I sucked in a deep breath because I hated lying to my parents. “The whole crazy biological event is hitting Darius hard, and we thought it would be best to get him back to the Packhouse.” Technically not an untruth. “Could you come and take care of the Sanctum for us? It’d be a day or two at max,” I cajoled. I knew she wouldn’t say no. My parents were soft, especially when it came to Darius.
“Yes, Cooper! All you have to do is ask.” I could hear her cover the phone as she yelled, “Leo! Pack a bag! They need help over at the Sanctum. No, you won’t need your damn sword, you silly old fool!”
I held back the chuckle that wanted to burst from my chest. I loved my parents. I couldn’t hear what my father said back, but I can imagine it was just as sassy. I had six fathers, which was why I had so many damn brothers, and two sisters—both happily mated, thank fuck. Pretty sure for two decades my mother had been permanently pregnant. But they loved every single one of us, and I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood.
“Okay, sweetheart. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Not for the first time, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the woman who’d raised me. “Love you, Mom.”
“I know, son. I love you too.” When she hung up, I dropped my phone back into my jacket pocket. Time to go tell everyone we were having a change of location.
In the back of my mind, I knew that Kitten being in our house was forever going to change our Pack. What I didn’t know was if it was going to be for the better, or for the far, far worse.
5
CORVIN
Kitten was curled into a ball of pain by the time we’d bundled her up in soft blankets and transferred her to the ATV before Cooper’s parents turned up. I liked Coop’s folks, but we didn’t need the questions right now.
Now she was in the back, pressed tightly between Darius and Beckett, as I drove possibly a little too fast back toward our Packhouse. I hated hearing her soft mewls of pain, and the scent of her need was driving me crazy.
Thank god Cooper was keeping his head, because I wasn’t sure that I’d possess any reason once I got a taste of Kitten. I could already feel my Beast beating down the door, desperate to please, and fuck, and mate the Omega whose scent was begging for all those things. But Cooper was right; although she seemed clear-headed enough to tell us what she wanted, now wasn’t the time to be making big decisions, especially when we were all high as kites on pheromones.
Radic was going to kick my ass. I’d sworn that we wouldn’t touch her, even if she begged, but dammit, I wasn’t as strong as I thought I was. I couldn’t sit back and watch her suffer for a week.
As if she could sense my thoughts, she moaned and pushed against Darius, seeking some kind of relief. He stroked a hand along her overheated skin, thrumming deep in his chest while Beckett whispered small reassurances.
Yeah, we needed to be at the Packhouse already. Like, right now. I watched the road with laser focus as I willed us there faster, and when the house finally came into sight, I could have cried with relief. I didn’t, of course, but it was a close thing. I skidded to a stop near the front door, gravel spraying up and thudding against the cladding. I was glad that we’d chosen a Packhouse so far away, despite the fact that I’d just been cursing that very point right up until we arrived. It meant the houses were less crowded together, and our neighbors were a fair distance away. If we got her into the house fast, hopefully no one would know she was here at all, and I wouldn’t have to patrol the perimeter.
Even just the thought of someone lurking out there had my Beast rattled. “Get her inside. I’ll secure the house.”
I slid from the car before I followed them like a lovesick hound, moving toward the back of the house instead. I tested every window and door, ensuring they were all locked. When we’d built this place, we’d done so to impress our Omega, which meant that if we wanted it to be, it was practically a fortress.
Once I was satisfied the rear of the house was locked up tight, I went through the front door and locked it. I followed my nose to Darius’s nest, which made sense, even if I was a little surprised. A nest was an intensely personal place for an Omega, and it said something that he’d decided to take her there instead of the guest room.
Along the way, I gathered pillows from everyone's beds—even Cooper’s—as well as extra throws from the blanket box at the end of my bed. When I was so laden down I couldn’t carry any more, I decided that was enough. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the nest.
Most of the floor was covered in a soft cushion, which had a cover on it made of wine-red faux mink. It was incredibly soft, and zipped into ten different pieces so it wasn’t a nightmare to clean if we got extra dirty. Darius always said it felt soothing against his skin when he was in yearning, and given the fact that Kitten was rolling in it like a bed of catnip, I guess it felt good for her too. She had a death grip on Darius’s arm though, holding him close.
I looked at the strain on his face, and guilt washed over me. Did he actually want this? I mean, I knew he wanted a female Omega, but it wasn’t just about biology, especially not this moment. You still had to like a person to have sex with them. At least, you did if you weren’t a monster.
“Are you okay, Omega? We can take care of this, if you would rather…” I didn’t know what the right word was here. Wait? Tap out? Not take part in something that was intensely intimate with a near stranger?
He looked over Kitten’s dark brown hair at me. “I’m okay, Alpha. I want this.” We used the formal terms, referring to each other by our designations. Sometimes we did it affectionately, the way humans called their spouses Husband or Wife instead of their name. But today, there was a lot more gravity to the word, as the heat reduced us to Alpha and Omega.
I shed my shirt, but left my jeans on. I dragged my shirt over one of the pillows, knowing the scent of it would soothe her, then crawled onto the bed beside them, watching Beckett out of the corner of my eye. He was still dressed, and though he was trying to keep his face impassive, he was eyeing the entwined Omegas with so much hunger, I could almost hear his balls rumbling from over here.
“Omegas,” I growled, catching both of their attentions. “Kitten,” I said in a softer tone. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
Kitten let out a frustrated noise. “Yes, Corvin. I’m sure. Are you going to ask me every step of the way?”
It was Beckett who answered. “Yes.”
She huffed, which was a sound I remembered all too well, and then she reached for me. Grabbing my arms, she pulled me along her body and let out a shuddering sigh, burrowing her face in my neck.
“I remember your scent. Sometimes, I think I still smell it in my cabin.” It was a soft murmur that managed to break my heart in two. I pulled back and gave into the one desire that I’d had for years, ever since she’d stopped being an annoying little kid to me and Beckett, and started being more.
I kissed her. Her lips were softer than I could have imagined, and coupled with the Omega pheromones, I felt like they were dragging me down to an abyss that I knew I’d never claw my way out of.
