Apparently happy enough that I’m not a ghost here to hurt our pack, he turns and stalks away to deal with the alarm. I had no idea he had even installed one. We’d discussed that he would, I just didn’t “live” long enough to see it happen.
My footsteps are tentative as I follow him. I want to rush upstairs to Marie, but will that make things worse? Storm accepted I’m alive pretty easily. Almost too easily.
“What gave me away?” I ask.
“Wilder said there was a hammer near Lyker’s body, and it was used to break his bones after nails were hammered into hishands and feet,” Storm grunts. “We’re going to have to get that fucking window fixed, huh?”
“Probably,” I admit with a wince.
“I watched you circle the house several times before you made your move on the cameras,” Storm says. “My phone alerted me you were here. I didn’t want to be completely blind during Marie’s heat, I wanted to keep us safe.”
“I don’t need you to guard the house against me,” I purr, again following him once he begins to climb the stairs.
“Sure, who needs to guard against a Ghost?” he growls in response. “That’s what he fucking called you according to Wilder.”
“I fed into the theatrical need for blood,” I admit, wincing. “It wasn’t my best work.”
“From what I heard, it was a thing of blood and beauty,” Storm grunts, glancing behind his shoulder as I begin to wheeze from exertion.
Stairs and I aren’t currently on amicable terms. I fucking hate them with a passion.
“I needed to know Lyker wasn’t going to come after you all. I needed to take care of that before I could come back to you,” I say softly.
“We can’t function without you,” Storm sighs. “As dramatic as it sounds, Marie’s soul screams for yours. I’m really worried about her.”
I continue to climb the stairs behind him, because it’s clear that Marie is in her nest. I can smell her all through the house, and hear her moans and screams. They’re not the same as ones you’d expect to hear of pleasure, but instead of pain and sadness.
“How long has she been in heat?” I ask softly. “She’s fucking killing me right now.”
“Don’t joke about something like that, not after I fucking watched what I thought was your body be buried.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” I say immediately.
I have no need for dominance here. I don’t want to be right or fight, or even joke with Storm. My nostrils flare as we get closer because there’s a scent I can’t quite place that shouldn’t be in the house.
“Storm,” I murmur. “What am I missing?”
“Marie is heat sick. She also met her soul match at your funeral and he’s in the nest with Marie and Wilder.”
Well I’ll be goddamned. This was not something I could have imagined while going through all the different scenarios that could happen while driving over here.
My jaw opens and closes like a fish as I struggle to make a response, and Storm props the gun outside of the loft before he helps me get undressed. His movements are jerky and hurried, and his finger glides up my cock once I’m naked to collect a drop of precum before he sucks it off.
“I’m glad to see your cock still works, because we have use for it. See for yourself how Marie is.”
Storm steps into the nest while I watch Marie desperately ride Ransom’s cock. I recognize him as Devon’s medic, and his eyes are on my omega as tears slide down her face, dripping down her body.
There’s a sour scent in her nest that doesn’t belong here, and it’s coming from her. She’s full of fear, sadness, and grief, all things that don’t belong in this space. Now fully naked, I take the last step into the nest and walk toward her and Ransom.
His eyes flick behind Marie before he pales, and I hold my finger up to my lips. Dropping to my knees, I wrap my arms around Marie’s waist and bury my face in her throat.
“I heard you missed me, Princess,” I rasp. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. My bite and my cock are yours, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you all for leaving.”
Her fingers slide into my hair, yanking me so she can kiss me over her shoulder. Marie bites down hard on my lip in punishment for leaving her, but she breaks the skin when she does, binding us together.
I don’t care if it’s accidental, I’ll take a half bond over nothing at all.
Chapter Ten
