“It’s not working,” I said after a few minutes.
“Should we get in with her?” Vilkurn asked. For the first time in years, my friend Vil looked uncertain. His hair, still wet from his quick bath, gleamed darkly in the light that flickered from the torches on the wall and the wide fireplace.
Axe signed, “Yes. Skin on skin.” We removed our clothing, folding it and placing it on the tables and chairs around the room. I noticed we all left a weapon close enough to the bed that we could grab it easily, just in case.
As one, we climbed onto the massive bed, letting our skin touch Vali’s. The bed was big, but it wasn’t that big, and we ended up touching each other as well. Before long, every one of us had an erection that couldn’t be hidden, and I had to stifle a laugh. We may have shared a few women in the past, and we’d been in bed with Vali one or two at a time over the last few months, but this was… different. I felt Vilkurn’s ass press against my leg and jerked myself back. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
He muttered something that might have been, “I’m not,” and his lips quirked up, but his eyes stayed fixed on our mate.
“Thank the Goddess Lorn is away,” Tarn growled. For a moment I wondered why, but then it dawned on me.Brothers.
I made a face at Axe when he glanced over. It was one thing to rub up on Vilkurn—only the Goddess knew what that man’s proclivities were, and this wasn’t the time to ask—but Axe was my half-brother. We inched away from each other, carefully taking up stations on opposite sides of the bed.
We all reached out, caressing her skin, Tarn and Vilkurn whispering endearments. Axe’s fingers traced shapes on her arm, and I could tell he was writing something there—a love letter? A prayer? —and hoping she would feel it somehow.
My own voice was caught in my throat as I pondered what we would do if this didn’t work. On paper, my kingdom reverted to Vali upon my death, and Axe upon hers. But if one of us went, we all would perish. I rubbed my mating bite absently, and realized all of us had been doing so since Axe carried Vali in. Who should I assign as the next in line? My heart constricted. I had always dreamed it would be one of my own children to take over the throne. Now, would that ever happen?
My mood grew even more bleak. I had sent riders to retrieve Lorn from Verdan. If she didn’t awaken, he would want to be here when she… I bit the inside of my cheek, refusing even to consider that.
“Rigol!” Axe motioned from across the bed, his eyes glinting with something—madness, an idea?
“What?”
“Get our clothes,” he signed. “When she made her nest in my room, the blankets weren’t enough. She took my clothing and laid it all over the inside of the nest, all around her. Tarn’s as well.”
“Yes,” Vilkurn hissed, and we were suddenly both on our feet, grabbing the discarded trousers, shirts, and even Axe’s leather jerkin. Carefully, slowly, each of us placed our own clothing around Vali until she looked like the center of a haphazard, multi-colored daisy.
Axe leaned over her, his hand moving her dark curls back from her face, and pressed the gentlest kiss I had ever witnessed to her lips.
“Wake up, little Goddess,” I whispered. “Wake and let your mates help you. Heal you.” Axe kept kissing her until suddenly, he let out a strange, muffled sound. Vali’s tongue had crept out, a pink flash, darting into Axe’s mouth to taste him.
“She’s awake,” Tarn breathed. Then his hands were on her arms, moving slowly, gently, massaging her. “Rise and shine, Peaches. You’ve been sleeping too long.”
Vali opened her eyes, but the woman who glared out at the four of us wasn’t the sweet girl we had fallen in love with.
It was the Omega who owned us.
Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. Her dark, angry eyes slid over each of us with a hungry, predatory glare that was almost as terrifying as it was arousing.
Axe moved first, but Vilkurn stopped him. “I’m not certain she knows what she’s doing,” he cautioned. “She’s been driven into—”
“Into a frenzy,” Tarn finished. “I’ve read about this in some of the books I’ve collected. This state is incredibly dangerous.” He stopped, obviously not wanting to continue.
“How?” I demanded. “Tell us what to do.”
His eyes shot to mine. “Rigol, if one of us doesn’t get inside her, she could go mad within hours. Or worse.” The real possibility that her life was at stake hit my gut like a fist, leaving me gasping, unable to draw a deep breath.
Months ago, Tarn had shared with us some of the darker stories regarding Omegas’ needs for sex, and the consequences they faced when it was withheld during a heat. One of the most prevalent theories for the cause of the Omega Plagues was that a large group of them had been caged through their heats, and the plagues had somehow begun with those ancient, tormented Omegas.
But the thought of taking her, of any of us availing ourselves of her body, while she lay semi-conscious, was abhorrent. “She must consent,” I insisted.
Axe nodded.
Vilkurn clicked his tongue on his teeth. “We are all her mates, Rigol, and we must try to save her life. Go slowly, Tarn.”
“Vali, I’m going to lick you now,” Tarn murmured. “Tell me if you want me to stop. Please.” Her only reply was a low growl, but she pushed her hips up, as if in invitation.
Looking more terrified than aroused, Tarn lowered his face over Vali’s core, gently pulling her legs apart, and swiped a long, thorough lick from the bottom of her opening to her clit. She threw back her head, a strange, small keening sound coming from her throat, her legs already thrashing in the throes of an orgasm that seemed equal parts pleasure and pain.
