40. Lazarus #2
It frustrates me as I try to tame my shadow back. But I understand why Xavier said below her knees. My shadow charged through the darkness toward her, and all I can do is keep it from overtaking all of her. It settles for covering her feet.
One thing is for certain, just like the twins’ ability to shroud Honey, I can as well. We’re all a match for spectrums. Perhaps God laid a plan for Honey that involves us all.
As quickly as it started, the light dissipates again. The room, which was bright enough to see in, is quickly consumed by the darkness. That seems quick. My frame of reference is limited, but remembering the way Ruth Mary glowed, Honey’s seems to extinguish much more suddenly.
Seconds later, Xavier is back and turning on the lights. “That’s what I suspected. It’s most definitely related to your growths. I would be willing to bet there are many other hormone-related problems we’ve yet to uncover.”
“Should we be doing more testing?” My heart rate is rapid, and I find myself concerned with Honey’s entire well-being.
“Not until after we do surgery.” Xavier reassures me. “The best course of action is to remove the growth and then explore the damage after her body has had time to recover.”
“I’m trusting you.” It’s a warning, and Xavier sees it as such.
“I wouldn’t betray that trust.” Xavier offers me his hand, and I stand before shaking it.
“Let’s get you dressed and out of here. I know those robes are comfortable, but it would be very impractical for riding on Lazarus’s motorcycle.” Xavier smiles at Honey.
We’re headed to the exit when Xavier jogs to keep up. “We’ve a problem.”
My shadow goes on high alert, wrapping around Honey to protect her.
“I left an idiot nurse alone for five fucking minutes, and he ran Honey’s spectrum test through the database.
It, of course, flagged as a missing person, and now the police are here.
Allegedly, MP St. Pierre is on his way here right now.
He was apparently here on vacation with his friends from House of Apostles.
” Xavier keeps his voice down as he ushers us from where we are in the main hallway to a more secluded spot.
“We’ll go out the back. Give me the keys to your car. You can bring my bike over tonight and swap them out.” I hold my hand out to him.
“Oh, yes, why didn’t I think of that?” Xavier gives me a deadpan look. “Maybe because there is literally a cop at every door. They’re checking every omega and female beta as they leave.”
“What is your plan, then?” I growl, pulling my phone out of my pocket, knowing we need some sort of backup.
“The best plan is more catalyst, you claim each other, and then MP St. Pierre no longer has legal jurisdiction.” Xavier smiles, and it’s a tight near grimace.
“When I found out about the police coming, I called Abraham. He said it is the best bet to get this handled efficiently. I don’t have any more efficient solutions. ”
My stomach sinks, and I find myself shaking my head before I look at her. Honey’s eyes are wide, and she’s pushing back into the comfort of my shadow.
“You promised I’d never have to go.” Honey’s golden-brown eyes peer up at me, full of fear. “Don’t make me go back.”
“Honey, this can’t be undone.” I lie, knowing full well that a mark cut from the skin can sever the bond.
“That’s kind of the point,” Xavier says, looking at his phone screen. “You need a legal, permanent reason for them not to be able to separate you.”
“Do it. Don’t make me go back to them. Please,” Honey whispers, and my heart breaks.
“You need to make a decision quickly. We don’t have much time.” Xavier tucks his phone away.
But how could I ever live with myself knowing that I sent her back to them because I was too cowardly to accept a mating bond?
A mating bond that is a good, solid match.
How could I feel so much love for her in my heart and not act on it?
And maybe, this means I need to accept that we are a pack, the four of us.
Zephyr, Phoenix, Honey, and I . . . There are worse things.
Honey’s bottom lip wobbles. My heart, resolve, or maybe the entirety of my being breaks apart seeing her hurting like this.
“Give her the catalyst.” I grit my teeth.
Xavier opens up a door, and it leads to another hallway. “Come with me, you need time to heal that bond. They can’t legally search the nexus without a really difficult-to-get warrant, so it’ll give you time to heal the bonds, make it not look so . . . fresh.”
