Chapter 22 #2
We haven’t had a moment to really feel it, to bask in the bond that’s blooming between us.
To revel in our connection. I can't wait to cuddle up against his huge, furnace-warm body, breathing in his scent until it chases the bad dreams away. Screw the lack of blankets or nesting fluff. He’s all I need. He’ll make it perfect.
I leap from the couch and into his arms, giggling as he catches me with a low, satisfied grunt. He swings me around until my legs instinctively wrap around his waist.
He nuzzles the top of my head, breathing me in, then presses a kiss into my hair like he can’t help himself. When I tilt my face up, the want in his gaze nearly knocks the wind out of me. His pupils are blown wide, hunger simmering just beneath the surface.
That look. Frack, I guess I’m not the only one who is having trouble controlling their instincts.
It’s the same look he had right before he fucked me hard in the cellar.
He lowers his head and kisses me. It’s deep, sultry, lingering like he’s savoring the shape of my lips. I melt like butter, boneless in his arms, my fingers fisting in the back of his shirt as I cling to him.
My hips shift, and I can feel the hard line of his arousal pressing against me. A bolt of need shoots through my core, my Omega preening with delight at the promise of his knot.
I want him. Badly. Completely. Two days without a knot is far, far too long now that I know how incredible it feels.
An arm bands around my middle and wrenches.
I scream. The sound raw with surprise and alarm as I’m ripped from Vipers embrace.
Chaos erupts.
Snarls crack the air, followed by the thunder of bodies colliding. Fists fly as shoulders slam and territorial roars echo in the small space, savage and unrestrained.
"Stop!" Knox bellows an earth-rattling Alpha Command.
Everything halts.
I whimper, and instinct takes over. My Omega knows what to do when Alphas fight over her. My head tilts to the side, exposing my neck, the vulnerable gland pulsing with my rapid heartbeat. Submission pours from me in waves, my Omega desperately trying to keep the peace.
The only other sound is the heavy breathing of the four soldiers.
Gradually, the thick haze of Alpha pheromones eases. Slowly, I unfold from my crouched position, my arms still half-raised to shield my head. I peek between them, my pulse thundering in my ears.
Viper has Blaze by the throat, and Blaze has a knife pressed against Viper’s stomach. Mutually assured destruction.
"Barely a moment out of the military and you lot turn into uncivilized animals!" Knox shouts, prowling forward and tearing the two Alphas off each other. Authority rolls off him in waves. It’s thick, potent, and impossible to ignore.
Another gush of slick slides down my inner thighs.
Yeah, I’m going to have to get a bigger stash of panties because, frack, I’d forgotten how devastatingly sexy he is when he’s in control.
He isn’t just an Alpha. He’s a Prime Alpha.
Selected and trained to be the best of the best. Every part of him is dominant and he can overpower even the toughest Alpha under his command. His tight control over the Pack is the reason they’ve survived so long.
I shouldn’t enjoy this. I certainly shouldn’t revel in my Pack hurting each other.
But my inner Omega is practically crooning with delighted satisfaction.
Alphas fight over us. Not defective. Not alone anymore. They want us. They all want us.
Blaze protests, "Viper's already fucked her. Knotted her. He doesn't get her in his bed too!"
Viper's chest rumbles with a possessive growl. "She's my Omega."
“She’s our Pack’s Omega,” Shade adds from the side, not challenging the posturing Alphas, but reminding them of the reality beyond their flaring instincts. Seriously, the man is patience personified.
I try to give him a smile of thanks and squeak instead.
Oh no, I misjudged him.
He’s already looking at me, but certainly not with patient kindness. Shade is wearing the same expression he did in the corridor after Viper and I emerged from the cellar. Accusation, confusion, and longing. Almost as if he’s asking silently why I chose Viper over them.
Over him.
Then and now.
My heart clenches.
It's not like I went out of my way to have sex with Viper before the others. It just happened, but I can see how the others are feeling rejected.
It’s an emotion I’m horribly familiar with. Rejection is a bitter pill to swallow.
I blow the loose strand of hair out of my face, only for it to land back on my cheek.
We just had a rather lengthy and volatile conversation about what we need to do to make this Pack work, and here I am already sowing seeds of jealousy for my own comfort.
I understand what I have to do.
The only way we will heal from our past is to earn back their trust. If I want us to become a Pack, and I do, I really, really do, then I need to show them I’m serious.
"I'll sleep in Blaze's bed tonight," I announce.
They stop bickering.
“Pretty girl...”
"It's okay. This needs to be fair if it’s going to work. He isn't going to hurt me." I hesitate, glancing at the still simmering Alpha. "Are you, Blaze?"
He shakes his head slowly, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
Frack. In hindsight, I probably should’ve picked a sane Pack member to make my point.
"If she wants to leave your bed, she goes," Knox snaps, staring Blaze down. "Don't fucking trap her."
Blaze reluctantly nods once.
"It’ll be fine," I whisper, more to convince myself than anyone else.
Viper leans in and presses a lingering kiss to my forehead, his fingers smoothing through my hair like a balm.
‘I’ll be here if you need me. If he makes one fucking threatening move against you, I swear…’ he murmurs into the bond, his voice steady even as I feel the undercurrent of unease.
He squeezes my arm, the gesture reassuring, but I catch the tightness around his eyes.
There is a smear of red beneath one nostril where Blaze landed a punch in his jealous rage.
‘How are you so understanding?’ I ask, awed and aching all at once.
He exhales, long and suffering, but releases me, pushing me gently towards Blaze.
‘They’re my brothers. My Pack,’ he answers simply.
He’ll do anything for them… even this. Even sharing his Omega.