Chapter 24 Talon
“Fuck, I can’t wait anymore!” Ryker complained, restless as usual.
“Be patient,” I said, not revealing how tightly wound I was too. Hours had passed and my barely contained wolf's composure grew fragile as Rowan’s heat scent thickened in the air. All I could think about was rutting her.
But we needed to take turns standing guard. Even with the barricaded doors, we had no idea what was lurking in the base, and had to remain vigilant. Our omega was extremely vulnerable right now. The unit agreed to two-person guard shifts, rotating back and forth with Rowan until her heat broke.
Ryker kept drifting down the hall, lingering near dorm seven, his focus divided.
“Fuckkkk, Tally,” he groaned as he peeked inside the makeshift nesting room.
Killian must have noticed, because a territorial growl echoed from within. There was no way he planned to share with anyone but Cade, so Ryker didn't bother asking.
“It’s your own fault. You’re torturing yourself,” I said evenly. “Stop watching and focus on keeping her safe. It’ll be our turn soon enough.”
Lately, Rowan’s thoughts had been slipping through less frequently as she learned to shut me out better. But with her inhibitions stripped away during heat, the barriers she usually held in place were gone, and I had access to her unfiltered mind again.
Every thought came through scattered and unfocused. Raw sensations rather than words, driven by lust instead of reason. Need, hunger, and desperation tangled together, overwhelming her.
Feels so good. So good. More. More. I need more.
Hearing the inner monologue made it even harder to maintain my composure. Our shifter bond fed her every lustful desire straight into me, stoking the wolf and pushing my control to its limits. Every fragmented thought made the urge to touch her, to rut her, that much harder to ignore.
Soon, her needy thoughts quieted, and her mind grew still.
A short time later, Killian emerged from the nesting room, followed by Cade.
Both of them looked feral, their skin slick with sweat, pupils blown wide.
It was clear the rut had overtaken them, and neither looked like they wanted to leave our omega.
They must have forced themselves to turn her over to us, working against every instinct they possessed. Especially Killian, whose nature was to hoard.
“Rowan will be asleep for a short time,” Cade said. “But when she wakes, she’ll need a lot more. Her heat is powerful because it was so delayed.”
“How long do you think we can afford to stay here?” I asked, voicing my concern. “This location is too unsecure and close to base. If her heat began while we were traveling, the Arca hounds will have no trouble tracking us once command realizes we’re gone.”
“I agree. We don’t have long,” Cade said. “We need to break her heat. Quickly. I wish we had more time, enough to keep her comfortable and let her work through it on her own terms, but this isn’t safe.”
“What do you need from us, boss?” Ryker asked, with a toothpick dangling from the corner of his lips.
“Pain,” Cade answered simply, meeting my eyes. “It’s an effective way to quell a heat early. Give her pleasure first, then smother it. We’ll have to leave by morning if we want to reach the safe house before Arca tracks us.”
I nodded, my mind skimming the few items I had made space for in my pack. Rope. The nipple clamps. A small plug and a vibrator. No paddle or whip though. There wasn't enough room. My gaze flicked to Ryker’s belt. Perfect.
He caught me looking and grabbed his dick, winking.
I should have rolled my eyes.
Instead, heat curled low in my gut.
Ever since that moment in my room, his body pressed to mine, his hand teasing where I was already straining, something between us had shifted. Friendship, respect, and something sharper, more dangerous, balanced on a thin edge.
Ryker had always stood by me, loudly and without hesitation. He defended me against the whispers, the looks, and the people who considered me broken, wrong, or a freak. Long before Rowan, he had helped me feel seen instead of isolated. More like I belonged.
But he was chaos incarnate. Reckless, unfiltered, and everything I wasn’t.
I lived by control and restraint, by rules and walls.
Ryker laughed at them, challenged every boundary, and dared me to step outside myself.
Some part of me, the part I kept locked down tight, wanted to let down my guard around him.
And even deeper, some part of me wanted more than friendship.
I didn’t know if he felt it too, or if I was reading too much into his easy touches and lazy smiles. He flirted with everyone. But sometimes, when his gaze held mine and the humor slipped, something heavier settled between us.
I felt it again as we walked down the hall toward our omega. Ryker glanced back, our eyes locking. For just a second, the noise fell away.
And the pull was undeniable.