We’re down three corridors before he ushers us into a room. It’s smaller than the one upstairs, with fewer chairs. Xavier uncaps the catalyst and, without hesitation, jabs the needle into Honey’s bicep.
She gasps at the shock.
“You won’t have long with how her body reacts to the catalyst.” Xavier steps outside and leaves us alone.
Honey pulls at my shirt where it’s tucked into my pants, her warm fingers brushing against my skin.
As much as it would appease my need to treat an omega differently from how Revenant, Mayhem, and Fox treated Evangeline, I cannot bring myself to hesitate for Honey. If we don’t do this, then I’ll lose her too. The twins will lose her. And I refuse to let any of us hurt anymore.
I help her pull my shirt off, then lift her onto the exam table. She pulls at the bottom hem of her shirt, and I take over that for her too.
Her skin has already started to glow, and I know we don’t have long. She was barely alight for fifteen minutes last time. I kiss her deeply, trying to prolong it.
The only way I know how to do this is knotted together. My training was so long ago that I don’t remember if that’s necessary or not to claim her. Fuck it.
I tug at the waistband of Honey’s pants. They’re stretchy and easily pull out of the way. Honey shuffles, helping me get them down past her voluptuous thighs.
I bend forward and place a soft kiss on her lips, but Honey kisses me like she intends to claim me. Her tongue presses into my mouth, and I can only wonder which of the twins taught her this trick.
She moans when I let my tongue dance with hers. My cock starts to strain against my trousers, trying to escape.
Honey’s small hand finds my belt buckle and starts working to undo the clasp. She breaks the kiss with soft pants. “Need.”
I take control, opening my belt with ease before pushing down my boxers and wrapping my hand around my cock.
Honey gasps, “Oh.”
Apprehension has my spine stiffening. “Is there something wrong? We don’t —”
“You’re much bigger than the twins.” She’s eyeing my cock, and I’m not certain how I feel about her statement.
“Too much?” I squeeze my cock, wanting her but willing to respect that it’s too much. Maybe this wasn’t meant to be.
The scent of her arousal, one I’m all too familiar with as it floated around our apartment during her heat, blooms off her, and it eases my mind a little.
Honey shakes her head but worries her bottom lip. “No, we need to hurry.”
The way she reaches for me spurs me into action. There is no going backward from this. A million thoughts race through my mind, and I kiss her again, trying to draw silence and serenity from the base physical desire of an alpha to be with an omega.
With each movement of Honey’s lips, she soothes my mind and draws us closer together.
I slot my cock at her entrance. It’s warm, and the sweet smell of omega slick fills the air. She’s tight as I push into her. But her moans rid my consciousness of any fear that she’s in pain.
Honey lets out a delicious breathy moan. I kiss her, rut into her, and she hitches her legs up around my waist.
Time isn’t on our side. I cannot get lost in her the way my body craves.
“Lazarus,” Honey murmurs against my neck.
I delve my fingers between us, playing with her sensitive nub.
Her pussy is strangling my cock. It’s been so long since I’ve been with an omega, and she feels too good. The way she’s wrapped around my cock. It only takes two more thrusts. I fight a scream as I come, my seed spilling into her.
My teeth find their home in her neck.
I drag Honey over the edge with me. Slick rushes from her, her nails dig into my arms, and she clamps down on my neck. It muffles her scream of pleasure.
But I can’t be bothered to worry about the noise and that Xavier most definitely heard us. I can only care about her before me. The delicate way she licks the skin of her bite.
My shadow leaves me, dampening the glow of Honey’s skin as it enters her body. We are taught, growing up at House of Apostles, that the shadows do this to purify their mates, to welcome the alpha into the omega, and to bond us as one in God’s eye.
While I can’t speak to purity, I can speak to the way I look at Honey. She is no longer an omega. She is my omega.