Chapter 21 Aleksi
Chapter Twenty-One
Aleksi
The ancient library held us in its hushed embrace, the scent of aged parchment cut by the pheromones warring in the air. My omega—our omega—stood before me, her hand outstretched in invitation. Beside her were the two alphas who had always stood opposite me. Rivals.
My body screamed possession. Every instinct demanded I claim what was mine—drive off these rivals who dared interfere with a mate bond. My mate bond. My fists clenched at my sides, muscles coiled for violence that had always been my first language.
But Sylvie’s eyes held me still. Not with fear or command, but with that devastating trust she offered so freely. Be ours, she’d said—as if it were simple. As if I knew how to be anything other than alone.
“Whatever our omega desires.” I’d surrendered the words, but my body hadn’t yet accepted them.
Kenai moved first, which of course he did. He always moved through the world without thought for risk or consequence. His magical prowess had kept him protected, valued. He never understood how easy that had made his life.
His approach wasn’t aggressive, wasn’t challenging. He simply shifted closer, his hands at Sylvie’s hips. The white reindeer’s scarred hands stayed visible, peaceful—but I could smell his readiness to fight if needed. For her. Always for her. At least in that, we were united.
“You don’t have to trust us yet,” Kenai said quietly, his jovial smile carrying the same charm I’d always found infuriating. “But trust her.”
Taimyr snorted—that irreverent sound I’d heard so many times across union tables. “What he means is, stop looking like you’re about to rip our throats out. You’re making our omega anxious.”
He was right. Through this new bond, still raw, I could feel Sylvie’s concern threading between desire and worry.
She wanted this—wanted all of us—but my rigid posture gave everything away.
The bond pulsed with her emotions: need, yes, but also something softer.
A desire to heal, to create something new from the shattered pieces.
I forced my shoulders to drop, unclenched my fists. The movement felt like cracking ice around my heart.
“Better,” Sylvie murmured, and her approval traveled through our bond like the first taste of spring after an endless winter. I let it soothe the frantic beating of my heart.
She stepped closer again, her fingers threading through my hair before she rose onto her toes, her soft lips finding mine.
It was a question, a final ask for permission. She didn’t push, just opened for me, and at the taste of her, I knew I was finished.
She tasted like cinnamon, and I knew my mate had a tendency toward that same fiery nature.
She was clever—and so impossibly brave—to stand between three alphas who’d spent years as adversaries and demand we become something more.
To see past my anger and isolation, past the careful walls I’d built, and insist I deserved this softness. This belonging.
I deepened the kiss, pouring everything I couldn’t say into it, and felt her melt against me. My hands found her waist, steadying us both. Behind her, I sensed rather than saw Kenai and Taimyr. Not challenging, just…there. Patient in a way I’d never expected from either of them.
It should have been impossible—sharing this moment, sharing her.
But Sylvie’s contentment through the bond was undeniable, and somewhere beneath my possessive instincts, something whispered: herd.
The word felt foreign, and I didn’t know what to do with it except follow Sylvie’s lead into this unknown territory.
Her fingers skimmed over my stomach, which clenched reflexively. I felt the grin in her kiss as she tugged my shirt free, her fingers nimbly undoing the buttons until her bare skin met mine.
I reached to do the same for her, but a set of hands were already there. My eyes snapped open as Taimyr tugged Sylvie’s blouse over her head, Kenai quickly moving in to release her bra.
They continued to undress her, and I was entranced. A small blush rose on her cheeks and chest as I watched, but I couldn’t help it. She was stunning—nothing less than a goddess—but as I traced my thumb over one hard nipple, I lingered on the pattern of bruises left by someone else.
That, I would not let stand. I ducked my head, covering the marks with my mouth, determined to make them my own.
I felt her surprise through the bond and realized it came from my antlers being so close to her face.
I released her, a string of saliva stretching between my tongue and the rosy, pebbled skin.
Then I gently guided her back to a mound of pillows I’d kept nearby for when I was too exhausted to fly home after researching.
She went willingly. My omega, laid out like an offering in this ancient space where I’d spent so many lonely nights. The sight of her there, flushed and wanting, made my chest tighten with an emotion I hadn’t known I would ever feel.
