Chapter 27

"Enough stalling, Sunshine."

I huffed as Miles" deep, gravelly voice called me out while I fluffed the pillows around him in our bed. He had been released from the hospital after twenty-four hours with the equivalent of a gold-star sticker from his surgeon for being such a good patient. We'd all hurried home and fussed over him which he took with an amused kind of exasperation. That was until Ethan's heat hit while we were eating dinner our first night back.

It had been two days so far and I couldn't bring myself to go into the nest. At first, I used Miles as an excuse, because he'd just been shot, for fuck's sake, but there was no hiding from him all the insecurities that were plaguing me. I wasn't the only one struggling, though.

"What about you, love? Want to go into the nest with me?"

His mouth twisted and his expression became uncomfortable, making me immediately regret my harsh words.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, Miles. I'm being an asshole and you absolutely do not deserve it."

"Talk to me, then. I can only tell so much from the bond and what I can feel doesn't make sense."

My eyes darted to the door, partially so he wouldn't see the tears welling there. But also, because I wasn't sure if I could look at him when I confessed what had been bothering me.

"I ran. Left him there; left you both. What if he can't forgive me?"

"Shae." Miles" voice was hard, almost angry, and my head whipped around to look at his face. "I forced you to run. You don't think that haunts me too? Taking away your free will even if it was to save you?"

"Ethan resisted your bark though. Maybe if I'd tried harder?—"

"Ethan is not bonded to me. You couldn't have resisted a command from me, and you know it."

He reached out and tugged me into his bare chest, grunting a little when it probably hurt as I collapsed against him from the unexpected pull. I glared up at him for risking hurting himself more but he just chuckled and pressed a kiss to my mouth. Then he leveled another serious gaze at me.

"That's not all, though, is it?"

Shame curled in my stomach and Miles pulled me in more tightly against him, purring and soothing me as he picked up the emotion in the bond. I whispered my fear, afraid that I would speak it into existence if I said it any louder.

"What if he doesn't want me there anymore?" Miles sucked in a sharp breath, but once I'd started, I couldn't stop. "He has three Alphas now. They can meet all his needs and you would too if you decide to cross that bridge with him. But what can I offer? I know he loves me. I know that but the anxiety is louder than logic at the moment. Theo's an Alpha now, and they're bonded. Before it was like he and I were together in our, I don't know, Beta-ness? I keep thinking about what happened to Cat, and I couldn't take that kind of rejection."

Miles tipped my chin up to look into his eyes that were filled with love and empathy.

"Listen to me: that Omega loves you completely. Loves all of us, true, but you were the one who he trusted first. You were the one who brought him to us. He wouldn't be part of our pack at all if he hadn't been drawn to you."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head and pressed a finger to my lips.

"I hear you. I'm not trying to say there aren't people who would do that, but you need to trust our Omega more and believe in your own worth. He may be the sun that the pack revolves around, now, because that's what biology basically demands of all of us, but you are the force that keeps us all together, love. You are our heart just as much as he is. Never doubt that."

I pressed my face into his neck, allowing myself to just feel for a moment when I felt a tugging on my bond. Jade was calling to me and then my phone began to ping with messages. I smiled at the texts piling up from her and began to read them out loud.

Jade: I don't know exactly what is causing all those emotions, love, but I trust that Miles is pulling you out of it.

Jade: Hate to pile on to the worry I'm catching, but our Omega has been asking for you the whole time. I don't think we can put it off any longer with explanations of Miles" fragile state.

The Alpha in question huffed a laugh and grumbled about the fragile comment, but also raised his brows in a "told ya so" kind of way.

Jade: Theo is passed out, I'm nearly there as well and Trevor is flagging. Ethan is really starting to get upset that you both can't be here.

My breath caught and I hated that he'd been upset because of my own insecurities. I turned to look at Miles who looked equally distressed at what Jade had said.

Me: I will be up there in a few minutes, let me grab some water bottles and snacks first.

Jade: Thank you, love. I'll tell him.

Jade: In case I pass out before you get up here. I love you.

Her words were accompanied by a wave of that love and complete devotion. Intrusive thoughts could fuck all the way off. I wouldn't let my pack, or my Omega suffer any more, but first.

"Do you want to talk about how you're feeling before I go up to the nest?"

Miles sighed and sat up so we were shoulder to shoulder.

"He told me he loved me. Right before he walked over to that psychopath. Graves told him he'd kill me if he didn't come along, and Ethan just confessed that before moving away from me."

I bit my lip to keep from saying anything and just focused on Miles" words.

"Something shifted in me, and I couldn't let it stand. Couldn't let him walk away any more than I could have with you. I knew then that I love him, too."

Miles fidgeted before meeting my eyes.

"I want to try more with him. And I hate that he is asking for me and I can't be that for him right now. Fucking ‘fragile state' aside, I don't know that I'll ever be comfortable in the nest with everyone else during a heat."

My perfect Alpha, one of the most caring and strong people on the planet, battling with his own insecurity demons. I leaned in and kissed him softly until he melted into me. Eventually I broke the kiss but linked our fingers and pressed my forehead to his.

