Cherished
Dane carried me into the house, still refusing to put me down. I was seeing the exterior for the first time. When I left, I didn’t get a chance. I’d been too busy running to notice the beauty of the place I was abandoning.
High stone walls, iron gates, and a secluded forest behind. It should look like a place that was hard to get into—and even harder to leave.
“Your home is…” Uriel whistled.
Dane remained silent, but Kade answered. “Thanks.”
I gripped Dane tighter as another wave hit me. The muscle in his jaw tensed as he carried me through the front door. Kade and Uriel followed us past the sitting room, up the stairs, and into his room. Kade closed the door as Dane placed me on the bed.
Before the fog could fully take me, I fumbled for my phone in the pocket of Dane’s hoodie. It wasn’t there.
“What are you doing?” Dane asked, watching me.
“Looking for my phone.”
“It fell out in the car.” I turned to him as he handed me my phone. I grabbed it. My fingers shook as I held down the power button.
“Turning it off,” I murmured. The screen went black. “I don’t want… any distractions from the outside. Just you. Just us.”
Dane’s expression softened. He took the phone from my trembling hands and placed it on the nightstand, screen down.
He sat at the foot of the bed and I crawled behind him, dropping my legs on either side of him.
I was burning up, and the only thing on my mind was his knot. Through the haze, I knew I would be in pain after my heat. Riding Dane’s cock put me out of commission the first time, but right now, I couldn’t find a fuck to give.
“We need to talk first,” Dane said as I rubbed his back.
Kade folded his arms. Uriel shuffled on his feet by the door.
“I’ll take her first. Kade, you need to check on our package. By the time you’ve fed Uriel, I should be ready to switch out.” Dane leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “You two need to stay fed. We’ll take breaks and stay fed. That way, we avoid crashing too soon.”
Kade nodded, his eyes darting to me.
“You come first, Lumberjack, but when your heat is over, we’ve got shit to unpack. Without all the sex.” Kade’s words pierced through the fog that was growing thicker by the minute. I nodded, letting him know I heard him.
“You okay?” My gaze cut to Uriel at his words. His big browns were wide, filled with a worry that wasn’t needed in this room. I smiled weakly.
“Mm-hmm. Knot. I want my Alpha’s knot,” I murmured.
“Dane will take care of you. Won’t you, brother?” Kade asked, his head tilted as his focus returned to his brother.
“Check the package. Fuel up,” Dane said.
Kade didn’t respond. His eyes were on Dane. Kade grabbed Uriel’s hand and led him out.
The silence that followed the click of the door was a heavy blanket that kept us apart. Dane sat like a statue. My skin screamed. The need for my Alpha’s touch—his knot, his seed—outweighed everything else.
My breasts were heavy and aching as they crushed against the back of his neck, yet he remained maddeningly still.
I trailed my fingers down the hard planes of his chest. The thrum of my beating heart thrummed against his skin as my hair cascaded down the sides of his face.
He was here. He was providing the body I needed to survive this fever, but his heart was locked away, hidden from my prying hands.
The sweet, caring Alpha I’d left was gone and in his place was a man with a bleeding heart who would take care of me out of obligation. The whine that left my lips reflected the pain mirrored in my chest.
The world spun, and in one swift motion, I was on my back, pinned beneath the weight of him. His eyes locked on mine, his jaw set. The look in his eyes had nothing to do with the need cracking between us, and everything to do with an agony so palpable I could taste it.
“You hurt me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you.” Dane’s words struck a chord in my chest that sang just for him.
“You’re mine,” I hissed. His jaw clenched, his eyes dropping to my lips. I pushed against his chest and he moved, way too easily. I didn’t want to talk, I wanted his knot, but first, I needed to make it right.
Dane sat at the edge of the bed. I could feel his hardened gaze following me across the room as I dug through his closet. It wasn’t strong enough. His scent was too weak. I clawed at the room. The scent of campfire came from a shirt, and I dragged my trophies to the center of the bed.
Dane didn’t move, didn’t try to touch me, or stop me. His eyes followed me as I was reduced to Omega instincts. He looked at me like a man conflicted, stuck between being mad, and proud.
I lunged for the laundry basket, digging until I found used joggers. I piled them up, spinning in a panicked circle as I tried and failed to find the scent of cherries, ink and sweat. The lack of their scent was a hollow throb in my chest.
