28. Saint
Saint sat on the overstuffed sofa with Loch, watching as their mates reunited on the other side of the wraparound sofa. He’d imagined the two would be exhausted after their heats and the claiming bites. Both could sap strength for a few days. He thought they’d say hello, maybe snuggle, then sleep for however many hours it took until they recovered.
He was most definitely wrong.
“I missed you,” Seth whispered against Fen’s lips. “These bites are so hot. You’re so hot. I missed you so much. You smell incredible.”
“So do you. I want to taste you everywhere,” Fenny told him, straddling his lap, rolling his hips rhythmically.
Saint hadn’t anticipated his omega’s enthusiastic greeting of his best friend. He certainly hadn’t anticipated it happening in the living room, on the sofa, with their mates less than three feet away.
He wasn’t complaining. If anything, he was fighting the urge to join them, not that either seemed like they would mind. Loch seemed to be having the same problem beside him, adjusting himself as he watched the two, already half-hard in his sweats. Should he offer the other alpha a hand? Probably not. They might miss something and the scene unfolding before them was far too riveting to miss.
The omegas had fallen into each other’s arms immediately, fawning over their mating bites, Seth obsessing over the impossible-to-miss marks all over Fenny, determined to add his own scent to the mix.
Saint was fascinated by Fen as well, but not for the same reason. The omega’s skin was more mottled than clear. There were fingerprint-shaped bruises around his neck and on his jaw, like Loch’s fingers had bit into his flesh while holding his face. There were three more bites opposite Fen’s mating mark, overlapping, as if each time Loch had bred him, he’d latched his mouth to his neck like a feral dog. All were deep enough to break skin, making Fenny smell like iron, even though they’d scabbed over.
Those weren’t the only marks. There were hickeys behind his ears, on his chin, beneath his jaw. He had a split lip right down the center. Seth currently stared at it hungrily, tracing the swollen flesh with his thumb before his mouth replaced it, sucking the injured lip between his own, dragging a deep moan from Fen.
“Fuck, I want you,” Fen said, rolling his hips. “Feel how much?”
Seth whined, nodding, the sound going straight to Saint’s dick. “I need you to smell like me again. Your bruises are so hot. Can I take your shirt off?”
Fenny gave Loch a rueful smile. “You’ll have to ask Loch. He’s embarrassed.”
“Why?” Seth whined, sounding genuinely confused. “It’s so hot. You’re so hot.”
Saint filed Seth’s marking kink away for later as his mate lost the plot, kissing Fenny again before seeming to remember his own request. The two omegas turned big, puppy eyes on Loch. “Please, alpha?” Seth simpered, pooching out his lip.
Saint swallowed hard at the omega’s pleading eyes, adjusting himself behind his zipper. Loch licked his lower lip, giving Seth a thorough once-over, then folded like a cheap lawn chair, giving a jerky nod.
Saint smirked.
Seth was impossible to resist. Fenny, too. Resisting omegas wasn’t really in a good alpha’s nature; they were hard-wired to want to please their mates. But it did mean that they were likely going to lead them all around by their dicks. It couldn’t be helped. Their omegas were far superior to those in other packs. By miles.
Seth squealed, then clapped his hands. He peeled off Fen’s shirt reverently, gasping as he finally glimpsed his bare torso, his palms pressing to the other omega’s skin. Seth moaned, flicking his fingers over Fen’s nipples, earning a shuddering sigh from Fen. Seth turned to Saint, catching his eye as he sat forward to catch Fen’s swollen nipple between his lips, sucking until Fen moaned, hands tangling in Seth’s dark curls.
As soon as Seth returned his attention to his friend, Saint jerked his gaze to Loch, who sunk deeper into the sofa, like he hoped it might somehow absorb him.
“Clearly, we’ve kept them apart too long,” Loch said, his voice filled with phony cheer.
There was no distracting Saint from the story that unfolded along Fen’s flesh. There were more fingerprint-shaped bruises on his hips where it was obvious Loch had held Fen up to pound into him. There were too many bite marks to count. Hickeys, too. And that was just his back and his ribs. There was no telling what Seth saw, but Saint could draw a pretty fair guess from the way his mate’s lips trailed over Fen’s ribs and stomach.
