“Do you want to leave?” he asks.
“No,” I say too quickly. Auryn kisses me again, softly. She settles against me, and my eyes close as I fall into her sweet-cinnamon sugar kiss.
I have never kissed anyone but Auryn. I love kissing Auryn. Her hand slides up my chest, resting over my heart. I am acutely aware of how fast my heartbeat is. How soft her touch is. How sweet she tastes. She presses her body against me, muttering two words that ricochet through my entire being.
“My beta.”
I’ve never felt such praise before. The way she says the words are like she’s trying to say something else.
My beta.
I love you.
“Your beta,” I whisper. They aren’t the right words, but they are the only ones I can find at the moment.
I kiss her back, pulling her into a tight embrace. I love the way she feels in my arms. Soft, but heavy. Warm and comfortable. I love the way she smells. I love her warm breath on my skin. I love how she is so small but so fucking fierce. My alpha. I love that she is a miracle wrapped in an enigma. A fighter born out of blood and decay.
And all at once it hits me. Hard.
I love her.
I love Auryn.
“Don’t be greedy, Olivander. Save some for the rest of us,” Emmett says, his voice tinged in sarcasm and lust.
I let go of Auryn regrettably, watching her grin spread. I don’t move, transfixed by the way she brushes her ass against his groin. I note the faint grimace, but it disappears as she pulls him by the jaw and kisses him.
He whimpers into her mouth, the heavy scent of burnt cherries and vanilla fill the air, and I blink, realizing what’s happening. Cinnamon and cherries mix together as she growls. He whines, thrusting himself against her, and I scramble to get up, wanting to record everything. I may never have a chance to witness something like this ever again.
“Where the fuck you think you’re going?” Emmett’s voice grumbles.
“I will be right back; I—”
“You ain’t going nowhere, if I have anything to say about it,” Emmett growls, that smokey scent cloying at my nostrils.
“Why not?” I ask, watching as Auryn shifts between us, so she’s now facing Emmett like she’d been facing me moments ago.
She wraps her hand around his throat, her mouth latching onto his flesh as she bites, nibbles, and kisses him. My gaze flashes to the way she works at his neck, and I vaguely understand. She wants to claim him.
Her alpha wants to claim its omega.
What will happen once the proteins die off? Will she still feel that need?
I have to get my notebook; I have to record—
“Because I said so!” Emmett growls. Auryn whines.
“You don’t have to stay so far away,” Emmett says, clutching her closer. “I won’t bite.” He shoots me a sarcastic grin. “Much.”
I look to the door, then at my mate and packmate in front of me before Emmett lets out a curse, and I hear the pain in his voice.
“Are you okay?” Auryn asks, whining. Emmett purses his lips, his eyes shut.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Auryn, I—”
All thoughts of science and questions go out the window as I react to the sight of my packmate in pain. Nothing else matters.
“I fucking can’t—” Emmett growls. I reach over Auryn, flipping the blanket off of him. I curl closer to her so I can get a good look at his dick.