"Based on what I learned the last time, he's not really in control of what he's saying and doing in there. The need for his pack is overriding everything else. He would absolutely hate it if you ever felt pressured to engage in a way that you didn't want to. Talk to him when he comes out of it, and I know he'll confirm everything I've said."

Miles grunted and swept in to sneak another kiss before playfully shoving me toward the door and leaning back into the pillows. I ran downstairs, grabbing the things I'd promised Jade and plenty for Miles. He laughed when I dropped a pile of drinks and his favorite snacks on our bed, promising he would be fine as he shooed me toward the nest once again.

I opened the door to the nest and, even though there were still about a half flight of stairs up to the main area, the overwhelming scent of Ethan's heat-drenched perfume combined with the scents of our packmates nearly bowled me over. I hurried to shut the door so Miles wouldn't be affected by it any worse than he already was and began to climb the stairs. If I'd thought the scent was enough to make me crazy, it was nothing compared to the sight at the top of the stairs.

Jade and Theo were, in fact, passed out at the edges of the nest but right in the center, Ethan was grinding on Trevor's knot. He was fucking stunning. His ass flush with Trevor's pelvis, back arched so he leaned against Trevor's bent knees but braced his hands on Trevor's ink covered chest. His light brown skin was glistening with sweat and his face was contorted in pleasure as tears streamed down his face.

"I'm s-sorry Alpha, I j-just can't stop thinking about t-them. They don't want me anymore and I-I'm pushing you too fast. I?—"

My chest constricted painfully, hearing Ethan's broken voice even as his body forced him to keep seeking pleasure. I knew it was mostly the heat talking but also realized just how much my own fears had been hurting Ethan. I moved to go up the remaining stairs when Trevor wrapped his big arms around Ethan, flexing his core until he curled up and they were face to face. Ethan gasped at the movement as it no doubt tugged on the knot inside him. Trevor's hair was loose and wild around his face and Ethan sank his hands into it as he stared at the Alpha. Something between a purr and a growl laced Trevor's words as he spoke, inches away from Ethan's face.

"There is no one in this pack who doesn't love you and want you with us forever. Do you hear me, beautiful?"

Ethan nodded furiously but still bit his lip to keep the tears back. Trevor ran his nose along Ethan's jaw and spoke softly to him.

"Do you know why I call you ‘beautiful', Ethan?"

Our Omega scrunched his nose and I could see him almost roll his eyes before he caught himself.

"Because you think I'm beautiful?"

Trevor chuckled and kept his face pressed into the skin below Ethan's jaw.

"I do think that, you're right; but remember when my brother outed that embarrassing movie that I loved?"

Ethan's grin kicked up at that and the sadness cleared from his eyes.

"There's nothing embarrassing about still liking Beauty?—"

"I never said it was still my favorite." The redness that crept into Trevor's cheeks told another story, though. This time when Ethan tucked his lips between his teeth, I thought it was to stifle a laugh more than tears. "Anyway, you did that for me, and calling you Belle felt too weird or corny or I don't know, so you're ‘Beautiful' to me."

"I did what for you?"

If I hadn't felt like I was intruding before this, I sure as fuck did when I glimpsed the raw vulnerability in Trevor's expression.

"You saved me, Omega. I'd become a bitter and hateful shell of myself in so many ways and you made me want to change, to heal."

"Trevor—" Ethan's voice rasped, full of awe.

"I love you, Ethan, and I'm honored to be your Alpha."

Ethan ducked his face and crashed their lips together in a fierce kiss before pulling back with wild eyes.

"Bite. I want your bond—I mean, if you want to?"

Trevor's smile was as mischievous as it was bright as he reached to pull Ethan's hand from his dark blond waves. He held Ethan's gaze as he obscenely sucked Ethan's thumb into his mouth, and I saw Ethan's dick jump where it was pressed between them before he gasped loudly and pressed his forehead to Trevor's, sobbing, as he shook through his orgasm, coating Trevor's stomach and chest in his release.

Trevor growled and I saw his cheeks hollow as I realized he'd claimed our Omega. Ethan's lips were parted, lost to the pleasure and connection that was building between them. I'd never seen a bond form from the outside, and seeing the two of them settle into that bond was something. A bond wasn't some mystical, magical thing but, if it was, those two would have literally been glowing with love and happiness. I shifted on the step, and it creaked loudly in the now quiet space, causing Ethan's head to whip my direction and a wide smile to split his face. Trevor just winked at me and continued to tend his bite that I could see encircled the base of Ethan's thumb and into his palm.

Ethan's whine and the way he shifted on Trevor's knot spurred me into motion. I shed Miles" shirt that I had been wearing and dropped it into the nest to add a little more of his scent then scrambled out of my shorts and boxer briefs. Dropping to my knees beside Ethan and Trevor, I drew our Omega into a kiss. Desperately, with that one kiss, I tried to say all the things I would have said through a bond. Pulling away from his lips, I saw tears were streaming down his cheeks again. I took a moment to press a kiss first to one cheek, then the other, before smoothing away the tracks with my thumbs and holding his gaze.

