I losetrack of how many times we cycle through.
Heat wave. Relief. Sleep. Repeat.
Tessa stops talking somewhere around the fourth round. She’s beyond words now—just soft sounds, desperate whimpers, her body reaching for whoever’s closest when the need hits.
Ben takes her twice, each time more confident than the last. He murmurs to her the whole time—sweet nonsense, gentle encouragement—and somehow still makes her laugh even when she’s barely conscious.
Elijah takes her once, and it’s so tender I have to look away. He’s quiet—doesn’t do the dirty talk like Ben and I do—but he murmurs to her. Short words. “I’ve got you.” “That’s it.” “Let go.” He watches her face, reads her body, gives her exactly what she needs. When she comes on his knot, silent tears stream down her cheeks. He kisses them away, whispers something I can’t hear.
And then it’s my turn again.
“Milo—” Just my name. Just need.
I’m already there. Already pushing inside her. She’s so wet, so open, that I slide in like I belong there.
Maybe I do.
This time is slow. She’s exhausted—we all are—and her body is running on instinct alone. Her eyes are half-closed, glazed, and she’s not really seeing me. She’s just feeling.
I give her what she needs. Slow, deep thrusts. My knot swelling and locking us together. The relief that floods her scent when the emptiness finally stops.
She’s asleep before my knot even deflates. Dead to the world, her body finally getting the rest it desperately needs.
I hold her and watch the first pale light of dawn creep through the window. The storm has stopped. The world outside is buried in white, silent and still.
We made it through the day and night.
Ben catches my eye from across the nest. He looks as wrecked as I feel—exhausted, satisfied, hopeful.
Elijah is already asleep, one hand resting protectively on Tessa’s hip.
This is pack. This is what it feels like to belong to something bigger than yourself.
I close my eyes and let myself drift, still locked inside her, surrounded by the people I care about most.
Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.
Chapter 16
Tessa
Time stops making sense.
There’s only sensation. Only need. Only the endless cycle of emptiness and fullness, pain and pleasure, desperate wanting and blissful relief.
I lose track of which alpha is touching me. Lose track of how many times I’ve come. Lose track of everything except the heat burning through my veins and the hands that keep pulling me back from the edge.
The nest smells like all of us now. Leather and musk, cedarwood and honey, dark chocolate and amber—all layered over my own lavender and citrus. Pack scent. The thought drifts through my foggy brain and settles somewhere warm.
A mouth between my thighs. Elijah, I think. Patient and thorough, licking me like he has all the time in the world—like we’re not trapped in a cabin during a blizzard, like the heat isn’t demanding more, always more. His tongue drags through my folds, circles my clit, pushes inside me. I’m dripping slick down my thighs, soaking the nest beneath me, and he groans against my pussy like it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted.
I can’t speak. Can only whimper and rock my hips against his face, chasing the pleasure building low in my belly. My fingersfind his hair, grip tight. He hums approval against my clit and the vibration makes me gasp.
He seals his lips over my clit and sucks, and I shatter. Silent scream, thighs clamping around his head, back arching off the mattress. The orgasm rolls through me in waves, and before it even fades, the emptiness is back.
More. I need more.
Hands roll me onto my side. Ben’s scent surrounds me as he presses against my back, all warm skin and solid muscle. His cock slides between my thighs, coating himself in my slick, and I push back against him desperately.
