22. REID

Chapter twenty-two

REID

The lights are dimmed, hours after dinner—pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni—the house silent as I scroll through my phone. Zana took Reid to his nest just after, mentioning that the stress is starting to do him in. We can all smell the change in his scent, how it's fainter at times or hardens as he unconsciously tries to solve all my problems. It's hilarious watching the frustration bubble up on his face but even Ethan needs a break.

Nothing interests me as I try to find something to watch and fail. That's when a whine pulls me out of my thoughts and I struggle to sit up. I frown, trying to figure out what’s wrong, why my body is heating up, and why I have the sudden need to fuck something or someone. I stumble to my feet, following the sound of another whine as my cock responds, hardening in the shorts Zana bought for me. What the fuck? Ethan’s scent suddenly hits me, a thick, syrupy blend of sweetness and summer.

The door to his nest is open, the scene before me too mesmerizing to look away from. Ethan is face down in the nest, his whines muffled by the pillows as Zana snaps her hips from behind. In the dim light, I can just see it—the knotty dildo strapped to my Alpha as she pleasures my Omega.

My? I brush that off as I continue to watch, my cheeks flaming as she nibbles on his ear, one of her hands digging into his waist as she fucks him. It’s a beautiful sight, Zana taking Ethan apart, both of them moving together like the sweetest melody.

My cock thickens in my pants as I reach down to massage myself through the fabric, swallowing back a moan when Zana’s face contorts in pleasure. Her scent blooms around Ethan’s, the combination making it hard to stay still. Something is tugging me closer, wanting me to be a part of this scene but I can’t. Not yet. I don’t want to hurt this beautiful family before it’s even started.

Zana fucks into Ethan so lovingly, the last stroke causing Ethan to cry out as his entire body shudders with his release. And that’s when Zana looks up, a sly grin on her lips as our eyes meet. I’m still holding my cock in my hand through my pants before I scramble toward the kitchen, looking for something to do.

Well, fuck, that’s not embarrassing.

There’s a few dishes in the sink, enough to tear my mind away from Zana knowing exactly how I felt about watching the two of them. The hot water stings my hands as I start furiously scrubbing imaginary dirt but I welcome the burn. It keeps me from wishing for more than I’m allowed to have, from falling into that emotion that came with watching their bodies move together.

My instincts yearn for more, for someone to touch me like that but I don’t dare hope. Not when the Wilhelm pack bond is still etched into my shoulder.

Fuck, I’m such an idiot.

The light flicks on and I yelp, dropping the sponge as I whirl around. My chest heaves and my pulse spikes as my eyes land on Zana standing in the doorway, her brow furrowed, her expression concerned.

“What are you doing?” she asks. Her voice is soft, her hair wildly hanging around her shoulders. She’s dressed in a large shirt and nothing else, her curves showing through the thin fabric. My thoughts stray for a minute before I find my voice.

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to watch. It was just…” I trail because there’s no excuse. Had I been a little more awake, I would have realized what those whines were. My face heats as I lean back against the sink, hoping that Zana will let it go.

She doesn’t. “Reid, if I was worried about you finding us, I would have closed the door.” Zana steps forward, her hips swaying as her gaze locks on mine. Her purr rattles through her chest as she reaches me, a sultry grin playing on her full lips. “Baby, I knew that Ethan’s whines would wake you. I know you aren’t ready for the kind of love he wants to shower you with but that was an invitation.”

“A what?”

She chuckles as she continues to approach until she’s standing inches from me. She’s only a few inches taller than me but her aura is so much stronger than mine. “Reid, I would not have brought you into my house if I did not want you near Ethan. An Alpha’s first priority is always their Omega. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t just as precious.”

“So, I’m here because Ethan wants me?”

Zana sighs, settling her hands on my waist. I tense and then relax, finding that I really don’t hate her touch. “Reid, my beautiful Beta, you’re here because we want you.” I swallow nervously, waiting for the punchline but there isn’t one. She leans down to press her lips to mine, a full kiss that I immediately get lost in.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time,” she says, her thumb brushing lightly over my cheek. “You’re allowed to lean on someone else. You’re allowed to let yourself heal.” Zana kisses me softly again before stepping back, allowing me to direct this moment. She sticks her hand out, tilting her head to the side as she observes my reaction. “Let me take care of you for a while, Reid.”

