Page 134 of The Rogues

The easy jokiness falls slightly, as we both sit there and stare, begging the other person to make the first pounce. Once again, I find myself overwhelmed with emotion, this alpha pulling out every string of it with just a look and his soft touch.

“I was willing to wait for the rest of my life for you to come around. There is no one else in this world for me, no one,” he whispers, sweet syrup on his tongue. “I love you.”

My tears spill over. “I love you, too.”

Remi gently takes my arm and pulls my wrist to his lips. He never breaks eye contact as his teeth sink into my skin, the feeling powerful despite the tenderness in his touch. My clit pulses and I move against him, finally easing a little bit of the ache. His eyes flutter closed as he pulls his teeth out and licks over the wound. It feels like it has a direct line all the way to my core, and I distract myself by moving forward and solidifying my own bite in the crook of his neck.

There’s a quiet but bright presence as it moves alongside my equally reserved one. His soul bleeds with romanticism, beckoning for more love to spread not only between us but outwards to everyone. He watches them, takes care of them when Cyrus can’t. That is what I feel as the bond clicks in; an unrelenting, powerful caretaker who wants nothing more than to hold his relationships close and water their roots. It leaves me in tears, sobs wracking me as all of my beautiful bonds fall into place and I can finally see all of them in their purest light.

I never thought this would feel so profound, so otherworldly, but it zaps through me with so much power that all I can do is surrender and let it wash me away.

“I love you so much, baby,” Remi whispers, holding my shaking body to his.

“I love you.”

It may be the omega hormones coursing through my body, or it may be my persistent—or delusional—optimism, but I feel hope. Hope that everything will be okay, hope that Cleo and I can find our way back to each other. Hope that all of this happened for a reason, and that reason is to help us all heal.

Because nothing in this world is going to satisfy us if we’re not ready to heal our wounds, and I think I’m finally ready to let mine scab over so I can start anew.

FORTY-FIVE

“It’s okay, baby. Let’s get to your nest,” Remi says. Lennon holds me as we move through the hallways of our house. My stomach cramps and a whimper escapes, causing my alpha to hold me closer.

“When did this house get so fucking big?” I complain. “Oh my god, and hot. Someone turn on some A.C.; I feel like I’m being burned alive.”

“You’re going into heat, little vicious,” my tall alpha reminds me. My skin is sweltering so much that it slides over his, my grip behind his neck tight even though I know he would never drop me. “We’re almost there, then we can make you feel better.”

A strangled cry escapes me. At least, I think it’s me, but my stomach is twisting and turning so much that I can’t process anything but the excruciating pain of it. “Are the others coming?”

“Cyrus and Jamie are on their way.” Malaki’s voice sounds from behind us and I maneuver to look at him. Despite the predicament, he still looks just as happy as ever. Cool as a fucking cucumber.

I miss my two other mates like a knife to the heart. In their defense, we thought we had a few more days to prepare for my heat, but apparently our bonds all worked really fast to bring it forward.

Like two days fast. And it’s just my luck that it started while Jamie and Cyrus were making last-minute preparations with their team to keep paparazzi away from the house and to let every person know we will be unavailable for the time being.

We come upon the door to my nest and the guys all pause, unsure and hesitant.

“Fuck the pleasantries,” I hiss. “Take me into my fucking nest.”

I don’t even realize that my command has an edge of omega bark until they practically jump forward, immediately moving into action.

The presence of my nest immediately eases me. I loved everything the guys had chosen for the nest on the bus, so all of those same items are surrounding us now. All the different blankets and shades of purple surround me, along with beautiful butterfly lights that twinkle around the edges of the walls. They installed another speaker, and Remi takes the time to find something soothing while Lennon places me in the center of the comfy, huge mattress.

Another bout of pain punches my gut and nearly knocks the wind out of me, and I look at the alphas with a glare. “If I knew it would hurt this fucking much, I would have never let you assholes bite me.”

“I love when you’re like this,” Lennon says lovingly. He nuzzles into my shoulder, swiping his scent over my skin and inhaling my own. He kisses his bond mark there, sending shockwaves down my spine with every innocent peck.

“You’re not going to love it when I rip your neck open for not fucking me already.”

I wince a little. Wow, I had no idea I would be this cutthroat during my heat. The pain hurts so much that it’s taken me out of victim mode and sent me right into vicious territory. I’m irritable, angry, and all I want is to stab the mattress until the pain subsides.

Malaki crawls to my other side and starts discarding my soaked clothes. “We’re here to oblige. Do your worst, Omega, and even then, we’ll love every fucking minute of it.”

His smile is both annoying me and sending me into a spiral of hormones as he gets every item of clothing off me, and then works on himself. Lennon and Remi do the same, and they spread their worn clothes throughout the blankets to even out the scents just the way I like it.

My omega preens, finally coming to the forefront. I roll my eyes and look down at my chest. “Where the fuck have you been?” I ask her. “Take over already so I can dissociate from this fucking torture.”

The guys give each other a look of both concern and amusement as I yell at my breasts.