33. Odin

We were here, finally here. In her nest, in the place she treasured most in the world.

There was no way the others didn't notice it. The large bed, the endless fours scattered around the room, and our clothes. Just the idea of her sleeping curled up in our scents had more love pulsing from me.

With one bite she had become my whole world. I needed to be with her; I had to be beside her. She was my blood and my oxygen. I couldn't live without her.

It hadn't been like this when I bit Apollo. I was so close to snarling as Zeus took her away from me. But Apollo brushed a ruined hand over my arm and nodded to a low wooden chair near the door, one of four placed around the room. They all faced the mattress in the centre, like we had in our pack house.

I watched Apollo in the faint light as he sat. He'd always been beautiful, but Candy brought out a fierceness in him that was sexy as hell.

I moved to him, kneeling before him, as I always should have.

"Give me your hand," I said as I looked up at him. He dragged his gaze away from Zeus and Candy to land on me.

I loved the softness of him, though sadness tinged his eyes.

"You can't do this to yourself," I said, sweeping my fingers down his wrist to his palm. His fingers wrapped around mine as I lifted them, clicking my tongue at his bruised and broken knuckles, leading up to dark bruises on his right arm. The fresh bond between me and Candy was almost overpowering, but with Apollo's pain stabbing in my arm and my hand, I reached for him.

Clicking open the first aid kit, I grabbed a disinfectant wipe and tore the packet open with my teeth. I sighed, raising the cloth to his bloodied hand, and his attention stayed firmly on them.

I wanted to keep his knuckles exposed, to show every fucker that came across us that we weren't to be messed with. Apollo kept himself restrained when he was upset or angry. The only time he ever let his guard down was when we fucked, and I was sure he still stayed alert even then. I thought it was so he could react if needed, but it was like he was always on edge. I hoped this wouldn't mess with him too much, though going rogue could fuck anyone up.

Zeus and I might be the huge motherfuckers, but I now knew Apollo would tear apart any bastard who even looked at Candy the wrong way.

"You don't have to be the one to save us," I said quietly as I wiped his knuckles. He winced, automatically pulling away, but my grip was firm.

His fingers twitched around mine with each stroke, his shadowed gaze dropping back to me.

"I should have been there," he replied after a pause. "I left you alone in her apartment and I—"

"No," I cut him off straight away. Though I loved him more when he showed these pieces of himself, I couldn't let him believe the shit he'd clung to for years. "I could say the same thing. ‘I should have woken up,' ‘I should have stopped the betas,' ‘I should have been next to Zeus in the bar when he went rogue and we were stabbed.'"

Apollo raised his good hand, cupping my cheek, his thumb rubbing the bumps and cracks of dead skin under my empty socket. "I keep failing you. The night we finally give in to her, and…" He shuddered, and he couldn't hide his regret.

I lifted his bruised hand to my lips, kissing them as softly as I could. "We'll find a way."

"We've been trying to find a way for years." He shook his head, his guilt still strong as Zeus pressed Candy to the bed and kissed her until she giggled again.

Candy's pleasure burst through me, and it was hard not to rip myself from Apollo, scoop her up, and claim her as mine again. I finally understood the obsession Zeus and Apollo had with each other—why they couldn't be away from each other, why they instinctively searched for each other the moment they entered a room—because I'd be that for her. Now she was connected to me, there was no way I wouldn't do everything I could to preserve her smile.

"I'm not losing her again," he said, determination flowing from him. "I can't do it anymore, Odin. I pushed her away for all of us, to keep us strong, so we could stay with her, but I can't hold on."

"And you think I can?" I scoffed, sweeping his knuckles lightly. The bleeding had stopped, but I couldn't tell if anything was broken. "Apollo," I said gently, the lust cascading from Zeus and Candy pulling a groan from me. I had to swallow to get my focus back. "Once we've all bitten her, there'll be nothing stopping us."

Apollo bit his lip as he exhaled through his nose. He stroked the shell of my ear before trailing down to my neck, cupping the spot where his bite scarred my skin. "And you'll stay with me?" he asked, his stare so penetrating, I had to look away.

I couldn't reply, even when his fingers tightened on the mark. "Odin," he said, his tone serious enough to force me to lift my head again. "If we're pack, we're pack."

I hissed out a breath, squeezing my eyes as the deep ache I always tried to hide from them stabbed me.

"That means we're together," he continued. "All of us. You've pushed me away long enough."

"I haven't—"

"Odin," he pressed, "we've spent so long enduring the distance from Candy we forgot about us." He twisted his lips. "Fucking isn't the same as being mates." His brow creased as his gaze bore into me.

"Apollo… I'm not your scent match," I replied, focusing on his ruined knuckles so I didn't have to see the expression on his face, even though I could feel the weight of his stare.

"And how many times have I told you that it's never made a difference to me?" Guilt swam through me at the hurt in his voice.

"It makes all the difference." I kept my head lowered. I tried to avoid this conversation every time Apollo brought it up. Now that I had bitten Candy, the pack dynamic had changed, and there was no running away from him.

I tenderly wiped his battered knuckles, searching for the words to express what it really meant that he always reached for my brother first every single time since we met.

It didn't matter how often we talked about it, how often we said we loved each other—Zeus always came first.

He might tell me I mattered, but I could feel from both of them how deeply ingrained they were with each other, how their bodies demanded they be together.

"Bringing Candy into our pack doesn't change how I feel about you," Apollo said. "I've always loved you. And I can't lose you, Odin." His hand trembled in mine, love and fear pulsing from him.

I had to tape up his hands so he didn't injure himself any more, but I couldn't stop myself from rising to my knees, loving the way his head tilted back to meet my eyes. That hard look made me want him even more, and I released his hand to cup his face and brought my lips down on his.

Our bond strengthened as understanding ran between us—our need, our passion, everything that made us who we were. My stubbornness and his determination, bouncing off each other all to lead to this.

Moans echoed between us, not just from us as I pressed myself closer to him, edging between his spread legs, but from my brother and Candy as the four of us connected.

We were going to fight for this, fight for everything we could have.

Apollo's hands found my waist, gripping me as he pulled me closer, my knees hitting the edge of the chair, my back curving to lean over and kiss him, giving him as much of myself as I could. All the years of pent-up emotions finally freed as I truly let him in. His scent covered me, his strength, his presence inside me, sending me higher as I sank into him and let him take control.