Seth dumped Fenny on the couch, crawling over him, hovering above him as he settled his hips against his. Fen’s hands slipped into Seth’s already damp sweatpants as their mouths connected once more. Fuck, they were so beautiful.
“Off,” Fen muttered into Seth’s mouth, tugging at the hem of his shirt.
Seth finally dragged his greedy mouth from Fen’s just long enough for him to rid him of his shirt, their mouths reconnecting the moment it was tossed aside haphazardly.
“I want to eat you out,” Seth said, voice high and desperate, like he worried Fen would refuse him.
When he glanced at Loch, he was staring at him with a raised brow. He looked pointedly at Seth, then tilted his head in askance. Okay, yes, Seth wasn’t free of bruises or hickeys or even a bite or two of his own, but only a couple had broken the skin and Seth had begged for each one.
Had Fenny?
Did Loch’s omega have a pain kink? If so, it hadn’t come up in any of their heat/rut conversations. Seth hadn’t mentioned anything like that and the two told each other everything. Over the last few days, Saint and Seth had many in-depth talks about boundaries and comfort levels, especially when it involved other members.
Now that his little omega was mated, he was eager to be shared among the pack. Saint would be lying if he said he didn’t want to see his mate being pleasured by his pack mates and giving them pleasure in return. He was proud of Seth, knew he was so pretty when he was desperate, when he was unguarded and vulnerable and begging for what he wanted.
Like now.
He was so beautiful as he moved over Fenny, the two of them lost in each other’s scent, the taste of each other’s skin. When Seth settled on his knees, tongue dipping into Fen’s belly button, his mate looked at the two alphas questioningly, smiling at how quickly Saint and Loch nodded, neither ready for the show to end, no matter how many questions swirled inside Saint’s head.
Seth dragged Fenny’s joggers down, giving a pleased noise when he found there was no other barrier between him and Fen’s cock, which slapped against his belly wetly, hard and flushed and as pretty as he was.
Saint bit down hard on his inner cheek as Seth swallowed Fen’s cock, taking him so deep his nose pressed to the other boy’s pelvis. Fen gasped, hands fisting in Seth’s hair, hips pulsing almost against his will. He wasn’t holding Seth down, just fighting the urge to fuck up into the tight, wet heat of the other omega’s mouth. Saint could relate. Nobody else knew how fucking heavenly Seth’s mouth felt wrapped around his cock.
“I want to taste you,” Fen panted.
Saint palmed himself over his jeans, relieved to see Loch wasn’t fairing much better, but then something caught his attention. The stronger Loch’s scent grew, the less it smelled like him. Saint had been intimately familiar with Loch’s scent for almost a decade. Something was off. Wrong. Not just his scent but the…aggression.
No, not aggression…possessiveness. Not over Fenny but over all of them, this oppressive sense of ownership. It wasn’t odd for pack leaders to feel this type of thing in a bonded pack, but they weren’t bonded, not yet. But Saint could feel the way Loch was fighting the urge to assert his dominance in some way.
That wasn’t like him.
“Let’s taste each other?” Seth said, bouncing to his feet and shedding his clothes, then returning to lie on top of Fen, this time with his ass in his face as he took him back in his mouth. Fen gripped Seth’s cheeks and pulled them apart, licking over him like an ice cream cone, face already dripping with slick.
Saint wanted nothing more than to watch this but the way Loch smelled was setting off his own aggression. “Let’s talk,” Saint said, voice low.
Loch’s hand had just slipped under his t-shirt, like he was planning on sliding it into his pants. “Now?” he grunted, eyes still on the two boys.
“Mm.”
Loch glowered at him. “No.”
“Loch, we need to talk. We can do it here and ruin their reunion or over there in the corner where Fenny won’t have to listen to me ask you questions you might not want to answer in front of him. It’s your choice.”
“Are you giving me orders now? I’m your alpha,” Loch said, his words taking on a gravelly tone as his eyes flashed with a sudden anger that was nothing like the Loch he knew.
