Chapter 62
sixty-two
The white flash of Violet’s jaws is the only thing that could possibly distract me from the agony tearing up my insides.
I have half a second of gaping dismay before impulse takes over. I don’t even see Violet or Gideon anymore. I see my omegas. Specifically, the fact that one of them is about to be claimed by someone else.
Instinct overrides every rational thought. I stagger into motion, pure roaring urgency shoving me forward.
I’m not the only one. As her open mouth sails straight toward Gideon’s outstretched hand, Finn and Ryker react, too.
Along with my prince.
A cacophony of whines and growls reverberates through the small, rounded room. My teeth find purchase and sink deep. Only—I realize, my brain blinking back online—I’m not biting Violet.
Gideon is.
While she and I bite him.
There isn’t time to unriddle the repercussions, here. In another flash of dazzling white, Finn digs his claim into Violet’s bare hip, hitting scant milliseconds after Ryker brands the curve of her shoulder.
Gideon whimpers as he pulls off her neck, his lips stained red. Gray eyes flit to the bite she placed on his wrist, just below the beaded bracelet she made him. His other hand flies to the claim I buried on his nape, tracing my mark.
It’s really there.
Two crimson half-moons, embedded into the spot I’ve dreamed of marking since the first day he got on his knees for me and let me cup the back of his head while he swallowed my cock.
The memories blur together. My former office; an attic full of pencil sketches. Beads and angry red bites. A girl on a cot. Stormy silver eyes. Golden waves on a worn wood floor. Lightning, illuminating both their faces while they tangled their bodies together.
A new strand unfurls inside me. Anchored to the place beside Violet’s incomplete tether. One thought materializes from my bleary disbelief.
Holy God. I actually bit him.
I don’t comprehend how it all happened so fast—can’t think with so much pain still snapping at my insides—but I know enough to understand that this isn’t possible.
I already have a bond with an omega. How could Gideon be right there beside her?
Another series of cries echo through the rounded room.
Finn groans, catching himself with one hand on the mattress just as his cock sprays all over Violet’s lap.
Ryker keeps his face hidden against his mate’s shoulder, pressing a serrated sound there as he douses her ass with his own release.
Both of them breathe hard, squeezing their eyes shut as their own half-finished circuits snap into place.
The anguish ripping through my gut begins to burn. I can barely focus on anything, but a new, bright light glimmers next to the source of my pulsing pain. I follow the gleaming strand, stumbling down it like a dying man drifting toward the light.
And it leads… to Gideon.
He’s staring at Violet, his eyes impossibly large as he blinks repeatedly.
“Vi,” he breathes. “How did you—I can feel you, sweet girl. I can… hear you.”
My Alpha is essentially lying among smoldering ash, but he manages a low growl. Knowing he’s supposed to be able to hear his omegas, too.
Ryker must feel the same possessiveness, because he snarls when I do. Finn doesn’t join in, but his next moan is distinctly desperate. “Violet, please. Bite me back, baby. I want to feel you so badly. Please.”
The little omega wobbles as she bends forward and nudges her nose against Gideon’s bicep, trying to alert him to something. He cups her face, ignoring the thin line of blood trickling down his forearm from her bite.
“You brilliant, beautiful girl,” he praises, kissing her quickly. Scent-marking her. “I can really hear you.” Their eyes meet, and Gideon’s cock jumps between them. Slick pours from his ass as he swallows hard. “I got it, love. I’ll take care of it.”
The ripping, searing agony twists tighter, strangling my next growl. Gideon squeezes my hand, urgency snapping in his light eyes. “I know, babe. Just… trust me?”
Trust me.
I hold onto those words with everything I have. I do trust him, of course—and Violet. It still doesn’t make it any easier to breathe when he turns to the others. “Ryker. She needs to bite you next.”
The big alpha immediately snatches Violet into his arms. He spins the two of them away from us, laying her beneath his body as she whimpers and bucks. His hips answer instantly, impaling her on his knot in one smooth snap.
She shrieks as he fucks her, popping the thick swell in and out of her clenching cunt.
Honeysuckle perfume washes over us. The half-bond pulls tighter, screaming, as Ryker rubs his nose along his fresh claim and stretches up, balancing with his hands on either side of her head.
Presenting her with his scarred pectoral—the place just above his heart.
They don’t need any words. Violet sees the striped skin and strikes, sinking her brand into the thick muscle ticking over his pounding pulse. Ryker howls, shoving into her one final time. His knot locks them together, and they both come, clinging to each other, mouthing their respective marks.
When Ryker shudders and hunkers down, Gideon grins, muttering, “Holy shit. She’s a genius.”
I still can’t figure out why. I only know his half-finished tether sparkles with awe. But, like he said, I trust him. Even when he nudges Finn next.
I’m shocked our packmate respectfully waits his turn. He drifts closer immediately, but pauses until Ryker eventually huffs a deep breath and rolls over, presenting our mate with a begrudging wave. Finn is too busy gazing at Violet to notice. Absorbing whatever he sees in her black eyes.
