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Nicky kissed me softly one more time before she lifted herself off of me with glassy eyes, slinking down my body until she kneeled between Gabe’s and my legs. I squirmed, instincts spreading my thighs further as she leaned in, lips brushing over the crease, her teeth sinking into the scent gland there. Searing heat, pleasure, and pain sang through me, my awareness of Nicky bursting like starlight in the pitch black.
I glanced over, seeing the bright red on Nicky’s lips as she sat up again, her eyes impossibly wide. She whimpered, bringing her fingertips to her mouth, gaze flicking between my face and the bite she’d left on me.
A bond bite.
None of the others seemed to notice or grasp what it meant. But I knew.
She was mine now.
Gabe relinquished his hold on me, and we rolled to the side so we could cuddle until his knot went down. I gathered Nicky close and licked over the bite I’d left, savouring every perfect sound she made.
She’d come back for me. My perfect, beautiful beta.
Mine.
51
NICKY
Thehazewasoverand I wasexhausted. Even with sleeping as much as I could and stuffing my face on snacks at every opportunity, it wasn’t enough to offset everything I’d put my poor corporeal form through.
Everyone was fast asleep. I crawled my way free of the nest and stumbled to the bathroom. The mirror showed me a hot mess. My body looked like someone had chucked me into a giant tumble dryer, leaving me bruised, sweaty, and haggard. I leaned on the counter when my legs started to shake from the effort of holding myself upright. A bright red bite sat on my throat. I traced my fingers over it, trying to remember exactly when that had happened, but the entirety of the heat haze blended into one amorphous blob in my brain. The bite didn’t hurt, which was odd considering how much the rest of me did, but maybe claiming bites weren’t painful and I just had no experience with them?
Sinking down, I leaned back against the cupboards, trying to wrangle my thoughts. It was so hard to think when I was the human equivalent of a raisin. I crawled into the kitchenette and sat on the floor chugging a water bottle before I shovelled some pasta salad into my mouth to start refuelling my body.
Roscoe was screaming outside of the door.
“I’m coming, baby.”
I crawled to the door, out of breath by the time I arrived, and greeted the little tortie. Roscoe aggressively headbutted me, swirling and purring like a buzzsaw as he restocked his love supplies. I walked downstairs on unsteady legs to get him some food and fresh water. My head ached from dehydration, and my muscles burned, but I was the only one who was really fit to be managing things that involved leaving the nest. The alphas were still in the last phases of their rut, and Billie was still on bedrest, so it was all up to me.
I clicked on the lights as I went and shivered as I hit the main floor. Why was it so cold down here? Maybe I was too used to the warmth of the nest. I fed Roscoe first and chugged a glass of water, wandering to check my phone in my purse that I had discarded in the entryway.
Holy shit.
Sixty-seven missed calls and almost forty-nine text messages awaited me.
Oh fuck. I’d been here for three days according to the date on my phone.
The messages were split between Sidney and Allie, my parents, Luca, my boss, and Miranda. I phoned Sidney first, not bothering to check my voicemail yet.
“Nick, thank god. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry. I’m at the pack house for Jasper's heat. I hadn’t fully intended to stay. I should’ve let you know, but I left my phone downstairs when I brought over their groceries.”
Sidney sighed. “I’m just glad you’re alright. Have you heard about the library yet?”
That didn’t bode well…
“What about the library?”
“Fire department was called down there yesterday. The whole facility is shut down.”
“What?! What happened?”
“Suspected arson from what I’ve heard, but they haven’t named any suspects.”
“Oh shit! Is everyone okay?”
