Chapter 6

I'd woken up in a pile of limbs, sandwiched between Ethan and Miles. My face had been pressed into Ethan's hair, his nose nuzzled in my neck and his hands holding mine between us. Miles had been spooning my back with one of his legs between mine and his chin rested on my head. Whenever I shared a bed with Miles, it was only ever the two of us, never any of our packmates, so I hadn't known what my instinctive reaction would be when I woke up. When I'd looked down to where Miles had his arm wrapped around my waist, I'd seen that the backs of his fingers brushed Ethan"s bare stomach. Rather than making me feel possessive of my bonded mate, the sight had caused butterflies to erupt. Miles touching Ethan wasn't a sexual thing; it was just another sign that we were getting closer and closer to becoming a complete pack. The pack, including Miles and Trevor, needed to talk about bonding Ethan, so that then we could talk with Ethan himself, but there was no denying it now—he was our Omega.

Ethan had been a bit awkward and sheepish when he'd woken up but that had been quickly forgotten when we went downstairs to start making breakfast and realized that Jade wasn't having a shower or getting dressed: she wasn't anywhere in the house. When Miles had checked his cell, and said her phone showed her location as at the hospital. I'd felt for her in our bond, but I started to get worried when I realized she'd put up a wall between me and her emotions. Miles had texted the pack chat to confirm everyone was alright before Ethan and I could devolve into a full panic. Trevor had replied quickly that Jade was with Theo at the hospital and that he would be in and out of the BullPen throughout the day. Over coffee and breakfast, Ethan had got a text from Cole, and he asked if someone could take him into Drake House so that he could work on the case. But when we went to our room to get ready, a battle of wills had ensued between Miles and I. Miles had been insistent that I shouldn't leave our bed and he should stay with me, but I'd felt the warring emotions on his side of our bond.

He wanted to stay with me, to hover and be as much of a mother hen as Alphas could get, but he recognized that Ethan couldn't go alone either. Theo and Jade were not available. We didn't think Trevor and Ethan were comfortable enough yet to spend time alone in the enclosed space of a car, so that had left the two of us. Although Miles huffed and puffed, he'd ended up compromising that we would just take Ethan to the BullPen, then go back to the house. I'd jokingly promised that I would let him wrap me in bubble wrap and stick me in bed once we got home.

The familiar journey had become a trial as soon as we left the house. Miles had stuck to my side like glue. He'd checked my seatbelt, like I was a small child, making me literally bite my tongue to keep from snapping at him. Then when we walked Ethan up to the BullPen, he'd mean-mugged every person who looked at me, even growling at a few. I was trying to be understanding, knowing what Miles must have gone through while I'd been taken, but he had to understand that I needed some normalcy. I didn't want to be treated like I was seconds away from shattering.

We'd made our way home in, mostly, comfortable silence and retreated to our floor of the house. Miles was checking his emails in his office, across the hall from our room, and I was sitting on the bed staring at the number I'd typed into my shiny new phone, with my finger hovering over the call button. If I let my finger drop, it would connect me to the same trauma counselor that Ethan had started seeing after his heat. Shaking my shoulders out, then taking a deep breath in through my nose, and out through my mouth, I braced myself and pressed call.

A cheery voice on the other end of the line let me know that they'd had a cancellation and could actually get me in to speak with the counselor in two days. I booked the time, feeling relief mixed with anxiety. I knew I needed to talk to someone. Even though I'd thought I was doing well, the reaction I'd had to the nurse trying to put in an IV was enough to tell me that my subconscious didn't seem to agree.

Crossing the hall, I stepped into Miles" office and leaned against the wall next to the door to soak in the sight of him. He was on a call, leaning back in his chair, head tipped back. I watched as he reached up to rub his beard absentmindedly and the muscles on his forearm flexed slightly. Whatever higher power or fate it was that made me part of this pack must love me because, damn. Miles wrapped up his call and turned to me with a grin. But I couldn't quite work out the look on his face, so I reached into the bond to see what he was feeling. It was gratitude, love… and worry—so much of the latter that I was surprised I could feel anything else in the bond at all. I moved to stand in front of his chair, and he spread his thick thighs to make room for me as I draped my arms over his shoulders.

"I got an appointment with Ethan's therapist for later this week."

His hands came up and he gripped my hips, his thumb sliding under the edge of my shirt and brushing my skin with the lightest touch. The muscles contracted beneath his thumb and heat pooled in my core.

"That's great, Sunshine. What day and what time? I'll make sure I clear any meetings or calls from my schedule."

The heat that had been building between us, making me want to straddle Miles and get him to distract me—the kind of distraction that would leave us sweaty and panting—completely snuffed out at his statement. I didn't want anyone to come with me. Therapy wasn't always pretty. Having someone waiting for me on the other side of the door, wondering about how broken I would be when I walked out, made my skin crawl.

"Don't do that. You probably have a ton to catch up on. I can go alone."

Miles" hands briefly tightened on my hips and his brows tilted downward before he spoke.

"No."

