Chapter 61
sixty-one
I thought I would feel panicked when Violet fell into her haze. Instead, getting my omega into our nest turns out to be as natural as breathing.
At least, for me.
The alphas are sort of losing it.
Finn stumbles as he hops on one foot, trying to peel his boxers off the other. At the opposite end of the Omega Suite’s bed, Ryker paces in tight, naked circles.
Atlas is the most surprising, though. After the calm, competent way he’s handled every heat we’ve completed together, I never expected to see him frazzled.
I didn’t think about the fact that those heats were done in clinics, where we simply showed up.
Here, I have to guide him through each step of the nest prep process.
He listens admirably, marching in and out of the suite with whatever I tell him we need.
Meanwhile, I keep Violet folded in my lap. She whimpers and twitches, inhaling my perfume in gulps. As I hoped, the scent seems to soothe her. Especially since this room is currently teeming with alpha stress.
I hitch her closer, cranking my purr as loud as it will go. “Everyone pause,” I bark quietly, sliding Finn and Ryker sobering looks. “I know neither of you have done this before. But all you have to do is focus on Violet. And, right now, she really shouldn’t be bombarded with your anxiety.”
Finn takes my advice instantly. His sculpted shoulders slump as he stares at his mate, blowing out a deep breath. He drags in another, attempting to center himself.
Ryker freezes, too, but his hands fist. “Scared,” he grunts, half-choked. “Don’t want to—let my Alpha out. Hurt you.”
God, the poor guy. Hiding my pity, I quirk a sardonic look at him instead of a frown. “You really think Atlas would ever allow that?”
The question has my desired effect. His posture loosens slightly, though his eyes stay wary. “No,” he grinds out.
“Right.” I nod. “You just need to let your Alpha knot her. You guys have done that a bunch, and your Alpha always behaves, right?”
His balled hands slacken. “Yeah.”
Perfect time for a distraction. “Good. Here. Carry her in.”
The omega in my arms whimpers, nuzzling my throat. My heart flips and soars. I cup the back of her head, gathering her hair so it doesn’t stick to her sweaty neck.
“I know, baby,” I murmur, meaning it with every fiber of my being. “I know it hurts. I’m going to make sure these alphas give you everything you need. Can your big lion take you into our nest? I left all the pillows just the way you arranged them this morning.”
A glimmer of interest shines in her blown-out pupils. I have to resist the urge to chuckle, wondering if this is what Atlas means when he says I’m adorable during my heats.
Violet whines again, whipping her head to look for Ryker. He lumbers over and carefully takes his mate from me, folding her into his shaking arms. The second she settles, I watch him settle, too. He gazes down at her flushed face, his intense eyes softening.
“Hi, daisy,” he roughs out. “Can I go into your nest?”
Her answering nod is as enthusiastic as it is uncoordinated. Finn smiles while he joins them, humming, “I bet someone wants a knot while she waits for Daddy.”
Violet keens and wriggles toward him. My best friend grins, squeezing one of her hands and kissing her palm. “Two knots?” he bursts, pretending she spoke her wordless request out loud. “Okay, honey, if you insist…”
He and Ryker bundle Violet into the nest. I watch just long enough to see Finn guiding her onto her hands and knees so Ryker can slide into her pussy from behind.
Her breathy moans begin, rising higher with every thrust. I snap into action, but by the time I collect the alphas’ worn shirts, I’m dribbling slick down my legs.
My peripheral vision clocks movement at the suite’s door. I turn in time to catch Atlas leaning against the jamb, watching me with heated tenderness all over his face.
“Hi, little prince.”
God. Will my stomach flip every time he says that? Forever?
I kind of hope so.
Instead of showing him how melty he makes me, I cock a stern look. Scolding him as he approaches. “Babe, we’ve been waiting for you, and Violet needs—mmphf.”
Atlas sweeps me into a merciless kiss. Plunging hard and deep. Collaring my throat. Sending tingles to my toes until my head starts to swim. He pulls back just as quickly, clasping the nape of my neck and staring into me. “I could not love anyone more than I love you, Gideon.”
Ah, fuck.
