She darted over and pressed a kiss to my cheek, which had Hunter growling and lifting me away from her. “Mine,” he added, in case his actions weren’t clear enough.
His sister’s smirk was so similar to Hunter’s that I almost did a double take. “I know, brother,” she said, patting him on the cheek. “I’ve seen the tattoo. But you also need to learn to share. Emme is my new sister, and I will love on her as much as I want. Don’t even think about fighting me on that, or I’ll destroy you. Entitled alpha or not.”
My responding smile was broad and amused, and it only grew as Hunter groaned. “I’m ordering you two not to gang up against me. You’re not allowed. That’s a fucking command from an entitled alpha.”
Leaning away from his hold to meet Kassidy’s gaze, I said, “Well, new sister, I feel it’s my duty to inform Hunter that you’re technically an entitled alpha as well.”
Hunter looked aghast. “But… she’s in a pack of one.”
“Still counts,” we said together, and Hunter dropped his head back and pressed his right hand to the bridge of hisnose, mutteringgoddess be damned,which set Kassidy off into laughter once more.
“Oh, she’s not going to be any help here,AlphaHunter. You’re well and truly fucked.”
With that, she laughed all the way out of the kitchen, a real pep in her step.
Hunter remained in the position of half despair until I patted his chest, and his gaze snapped down to mine. “I’ve really been looking forward to meeting her, and that did not disappoint in any way.”
With a shake of his head, he lifted me higher, burying his face in my throat as he breathed me in. The fire of his dominance died down with each inhalation, until eventually he placed me on the stool Kassidy had left pushed away from the counter. “Just know, little omega,” he said, leaning down to my height, “that whatever you two cook up, you’ll be the only one who gets punished.”
His eyes darkened, and the flash of gold had me squirming in my seat.
It was hard to tell if he was kidding or not, but in reality, I really didn’t care. Hunter’s punishments took on a whole new meaning these days, and I washere for it.
Time to start my plan to stir up these alphas’ lives. Slade might be the first on my list, but Hunter, the domineering asshole, was second.
I couldn’t wait.
CHAPTER 31
EMME
Ispent most of Saturday with Hunter and Kellan. We swam, ate all the delicious food, watched movies, and existed in a bubble where we dealt with nothing and had no serious conversations. Neither of them asked me what had happened during the bonding, and I got the sense they feared spooking me by demanding answers.
I had no idea how long it would last before they pushed, but I enjoyed the peaceful day.
I stayed in Kellan’s room that night, and he loved every inch of me until I fell into an exhausted sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning. It felt like I’d been asleep for seconds before a roughened hand slid down my spine and I jerked awake. I hadn’t had to use mysleep lightly and come awake at a dimeinstincts for a while, leaving me at a disadvantage.
“Snow,” Slade rumbled when I managed to focus on his giant form beside the bed. “I need you to look at some security footage for me.”
Blinking to clear my gaze, I whispered, “Is—Is everything okay? Hunter and Finley?”
“Yes, both okay. I found a new piece of history on your mom’s pack, and I need to know if you have any additional information to assist my investigation.”
The mention of Mom’s pack was a shot of adrenaline to my system. I gently dislodged Kellan’s arm and jumped out of bed, forgetting I was butt-ass naked. It was dark, but not dark enough to hide from shifter sight.
Slade’s gaze slowly slid down my body, and by the time he returned to my face, his jaw was tight and I was combusting. I tried not to full-body blush, which would really highlight all the naked parts, but was fairly sure I failed.Shifters.We were shifters. Naked was normal. Naked wasn’t inherently sexual.
Still, the way the dragonstareddidn’t feel even remotely platonic.
Blindly, I reached out to grab Kellan’s shirt from the floor, pausing when Slade rumbled. Glancing up, I had no idea what was happening until he palmed the back of his plain black shirt and yanked it over his head. With the soft material in hand, he reached out and draped it over my head, surrounding me in his sweet scent. “Arms up,” he ordered in a low voice, and I obeyed like he had the master controls to my body.
The length fell well past my thighs, and I was so frazzled by my proximity to his unbelievable chest and intriguing tattoo that I blurted out the first words that came to mind. “Next thing you know, you’ll have me tattooed on your body like Hunter.”
I was an idiot. There was literally no other explanation for that comment.
Slade had only just started to tolerate me, and I was well aware that his bursts of possessiveness were a product of him being an alpha and my scent match. We were nowhere near the stage of tattoos or claiming bites. We probably never would be.
In the darkness, I caught a slight twitch of his lips. “How do you know you’re not already marked on my skin?”
