Pushing my way into the gathered crowd, who were losing their shit at this majestic sight, I raced for the end of the street. Kellan and Finley on either side of me. Any shifters who got in our way were barreled over by my hockey-playing badass mates, and it was nice to know that while I could take care of myself, I didn’t always have to.
We were a team.
We were a pack.
When we cleared the crowds, I sprinted like my life depended on it, tears streaming down my cheeks in thick, hot rivulets. I’d been trying my best to hold it together until we knew what the verdict was from the rescue team heading for the plane, and all of that suppressed emotion burst out of me in a gush of relief.
The dragons landed smoothly. Hunter was on Slade, while Constantine perched on Talon’s back. A cry echoed up from my chest, and it was a mix of human and beast, a broken, jagged call.
All of my family was safe.
My fucking world didn’t end today.
It.Didn’t. End.
Hunter hit the ground at a run and scooped me into his arms as the dragons circled us, cutting off Kellan and Finley. My entitled alpha’s chest rumbled so hard it shook my entire body. He didn’t speak, choosing to bury his face in my neck. He took long, ragged breaths, and I was bawling like a fucking baby.
Big gulping sobs.
Snot everywhere.
A fucking mess.
“Omega… baby… mate… I love you.” Hunter’s rapid, desperate words spilled into me as he held on so tightly my ribs ached. Any lingering pain from Jewels was gone, and I welcomed his firmness against me.
The heat of the dragons enclosed us, and for the first time in hours, I felt warm and safe.
When Slade’s snout glided down my spine I choked on more tears, and while there was nothing of our bond left, I could feel how badly his beast needed the reassurance I was alive. Talon’s too. Hunter didn’t release me, but he did rearrange our positions so I could also hug their dragon snouts, coating their scales in tears. Both beasts released a purring rumble that was one of the saddest, most soothing sounds I’d ever heard.
The dragons eventually allowed Slade and Talon to return to their bipedal form. There was an electric blast of energy in the air, leaving me with two massive, very,very,naked shifters.
Slade didn’t remove Hunter from me; he just wrapped his arms around both of us, and I couldfeelthe desperate relief from him as he clung on, Talon joining in on my other side. “I love you,” I choked out. “I love you all so fucking much. For a brief second I was facing this world without you, and I would not have survived it.”
Slade and Talon buried their faces against my neck, and all three alphas just held me. Breathed me in. Reassured all of our beasts that we were still here. Alive.Together.
As our scents mingled, that dull echoing ache that had existed from the second I broke our bond started to heal, just enough so I could breathe without feeling like there was a puncture in my lungs. And my heart.
After what felt like the most therapeutic hours of my life, though it was probably only ten minutes, the alphas finally stepped back. Allthree of them stared at me as if the world around us had ceased to exist.
I met Hunter’s blazing gold eyes, Slade’s piercing green, and finally the bisected black and green of Talon. Their gazes were heated and feral. If dominance worked on me, I’d be crushed under what they exuded.
“You’re in so much fucking trouble, mate,” Slade rumbled, his voice dropping to that unattainable dragon pitch. “You broke our quintet bond.”
Hunter grunted. “Oh yes, our bratty little omega,” he rasped, the bass in his tone sending shivers down my spine. “You never were great at following orders.”
Talon just rumbled as if he was beyond words, and I reached out to capture his hand.
“I’m so fucking sorry I put you all through that,” I said, and I was relieved when they backed up enough to allow Finley and Kellan into our circle. Well, they were the circle, and I was the wolfy in the middle. Surrounded by five alphas.
I really liked that number.New favorite number
“I wasn’t even sure I could go through with it,” I said, my voice wobbling as I tried not to cry again. “But Jewels was going to kill me to take you all out, and I couldn’t let that happen. She had me, our bond, and the house locked down with magic. My only hope was to destroy the quintet and disrupt her plans.” My limbs trembled in time with my voice as the pain flooded me. “When that magic severed our bond, it felt like I’d carved out my own heart. Then I was forced to keep carving it up into pieces.”
Hunter’s nostrils flared as he took a few fortifying breaths. “You most likely saved all of our lives, little omega. Jewels would have killed you before we could get back here, even going as fast as we were.”
“We were locked out of the house from her forcefield,” Finley added. “No matter what we tried, or how many enforcers joined us, we couldn’t get inside.”
“We tried to use the disruptor prototype,” Kellan added with a sheepish shrug, “but it didn’t seem to work. I have no idea what we did wrong, but in the end, Emme saved herself… and all of us.”
