Another knock at the door — lighter this time.
"Just leaving some more supplies." Kol's voice was warm, a hint of his usual humor threading through the concern, his tone light and teasing. "Water, food, some of those protein bars Nolan insists on. Oh, and a clean set of sheets because I'm guessing you need them by now."
I laughed despite myself, the sound bubbling up unexpectedly, my body shaking against Reid's, making us both groan where we were still connected.
"Thank you, Kol." My voice was hoarse but warm, affection bleeding through, my lips curving into a smile.
"Anything for you, little flower." His voice softened, the teasing fading into something genuine, something loving, his footsteps lingering outside the door. "Both of you. Just say the word and we're there."
I heard him set something down outside the door, then his footsteps retreating down the hall.
"Pack." Reid murmured against my skin, his voice thick with sleep and satisfaction, his arms tightening around me, his purr deepening to something rumbling and content. "Good pack."
"The best pack." I agreed, my eyes already heavy, my body finally allowing exhaustion to creep in, warmth spreading through my chest.
The fourth time came hours later.
The rut wasn't done with us yet.
I woke to his hands on me — urgent and desperate, sliding over my skin, pulling me against his body. His breath was hot against my neck, his cock hard and insistent against my hip, his whole body radiating heat like a furnace.
"Sorry." The word was strained, apologetic, his body trembling with need, his voice rough with want and regret, his hands gripping me like he couldn't bear to let go. "Tried to let you sleep. Can't — I can't fight it?—"
"Don't be sorry." I turned in his arms, wrapping myself around him, reaching between us to guide him back inside me, gasping at the stretch that was becoming familiar, addictive, my voice soft with acceptance. "I'm here. I've got you. Take what you need."
This time was different from his feral episode — still desperate, still intense, but with more of Reid in his eyes. He rolled me onto my back, settling between my thighs, his forehead pressing against mine as he slid inside me with a groan.
"Need you." His voice was rough but present, his eyes meeting mine, dark with need but recognizably him. "Always need you. Never going to stop needing you."
"Then don't stop." I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him deeper, my hands finding his face, my thumbs tracing his cheekbones. "I don't want you to ever stop." He set a hard, deep rhythm, his hips snapping against mine, each thrust driving gasps from my lips. But he kept his eyes on mine, kept that connection, even as the pleasure built between us.
"Such a good girl." He groaned the words against my lips, his hands gripping my thighs, spreading me wider, driving deeper. "Love you so fucking much."
I gasped, my nails raking down his back, my body arching beneath him. "Reid — I'm gonna?—"
"Together." He thrust harder, deeper, one hand sliding between us to find my clit. "Always together." We shattered atthe same time — my orgasm triggering his, his knot swelling and locking us together, both of us crying out as pleasure crashed through us in waves. He collapsed against me, his face buried in my neck, his knot pulsing inside me, his purr rumbling through both of us.
"Sleep now." His voice was barely a whisper, exhaustion finally winning out over need, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me against his chest. "Sleep. I've got you."
I closed my eyes, feeling his heartbeat against my back, feeling his knot pulse inside me, feeling completely, utterly, overwhelmingly claimed.
His. I was completely, entirely his. As I drifted off to sleep, wrapped in his arms, tied to him in the most intimate way possible, I realized something.
I didn't want to be anywhere else.
This was home. He was home.
Whatever came next — the rest of the rut, the days beyond, the threats lurking at the edges of our happiness — we would face it together.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ASTER
I woke to the feeling of being watched.
Reid's eyes were on me — dark and hungry, burning with a heat that made my skin prickle even before I was fully conscious. He was propped on one elbow, his body radiating warmth like a furnace, his gaze raking over my naked body with an intensity that made my breath catch. His scent filled my lungs with every breath — cedar and woodsmoke, but sharper now, headier, laced with the musk and the lingering sweetness of our mingled arousal from the night before.
"Morning." My voice came out rough, wrecked from the night before, my throat raw from screaming his name so many times I'd lost count, my body aching in ways that felt more like satisfaction than pain.
