“Some days I wonder how you’re a shifter,” Slade said, slipping his hands under my armpits and slowly dragging me up the bed to face him. Drawing the hot water bottle from my hands, he tossed it to the side. “Your coordination and stamina areunique, that’s for sure.” As the alpha who trained me, he had a ton of evidence to back that statement.
I opened my mouth to defend myself but Talon interrupted with a growl. “I smell blood. Are you injured?”
Both of them examined me closer, and their intense heat was soothing to my pain. Slade’s nostrils flared, but he quickly ascertained there were no injuries. “You have your period,” he noted. “Your fertile time is coming to an end for another season.”
I doubted Talon had much experience with fertile times or periods, and with that in my mind, I was already bracing for how he’d react. I’d heard there were males who didn’t handle it well or got grossed out. It would take him time to get used?—
One of his hands slid down to cover my stomach, and the other across my lower back. “We feel your discomfort, Emme,” he said. “You’re staying with us tonight so we can soothe you. Whatever it takes.” He looked toward his twin. “I read that orgasms can help omegas during their period. Is that correct?”
Goddessfuck.Did I just burst into flames?
The ache in my uterus flared when it spasmed, my lower half unsure if we were shedding our lining or preparing to be bred.Who said it couldn’t be both?
“As nice as an orgasm would be,” I managed to say, sounding almost normal. “I’d prefer not to cover you both in blood. I can be quite the heavy bleeder for the first few days.”
As Slade was well aware. Not that he appeared to care, as he followed his brother’s lead and slid his hands across my sides until their heat infiltrated my entire core. “We’re not turned off by blood,” he said, his accent deepening. “You just let us know what you need.”
There was a ruckus at the door, and my bites pulsed as my other mates all but tumbled inside. “Sheneedsto kiss us goodnight,” Kellan declared, the first in the room, with Finley right behind him. “And you two big bastardsneedto get on board with larger beds, and pack huddles from here on out.”
There was no real bite in his tone, as they all knew I’d spend this night with the twins. It was hard not to stay with all my alphas though, especially Finley, who struggled to sleep by himself. I’d been with him for the last two nights, and he’d crashed out completely for the first time in weeks.
As if he’d heard that thought, the bear knee walked from the end of the bed, ignoring the rumbles of the dragons as he pulled me from their grasp.
He wrapped me in a bear hug. “Now that our bond is complete, my soul is at ease,” he said softly, soothing my worries. “I can reach for your essence anytime I need, and my bear is already inching toward your beast. I want to sleep with you, don’t get me wrong, but you don’t need to feel any guilt. Enjoy your slumber in the dragon inferno.”
My lips parted and he kissed me thoroughly. Kellan dipped in a beat later with a slow, tender touch against my lips. “See you at training, Shortcake,” he murmured in a teasing tone. “You’ve got weapons with me, after Slade destroys you on a soul-deep level.”
“Then magic with Constantine,” Slade added, not denying thesoul-destroyingcomment.
I groaned at the very thought, especially while I had my period. “Aren’t we heading to the compound tomorrow?” The hint of hope was easily heard in my question, and Kellan snorted.
“Only you’d take Fletcher’s creepy lair over magic training.”
“Magic trainingwithConstantine,” I reminded him.
Talon shook his head. “I need to do some scouting first, make sure the area is clear. I won’t put you all at risk. If everything is good though, we can head there the next day.”
The dragon’s energy pulsed strongly in our quintet bond, and I was starting to wonder if that happened when they were doing their owntwincommunicating.
“The next day works,” Hunter said, the last to enter the room. His nostrils flared. “You’re bleeding.”
I forced myself not to roll my eyes at their overprotective nature;I’d barely been alone in weeks and was clearly uninjured. “I’m fine,” I said, meeting his blazing gaze.
“She’s got her period.” Kellan figured it out quickly. “Everyone needs to go easy on her tomorrow.”
So far, none of my alphas showed any sign of being remotely squeamish about periods, which was… unexpected. But really damn nice.
“They’ll be here every six to eight weeks,” I said with a shrug. “As long as I’m not knocked up of course.”
That statement had scents flaring, and in our quintet energy, all the beasts pressed against my wolf. No thoughts really accompanied it, but we were absolutely in a pack huddle. “That day will come, Emmeline Anders,” Hunter said in a low, soothing burr. “Now, let’s get you to bed.”
The alphas who weren’t sleeping in here tonight kissed me one last time and then headed off to do their own thing. With exhaustion pressing in on me, I crawled in between the dragons, and Slade wasted no time stripping me out of my pajamas, leaving me in just black period underwear.
“Much better,” he declared, his gaze dragging down my bare breasts. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”
Talon grunted his agreement, and I cursed the timing of bleeding when I really wanted a few of those promised orgasms. A thought that immediately filtered through the bond.
Slade’s smile grew, and his eyes were a blazing green fire as they burned into my soul. “Talon’s offer stands. We aren’t worried about a little blood, but we can use the shower if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