“Hi, firefly,” he whispers, stretching alongside her. “My turn?”
Violet whimpers. His features crack, and he wraps his arms around her. “Come here. You want my knot while you sink those pretty teeth into me? You can have anything, honey.”
Our mate squirms as Finn works himself into her cunt. He doesn’t take her the same way Ryker did, though. His undulations are fluid and thorough, stretching her in every conceivable way before he finally pops his knot into place.
Violet moans while he grunts. She runs her bleary gaze over his chest and shoulders with a quiet whine. Finn’s throat bobs. He slows his thrusts. “Could you… do it here?” he asks, pointing to the very front of his neck. “Where everyone will always be able to see it?”
I wonder whether he’s thinking about his life before her. The never-ending parade of women and tuxedos and tabloid scandals. Having Violet’s bite front and center means no one will ever think he’s available again.
And that’s exactly what he wants.
I sense the longing in every line of his body. His muscles tremble, holding him steady while Violet’s Omega considers his plea. She finally angles her head and sails forward, biting him with a breathless keen. Finn curses, every muscle stiffening as he fills her with cum.
“Fuck, honey,” he sniffs, his voice dangerously close to a sob as he pulls her on top of him. He runs his lips along her forehead. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”
Beside me, Gideon chews the inside of his cheek, holding back tears of his own. A swell of bittersweet satisfaction bursts in his chest.
And it suddenly hits me in a whole new way.
I can feel his emotions.
I can really feel him.
Awe joins the anguish blaring through my center. Gideon must sense it, because he stops stroking my back and meets my eyes. “I know,” he whispers. “But it gets better.” He glances back at Violet. “Our girl knows exactly what to do.”
My mate hears him and noses at Finn. He grins, nodding shakily. “Okay, honey. I know you’re not done yet.” His voice drops into a low rumble as his knot deflates. “Brilliant, perfect girl.”
He kisses down her naked body, pausing to lick the half-moons he left on her hip before slanting Gideon a look. “You first?”
“All of us,” Gideon replies, resolve hardening his features. He presses his palms to my shoulders, guiding me backward, onto an artfully arranged stack of pillows.
Christ, I haven’t even gotten a chance to look around. With the pain scorching our half-bond, I didn’t notice Violet’s nest setup.
This particular pile of cushions puts me on my ass, with my legs stretched straight and my spine reclined at a forty-five-degree angle. I try not to clench my fists when Gideon straddles my thighs; God knows I want him—but I also need to give Violet my knot.
“I know, love,” my little prince rasps. “Just one more minute.”
Everything inside me lurches as he lowers himself onto my screaming cock. My pulsing veins sing as his slick squelches around me. I grit my teeth, desperate to thrust, but Gid hovers there with his tight, muscled ass skewered on my girth. Opening his arms for Finn to hand him Violet.
She trembles and whines until his eyes land on hers. “Pretty, sweet girl,” he croons. “You want this omega cock?”
Fucking. Hell.
He’s going to lay her on top of me. And fuck her… while I fuck him.
Their plan snaps into place, blindsiding me with a rush of white-hot lust. Shredding the final threads of my control. Gideon senses my intent and moves.
He’s quick, snatching my branded wrist at the same second he slides into Violet’s pussy. His thrust shoves her up my chest. He wraps her hair around his free hand and pins her head to the side, exposing the brand he left on her neck.
Knowing it will mesmerize me long enough for him to sink his teeth into the blank space beside Violet’s accidental bite.
My reaction is visceral. As I watch him break her thin skin, all my violent need erupts. I lunge and strike, claiming Violet with a definite snap. Marking the spot directly above Gideon’s bite.
For a moment, there’s only terrible, ringing stillness.
The pain pulling me apart collapses. So quickly and completely, I have to wonder whether it’s truly gone… or just holding its breath.
But, then…
A spark.
Just one, at first. Then another. And another.
A dozen. A thousand. Until the pinpricks of light feel infinite. Innumerable embers, floating through midnight blue.
The two tethers latched into my soul twist. Twining into one. Turning gold.
The new strand glows, stretching from my center to Violet’s… and Gideon’s. Because they’re braided together, now.
I’ve read a hundred descriptions of pack bonds and the magical middle ground only omegas can create. None of them came close to doing this justice, though.
The space at the other end of my golden bridge isn’t just a circle or a blank spot. It’s an oasis. Velvet twilight. Twinkling stars and a warm summer breeze. Violet’s wildflowers, Gideon’s elegant wrought-iron gazebo. They’re interwoven, forming a rounded fence of sorts.
One that has a gate for me… and four others.
The swarm of sparks drifts through each open portal, threading my bond into the vine-covered enclosure. Linking the circuits beyond each gate. Looping them into a single, beautiful tangle.
Our tangle.
It stretches over the secret alcove, arching into a glittering trellis. Banding Ryker, Finn, Gideon, Violet, and me into one cohesive piece. With individual links between each of us…
And this.
A central pack bond.
With both of my omegas.