"I'm so sorry, Omega. I got in my own head and used Miles" injury as an excuse to hide from my insecurities. I never meant to hurt you."

Ethan's eyes squeezed shut and his forehead pressed against mine as he rolled his head from side to side. I couldn't tell if he was disagreeing or just struggling to get his thoughts out through the haze of his heat.

"I love you, Shae. When this is over, when I can think more clearly again, can we talk about what bothered you? So I can fix it? Whatever I did, I?—"

"No, baby. No, no, no. You didn't do anything." I pulled in a shaking breath and closed my eyes too. "I love you too, Ethan. So much. You are perfect. Our perfect Omega."

Ethan whined and launched himself at me as he slipped free from Trevor's knot. He pressed me back into the blankets and devoured my mouth as I sank my hands into his hair and he rocked against my core.

"Need you, Shae. Can I have you?"

"Yes."

"Wanna make you come, then will you fuck me and give me your knot?"

I laughed lightly and nodded.

"You want to flip fuck, baby?"

Ethan brows flew up and he whimpered before nodding fast.

"Dammit, why didn"t I think of that?"

Our sweet Omega's jaw dropped as Trevor moved over to us, dropping the strap-on I kept in the nest where I could reach it. He also had a warm cloth to clean Ethan up. Ethan's face locked on Trevor's and he chewed on the corner of his lip before speaking.

"You would let me? I mean, I just assumed?—"

Trevor swooped in and smacked a playful kiss on Ethan's stunned lips.

"You can fuck me anytime you want, beautiful. Just ask Shae. They know I can take it."

Tiny noises of disbelief and incoherence tumbled from Ethan's mouth as he looked back and forth between me and Trevor, sending both of us into fits of laughter.

"But you two don't… Well, I thought you didn't…"

Ethan's words trailed off questioningly and I filled in the gaps.

"We're Jade's subs, baby. We do whatever she wants us to in the scene?—"

"With consent."

I nodded at Trevor's clarification.

"Exactly. And one of the things that has Trevor's enthusiastic consent is letting me turn that ass out whenever she thinks he's earned it."

Ethan's eyes rolled back and he dropped his forehead to my collar bone as he unconsciously rocked his hips into mine, seeking release again.

"Fuuuuuck. I need to see that. Can I see that? Am I a voyeur now?"

I hummed against Ethan's ear and gripped his plump ass, pulling him in tighter to my hips and Trevor began to purr.

"Next time we play, baby, we'll make sure there's a spot for you to get a good view."

He whined and his hips started rolling frantically. I reached between us and gripped his thick, pillowy shaft before tilting my hips and letting him slide into me. Trevor moved away, off to sleep, or get a snack, or something that I couldn't bring myself to care about at all with my Omega inside me.

I had heard Jade talking to Ethan about his "magic dick" and she wasn't wrong. He wasn't as big as Miles, but he wasn't small either and the way that his shaft differed Alphas or Betas meant that it hit completely differently. He continued to kiss me as he thrust in with slow, measured, but hard strokes. I couldn't believe how quickly I felt my own orgasm building.

Then again, with the combined scents of the pack, and how I'd denied Ethan's need calling to me for days plus the all-encompassing relief of giving in, and having him remind me that he loved me? Before I knew it, I was throwing my head back and crying out my release as I felt Ethan's dick kick inside me, pulsing with his own orgasm. Suddenly, I felt the sting of teeth in my shoulder and a soft growling. Ethan had bitten me.

I smiled at how he'd been overwhelmed. Then I gasped. Any words I could have said got lodged in my throat. I could feel him. Not a full bond but stronger than when I felt him through Jade. A watery laugh wrenched out of me, and I wrapped my legs around his hips, putting one arm behind his back and carefully holding his head to my shoulder with the other as he licked and kissed at the bite, completely lost to his Omega instincts.

Focusing on that thread between us, I tried to send shock and joy and love. I knew it had worked when Ethan startled and raised himself up with his hands on either side of my head. Surprise and awe colored his beautiful face.

"Is that you? Did you? Did I?"

"You claimed me, Omega."

The tears in my eyes blurred his expression before he dropped back down to kiss me hungrily and flooded our fragile bond with love and elation. There was no way to say if this would last. I'd never heard of an Omega bonding anyone, but I would soak up every minute of this connection while I could. He pulled back with a mischievous gleam in his eyes before a little grin kicked up the side of his mouth. He reached into the blankets above my head and sat back, slipping from my body even though he was still hard. He held the harness with the cock that had the inflatable knot I'd gotten for his first heat and quirked a brow at me.

"Flip?"

I jack-knifed up, feeling the burn in my abdominal muscles as I snatched the cock from his hands and took his mouth in a wet and frantic kiss. Breaking the contact between our lips, I began to strap the harness on and leveled a look at him. I grinned as I watched the shiver of anticipation roll through his body.

"Go on, baby. Present."