Chapter 4

Four

JEAN

Nothing. I’d been smelling a big fat nothing from anyone for the past twenty minutes, but the moment I arrived in this room–and especially now that I was standing right next to them–a flood of intoxicating scents hit me so hard I nearly fell to my knees. My entire body hummed, desperate for their touch, their mouths, their everything.

Cinnamon and old paper and pine. I could pin it to Cane, the massive Alpha and Don of the Cartalga family who’d roped me into marrying him, and it was fucking sex in my nose. That would have been bad enough, but no, I was clearly the most unlucky omega in the world.

Leather and wood and sweet cayenne permeated the air around the beta that stood just behind Cane. It was unheard of for a beta to have such a complex scent palette, but there was no denying it. I’d seen the guard sticking close to the Alpha the last time I met him, and the pair of them together created an imposing force that threatened to override my logical brain.

Reed. He’d been introduced as Reed Cartlaga, absorbing the Alpha’s last name as a member of his pack. The tall beta was nearly as intimidating as an Alpha. Even now dressed to the nines in an impeccable matching suit to Cane, Reed’s shoulder-length dark hair hung just in front of his eyes, which zeroed in on me like laser sights from a sniper rifle.

“Dearly beloved,” the officiant began.

Still, it was impossible to concentrate on what he was saying with this fucking Alpha and his beta swirling their scent around me like goddamn aphrodisiac factories.

Wait. That’s not…What is that?

As soon as I realized that those combinations of scents weren’t the only ones hitting me as swiftly and impactful as a punch to the ovaries, my attention was inexorably drawn to the tall, lithe man standing to Cane’s other side.

He was the utter opposite of Reed. If the beta was a shadowy assassin that stalked the darkness as easily as a snake, this other man was summer and sunshine and kisses in the grass. He had styled blonde hair that was trimmed expertly with longer layers near his face. And that smile. It beamed at me, framed in a bit of scruff, as I looked back at him over my shoulder–charismatic and oozing sex.

Dammit. How in the hell was all this happening? I was damn near mesmerized by not one by three gorgeous men, who all pinned me down with their intense focus.

He smells like cake. Like red fucking velvet cake and frosting and sherry. Oh hell.

“Miss Bruchelli?”

I snapped back to the officiant. Shit, what had he said? As I panicked, my brows raised, the man offered a professional smile, flicking his eyes down to his outstretched hand. Oh, right.

Giving him my left hand, the older gentleman settled back into his familiar monologue to keep the ceremony moving along. He locked eyes with me as he held my hand.

“Do you agree to now become a part of the Cartlaga pack, offering your hand to Cane Antonio Cartalga to become the Mea Luna Queen of this proud family?”

Nodding, I swallowed hard, my head spinning from all the damn pheromones crowding my senses.

“I do.”

The officiant reached for Cane’s hand, holding it level with mine as he looked at the Alpha with a much more natural smile.

But that damned scent from the blonde dreamboat behind me yanked at me, slipping through my blood like it was hunting something down and intent on finding it. More of that miserable heat swelled beneath my skin, and I glanced over at the blonde again.

Wait. Is he…Holy shit. I didn’t think there were any left.

Male omegas were something of a myth, like natural-born triplets or betas with the ability to conceive. Still, I was pretty damn sure I was standing within a few feet of one, and that was going to be a problem, scent suppressants or not.

“Do you agree to accept Jean Marie Bruchelli into the Cartlaga pack, offering your hand to her to crown her the Mea Luna Queen of this proud family?”

Cane cleared his throat, a shock of heat rushing off me as he inched closer.

“I do.”

“You may present the ring, Alpha.”

Turning over his shoulder, Cane reached for the ring that Reed offered, and the beta’s eyes locked with mine momentarily. Slick flooded my already warmed core, and I clenched my thighs together, grateful for the mermaid shape of this gown that forced me to keep them close anyway.

When Cane turned back to me, I moved to face him, knowing that he needed to slip the ring on my finger. The officiant guided my hand into Cane’s, and the moment our skin touched, my entire body zinged with electricity. Cane met my eyes, and I was fucking lost in that dark, penetrating gaze.

Everything about the man was a feat of evolution. He was massive, broad shoulders stretching wide that even my father’s had. Cane was also impressively tall, and I could tell that thick muscles strained the pristine fabric of his suit. While he wasn’t as obviously menacing as Reed, Cane exuded a quiet command to obey every word that fell from his full lips. And damn me to hell and back, but I was dreaming up some terrible orders for the Alpha to deliver.

“Jean,” he said, and the deep rumble of his voice went straight to my pussy, “I give you this ring as a symbol of your place among the Cartalga family. You will reign as its Mea Luna Queen until the end of your days.”

The wide gold band was poised around the top of my finger, and I was only dimly aware of the odd sensation of bumps on the inside of the ring.