I whined, a pathetic, needy sound, and Dane jumped to his feet. Without a word, he turned and rushed past me, out the door. A sob caught in my throat.
He was leaving me. Abandoning me on an impossible mission.
I clutched at his briefs, and a minute later, he returned with articles of clothing in hand. I swiped one from his hands, sniffed, and threw it down. Then grabbed a tank top and nuzzled it as chocolate and cherries caressed my cheek. He didn’t leave me. He went to my other Alpha.
I found one more out of the stack in his hand and piled it next to the others on the bed as I tried to build a wall against the world. But it still wasn’t right. I turned to Dane. I was still missing something.
“Uriel,” I cried, the needy sound high-pitched and foreign.
His jaw ticked.
He left the room again, and this time, I hoped he’d know what I needed again. I removed his hoodie, left in nothing but my lace panties. When he returned, he offered me a crumpled sweater—sandalwood.
Dane was facilitating my madness, feeding me what instincts demanded.
He walked along the edge of the bed, holding it like the head of a fallen soldier—a trophy he’d won by guessing what I needed correctly.
I reached out, and he dropped it into my open hands.
I could feel the lingering heat from my other alpha’s body.
I buried my face in the collar, inhaling until my lungs burned for oxygen.
He knew exactly what I needed.
I rubbed the sweater over my pile on the bed. Humming as the note that was missing finally completed the circle.
And now, I was surrounded by them—cherries, campfire, and sandalwood.
I was nesting.
My gaze darted to where Dane waited at the edge of the sanctuary I’d built. He didn’t move to get in.
I tilted my head as I assessed him. Tall, dark, and handsome.
At some point, while I’d been making my nest, he’d taken his shirt off.
His hair fell over his brows. Ink traveled like veins all over his shoulders, chest, and arms. My eyes dropped to the imprint of his cock that ran down the length of his thigh in his pants before up to his hardened gaze.
“Come,” I rasped.
And he did. He climbed into the center of my nest until he kneeled in front of me.
Another painful cramp punched me in the stomach, forcing a cry from my lips.
I turned, facing my back to him, and dropped my head to the sheets and scent of my Alphas.
I pushed my hips back, presenting for him as my hair spread out around me.
“Fuck,” he groaned. I cried out as his hand came across my ass. He ripped the wet lace away in one yank and threw it aside. The delicious sound of his zipper coming undone had a fresh wave of slick running down my thighs.
“Yes, fuck me, Alpha,” I whined. I wriggled as he slapped his cock against my ass cheek.
“My Omega,” he growled. “Say it.”
“Your Omeg—ah!” I screamed as he slammed into me. Every fucking inch of my Alpha filled my needy, wet cunt, and my face rubbed against the sheet. He withdrew to the tip and paused.
“Please.”
“You’re never going to leave me again,” he warned.
“Never,” I groaned as I was filled. His knot pulsed at my backside. My eyes rolled to the back of my head.
So full. Complete.
Saliva dripped from the side of my mouth as he did it again. And again. Making me promise.
I came as he picked up speed. The bed creaked, slamming into the wall as he pushed my heels beside my hips, and fucked me, his knot slapped against my core.
All I could do was lie there and take my Alpha.
I peeked behind me, at the first Alpha to fuck me through a heat.
His muscles rolled under his skin, the black ink of his tattoos distorting with each ragged heave.
I wanted to run my tongue along his ink.
He released my feet and grabbed the back of my head.
His other hand gripped my waist as he drove into me relentlessly.
“Dane, oh, Dane,” I moaned as I came again. He fucked me through it, pushing his knot into my pussy. I groaned as he spread me until I took the whole thing. The squelch of each thrust as he fucked me with it soothed that burn deep inside.
“I’m going to breed this pussy. Pump you full of my cum until your stomach is heavy with my child, and you can’t go anywhere,” he roared as his knot expanded slowly.
“Knot me, knot me, please. Fill me, Daddy,” I whined, clawing at the sheets like the feral animal I was.
His abdomen was hard against my back as he thrust so deep tears spilled.
“More,” I rasped as my toes curled.
“My pussy. My Omega,” he roared as his knot expanded, stretching me, and I came again as splash after splash filled me and gushed from my pussy.
“Fuck!” I screamed as I collapsed beneath him. My body twitched beneath him as he filled me. Kisses pressed down my spine.
Bliss.