I want her to. God, I want nothing more than to sink inside of her and let her hold me until I fall asleep. Not soon enough, I nod and take her hand, Zana leading me to the living room where I’ve spent most of my time recuperating. She pushes me down onto the couch before reaching to the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head.

My breath catches in my throat at her beauty, dark skin that almost glows beneath the dim light, golden tones that draw out her exquisite body. “Reid, I’m going to show you what it’s like to be loved, to be cherished, to be touched .” She leans forward, slowly undoing the tie on my shorts before pulling them down my thighs.

My cock hangs there, hard and ready, precum already beading at the tip. I move to grip my length as Zana merely just raises an eyebrow, daring me to move. There’s a dominance in her gaze, one I immediately want to submit to, even as I’m sitting here with my cock out.

Zana’s sultry smile widens as she straddles my thighs, moving forward until my cock is edging against her pussy. A strangled moan comes from me as she slides down, swallowing my cock whole in one stroke. Having her on my lap like this is a surreal experience, a desperate need that I didn’t even know was brewing. Ethan’s sweet scent lingers on her skin, making it impossible to resist.

“Alpha,” I breathe. My hands settle on her waist, my fingers splaying out across her back as she rocks her hips against me. Another strangled moan falls from me, this time because it feels like her pussy is strangling my cock. “What the fuck?”

She chuckles, burying her head in my shoulder, nipping at the sensitive skin above my gland. “It’s a lock. All female Alphas have them. It’s how we mate with male Omegas. As for you, it’s how I show you that you’re mine.”

I grunt as she continues to swivel her hips, every move milking my cock until it’s just short of painful but in the best of ways. Her pussy has a vice grip, her lips on my neck forcing me to give in. I swallow back my moans, even as tears glaze the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall. Zana is overwhelming and all-consuming. She’s everything I’ve needed these past few months, grounding me in a way that no one else could. Not even Ethan.

“Alpha,” I whisper again, a moan soon following.

“Let go, baby. Give me this one.”

Heat rises in the pit of my belly as I try to hold on, hoping to draw out this feeling but it’s impossible. I cry out, burying my face in her chest before I press my lips to one of her breasts. She gasps in response, throwing her head back as I try my luck, moving to suck on her nipple, teasing it with my teeth. Seeing her find her pleasure the same way she’s doing for me is exhilarating.

And then I feel it—the absolute need to have her, to hold her, to claim her.

A possessive growl tears from my throat as my fingers dig into her waist, Zana letting out a little moan of pleasure. Before I know it, I’ve slid us off the couch and onto the floor, jackhammering into her pussy like I own it.

I can’t control this feeling as I continue to kiss and nip at her breasts, taking our pleasure to an entirely different height. She wraps herself around me, her fingers in my hair, tugging at the strands until I roar into the side of her neck and spill inside of her. She follows seconds later, her pussy strangling my cock until I come again, whimpering for relief.

“Fuck, Alpha, I can’t…”

“If I didn’t think you were mine before that, I do now.”

I don’t know what she’s talking about. All I know is that we’re somehow locked together and I feel like I need to come again. I also don’t understand why I fucked her so hard. “Zana,”

“Don’t apologize, baby,” she purrs against my head, sounding slightly out of breath. “Goddess, it’s been a long fucking time since someone rutted me. Jesus Christ, I think I’m addicted.”

I blink several times, trying to understand her words as she rolls us onto our side. “Alphas rut, not Betas.”

She smiles, pressing a quick kiss to my nose. “True, for the most part. But that all changes when there’s a female Alpha.”

My mind is swirling, a billion chaotic thoughts running around in my head but there’s one thing I’m no longer confused about. Zana is absolutely my Alpha and Ethan is my Omega. I don’t know why it took me so long to recognize it and even longer to accept it. The silence is broken as Zana starts moving, rocking her hips against me.

“What are you doing?”

“Going for another round. Baby, I told you I was going to be addicted to you.”

I nearly throw out a retort until she tears another moan from my lips, my cock already surging back to life. I don’t think I’m going to get tired of this anytime soon.