Tears spring to my eyes. I studiously blink them back, biting my lower lip. “I love you, too, At. You know you’re—”
Everything to me.
He stays locked in. “And you’re certain? You want me to claim her? Tell me the truth.”
His bark is gentle, but utterly impossible to ignore. I swallow hard. My eyes fall shut as I search my center, finding a bright strand of certainty and holding fast.
“Yes,” I whisper. Because it’s true. “I want to be yours. And I want her to be ours.”
Two things can be true.
He doesn’t say it, this time. I suppose he doesn’t have to anymore. It’s part of me, now. The same way both he and Violet are inked into my soul.
Atlas smiles. Pride and adoration gleam in his dark eyes, gilded by smoldering possession. “I’m going to get you what you want, little prince—what we both want.”
A pinch of pain gathers between his brows, just before Violet shrieks. I hear Finn soothing her, followed by Ryker’s low snarl. Urgency snaps in my blood. “Come on,” I mutter, grabbing Atlas’s wrist. “You have to go to her.”
Our alpha agrees, striding through the nest’s entrance and waiting for me to dash in behind him. He locks the door securely. We both turn in time to witness Ryker catching Violet.
She wilts with his knot inside her, but her expression doesn’t relax. Her limp body shakes violently, vibrating in his burly arms.
Shit.
Part of me was braced for this. Most omegas either have very mild first heats… or pretty extreme ones.
At my back, Atlas stiffens. A visible jolt moves through him. Air punches out of his lungs on a grunt. I tug his wrist, pulling him into the recessed mattress. Intent on getting him as close to Violet as possible.
Ryker’s Alpha must sense how desperate his mate is, because his knot releases as quickly as it filled her. The second it slips free, Violet clings to him, carving scratches over his shoulders. His scent darkens dangerously, but he trembles through a deep exhale.
“I’m here, daisy,” he rasps. “Still right here. What do you need, huh? Your pack alpha? His bite?”
Violet keens louder, scrambling backward, onto her hands and knees. Her eyes are blank as she blindly sweeps them around the room, searching. I start to shove Atlas forward, but he gnashes his teeth, pain shattering his features as he shakes his head.
“It’s not—me,” he manages to scrape out. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but when Ryker mentioned me biting her, she… panicked. There’s something else. Something missing.”
Violet senses his upset and begins hyperventilating. A vicious curse cracks out of Finn while Atlas shudders. I mold my hand to his jaw, anxiously running my gaze over his body. “Are you just feeling her heat cramps or is it—?”
“The half-bond.” Atlas pauses, gasping. “It’s—pulling.”
Fuck, this is what the doctors said would happen if she didn’t let Atlas seal their circuit. The other alphas hover over her trembling form. Finn scoops her up onto her knees, angling her toward Atlas and me. “Right there, baby,” he coaxes. “He’s right here for you. Just let him bite you back and—”
Her next whine is almost a scream. I don’t understand it, but it’s a clear sound of protest. Atlas nearly doubles over, clutching his center. Panic rears high in my chest.
After all this… is she rejecting him?
“Bite her,” I tell my alpha, practically begging. “Please, babe, I can’t watch both of you in pain.”
He grits his teeth, hissing an exhale. “Not until she—wants it.”
How could she not want it? Her Omega ought to be fucking frantic to seal this bond. And Violet loves Atlas. I see the yearning written all over her face when she looks at him, even now.
She does want his bite, but she’s bouncing in place. Holding herself back.
Which means there must be something she needs more.
It can’t be a knot. Ryker’s just released, and there are two others she could pounce on if she wanted them. It has to be… what?
She releases another Earth-shattering whine.
The alphas growl and flinch, their musk and aggression exploding through the room.
Visceral fear tilts through me, but my Omega doesn’t cower or screech this time.
Instead, he pours his determination into me, settling my stomach.
I crawl to Violet, catching her shoulders as she slumps forward on panted breaths.
“Hey,” I murmur, low. “Hey, sweet girl. It’s me, your omega. Tell me what you want from our alpha and I’ll get it for you, huh? What is it? What do you need before you can let him bite you?”
Violet’s black eyes lurch to my face. Her squirming ceases. She turns her head and lunges.
Snapping her teeth right over my wrist.