“You will be mine ,” Cane shoved the thing down over my knuckle, and a sharp sting forced my eyes down, “forever.”

As the Alpha released my hand, I turned it over, noticing the dotting of blood that bloomed from beneath the wedding band.

My stomach dropped.

I’d heard of permanent rings for an Alpha Don’s wife before, but I’d never dreamed I might have one forcefully thrust onto my finger. There was no taking the thing off without fucking surgery, and my mind fought with my body, demanding anger from my lust-ridden hormones.

Before I could speak, however, Cane reached out for my hand again, and I pegged him with a glare. Unfortunately, it was quickly stolen away as he found the new jewelry and squeezed it. Something clicked, and then there was pain.

It screamed through my entire hand, and I could picture the needle-like pressing into the bone of my finger. I cried out despite myself, my knees buckling. Hands swiftly caught my elbows, and I looked up to see Cane smirking down at me.

“Forever.”

My core clamped down on nothing as I swallowed hard. I wanted to hate what he’d done, and part of me did to an extent. It was slowly diminishing in power, however. With each second, those scents and sinful smiles surrounding me whisked away my fury and left only a growing heat that I knew couldn’t be good.

I can’t possibly be going into a heat right now. No. I’m like a week away!

“Miss Bruchelli–for the last time as such.” The officiant nodded at me, and I looked down in his frail grip to see an impossibly thin blade being offered to me. “With your left, please.”

I took the knife in my left hand, flicking my eyes to Cane as the man spoke once more.

“Cane Antonio Cartalga,” the Alpha’s stare blazed as he held my eyes unblinking, “To accept your Mea Luna Queen is to bind yourself to her–protector, commander, and progenitor through her sovereign body. Do you pledge as such?”

“I do.”

The officiant turned to me, directing my knife hand right over his heart. I had a feeling I knew what came next in this particularly unique wedding ceremony. The traditions for each pack varied, and while there was some consistency, the Cartalga family’s sentiments were the most primal I’d ever encountered.

“My Queen, the time has come to seal the union. Repeat after me. With this blade.”

The tiny blade I held was no thicker than a needle and only an inch long. Still, pain was pain, and part of me enjoyed this more than I cared to admit. Cane reached for a button in his shirt, undoing it and pulling the open fabric over so that I could see his deep tan skin beneath.

“With this blade.”

“I commit your body to the Queen.”

Lining up the point once more, I stared into Cane’s stoic eyes, locking myself down like iron. “I commit your body to the Queen.”

Without further instruction or breaking eye contact, I struck down with the fragile but incredibly sharp blade. It penetrated Cane’s powerful chest, and he didn’t so much as blink. Warmth swam up from his skin, melting into me where my fist touched him.

For several long moments, I held the knife there, sealed in a connection to Cane that I could scarcely fathom.

Eventually, however, I slid the thing free. I switched the blade into my other hand, offering it out to the officiant. He quickly scooped it up, but I was still rooted to that spot right in front of Cane, unable to look away from him.

Then, not knowing why, I laid my left hand over the tiny wound, pressing my skin against it. Pain shook me as my hand protested, but I didn’t stop. Even more, Cane’s hand found me over his chest and pushed–hard. Our blood mingled as the pressure made the injuries ooze, and something…changed.

I couldn’t say what, but every part of me that from this moment forward nothing would be the same.

“Introducing your Alpha and Mea Luna Queen!”

As the officiant called out, we turned to face the crowded room and it quickly filled with cheers and applause. I could sense Reed and the other man stepping up behind us, my nerves singing as they called out for the two of them to move closer to me.

That shouldn’t be…of course. A scent match. Three of them, in fact.

The cheering continued, and Cane pulled me around to face Reed.

“Take her to our chambers. I need to dismiss the guests.”

The beta nodded, and I assumed we’d move right then and there, but Cane leaned forward, glaring at his guard.

“Head on a fucking swivel, Reed. Not everyone was…content with this union. Do not let anything happen to her.”

Reed nodded again, his jaw clenched tight. He looked to the other man, having some type of silent conversation with him that I couldn’t parse out.

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” the man said, his tone light and playful. “We’ll find you in a few, Reed.”

Gripping me by the bicep, Reed yanked hard, nearly tripping me as he began to walk to a door behind us that I didn’t notice. His scent was everywhere–thick and further dampening my ability to think.

“Oh, and feel free to warm her up, killer! I’m sure Daddy Cane wouldn’t mind.”

A low growl rumbled from said “daddy” at that, and I looked back over my shoulder to see him glaring at the blonde Adonis.

“You’re going to pay for that, Kai.”

Okay, so his name’s Kai.

As I was hauled off, the last thing I could see was the glint of lust firing through Cane’s stare directly at Kai–and then me.

I am in so much trouble.