“You’re an alpha. You’re not my alpha…yet. And you won’t be if you don’t talk to me. I can taste how amped you are right now, and if they feel it, you’re going to scare them. Let’s go talk over there. You’ll still be able to keep an eye on them.”
“We don’t need to talk.”
“Are you telling me that you—who’s practically a pacifist—don’t think we need to talk about why your mate looks like a rabid wolf used him like a squeaky toy? You think this is just business as usual?”
“I’m handling it.”
“Talk now to me alone or talk to everyone in a pack meeting. Do you think Fenny wants that?” Saint asked, grasping at straws.
He needed to get some distance between the omegas and their alpha, at least until Saint could be certain he wasn’t going to tear through the two like paper dolls. They were both still too close to refuse an alpha.
With one last longing look at the two omegas, the two moved to the kitchen, which allowed them to keep them in their line of sight. A desperate cry made its way to them, echoing through the kitchen and through Saint’s head, causing his cock to press painfully where it was trapped behind his zipper.
“You’re overreacting,” Loch said the moment they were alone.
Saint rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter, grateful for the additional air purifiers Binnie had found and added to the room. Loch’s alpha was not only trying to overpower the omegas, but Saint too, flooding the room with pheromones, his irritation souring his scent to something like rotting fruit. “Cut the shit. What the hell happened during your rut?” Saint asked.
For a moment, it looked like Loch was going to fight him on this but, instead, he deflated, shaking his head. “That’s a great question,” he finally muttered. “I-I don’t really know.” Saint opened his mouth to press him further, but Loch held up a hand. “I’m serious, Joaquin. I don’t know.”
The use of his given name stopped him cold. Fuck. He frowned, wrapping a hand around Loch’s neck. He stepped forward, pressing his nose against his scent gland, breathing him in, his cock kicking behind his zipper at Loch and Fen’s combined scent still clinging to his skin. He took another deep breath, his hackles instantly rising. Before he could say anything, there was a low growl from the doorway.
They both turned to find Wolf creeping steadily towards Loch, teeth bared. The wolf practically vibrated, hackles raised, his posture aggressive, but his tail was tucked. He was spooked. Saint jerked his head to look at Loch. The other alpha’s nostrils flared, lips pulling back in a snarl that died as he seemed to come back to himself. He dropped down into a crouch, holding his hand out.
“Hey, it’s still me, boy,” Loch said, his voice a low, soothing purr. Wolf gave another low growl, inching closer. “That’s it. Smell.”
Wolf pressed his nose to Loch’s palm then jerked back, sneezing, then repeating the process, his brows low as he watched the man, guarded. Slowly, Loch advanced his other hand until it rested between Wolf’s ears, then gently carded his fingers through the wolf’s thick fur. “It’s still me,” he promised again.
Wolf whined, then flopped onto the floor, rolling over to expose his belly like a domesticated puppy. Saint watched the entire exchange from above, heart pounding as he tried to decode this mystery unfolding before him. Why had Loch mauled Fen? What was up with his scent? Why was he so aggressive? Why was Wolf suddenly afraid of him?
“Seth, call Wolf,” Saint said, noting that Fen now laid with his head on Seth’s stomach, both breathing heavily. That hadn’t taken long. They must have really missed each other. When Seth raised his head from the sofa to give Saint a sharp look, he meekly added, “Please.”
Seth melted, giving him a smile that felt a little too much like the positive reinforcement one gives a toddler when they do as they’re told. But Saint didn’t care. He’d give Seth anything. Do anything. The fact that Seth had agreed to be his forever still seemed unreal. Saint had truly thought he was destined to spend life alone in that desert.
Thanks, Josh.
His heart twisted. What would Joshy think of all this? Loch and Fen mated. Saint and Seth mated. Ollie and Deke? Binnie with San? Sure, Josh had never met the other four, but he was sure he would have loved them. He’d loved everybody. And what wasn’t there to love about them? They were perfect. All of them.
