practically toppled us all off the bed.
“Fuck. Now. Oh my god.”
Apparently, that was all it took to break the dam, like everything that heat was dumped into Theo with one lick from my tongue. I’d let my ego inflate over that later.
Ren chuckled and shoved Mackenzie onto her back. Theo barely caught himself before his face crashed into her chest.
“Well, that’s convenient.” Ren had a note of surprise in his voice. “I think I will fuck you while you use our omega as a pillow.”
Theo laughed and buried his head between her breasts. Ren kicked Theo’s legs wider, making room for himself. Theo’s hair was just long enough that I could thread my fingers in and pull his head up for a kiss.
“I cannot fully express to you how hard my dick is at just the thought of you taking Ren’s knot.”
He groaned as Ren pushed into him.
“You can do better than that, Omega.”
He struggled to get his elbows under him for leverage, but finally managed.
“Take all of him, Theo.”
Ren started slowly, knowing that need had to build.
“I want you screaming his name when you take his knot.”
He dropped his head again, nipping Mackenzie’s breast, like this was already too much for him.
“Oh, do you need Mackenzie’s help to take his knot?”
Theo snapped his head up and both of their eyes went wide. Mackenzie growled and wiggled out from under Theo and moved to his side to better stroke his dick.
“Fuck. No, no, no. Fuck.” Theo clawed at the sheets.
I grabbed his chin and gave his head a tiny shake to get his attention. “Rule number two.” He stopped breathing for a second. I wasn’t going to go fully Daddy Dom on him, not here, not now. That was still too… new, tentative. But I knew, or hoped, it would get him out of his head.
He relaxed just a little. I could actually see omega need light behind his eyes, pushing out the remnants of pain. But it was not the desperate need for orgasms, but the need to be filled and fulfilled. To belong.
“Good boy.” That was all it took for him to let go and surrender to heat. He sank his head and shoulder onto the bed, pushing his ass higher into the air, alternating between moans and purrs.
“Fuck,” Ren gasped, and thrusted harder and faster. Theo fumbled for Mackenzie’s hand, locking the two of them together. I ran my fingers through his hair, encouraging him, telling him how good he was taking his alpha’s cock.
With one hard thrust, Ren knotted our omega, and like a good boy, he did scream Ren’s name.
Ren scooped Theo up and lifted him, wrapping both arms around him. Theo hadn’t let go of Mackenzie’s hand, so he dragged her with him. She didn’t seem to mind as she made little satisfied noises, licking Theo’s slick off her fingers.
“I love you,” Ren whispered in Theo’s ear.
Knots were powerful. Even without a pack bond, it brought your auras together. It was beautiful to watch. I caught hints of the utter satisfaction Ren was feeling.
Theo grimaced slightly, like a pre-heat cramp was starting. I felt Ren’s concern before I even saw it in his eyes. Pack bonds were going to take a minute to get used to. He ran a soothing hand across Theo’s lower belly. Cramps and knots usually didn’t coexist.
Theo’s eyes fluttered open and he tugged on Mackenzie’s hand.
“That was so hot.” She pecked him on the lips. And again. And three seconds later, they were a writhing, moaning mess.
“Mackenzie… knot… too?” Theo barely managed to blurt out.
“Two omegas is going to be complicated.” Ren said, nipping at Theo’s ear.
I took a second to figure this out. Ren was sitting up on his knees, with both arms around Theo. Theo was in his lap, knot locked deep in him, with no signs of letting go of Mackenzie’s hand.
I hesitated, not knowing how exactly I was going to fuck Mackenzie like this.
“Your alpha needs some practice with the group sex thing,” Ren stage whispered to the omegas.
I raised my eyebrow at him and yanked Mackenzie closer.
“Here, hold this,” I said, pushing Mackenzie’s torso into them. Ren grabbed her elbow to keep her upright. I moved behind her and thrust hard, deep into her. She screamed and then giggled.
“Shit.” Ren laughed, struggling to keep all three of them on the bed, while I fucked Mackenzie like she was in heat, too.