He positioned himself at my entrance, his golden-brown eyes meeting mine. I could see his nervousness, his hope, hisoverwhelming love. But beneath all of that, I could see his desire, hot and desperate and utterly devoted.
"Tell me if I hurt you," he whispered. "I never want to hurt you. I'd rather die than cause you pain."
"You won't," I assured him, reaching up to stroke his cheek, feeling the slight tremble in his muscles. "You could never hurt me. I trust you completely."
He slid inside me slowly, carefully, his whole body trembling with the effort of control. His rounded ridges stroked against my sensitive walls with gentle pressure, soothing where the others had stimulated, healing where they had overwhelmed. The fit was perfect—his gentler ridges finding spots the others had awakened and treating them with tender attention. When he was fully seated, he let out a sound—half moan, half sigh—and pressed his forehead to mine.
"This is what it feels like," he breathed, wonder thick in his voice, his golden-brown eyes glistening with emotion. "To be home. To belong. I've been waiting my whole life for this moment, for you, and it's even more perfect than I dreamed."
He moved slowly, each thrust accompanied by soft declarations of love. His pace was gentle, unhurried, savoring every moment of connection. He kissed me constantly—my lips, my cheeks, my forehead, my throat—like he couldn't bear to stop touching me even for a moment. A constant, low rumble came from his chest—an alpha sound of contentment and claiming.
"I love you," he said, over and over, a litany of devotion. "I love you. I love you. I love you." Each repetition was accompanied by a thrust, a kiss, a touch that made me gasp with tender pleasure.
"I love you too," I gasped, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him as close as physically possible, until I couldn't tell where I ended and he began. "Thane—I love you—" The pleasure built slowly, sweetly—a gentle wave rather than a crashing tide.His pace never quickened, never grew frantic—he maintained that slow, deep rhythm, each thrust thorough and intentional. His rounded ridges stroked against my inner walls with loving attention, building pleasure in layers rather than peaks.
His hands explored my body as he moved, touching my breasts with gentle reverence, stroking my scales with wandering fingers, cupping my face to kiss me deeply. Every touch was infused with love, with worship, with gratitude. Warmth spreading through my entire body, pleasure unfurling from my core It was softer than the others, but somehow deeper, more profound. I clung to Thane as it washed through me, whispering his name like a prayer, a purr rumbling through my chest. Thane followed me over the edge, his release accompanied by a sound of pure, overwhelmed joy. I felt his knot swelling inside me—smaller than the others, gentler, but no less binding—and his release flooded me with warmth. He held me through it, his body trembling with emotion.
His bite was gentle but sure, his teeth sinking into the tender skin on the opposite side from Vale's mark. The fourth bond snapped into place, and suddenly I could feel all of them—Kaelan's steady anchor, Riven's fierce fire, Vale's endless song, Thane's tender warmth. Four presences in my mind, four hearts beating in sync with mine, four souls bound to me forever.
"My love," Thane whispered against my throat, his voice thick with emotion. "My home. My everything."
As Thane's knot slowly released. The others pressed close, surrounding me with warmth and strength and the overwhelming comfort of pack. I could feel their presences in my mind—Kaelan's steady anchor, Riven's fierce fire, Vale's endless song, Thane's tender warmth. Four bonds humming with shared emotion, four hearts beating in sync with mine.
Four marks decorated my throat—Kaelan's at the junction of my neck and shoulder, Riven's on the opposite side, Vale'sbehind my jaw, Thane's just below my ear. They throbbed gently, healing already but leaving permanent scars that would mark me as theirs forever.
"Pack," Kaelan said, pulling me into his arms as the others pressed close, their bodies surrounding me in a cocoon of warmth and love. A deep rumble of satisfaction vibrated through his chest. "Family. Mates."
I floated there, surrounded by my pack, my mates, my family. The heat in my blood had finally cooled, satisfied by their claiming. My body ached pleasantly, stretched and filled and thoroughly loved. And in my mind, four bonds hummed with shared emotion—satisfaction, possessiveness, protective fury, endless devotion.
A deep, contented purr rumbled through my chest—the omega sound of pure happiness, of belonging, of home.
"How do you feel?" Kaelan asked, his voice a low rumble against my hair. I considered the question. Considered the pleasant ache in my core, the tender throb of four fresh marks on my throat, the feeling of being full and claimed and utterly, completely loved.
"Complete," I said finally, the word coming out soft and sure, my purr never fading. "I feel complete."
For the first time in my life, it was true.
Chapter Thirty
LILY
I dreamed of fire. Flames licking along my skin, heat pooling in my core, a desperate ache building between my?—
I woke with a gasp, my body already trembling, the heat surging through my veins with renewed intensity. The claiming had sated me for a while and I'd slept curled in the nest with all four of them pressed around me, their bonds humming contentedly in my mind—but now the fire was back, building higher than before.
A keen escaped my throat before I could stop it, high and desperate, echoing off the cavern walls.
"Easy," Kaelan's voice rumbled against my ear, his arms tightening around me. The others stirred, their bonds flickering with awareness, but it was Kaelan who pulled me closer, his chest solid against my back. "I've got you. I can feel it through the bond—your heat is flaring up again."
"It hurts," I whimpered, pressing back against him, feeling the solid warmth of his body. My skin felt too tight, too hot, every nerve ending sparking with need. I could feel my ventaching, desperate to be filled, and I squirmed against him, seeking friction. "Kaelan, please?—"
"The others need to rest," he murmured, his lips brushing against my ear. Through the bond, I could feel his desire rising to meet mine—a steady, controlled burn that matched the inferno raging through my blood. "Let me take care of you. Just me, for now."
He lifted me in his arms, and I clung to him, burying my face against his neck, breathing in his scent, pine and deep water and something ancient that made my omega instincts purr even through the desperate need. The others made soft sounds of acknowledgment as he carried me toward the pool, their bonds pulsing with drowsy approval. The water closed around us like a cool embrace, and I gasped with relief as Kaelan submerged us both. My gills fluttered, drinking in the water, and the fire in my blood banked slightly—enough that I could think, could feel something beyond the overwhelming need.
"There," Kaelan murmured, his hands stroking down my sides as he positioned me to float before him. The light caught on his dark scales, making them shimmer like the night sky. "Better?"
"A little," I admitted, though my body was still trembling, still aching. I could feel my vent pulsing with need, could feel the slick gathering inside me, desperate for him. "But I still need?—"
