“We smelled like home. I didn’t know what was missing until it was there, in my fucking face. Marcus had meant the scene in the office as a test, and it was in more ways than one. It showed me, clean and clear, what we needed, what we had always wanted but had been too afraid to reach for. That’s when I knew what I had to do.”
He stared at his hands, twisting a gold signet ring around his finger.
“Trying to steer Ari towards an alpha who wouldn’t fuck her up, seeing Cyn with someone in a good family who could protect her—they were good plans, the right plans, but that day, I wanted more. I wanted my pack to have the perfect omega, I wanted my sister to walk free. I wanted it all, and I didn’t care what it took to get that. So I spoke to Marcus, came up with a new plan, this one.”
There was silence for a few beats, Orion shifting on his feet, and I saw then what appeal a younger version of him would have had for the others. He was beautiful, that was a given, but there was a curious kind of nobility, at odds with his dishevelled appearance and lifestyle, that just drew you in. Some born to rule bullshit that made you naturally want to fall in behind him.
The problem was, it really was bullshit.
I didn’t need an alpha to make all the decisions for me, to sacrifice themselves for my sake and keep me safe. I wanted love, protection, need, desire, knots that split me open and made me throb, and them. I needed them.
I got to my feet, moving close, Orion’s eyes tracking me the whole time, Rhys’ and Brendan’s on my back. I walked up to my knight errant, tugging the tie lower and off, then unbuttoned Orion’s shirt, for reasons I wasn’t entirely sure of. Maybe it was because all that perfect flesh had been denied me for so long, or maybe because I wanted to reach through time, to that memory of the forest, and touch something eternal. Maybe because right now, there was just Orion and me, caught in a timeless space, and I would always want to spend it touching my mates if I could.
Because that was what they were. It was all more convoluted, more complex than I’d previously anticipated, which considering that first day when I saw them all together, fucking like young gods in Marcus’ office, was probably an oversight on my part. As my fingertips skated over his ribs, as I felt the rapid thud of his heart, felt the expansion and contraction of his lungs, I knew then I didn’t want it to stop. But I was an omega, and I’d sweeten my alpha up before I voiced my dissent. Wide-eyed and breathing hard, Orion looked like he was afraid I’d disappear in a second, his arms twitching with the effort to hold them back from grabbing me and not letting me go.
“I did this for you. You’re mine, Cyn, and I’d do anything to protect that.”
“Yeah, I’m the same,” I replied drily.
I gripped his shoulders, forcing him down to his knees with a downward strike that came from Kai’s training and that inherent omega strength that rose when it needed to. The guys were on their feet, at my back, as I dropped down. Orion’s hands went to my hips, cradling them as I pushed his head to one side.
“Cyn, no!” he cried, then I placed the gentlest of kisses on his neck.
Omegas had fangs too, smaller, almost vestigial, but they were there. It used to be the thing to have an omega bite the alpha first, signifying their acceptance of the bond, and I suspected I’d have liked that more, riding Orion’s cock, working his knot deep as my fangs sank into his flesh, marking him as mine.
This wasn’t like with Rhys, a fever dream of hot, hot sensuality, with him claiming me as his. I hoped by doing this, Orion and I would have time to do that later, but right now, there were other things to consider. Orion thrashed when he realised what was happening, but Rhys and Brendan moved in, holding him close, stroking him through it. This was a savage thing, no longer seen to be appropriate for decorous young omegas. My teeth sank into Orion’s flesh, his blood rushing into my mouth as I made him mine. My tongue lapped at his skin, closing the wound, but when I pulled back, Rhys smirked, brushing away the drop of blood on my lip.
“Give Benson what he wants,” I said with a shrug. “Then we give him what he deserves. You’re mated to some kind of fucking criminal mastermind who’s orchestrated everything up until this point to get us right here, so let’s use that.”
“You don’t understand,” Orion said, struggling to his feet, his fingers going to the bite mark, his expression destroyed. “You don’t know what he’s going to do! The minute he sees this, the hits will go out on your mother, her company. I was doing this for you!”
“And I’m doing this for you,” I replied. “Going over your head, making decisions for you, to make sure you are safe.”
We blinked, looking at each other, probably understanding the other’s perspective for the first time.
“Fuck…”
“This is the way it has to go, mate,” Rhys started to say when the phone rang, all of them, cutting through the quiet like a clarion call, demanding to be answered. I pulled my phone out, hand shaking, the number blocked, but I pressed my thumb on the accept call button, then switched it to speaker phone.
“You’re all there?” Marcus asked, his voice somewhat tinny down the line.
“We’re here,” Brendan replied.
“Good. Now that Orion’s need for self-sacrifice has been negated, we can move onto the real game. The ball is tomorrow night, and the pieces are moving into place. I’ll have suits sent for the three of you, and Cyn’s dress will arrive at the same time. Strap the knife sheaths on her, make sure her bow is easy to reach, Bren. I don’t know if she’ll need them, but I won’t chance her going into this unarmed.” His voice softened. “Your mother is safe, Cyn. I have her protected. No one will get to her, nor your house, nor your precious forest.”
“I had eyes on her,” Brendan retorted.
“And competent ones too, but there’s a way. There’s always a way. That’s what makes the game so interesting and yet so fucking heartbreaking, all at the same time. What tiny little detail will trip you up. Or your enemy.”
He took a long breath in.
“But not this time. For the first time in my life, I am required to use every faculty, every resource, every bit of cunning I have to get us out of this, and I swear I will. I love you.” He didn’t specify who and he didn’t need to, the emotion there so fucking real, I could see his angel face wrecked by it, the tears beading, unshed, always unshed, in his eyes. “I have always and
will always love you. I’m not an easy man to care for, I hurt everyone and everything that comes close, but I will do this. I will protect what’s mine. My pack, my mates, my family, my company, and my omega. I have to sign off now, but, Cyn, you did what you needed to, claiming him, but that’s just the first step. Don’t be afraid to take the next one. We’ll catch you, wherever you leap. Always.”
“Always,” the others muttered, looking just as shellshocked as me, but when their eyes turned to me, they were all possessive alpha. They reached for me as the phone went dead, like they always would, moving until I was wrapped up tight between them, claimed.
Chapter 37