As I lifted my gaze farther, I took in the large male slouched in the chair beside the bed.
Slade.
The dragon was awake, his eyes darker than usual as he observed the three of us asleep, as if he had been keeping vigil. When our gazes met, there was a spark in his, but he never moved or spoke, just let this tense moment extend between us.
The intensity was broken by a raspy snore, and I lifted my head just enough to find the second chair at the foot of the bed. Finley was asleep and looking uncomfortably squished into a chair that wasn’t designed to take his full height or weight.
All four alphas in a room with me while I slept would have been my worst nightmare a few months ago, but I felt no unease or concern by their presence. If anything, it was comforting, which was anothervery unexpectedoutcome of finding my pack.
My bladder started to protest around the time Hunter stroked his hand across my stomach, and then I was filled with a surge ofotheremotions. Mostly need, desire, want, arousal.
As his left hand stroked my bare skin under my shirt, with sparks of energy following in its wake, his right shifted higher toslot perfectly around my throat, like it had been made to claim me.
“How’d you sleep, little omega?” he murmured. The huskiness of his voice had heat seeping into my skin as my core ached.
This couldn’t happen next to Kellan.And with two other alphas in the room.
“F-fine,” I stuttered, trying to fight how desperately I wanted to capitulate to his dominance.
Just. Like. Mom.
Thinking of her was a bucket of ice water thrown over heated skin, and I shot up in his hold. The entitled alpha let out a low laugh from behind me, and while he could have easily stopped me as I scrambled over him, he didn’t.
I raced out of Kellan’s room like my ass was on fire, but before I reached my room, Hunter appeared in the hallway, calling out my name. Turning slowly, I took in his dark, tousled hair and the breadth of his bare chest. The tattoos along his arms twitched as he leaned against the frame. “Remember what I said, little omega,” he drawled, his dark gaze locked on me in a way that suggested he would very much like to chase as I ran. “No touching yourself in the shower. Your pretty pussy belongs to me. I will be the one to bring you pleasure.”
Slade appeared beside him, and my cheeks were so hot, I knew they were a red flashing signal, even in the dimly lit hallway. “Since Kellan isn’t here to point it out,” the dragon shifter added, “let me be the first to remind you that Snow belongs to all of us. Even her…” His gaze grew heated as it dragged slowly from the top of my head to my toes. “…pretty pussy.”
I died. I was now a puddle of death on the floor.
Hunter’s dirty mouth had been my undoing from about the first day I met him, but… Slade.
My breaths huffed in and out like I was asthmatic, and with a squeaking sound that resembled a mouse and not a wolf, I darted into my room and slammed the door closed. I heard low, deep rumbles of laughter from outside, and was almost tempted to poke my head back out to see if that was from Slade too.
I’d grown a touch obsessed with hearing all of them laugh. Kellan was the only one to freely chuckle with real humor—I’d barely even seen Finley crack a smile, and would no doubt die of shock if he ever laughed in front of me.
It’d be the apocalypse if that happened anyway, so at least I wouldn’t be dying alone.
With my back pressed against my closed door, I tried to regain composure, but my body was just too worked up.Damn them. Damn these freaking alphas and their obsessive dominance that I was exhausted from resisting. It was a task I continued to fail miserably at, and I doubted I’d even get points for trying these days. They kept infiltrating my life and thoughts, and Ikept letting them.
How was any sane, red-blooded shifter supposed to fight the insane draw I felt for them?Who could fight this long term?And with Kellan injured and possibly dying, I couldn’t leave or escape either.
Locking my door, which would doabsolutely nothingto keep an alpha out, I hurried into the bathroom to get ready for the day. In the shower, my fingers skimmed over sensitive skin as I washed myself, and I was rewarded with a deep throb in my center. I was tempted to test out Hunter’s ability of knowing if I touched myself, but even as I glided a fingertip across my clit, I found no satisfaction in my own touch. Even my body rejected anything other than an alpha.Traitor.
With everything going on, I needed to run my wolf this morning or I’d end up losing my mind. I decided to call Coraand see if she was free to shift with me. We’d need alphas too, of course. None of them would let us go on our own.
When I was dressed in a loose pair of black sweatpants and hoodie, I unlocked my door and headed down the hall in search of my phone. It was a relief to find the bedroom empty of everyone except Kellan, even though we weren’t supposed to be leaving him alone. Most likely the guys had just ducked out to get dressed, so I quickly searched for my phone, finding it on the desk next to a few loose scraps of paper.
There wasn’t clutter in here anywhere except on his desk, where Kellan had clearly been scribbling while he chatted on the phone or read a book. I liked seeing those little personal touches, and his terrible renditions of wolves and stick figure shifters. It reminded me of the joy I felt when Kellan was awake and healthy. I missed him so much.
Forcing myself not to dwell and cry again, I dialed Cora, and it rang twice before she answered.
“Oh, my freaking goddess, Emme. I’ve been so worried about you.”
In my head, I pictured my friend, looking as per usual ethereal and elegant. “Sorry it took me so long to get in touch,” I choked out, pain still threading my voice. “It’s been a rough few days.”
Cora released a low sob, her voice just as broken as mine. “Warrick and I tried to visit yesterday but Alpha Hunter said you were asleep. I just wanted to make sure in person that you were okay. I can’t believe what’s happening to Alpha Kellan.”
Kellan might not be the entitled alpha of our quintet, but he was dominant enough to garner the respect of the title. Especially when he’d acted like a complete hero and saved my life.
