Chapter 62
Chapter Sixty-Two
~Harlow~
Limbs wrap around limbs. It’s hard to determine where one body starts and another ends.
I’m tangled amongst the sheets and surrounded by potent Alpha scents.
Every part of their skin that brushes mine is tingling and itching, as if their touch is trying to delve through the layers of my skin and override all rational sense.
I say rational sense, because suffocating under their potency seems to be something I am struggling with as I try to replay the events that have me waking up in bed with the four Alphas.
The soft, steady heartbeat beneath my ear tells me I am laying on someone.
That someone is Thane, his masculine scent invading my senses and making my mouth water.
Turning my head, I find Rhen beside us, his face so close.
His lips mere inches from mine, where his head rests on Thane's shoulder.
I sit up and straddle Thane's waist; the heavy arm draped across my lower back slides off.
Peering over, I find Raidon. He rolls onto his back, and I spot Leon beside him.
Blinking, I yawn and stretch my arms above my head.
I notice I’m naked, and Thane is naked underneath me.
Rhen moves as I do, and I feel hands move along my thighs.
I notice the stinging on the skin of my neck.
Thane squeezes my thighs while my fingertips trace the mark, which prickles and sends a shiver up my spine as I touch it.
"Don't freak out, Zara," Thane murmurs, his eyes half hooded from sleep as he peeks up at me.
Don't freak out? How could he say that?
"You're ours now. That isn't something to fear," he mumbles as his hands move higher, tracing over my waist and ribs, to the sides of my breasts, his touch calming the frantic beat of my heart, but it does nothing to alleviate the panic in my mind.
Every possible scenario, crisis, and disaster flits through my head, knowing the trouble I am in.
I can never run now, never leave, because Thane will eventually track me down, no matter where I go. His mark on my neck will ensure that.
Trapped.
I feel trapped, and terror washes over me in waves as I become obsessed with the thoughts rattling around in my head, banging loudly and screaming at me about the danger I am in now.
Only, those thoughts are dismissed when I feel teeth sink into my neck, next to Thane's mark.
The sharp sting jolts me out of my tumultuous thoughts and shoves me with blinding speed back to the present.
I feel the warmth of Raidon press against my back, his teeth embedded deeply in my neck, marking me and tying me to him just as strongly.
Movement beside me catches my attention as Raidon pulls his teeth from my skin, and I watch Rhen lean in.
Thane's fingers tangle in his hair as he dips his head between my thighs.
His breath sweeps over my skin before his tongue rolls over the inside of my thigh.
Pain slices through my skin as his canines mark my flesh.
A loud moan leaves my lips as heat and sparks rush to the apex of my thighs, making my skin vibrate as he marks me so close to my core. My head rolls back onto Raidon's shoulder, where he kneels behind me. He pulls my head back, and his lips brushed mine, before Leon's scent overwhelms me.
"You're mine now, Omega," he purrs as his lips trace a line down the other side of my throat, which remains bare.
I expect him to mark me there, but his lips travel down to my chest before he sinks his teeth into the side of my breast, making me hiss.
The sensitive skin there stings the most, and tears prick my eyes when he marks me.
Great, well, there goes wearing a damn bra until that heals.
Rhen pulls his teeth from my inner thigh, and Leon pulls his from my breast before his tongue traces the blood trail that cascades down my ribs to my hip.
I feel light-headed, yet something writhes and coils within me as their bonds slowly sink deep within my veins, embedding and tainting my soul with theirs.
I always thought it odd how Alpha Packs worked.
All of them have bitten me at some point, especially Leon.
He sinks his teeth into me every chance he gets.
However, not once did Rhen's or Raidon's bite marks remain, healing quickly afterward.
But since Thane marked me, my skin remains raised and tender, scarring as each marking heals excruciatingly slowly.
Their marks will remain because their Alpha claimed me, which is one thing I always found fascinating. It shows the strength of a bonded pack Alpha, how his influence over his mates overrides everything, including mate bonds. A sort of power and control I could never fathom being responsible for.
Glancing at Thane, his eyes scan my flesh, admiring his mates' marks tainting my skin. His eyes flicker, and his lips tug at the corners to almost a smile.
"Welcome to the pack," Thane purrs, sitting up with me still in his lap, his arm wrapped around my waist. He pulls me closer, his lips demanding as he kisses me. His tongue traces across the seam of my lips before forcing its way into my mouth.
I sigh as the bond washes over me, giving in to him. Lips press to my shoulder, and hands grip my hips, making my eyes open. I pull away with a startled gasp as they touch me.
This is too much, too much all at once. I’m still trying to wrap my head around being marked, let alone jumping right into a fuck fest, which I can feel is their intention through the bond.
"Can I have a minute?" I ask, pulling away. It’s overwhelming feeling them so clearly. I am struggling to differentiate between my feelings and theirs.
Thane growls, tapping my thigh, and everyone moves back from me.
"We won't hurt you, Zara," Thane says, and I blink at him.
This is a sham. Everything is a lie, and mate bonds shouldn't be based on a lie. I want to tell them. I open my mouth to tell them, but then the fear of Thane's deep-rooted anger resurfaces, and I close my mouth.
They will find out, and when they do, I fear their reaction. Thane's, I know, will not be pleasant.
"I need to shower," I whisper, climbing off him and over Leon. As I enter Thane's bathroom, I feel their curious gazes on my back. I shut the door before gripping the sink. What the hell have I done?
More importantly, what happens when they find out? Thane made his intentions for Harlow very clear, if they ever find her. Newsflash. They found her, and it is only a matter of time before they realize that.
Will they go ahead with their original plan to breed me and then kill me?
Is that still an option now that they know me, or sort of know me?
I cannot imagine hurting them, but would Thane still want the vengeance that blackens his heart when he learns the woman he is chasing is right under his nose and has been living in his house all this time?
A knock sounds at the door, and I jump, turning my gaze away from my reflection.
"Zara?" Rhen calls out.
"Yep."
"I thought you were showering?" he asks.
The curiosity lacing his voice is apparent, and I quickly rush to turn the shower on before hearing him move away from the door.
I let out a breath. Stepping into the shower, I linger far longer than necessary as I contemplate what will happen next and how things will play out.