Not now.
Not ever.
CHAPTER 64
Finn
I didn’t sleep.
Didn’t blink, I don’t think.
I watched them—watched her—until the lights went out and the curtains finally drew closed. My eyes burned, my body thrummed with need, but I didn’t move from my spot. Not even when the ache in my chest threatened to split me open.
They touched her the way I wanted to.
Worshipped her like I always knew she deserved to be worshipped. And for a moment, I hated them for it. Hated that they had her, that she let them have her. But more than anything?
I wanted to be the fourth.
I wanted to be in that room, pressed between the heat of her skin and the promises they made with their bodies. I would’ve whispered darker truths into her ear. Made her feel what obsession really tastes like. What it means to belong to someone.
She does belong to me.
Even if she hasn’t admitted it yet.
Even if she’s pretending I’m a chapter she’s finished reading.
Not the way her ex twisted belonging into some sort of ownership, because that’s not what it is. It’s more of a connection of souls. A merging of hearts. That’s what I want. That’s what I crave.
I move toward the window slowly now, every bone stiff with exhaustion and frustration and something too primal to name. Beta’s shouldn’t feel this way. But I do. For her. The glass is warm beneath my palms as I lean into it, shirtless, sweatpants slung low on my hips, skin still tinged with the memory of last night’s release.
She’s not at the window this morning.
But I wait.
Because she always comes.
And when she does—when those blue eyes lift and find mine—I’ll let her see everything. The hunger. The pain. The devotion that doesn't dim, not even when she lets someone else knot her. She’s an omega and needs that kind of thing. I understand. Because it’s not about jealousy.
It’s about knowing.
She’s made for more. And so am I.
And eventually…they’ll all see it too.
CHAPTER 65
Willow
I waketo the sound of a knock and the low murmur of voices.
The nest is warm, the blankets tangled around me in a way that says one of the guys must’ve tucked me into my bed again after I passed out. I stretch slowly, the soreness in my muscles a sweet reminder of the night before. Of bonds and pleasure. Of everything shifting.
I sit up, still wrapped in the scent of them.
Another knock echoes faintly through the apartment, followed by the creak of the front door and the low hum of Graham’s voice. The sound of cardboard being set down. Something heavy. Multiple somethings.
Curious now, I tug on one of Carson’s oversized T-shirts and pad barefoot down the hall.