It wasn't a bark, but the tone he used clearly left no room for disagreeing with him. Was this going to be my life now? I loved my Alphas and my pack, but I had always been independent. I had always worked and contributed. Sure, I submitted to Jade in the bedroom, but I would never be fully submissive outside of it. I stepped back, out of his reach, and saw his jaw clench through his trimmed beard.

"Miles, this is silly. I am perfectly safe going from the house to the doctor"s office."

"You're not going alone. We don't know that you're safe. That fucker is still out there! We don't know anything about how they found you or why they took you or how they know so much. Ethan doesn't complain about having us escort him, he?—"

"He is an Omega! I am just a Beta. They got what they wanted from me. They won't come after me again. Why would they?"

"Shae, please, there are too many risks and?—"

I threw my arms up and let out a loud groan before stalking toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Downstairs, unless I'm not allowed to do that without an escort either?"

"That's not fair?—"

I didn't wait to hear the rest of his sentence, slamming the door to his office as I stomped down to the kitchen. I felt Jade send concern and questioning through our bond, while from Miles the emotion was near pleading, but he wisely didn't follow me. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs my phone began to vibrate. I saw Jade's name light up the screen, but I rejected the call. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? Jade dropped the walls around her emotions long enough to send me a flash of fear, and guilt sunk its claws into my gut.

Jade had literally left a trail of bodies in her wake to get to me and she had to be going through something with Theo to keep her walls up. She didn't deserve me scaring her or ignoring her. I breathed out, one long exhale to steady myself, and sent her back reassurance and affection. I could tell that had appeased her but then the wall went right back up on her side of our bond.

Feeling overwhelmed, I sank down onto the couch in the family room and leaned forward. My elbows on my knees, digging my fingers into my hair and squeezing my eyes shut. Then, somewhere outside there was the sound of door slamming, the metallic slide of a service van door, and that was enough to throw me back into that cell.

The sound of a sliding bar being slammed home against a solid metal door, like the one that had us trapped in this room, caused me to jump with nerves, and I reached over to check Cat's pulse, just to distract myself. Cat's marshmallow scent had been growing steadily stronger over what felt like hours since I'd woken up, but she was still unconscious. When I'd come to, I"d found they'd left us in the middle of the floor where we'd apparently fallen after they dosed us with whatever the fuck was in those syringes, like they didn't care if we were even alive, let alone the excruciating pain I remembered feeling before I passed out. I'd moved Cat to the far corner of the room as carefully as I could, and I was monitoring her pulse and breathing as she slept.

I had no way of knowing exactly how long I'd been unconscious or how long I'd been awake. I squeezed my eyes shut and reached out to Miles again, needing that connection, no matter how volatile his emotions were. My Alphas had flooded me with emotions when I first came to. I'd nearly passed out again from the onslaught of fear and concern and rage that had poured through, alongside the love. Jade had put up a barrier between us in the bond, not enough though to stop me from feeling her, just enough that everything on her end of the bond was hazy and less overwhelming. Miles on the other hand was a hurricane of emotions and I wished I'd learned more about dampening the connection just to preserve some of my focus.

The grinding of metal on metal that I remembered from before when they came in with the injections was the only warning I had before the door was pushed open and a greasy looking Beta entered the room, sneering down at me. His expression was distorted into something more sinister by a scar that bisected his top lip and went on through the corner of his mouth.

"One of them's awake."

He walked into the room, hauling in the same red-haired Beta who'd seemed so apologetic right before he stuck the syringe in my arm.

"Check them. Scents are too fuckin' thick to not have one of them change."

The smaller man approached slowly, raising his hands, and speaking softly.

"My name is Dayton. I—I don't want to be here either. But I need to check your friend. They won't hurt you. I heard the Alpha warning them."

What? Miles must have sensed my fear because he was reaching out in the bond trying to get me to send him something reassuring, but with the maelstrom of his emotions overruling everything else, his questioning probe was more like a battering ram. I shook my head trying to clear him from my thoughts and the Beta, Dayton, took the opportunity to reach around me to Cat and take her pulse.

His eyes shut slowly and his shoulders drooped. Panic ripped through me for a moment until I saw the gentle rise and fall of Cat's chest. She was fine. So why was he reacting like that? He looked at me and mouthed, "I'm sorry," before standing and backing away. Looking at the ground, he spoke loud enough for the other Beta to hear.

"It's the one who's still asleep."

The scarred Beta at the door nodded, gesturing out into the hall, and three other men came in, moving toward Cat and me. I looked between the men as my panic grew and the curtain in my bond with Jade drew back.

"Hold that one and take the other."

"No!"

I tried to jump up but I was still too weak and one of the men grabbed me while the other two lifted Cat between them to take her out of the room. I tried to fight, but once they had her in the hall the man holding me threw me into the corner. I made it to my hands and knees and was trying to push myself up against the wall when I realized the scarred Beta was holding a gun…

"Shae! Come back to me, love."

