Chapter 16
Opal
The door closed behind us as Atlas carried me to his room, not mine.
Totally fine by me.
I slid down the hard planes of his hips and chest as he set me on my feet.
Those weren’t the only hard parts of him.
The length of his massive cock pressed through his jeans against my stomach. He was as affected by my pheromones as me. Fated mates’ biology was no joke. This was the strongest my heat had ever come on. I needed him. Now.
The wolf burning in his eyes called to my beast. His leathery, earthy scent was so strong that I wanted to bathe in it.
Too many clothes, my wolf barked.
I stepped back and tugged the thermal knit shirt around his waist, exposing a sliver of tanned skin and muscled curve of his lower stomach.
He caught my wrist before I could see more. “We should talk.”
Too many words. My wolf shook her head.
I growled my agreement, but I wouldn’t break the rules. I’d let him lead.
Atlas walked me backwards, deeper into his room. I was hoping he’d keep going straight to his bed. The back of my legs hit the couch and I sat.
This’ll do. My wolf sent an image of me leaning over the arm of the couch, giving Atlas full room to play. I’d bet those rough hands would feel so right. He stood before me, not moving.
I reached up to unhook his belt buckle.
“Stop.” Atlas growled as he stepped away. “I’m not mating you.”
What did we do wrong?
My bottom lip trembled as I looked up at him. “Why?”
“Not tonight,” Atlas hurried to say as he began to pace. “This is all happening so fast. I can’t mate you tonight. And definitely not when you smell like him.”
The disgust in his tone when speaking about Dorian should’ve made me angry, but a sick and twisted part of myself liked this dominant jealous vibe.
Maybe I should’ve taken the Omega council up on their offer for a psychologist session, because I knew more than anyone how messed up that sounded.
But I’d deal with it later. Just as soon as I filled this hollow ache in my core.
I bit my lip, thinking. “I could shower if you’d like.”
Atlas’s eyes widened as he looked past me to his bedroom and the shower beyond. I could tell by his warming scent that he liked the idea.
“You can make me smell like you,” I pressed.
His nostrils flared as his pupils dilated, but he took a cautious step back. “No. We need to talk.”
Damn his self-control. My wolf panted.
Normally, I enjoyed the tease and chase just as much as the next unmated wolf.
But you can’t kidnap a girl and not deliver.
“We can talk after you fuck me,” I offered.
Atlas shook his head, using his voice like a whip. “Not until we work this out.”
“Fine,” I whispered, lowering my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see the torment I inflicted play across his face. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Are we…” He started, stopped, then sputtered. “You and him? Are you?”
Controlled Atlas was hot, but so was this flustered version of him.
I smiled softly. “You know what I am, right?”
“An Omega.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “My Omega.”
“Is that what your wolf says?” I asked. Not that I didn’t already have an idea of that answer, but I wanted to hear someone say it. That I was theirs.
Told you it’d be romantic to hear.
“You’re mine,” he growled, leaving no room for argument which caused my heat to flare again. “But you can’t be his.”
And he might as well have doused me with ice water.
“You said you know what I am.” My stomach twisted in knots as if I was on a roller-coaster watching the car about to derail from the tracks. Powerless. Unmated Omega. My mom’s curse handed down like an ugly wedding dress no one wanted to wear.
“I do,” he said.
I wished there was a playbook for this.
With tears in my eyes, I blinked up at Atlas. “I need more than one mate.”
“And I will find a better one for you,” Atlas promised. “But it won’t be him.”
At least he’s okay with sharing, but this is some twisted romance story.
Hush. He’s serious.
I stared at him, willing him to understand, even as my body physically ached for his touch, for him to close the distance between us and take me into his hands.
“My wolf thinks…” Knows. “My wolf knows you’re my fated mate,” I said.
The air hissed through Atlas’s teeth as he dropped on his knees before me.
I wanted to reach out, but I couldn’t let my heat take control.
Or you could…
“Are you sure?” he whispered as if afraid to speak out loud.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I said. “But at the same time, my wolf knows that Dorian is also my fated mate.”
“I just don’t understand.” Atlas turned his face away. “How is this possible? Dorian, of all shifters? I can’t. My pack won’t be able to handle it.”
I let his reasons and excuses wash over me, feeling the repressed memories surface. The cold snow. My mom rushing me outside to a waiting car. The smoke of the exhaust. Mascara tears running down her face. The smooth skin of her unmarked neck. An Alpha roaring in pain somewhere.
“I should go.” I pushed off the couch in a daze.
“Opal, no.” Atlas caught my hand. “Don’t leave me.”
I tugged my fingers free, not wanting to give him my touch when it’d soothe him. And that was the first time I’d ever done so willingly.
Part of me wanted him to hurt. This wasn’t fair. All the stories of Omegas, of what we were supposed to be. They’d fed me dreams of fairy tales. He wasn’t playing by the rules. Not that I expected him to, but I’d hoped…
“I’m sorry.” Atlas moved to block my escape. “You smell so good and it’s hard to think around you. I’m saying everything wrong tonight, but you are mine. Don’t walk out this door hating me.”
Fire licked my veins as I clutched my stomach, trying to stop the hollow ache from consuming me whole. “Say it again.”
“Say what?” He licked his lips as he caught the back of my neck, forcing me to look into his eyes. “That I’m sorry? Did I say that yet? I meant to.”
“No.” I laughed a little. “The part where you said I’m yours.”
His wolf flashed in his eyes as understanding dawned. Something mixed between an Alpha purr and a growl built in his chest. “You’re mine.”
Then his lips crashed over my lips, claiming me with his kiss. The heat in my skin burned under his touch as my soul tried to leave through my gasping breath, eager to please and merge with his.
He kissed like I’d never been kissed. It was full of promises. Of demands. It left me aching and needing and full of hope all at the same time.
The best first kiss of my entire life.
It was broken by a knock on the door and snarling coming from the other side.
“Open up, fucker! I know you’re in there. If you touch her, I will kill you.”