"My turn," I breathed against his lips. I bit into his shoulder with all the love I felt for him, tasting copper and salt and something uniquely Micah. He shuddered against me, his knot throbbing, another pulse of warmth flooding my core. The bondcompleted itself, solidified, became something permanent and unbreakable.
Four marks on my neck now. Four bonds thrumming through my veins. Four pieces of my soul that belonged to the men I loved. Micah gathered me against his chest, still locked inside me, his arms wrapping around me like he never intended to let go. I could feel his heart beating against my back, could feel his breath slowly steadying, could feel the love pouring through our bond in waves.
"I have you," he murmured against my hair. "I finally have you."
"You've always had me," I whispered back. "You just didn't know it yet." We lay there as his knot slowly softened, as the heat finally—finally—began to recede for good. I could feel all four bonds now, four golden threads connecting me to my alphas, each one distinct and precious.
Oliver's steady warmth. Garrett's solid strength. Levi's bright joy. Micah's electric intensity.
Together, they made something whole. Something complete.
Something that felt like home. The door creaked open, and I didn't need to look to know who it was. I could feel them through the bonds—Oliver's quiet satisfaction, Garrett's fierce pride, Levi's bubbling happiness.
"Room for three more?" Levi's voice asked, already moving toward the nest.
"Always," I murmured, too exhausted to move but too happy to care. They piled in around me—Oliver at my head, his hand stroking my hair. Garrett pressed against my back once Micah reluctantly withdrew, his arm heavy and possessive over my waist. Levi curled at my feet, his hand wrapped around my ankle. And Micah shifted to face me, our foreheads touching, our breaths mingling.
Five people in a nest built for one. It should have been uncomfortable.
It was perfect.
"How do you feel?" Oliver asked softly. I took stock. My body was exhausted, wrung out, pleasantly sore in ways I'd feel for days. The heat had finally, completely subsided, leaving behind a warm contentment that spread through my limbs like honey. And the bonds—four threads of gold connecting me to the men I loved, pulsing with devotion and belonging and home.
"Complete," I said, and meant it with every fiber of my being. "I feel complete."
"Welcome to the pack," Oliver murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Officially. Permanently. Forever."
"Forever," I agreed.
And surrounded by my alphas, marked and mated and finally, completely whole, I let myself drift off to sleep.
I was home.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Daphne
Three Months later
Three months.
It had been three months since my heat, since the marking, since I'd woken up in a tangle of limbs and love and known, truly known, that I was exactly where I belonged. Three months of learning what it meant to be part of a pack, to be claimed and cherished and loved by four men who looked at me like I'd hung the moon.
Three months of being home.
I stretched lazily in the massive bed that had replaced the old one, a custom monstrosity that took up nearly half the bedroom, big enough for five people to sleep comfortably without anyone ending up on the floor. The sheets were soft against my bare skin, warmed by the early morning sunlight streaming through the windows, and I let myself sink into the feeling of utter contentment that had become my new normal.
A soft weight landed on my chest, and I opened my eyes to find Duchess staring at me with her particular brand of feline judgment.
"Good morning to you too," I murmured, scratching behind her ears. She purred, a rusty rumble that vibrated through my sternum, and butted her head against my chin. Her gray fur was soft and warm, her golden eyes half-lidded with pleasure.
Duchess had been a gift from the pack, a surprise waiting for me when I'd come home from a particularly difficult therapy session about a month after the attack. Levi had found her at the shelter, a scruffy thing with matted fur and a crooked tail, and had declared that she "needed a family as much as we do." I'd cried for twenty minutes straight, clutching the bewildered cat to my chest while my alphas hovered anxiously.
She'd been Duchess ever since, named for the regal way she surveyed her domain, despite her humble origins.
The space beside me was empty, but still warm. Garrett had slipped out maybe twenty minutes ago, I'd felt his lips brush my forehead, heard his murmured promise to have coffee ready when I came downstairs. The marks on my neck tingled faintly, the bonds humming with the distant awareness of my alphas moving through the house. Oliver was in his study, already working despite the early hour. Levi was in the kitchen with Garrett, his bright energy pulsing through our connection like sunshine. Micah was in the greenhouse, tending to my plants with the same meticulous care he brought to everything.
My plants. My greenhouse. My pack. My cat.