Or he was just love sick. Love sick over Seth, over his pack, over his life. But he’d never felt anything like the connection he had with Seth. Not before they’d mated and certainly not now. Seth gave him this sense of euphoria that was like a drug to him. If he could bottle the feeling, he’d be rich.
“Wolf, baby. Come see me. Come see Mama,” Seth crooned.
Saint bit back a groan at the word mama coming out of Seth’s mouth. Had it taken? Was Seth pregnant? They wouldn’t know for a while, but just the idea of it made him want to go mark him up all over again. He fought the urge to separate the two omegas so he could rub his face all over Seth’s tummy.
“You’ve got it bad,” Loch taunted, rising from his crouched position only once Wolf had gone to Seth.
Saint scoffed. “I’m not the one who mauled my mate. What the fuck happened?”
Loch sighed, then scrubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t even know,” he said again, sounding truly bewildered. “Have you ever…have you ever lost yourself during a rut? Like…literally.”
Saint’s brows knitted together as he tried to piece together Loch’s cryptic thoughts. “Like literally…what?”
“Like…has your alpha ever just taken over completely during a rut?”
“Taken over?” Saint asked, a shock of unease shivering through him.
“When my rut hit…it was like I wasn’t in control. No, not that. It was like I wasn’t there. He just took over entirely.”
Saint blinked at him, unsure what to say. What he was talking about wasn’t possible. Well, not for them. Loch, Saint, Binnie, and even San were all recessive alphas. It was common. Dominant secondary genders were rare and came with their own set of problems. And a terrible reputation for abusing and taking advantage of others.
“That only happens to dominant alphas,” Saint said, stating the obvious. “We’re recessive. Well, we don’t know about Deke yet. It’s definitely possible he’s a dominant given the oddities of his presentation and the way he seemed to affect the entire house, but not even a dominant alpha can turn a recessive alpha. That’s a step away from literal magic.”
“You saw Fen. My alpha did that to him. Without me. I’m lucky he relinquished control enough for me to claim him. The last three days are a blank for me. And I’m not going to lie, dude, I’m afraid to ask Fenny what I did to him…aside from the obvious.”
Saint shook his head. “He’s certainly not complaining. Plus, we were checking on him the whole time. Each time, he said he was fine. Sometimes, he asked for food or water to be left outside but that’s it. If he was being held against his will, why didn’t he say anything? We would have gotten him out of there.”
Loch glanced back at the sofa. Their omegas had changed positions once more, cuddling on the couch. Fenny played big spoon. Wolf was curled on the floor in front of the two with Seth lazily stroking the wolf’s fur with the two fingertips that could reach his head.
Loch turned back to him, looking a bit disturbed. “Fen didn’t want to go. He told me he loved both sides…could handle both sides of me. That he didn’t mind being used by my alpha, no matter how violent it got. And from the looks of it, it got pretty violent.”
Loch’s already off scent soured further, setting Saint’s teeth on edge. Their alpha was swimming in guilt. It made Saint want to throw him onto a bed and force the whole pack into a puppy pile until he smelled right again.
“You think it’s Deke’s rut?” Saint asked, knowing that didn’t make a lick of sense. Not really.
“Part of me is saying it’s impossible, but another part is saying there’s no other logical explanation. It can’t possibly be a coincidence. Besides, forget why it happened. It’s not something that should be able to happen at all. Fuck, we need Ollie.”
The door to the backyard opened, Binnie poking his head in, giving Saint and Loch a hard look. “Is it over?”
“Debatable?” Saint muttered. When Binnie frowned, Saint said, “Just get in here.”
Binnie dropped his and San’s bags beside the door, then moved aside for the other alpha to enter. San’s eyes went to the mating bites on each of their necks, then sniffed the air before making for the sofa, lying across the top, then rolling onto the two omegas as soon as they opened their arms.
Shrieks and squeals pierced the living room as the three reunited. Binnie looked at each of them in turn. “What’s up? Why do the two of you look so constipated?”
They waited for things to quiet in the other room before turning back to face Binnie’s expectant look. Before anyone could respond, Ollie entered the kitchen, his own mating bite in full view. He looked calm, but there was a tension in his tone when he said, “We need to talk. Now.”