Zack steadies me and hauls my arm over his shoulders. “I thought Cal-ee leave me in prison, but you did as you said.”
My hollow laugh lacks energy. “I thought about it.”
He snorts. “Yes, sure you did. But you also dived into water when I call. And you answer ohm-ee-ga’s call for help many times.” Zack steps forward, practically dragging my limp body with him. “Come. Meet your pack.”
I lift my gaze to the alpha and omega waiting with towels for us on the back porch.
My pack. Sounds like the music of angels.
Chapter forty-seven
Red
My heart lodges in my throat as the two soaked, bedraggled alphas limp toward the porch. Rickon squeezes my hand as they come through the gate, leaving dark footprints on the pavers.
Zack looks up, and his smile melts me right through the middle. “Ohm-ee-ga, meet new pack alpha.”
Emotion burns up my throat as I reach both hands for Callisto. We’ve had such a long road to get here. I’m too shaky to speak, so I take his tie from around my neck and transfer it back to Callisto, tying it like a bow with quivery hands.
He grins and tugs me to his chest, making me gasp from the touch of cold water. He shivers all over from the exertion, and his right cheek swells along with several bruises on his arms. The wet fabric clings to his clock tattoos, the dark lines branding my name on his skin—marking the time of our first meeting.
This time, there’s no rejection.
“I said I’d come back, beautiful,” he whispers in my ear. “Here I am.”
“Took you long enough, alpha,” I murmur.
He spasms, fists tightening in the back of my loose sweater. His cherry wood scent floods me, natural and sweet, soothing after the strain of watching my men fight. From the bond, I learned Zack wasn’t angry, but he was serious. I don’t fully understand it, but it felt like he pushed Calli to his limits on purpose, intentionally searching for a breaking point. But whatever happened between them, Callisto’s presence is now stronger and clearer.
“Red,” he breathes, voice rasping. “I’m yours, Red.” He releases me enough to draw one arm back and reaches for Rickon. “And yours, Ricky.”
Rickon chokes as he throws himself into Callisto’s hug, squeezing the three of us together. Callisto convulses, panting for breath as the rush hits us all. Finally, everything is back to how fate designed us to be. The voice in my head sighs quietly and fades as Callisto tucks his arm around my waist.
Thinking about the wild ride we’ve been on clogs my throat. I smack Callisto’s back. “You’re forgiven, but you’re not getting off easy with this,” I grumble.
Calli laughs. “Understood.”
I chuckle and grasp his cheeks, tugging him down for a kiss. He tastes of chlorine and blood, and a hint of vodka from his drink on the plane. But more than anything, he tastes of my future. Our lips splash together, curved by smiles as the joyful reality sinks in.
“Red, I . . .”
“Me first,” I say, leaning back to see his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t try to understand your work. I think . . . if I’d been able to express myself better, we wouldn’t have had such a hard road.”
His eyes widen and his fists clench in my shirt. He soaks in the apology before dropping a kiss on my hair. “I’m sorry too, Red.And Rickon. I’ll fuck up again in the future, I’m sure. But can we work through it together?”
I nod, a lump in my throat.
His arms squeeze tighter. Suddenly he bends and lifts me off my feet. I squeal as he carts me up onto the rear deck and into the house. Inside, the rooms shine with pale yellow wood, warm lights, and beautifully crafted stonework, complemented with modern fixtures and serene landscape wall art.
Calli carries me up the stairs to a massive main bedroom with a custom four-poster bed hung with gauzy fabric. Sunset paints the sky a dazzling array of reds and oranges out the floor to ceiling windows, lighting up the forests and mountains beyond. Rickon squeezes by to turn lights on, including a set of fairy lights running around the bedposts.
My alpha sets me down on the bed, eyes burning with love. I roll to one side and grab a towel. “Kneel,” I say, voice rough with emotion. He’s finally mine.
Callisto obeys, settling between my feet. Gently, I rub the towel through his wet hair, drying the excess. “You remember our deal, right?” I ask. “If you’re mine, you do as I say, even if it breaks you.”
“I remember.” He smiles. “But you have to play with the pieces.”
I nod and slide my hands down his shoulders to his buttons. One by one, I release them, baring his chest. The soggy shirt sticks to his skin, revealing the twin clock tattoo, dark hair on his chest, and the faint outline of abs. I know this body well after our sex scene, but this time is different. I trace the lines possessively as I peel the shirt off him and throw it aside.
