26. Nathan #3
My head is swimming as I lift my hand—still partially shifted, my claws long and deadly—to James’s face.
“You’re getting off lightly,” I tell him, before drawing a deep score down the left side of his face, all the way from his temple.
He screams as I dig further into his flesh, which parts under my claw like melted butter.
I ignore the shrill noises he makes, the same way I ignore the disgusting sensation of his skin tearing under my touch and the awful jarring of my claw against bone.
“Please, no,” he begs as I reach his jawline.
As much as I’m tempted to cut his throat and be done with him, I have to do as my little mate asked. I drop James to the floor without warning. “It’ll scar,” I say. “You’ll wear the shame of what you did to my mate for the rest of your life.”
Maybe this makes me like Declan, scarring someone permanently as punishment.
Shame fills me at the notion, even as my wolf prowls under my skin, pleased and still thirsting for violence.
When I look at my mates, though, I see nothing but understanding in Kato’s eyes.
Cas remains pressed to his chest, hands bunched in Kato’s T-shirt.
Although I sense little from him, his body language isn’t stressed.
His shoulders are relaxed, no line of tension up his back. He’s going to be okay.
Adrian hasn’t stirred. My worry must show because Kato says, “He’s breathing. Probably needs a few more minutes to wake up.”
I limp to them, my body screaming at me with every movement.
Kato barely moves when I get close; we’re pressed together without an inch between us.
Just like we should be, like we could have been the entire time if I hadn’t pushed him away.
I burrow my nose into the crook of his neck, inhaling his honey-and-woodsmoke scent, dampened by whatever in the air is suppressing it.
Faint as his scent is, it soothes the raging part of me.
There’s a gentle hand on my face. Cas. He’s gazing up at me with those fathomless eyes of his, filled with what I hope he sees mirrored in my own.
Love.
“You’re crying,” he says softly. He shows me the damp tips of his fingers as proof.
“Of course I am,” I choke out. “I thought I lost you.”
“You told me you were all out of tears.”
I let out a wet laugh. “Seems like I have some left for you.” I lean down, pressing my forehead to his. “Love will do that to you, apparently.”
“Love?” he echoes.
“Yes,” Kato says vehemently. “We love you.”
I snort wetly. “You just had to get in there first, didn’t you?”
“Hey, I said ‘we’, didn’t I?”
“Do you think you’ll ever get bored of annoying him?” Cas asks Kato.
“No,” I answer. “He won’t. Irritation is his love language.”
Cas sucks his lower lip into his mouth. He looks like himself again. “I love you both, too. Who knew I’d find my perfect mates while passed out naked in the middle of a field?”
“We’ll always find you,” Kato tells him. “No matter where you end up.”
Noise has us turning in unison to the door.
Several shifters flood into the barn. I tense as I count their number, but Patrick and Rabbie file in with them.
They seem almost jovial as they elbow each other to get to the front of the crowd.
Robin appears, walking beside an alpha who looks to be at least seventy— his greying hair the only real sign of his age, though, as his body looks as solid as my own.
There’s a collective flinch from the group at the sight of Bash’s dead body. A beat passes, then two, where it feels like all the air’s been sucked right out of the room. And then—
“Alpha,” Robin says, baring his neck to me. It causes a ripple effect, every shifter around him doing the same. Alphas, betas, and omegas. All submitting to me as their new pack leader.
I lean hard against Kato, pressing my lips to his ear so nobody can hear my words.
“I really, really need you to hold me up right now. If you let go, I’m going to collapse right in front of our new packmates.
” The effects of the drug are lingering, my limbs heavy and my head muddy with slow thoughts and delayed decisions.
Whether I can stay conscious beyond the next five minutes is anyone’s guess.
“Can’t have you falling over, can we, Alpha?” he murmurs, a note of welcome humour in his voice.
Robin’s partner steps forward. “Welcome, Alpha…” he trails off, so I fill in the blank.
“Nathan Ross.” I nod to Kato and Cas. “I’d like you all to officially meet my mates, Kato McLeod and Cas Blackwood.”
“Cas Ross-McLeod,” Cas corrects firmly.
No other feeling comes close to the satisfaction of him claiming our names aloud.
“Cas Ross-McLeod,” I repeat, my words imbued with fresh strength.
“Well met,” the alpha says. “I’m Duncan. I believe you’ve met my mate, Robin.”
I incline my head. “He was a great help.” I cast my gaze over the crowd. “If any of you are still loyal to your previous alpha, I’d advise a quick exit.”
Nobody so much as twitches, but I notice that James has disappeared. Good riddance.
“We’re yours now, Alpha Ross,” Duncan says.
“Adrian!” Cas gasps.
I whirl, worry tightening my throat before it’s replaced with relief when I see the omega is sitting up. But his eyes are filled with rare tears, and that’s when Robin’s words come back to me.
I caught sight of only two.
“Niall?” I ask on a breath, hardly wanting to say his name aloud for fear of the response I believe is coming.
Adrian’s expression shatters. Any hold he has on his emotions slips, and despite the pain I’m in, despite my injuries and my bleeding wounds, I’m there by his side in an instant.
He doesn’t need to confirm it with words; Niall’s fate is written all over his face, stitched in every tear running down his cheeks.
I cradle the omega to me as he breaks, sobs wracking his body. Retracting my claws, I place a gentle hand on the nape of his neck and lean down to rub my cheek against his messy hair, scenting him, offering the only kind of comfort I know how.
I catch Kato and Cas watching us, their faces a mixture of shock and concern. Neither of them knew Niall the way I did. And none of us knew him how Adrian did.
Words escape me. I don’t know what to say to any of them to make this better.
I can only console Adrian as Kato lifts Cas from the gurney and brings him over, setting him beside Adrian.
It means I can wrap my arms around both the smaller shifters.
It also helps me from breaking down as I witness Adrian’s agony.
My heart aches for him, especially with mine currently so full. It’s cruel and unfair and I wish there was more I could do than hold him tight.
I don’t need all the details, and I doubt I’ll ever get them. All I know is that this is my first test as a new pack leader. “You don’t have to go back to Declan,” I tell Adrian. “Stay with us. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
He makes a quiet noise of affirmation between sniffles. For the moment it’s enough.
With Kato beside me, nuzzling into my side and keeping me upright, with Cas in one arm and Adrian in the other, with the power of a pack behind me, I feel reborn.
Pack Alpha. The rightness of it settles in my bones. Whether it’s destiny or fate or simply a series of accidents that have led me here, I don’t care. I have my pack. I have my best friend.
Most importantly, I have my mates. And I’ll never let them go again.