The other alphas followed, their movements careful, as if they were trying not to spook me. Both of their usual cocky demeanors were tempered by the gravity of this moment. We were crossing a threshold into new territory.
“Aleski…” Sylvie’s sweet voice grounded me.
“You’re thinking too much.” She gave me a small grin.
“I would know—it’s my specialty.” She reached up, lacing her fingers through the hair at my nape until she found the place where antler met skull.
She tugged lightly until our lips met again.
With that kiss, she drained away my worry and any lingering doubt, and the taste of her ignited the need I’d been using every ounce of will to suppress.
She guided my arms around her, turning so her back was pressed against my chest.
I kissed over her jaw and ran my tongue over the scent glands at her neck, where I could smell and taste her untainted by the others. The truth was, I should’ve found their scent so offensive I could barely stand it—but already, they were all weaving together into something I couldn’t resist.
Leaving a trail of marks to her collarbone, my hand dipped between her thighs. She was soaked and trembling. I pressed two fingers into her velvety cunt, and her back arched as she made the most perfect sound.
“Purr for me, omega.”
“For us.” Taimyr’s voice cut through my rapture.
They were both looking down at her in the same way I was, full of devotion and pure want. Could I blame them? No. But I could fight them.
I tensed, and as my mouth left her, Sylvie let out a needy whimper that gave me pause. Both Taimyr and Kenai snapped their gaze to her, and I forced myself not to snort at them.
Immediately, they were on her, trying to calm the thrumming need we all felt through the bond. Their hands moved in tandem, opening her thighs as they touched—as they kissed—what was mine.
“We’ve got you, Sylvie,” Kenai murmured against her creamy skin, his hands sliding up her calf with reverent slowness.
“Ours,” Taimyr breathed, and even I could hear the reverence in his voice.
Ours. Not theirs.
The alpha in me, the one who had always been alone, resisted. But a warm hum came through the bond—a pulse of trust, rarer and more powerful than pleasure itself.
I drew my fingers back, and both alphas immediately moved to take my place, worshipping her as she deserved. I lifted my fingers to my mouth, savoring her sweet essence as they did the same at the source.
I held her steady as their tongues and fingers coaxed sounds from her that made the bond pulse with pleasure. My role was to be her anchor. I could manage that. I pressed kisses to her temple, her jaw, whispering reassurances as her breathing quickened.
“You’re perfect, omega.”
Her skin flushed as her legs began to thrash. Seeing her—them—work together so seamlessly gave me a glimpse into what they had. What we could have.
But then something shifted. Through the bond, I felt her need spike—not just for pleasure, but for me specifically. She was reaching back, trying to turn in my arms, whimpering my name with increasing desperation.
“Aleksi—please, I need—”
The position was wrong. I needed to knot her more than I’d ever needed anything, but like this…frustration coiled through me, echoing down our connection.
Taimyr noticed first. His dark eyes met mine over the expanse of Sylvie’s stomach.
“She needs you,” he said simply.
My grip on Sylvie tightened reflexively. Holding her I could do—but coordinating with them meant trusting them in a way I’d never trusted anyone. Especially not them.
“Please, Aleksi—” Sylvie’s voice cracked with need, and the bond flooded with her urgency.
Kenai pulled back slightly, making space. His silver eyes were serious, something I hadn’t seen before. “You wouldn’t leave our omega wanting, would you?”
Everything in me rebelled. But Sylvie was trembling in my arms, and through the bond I felt her absolute certainty that this would work. We could work.
“Fine,” I gritted out, shucking my pants with shaking hands.
Taimyr moved first, his hands replacing mine at Sylvie’s waist as I began to shift. “Easy,” he murmured—to her or to me, I wasn’t sure. His body took her weight while I maneuvered, and for a brief, awful moment, my back pressed against his chest.
Every muscle in my body locked. This was too close, too intimate—
“Easy, alpha,” Taimyr said quietly.
Not rivals. Not threats.
I forced myself to relax, working with him until I was facing Sylvie. Finally. Her eyes were glazed with need, pupils blown wide, and the bond sang with her relief at having me where she needed me.
“There you are, my alpha,” she breathed, and I captured her mouth in a kiss that was more hunger than finesse.