Snapping out of the memory, I was standing, chest heaving, as I clawed at Miles" shoulders trying to shove him away. My vision cleared and I focused on his dark, frantic eyes. He was holding my wrists carefully, not in a restraining grip but enough to keep me from hurting myself while I'd been thrashing around. When he saw that my eyes were clear, he moved my hands so my palms were against his chest and then he slid his hands over mine, pressing them down firmly so that I could feel the vibrations of his purr. I crumpled as a sob broke from me.

Miles grabbed me as I fell, and wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into his chest in a way that made me feel like he could shield me from anything. He kept purring until my wracking sobs subsided. In one smooth motion, he lifted me with an arm under my knees, the other behind my back, so that my face nestled into the space between his neck and his collarbone. Lying me down on the couch, he stretched out in front of me so that I was pressed into the cushions along the back. The strength of him, his purr, and his scent wrapping around me loosened more of my tensed muscles. I laid there and sniffled into his chest as the tears dried up. It was a few moments before I spoke hoarsely against his shirt.

"I'm sorry for earlier, Miles. I was upset but you didn't deserve it."

He brought a hand up tilting my chin so I could meet his shining eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, my love. I know you didn't mean it and that you were frustrated. I don't want to trigger you again, but I just…"

His words choked off as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine. He seemed more fragile than I'd imagined he could ever be. I shifted so that our eyes were level. I couldn't make myself speak above a whisper.

"Tell me."

"I felt you say goodbye, Shae. I will thank every god and every star and anything else, for the rest of my life, that you're back here in my arms. Even though I can feel you here, right now, a part of me keeps replaying those emotions that you pushed through the bond, that farewell, and it's got me fucked up.

"I don't want you to feel trapped or anything but it's all so twisted. I can't stop the thoughts that tell me if I'm not with you, if I'm not keeping you safe, then something will happen, but, next time, I won't get you back."

"Maybe coming with me to my appointment would be a good thing. You can talk to the therapist, too?"

He nodded and a sigh seeped out of him and across my lips.

"I don't really want to be alone. I think I just wanted to feel like I had some kind of control over my life. You won't have to convince me again that we need to be careful. I understand how important it is to not make easy targets of ourselves until these people are dealt with."

Bringing my hand up, I gently scratched my nails through Miles" beard, tracing the line of his jaw. His eyelids dipped and a groan sounded from deep in his throat, though his lips stayed pressed together.

"I love you, Miles."

He opened his eyes again and there were endless emotions playing through his gaze and in the bond.

"I love you too, Shae. So fucking much."

I cupped his cheek and brought his lips to mine. He kissed me back, gently at first, reverently, but the longer we were connected the more desperate it became. He gripped my waist, pulling my hips flush with his until I could feel his length hardening between us. I made a feral kind of sound in the back of my throat and drove my hands beneath his tee, lifting it up. He broke our kiss and sat up to whip his shirt off. I followed suit until I was bare from the waist up and we came together in another frantic kiss as we clumsily tried to rid ourselves of the rest of our clothes.

Miles pressed me into the cushions at the back of the couch, but this time there was nothing between us. Our hands and lips traced over each other"s bodies, reassuring ourselves that we were together. Miles" hardness ground against my thigh as his tongue moved against mine, driving me insane. I pulled back and gasped out his name.

"Need you, Shae. Need to be inside that tight little body and feel your heat gripping my dick."

"Fuck. Yes."

He pulled my leg over his hip, opening me up before his fingers dipped inside me and rubbed against the perfect spot, while he pressed the heel of his hand into the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs. My mouth dropped open, my eyes closed, and I panted as I rode that line where my orgasm was so close but wouldn't quite push over the edge into bliss.

"Come on my hand and then I'm going to fill you with my dick until I've wrung every bit of pleasure from you."

He teased his tongue over his bondmark but didn't suck on it or bite over the scar, which would have made me come faster.

"Your orgasms are mine. You are mine. Now, give it to me, Shae."

I cried out, limbs shaking, and eyes closed tightly while my body convulsed around his fingers. I was still floating through the aftershocks when I felt Miles line himself up with my entrance and slowly slide inside. I groaned at the exquisite fullness and thrust my hips toward his, so he was sheathed inside me right up to his knot.

"Fuck, love. You take me so well. So perfectly stretched around my dick."

His straight white teeth sank into his dark, pillowy bottom lip as he stared between us at where he was disappearing into me with each slow, hard thrust.

"More, Miles. Please."

His eyes met mine and our lips crashed together as he shifted us, so he was over me, his delicious weight bearing down on me as he moved deeper inside. Then he dropped one foot onto the ground and gripped my left leg behind the knee, pressing it up until it was almost to my chest and increased his pace as another orgasm built within me.

"Yes. Don't stop."

"I'm not going to fucking stop until those muscles inside you suck every drop of cum from me. Then I'm going to watch it drip out of you so I can fuck it back in with my fingers."

I cried out as my climax barreled through me. Miles" thrusts stuttered for a moment until he pressed more of his weight into me and moved faster. He stilled suddenly and groaned loudly as I felt the hot jets of his release coating my insides. I did just as he said and squeezed my inner muscles, causing him to jerk and moan again before he kissed me and followed through with the rest of his promises.