“If you say anything less than a hundred out of ten, I’m going to spank your perfect little ass right here,” Slade responded with a slow smile, as if he was still somewhat amused. Before I could recover from that statement, he wrapped his hands around my waist and hauled me over his shoulder.
I tried to glare at him from my perch across his broad shoulder, but he appeared unfazed. The rest of our pack joined us in a march across the grounds, and I leveled that same glare on each of them. “None of you better get used to hauling me around like this just to get your own way. I know how to fight now… And I have magic.”
I’d zap their asses without a second thought. Just a minor spell, of course; no one hurt my mates, not even me.
“You know you’re the boss, baby girl,” Hunter said, and as the entitled alpha that was an official statement. “But since we love to touch you and take care of you, I doubt any of us will stop carrying you around. Within reason.”
Slade grunted his agreement, and it was so quintessentially alpha that I was filled with what could only be described as burst of warmth. It flooded into my wolf, who was relaxing in the comfort of her pack and scents.
We ended up in a different hut this time, one with a second room that was almost all bed. Big enough for a quintet plus a few.
I stared down from my vantage point upon the tower of Slade, and my pulse was damn near racing. “It’s finally clicked that we’ll be performing all parts of the bonding here.”
Slade’s slap against my ass was firm, even over the top of my coat and jeans. He rubbed across the spot, and the fire which followed was both external and deep in my core.
Wave the damn panties. We were going down.
“You’re not leaving this cabin unbonded,” he said with a rumble, “and our quintet will never be destroyed again.”
“I promise,” I murmured, hoping it was one I could keep. I wasn’t sure the end of the world could convince me to go through that pain again, even knowing we could reform our quintet later. Or so we hoped. Today would be our telling point.
Slade didn’t set me down until we were in the main room, candles already positioned for the circle of energy. When I’d broken our quintet, I’d done more than cutmyties to them all—I’d cut their bonds with each other as well. For the strongest quintet we could have, they would join in brotherhood first, and then all of them to me.
My heart slammed in my chest as they started the ritual, which was a repeat of last time, with chanting and the earthy scent surrounding us. It may have been wishful thinking, but it felt like the buzz of their connection was stronger. All I could guess was that this time all five were coming into the bond as equals, and I really loved that for Talon.
When the essence of their beasts rose, a sigh expelled from me with so much force that it caught their attention. But fuck, there’d been more than a small part of me which feared I’d broken the scent match magic beyond repair. This proved that all I’d done was disrupt it for a short time.
The goddess did not forsake our match.
After their part of the ceremony was complete, the alphas abandoned every pretense of formality, encircling me like hungrypredators. “It’s time, little omega,” Hunter purred, reaching out for me. “And I will be going first, as is my right as entitled alpha.”
Slade grunted, and there was a lot of dragon in his piercing green gaze. “For the first time ever, I feel the urge to challenge you for that role, brother.”
Hunter’s smile never wavered. We all knew Slade wouldn’t actually challenge him, but I appreciated his need for me all the same. When Hunter extended his hand once more, I placed mine against his palm without hesitation.
With a gentle tug, I fell into his arms. “If you have any objections, baby, now’s your time to speak up.”
My wolf rose until a purr rattled in my chest, which was pressed against Hunter. My fingers crept down his shirt, unbuttoning it slowly along the way. “Not a single objection, Hurricane. But I do have some requests.”
Gold flared in his gaze, and my skin heated at the intensity of five other gazes on me, even as I remained mostly focused on Hunter.
I pressed my lips to his chest I’d just revealed, caressing the hot skin below. “You will claim my ass, Hurricane, while Kellan takes my pussy. You can bite first, but I want Kellan to claim me just after.” Their scents exploded, and I had to shrug off my coat before I overheated and died.
“Deal,” Kellan burst out, ignoring Hunter’s annoyed snarl of a reminder about who was in charge.
“What next?” Hunter asked, returning his focus on me.
“I’d like to suck Finley’s dick,” I rasped, clearing my throat, “while you two finish inside me. Then he gets to fuck and bite me too.”
Hunter nodded with each point, as if he made mental notes, while Finley’s low, pained moan was accompanied by a spill of cherry and vanilla through the hut.
“Slade and Talon will claim me last,” I continued, unsure where this bold, dirty-mouthed side of me was coming from. But I didn’t hate it. And if their scents were any indication, neither did my alphas. “Then our quintet will be complete.”
By the time I blinked, Kellan was naked, and the others were damn near close. Clothes littered the floor, and their scents were heavy in the air. Hunter’s chest was one big rumble as he hauled me into his arms, and in a move so fast it made my head spin, I was on my back, a soft mattress beneath me.
“This is a new bed,” Hunter murmured, as the scent of clean sheets wafted up around us. “We will not claim you on a mattress that’s been used by any other pack. No other scent has ever touched this surface, and none ever will after us.”
“We need this bed at home,” I gasped, arching against him. “So we can all sleep together.”