We stopped in front of room seven, both of us hovering in the doorway. Rowan had hissed at Ryker like a feral cat earlier when he tried to enter without her invitation. The nesting room was an omega’s space, and alphas had to play by their rules.
In the low light, I saw Rowan curled up on the mattresses, buried beneath a mountain of blankets and pillows.
Our scent must have announced our presence, jarring her from her light rest. She scented the air, eyes opening, sleepy at first, then sharpening as her attention fixed on us. Her pupils expanded.
She looked back and forth between us and released a desperately needy sound.
“Does that mean you want us to come into your nest and play with you, Kitten?” Ryker asked teasingly.
She nodded fast and eagerly.
“Use words, Pet. I enjoy hearing you vocalize what you want.”
“Please come into my nest,” she said through lowered lashes.
Ryker did not need to be told twice. He was already half naked by the time he reached her, tackling Rowan into the nest, kissing her neck and pawing at her heavy breasts. She moaned, making the same tortured, desperate sound as before.
I stalked forward, slowly removing my clothes as both of their attentions turned to me. In the low light, I could see pure hunger on their faces.
Ryker whispered into Rowan’s ear as my shirt came off. “Look at him. All abs and tattoos. He’s a mean, lean, wolf machine,” he said with a chuckle.
Rowan whimpered, clawing at Ryker, trying to pull his hands down her body to her cunt. Her eyes stayed on me, fixed on my hard knot. I had never seen our pet so lost in instinct before. Rowan always fought her omega urges, so it was beautiful to watch her let go like this.
"Shhh, we're both going to knot you, Kitten. Do you want that? Do you want both of us inside you, together?" Ryker murmured low in her ear.
That needy sound left her again, her head shaking up and down.
"Words, Pet. Let us hear you say it."
"Yes, please, please, please," she chanted, completely overcome by need.
"I call her ass, you can have her pussy," Ryker said, already collecting slick from her soaking core and using it to lubricate her tight back hole.
"That's fine. I want to watch her face when you split her virgin hole. It's going to hurt at first."
Rowan looked up at me, acknowledging my desire to watch her in pain, with bright blue eyes, soft swollen lips, and pure desire.
"You're fucking depraved; I love it." Ryker laughed.
I shrugged. They both knew what I needed, how I satiated my hunger. I didn't have to hide my unconventional desires from them. Rowan was made for me, made to fit my strange mold. And Ryker… maybe he was too.
"Wait!" Rowan called out, panting. She seemed to find clarity in the fog of heat for a moment. Sitting upright and glancing between Ryker and me.
"Yes, Pet?"
"I want something first. Before you both knot me. Ryker owes me a favor and he promised!" She choked out.
A knowing smile curled at the edges of my lips, as the image of Rowan's fantasy entered my mind, slipping across our bond.
"Kitten! You always have so many conditions! Okay, okay, tell me exactly what I promised you… since you refused to inform me before I agreed to your terms!"
She hesitated, looking at me for reassurance. Her teeth found her bottom lip, pulling it into her mouth and chewing nervously.
"Words, Pet," I reminded her.
"I want… a kiss."
Ryker burst out laughing. "A kiss!? That's it? We kiss all the time! Easy. Done! Come here and pucker up," he said, reaching for her, but she put her hand on his chest.
"Not me… Talon."
Ryker's laughter stopped abruptly, and a devious smirk slid across his dimpled face. "Ah, how could I forget about your little fantasy! You want to watch us kiss each other?"
Her face was beet-red, as her head nodded up and down slightly.
Ryker looked at me questioningly, and I shrugged. "If our pet wants to watch, let's give her a show," I said evenly, despite my dick pulsing in anticipation.
Rowan leaned back against a few pillows as Ryker moved towards me, the mattresses dipping under his weight as he got closer.
Across from us, our omega's thighs dropped open, putting her core on display.
"If we give you a show, Tally and I want one too, Kitten. Touch that tight little pussy for us. I want to watch you squirt slick while you watch us kiss," Ryker teased her, his hands reaching for me, and tracing my tattooed abs, then the "V" of my hips. My dick strained, hardening even more.
Rowan's hands started at her chest, pinching her rosy nipples, then gliding down her soft stomach, past her belly button, and resting on her slit.
Her thighs widened even more, parting her core, and two small fingers dipped inside her wet heat.
Her back arched, head tilting back, but her eyes stayed locked on us, staring through damp lashes.